Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Growth in domestic credit declines to 12.1%, economy to rebound in 2024 —Central Bank Gov
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President Biden says U.S. won’t default as debt talks inch forward
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The bond market recorded yet another 100% score in the third week of May
Story of the Day
Wednesday 17th May will forever echo in the minds of public relations and journalism students at the University of Zambia in Lusaka as the day a titan in news and media came to give them tips on how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in a business arena that is so diverse yet holds the key to information dissemination. African Press Organisation or simply APO Group as it is ubiquitously known is an international organization which has been in existence for 15 years and us currently a leading media relations consulting firm in Africa and the Middle East. They collaborate with both private & public organizations — from Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 corporations, multinational and large companies, SMEs to local and national Governments and NGOs — to design bespoke media strategies allowing them to sharpen their reputation, increase their brand equity and speed to market in Africa and the Middle East. Read more
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Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has revealed that growth in the domestic credit slowed down to 12.1 percent in March, year-on-year, from 18.7 percent in December 2022. This follows reduced lending to government, Central Bank Governor, Danny Kalyalya said. Addressing journalists in Lusaka on Wednesday, Kalyalya however said over the same period, credit to the private sector continued to grow to 35.9 percent compared to 34.2 percent. “Money supply grew further by 30.0 percent in March 2023 compared to 24.5 percent in December 2022 due to increased credit to the private sector and valuation effects relating to the United States dollar denominated credit,” Kalyalya said. He said the economy was projected to slowdown in 2023 and rebound in 2024. Kalyalya said this underpinned by the recovery in agriculture and mining sectors as well as sustained growth in information and communications, manufacturing, transport, and financial and insurance sectors. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Zambia is currently performing slightly above average in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS), scoring 53.25 on the measuring dashboard. Overall, SDG progress for Zambia in comparison with the rest of the regional counter parts is moderate and the country remains on track to achieve SDG 13 on climate action. SDG Centre for Africa Programmes Director, Ambrose Ahesibwe, said in an interview in Lusaka on the side-lines of the SADC Regional Media Workshop that Zambia had scored 53.25 on the centres measuring dashboard. He said this indicated that the country was showing slight progress. Ahesibwe attributed the slow progressive to lack of data needed and funds to finance SDGs implementation. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Finance and National Planning has announced that the Government released a total of K11.4 billion for developmental programmes and public service delivery in April 2023. In a statement released by the ministry’s Public Relations Unit, of the K11.4 billion, K2 billion was released for transfers, subsidies and social benefits, whilst K2.2 billion was spent on debt service (domestic and external) and dismantling of arrears, and K3.6 billion was spent on the public service wage bill. In addition, the Government released K3.2 billion for implementation of various government programmes and general operations. Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has since called for consistent and effective monitoring of budget execution by all stakeholders in their sectors of operation and interest. Read more: Lusaka Times
The Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has fixed its maize purchasing price for the 2023 Grain Marketing season at K280 per 50kg bag of white maize which translates to K100 increment from last year’s K180 for the commodity. FRA however exclusively told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that it will not purchase soya beans because there is more than enough in the stock but could not state how much is in stock. And Speaking during the announcing of the buying price for Maize, and Paddy rice, Board Chairperson Kelvin Hambwezya said that the agency targets expects to purchase maize to meet the minimum statutory strategic grain reserve threshold of 500, 000 mt and 1,000 mt of paddy rice. “You may be aware that the agency had a carryover stock of 652,000 metric tonnes of grade a white maize at the beginning of 2023 and over 400,000 metric tonnes has since been sold to local millers. The agency has 248,772.35 metric tonnes of maize in the national strategic food reserve.” He added. He said that in arriving at the determined prices for 2023, the agency acknowledged the urgent need to replenish the strategic grain reserves from a dynamic grain market obtaining locally and in the region. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
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USD | 18.5558 | 18.6031 |
GBP | 23.1409 | 23.2092 |
EUR | 20.0922 | 20.1490 |
ZAR | 0.9627 | 0.9659 |
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Top leaders from both sides of the aisle reassured Americans on Wednesday that the U.S. won’t default on its debt as tense negotiations over the debt ceiling continued. “I think at the end of the day we do not have a debt default,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said. President Joe Biden echoed that sentiment later in remarks from the White House, “We’re going to come together because these is no alternative,” he said. “Every leader in the room understands the consequences of failure.” Biden spoke minutes before he departed Washington for a truncated visit to Asia, where he plans to attend the Group of Seven summit. He also said he would hold a news conference Sunday upon his return to share the latest on the negotiations. Read more: CNBC
Goldman Sachs is bullish about artificial intelligence and believes the technology could help drive S&P 500 profits in the next 10 years. “Over the next 10 years, AI could increase productivity by 1.5% per year. And that could increase S&P500 profits by 30% or more over the next decade,” Goldman’s senior strategist Ben Snider told CNBC Thursday. The emergence of ChatGPT, the chatbot developed by OpenAI, has spurred a firestorm of interest in AI and the possible disruptions to the daily lives of many. It has also injected fresh excitement among investors eager for a fresh driver of profit growth at a time when rising borrowing costs and supply chain problems have tempered optimism. “A lot of the favorable factors that led to that expansion (of S&P 500) earnings seem to be reversing,” Snider said. “But the real source of optimism now is productivity enhancements through artificial intelligence.” “It’s clear to most investors that the immediate winners are in the technology sector,” Snider added. “The real question for investors is who are going to be winners down the road.” Read more: CNBC
Montana is set to become the first US state to ban Chinese-owned media giant TikTok from personal devices. Governor Greg Gianforte signed the ban into law on Wednesday. It is due to take effect on 1 January. The video-sharing platform says the ban “infringes on the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana”. TikTok has come under scrutiny from authorities around the world over concerns that data could be passed to the Chinese government. Read more: BBC News
Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75m to settle a lawsuit that claimed the lender had enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking ring. The case was filed by an unnamed woman who alleged that the banking giant continued to do business with Epstein, despite knowing that his accounts were used to facilitate the abuses. She also claimed that she was abused by Epstein and trafficked to his friends. Deutsche Bank declined to comment on the case when approached by the BBC. Read more: BBC News
In the third week of May 2023, trading on the Lusaka Stock exchange. Yet another week of the bond market holding its dominance as it recorded a 100% score. Around this time last year the equity market recorded a 68% score to 32% on the bond market. Regarding the equity market Copperbelt Energy Corporation recorded the highest turnover during the week. Read more
In 56 trades recorded yesterday, 62,578 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K209,346.86. Trading activity was recorded in CEC Zambia, Pamodzi, PUMA, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, SHOP, Zambeef, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 8,150.79 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,410,598,978.90 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,627,913,538.90 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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