Good morning. Here’s what you need to know

• FIC appoints Clement Kapalu as new DG

• Russia hikes interest rates to 15% as inflation soars

• Higher interest rates help to more than double HSBC profits

Story Of The Day 

As the importance of their critical minerals increases, DRC and Zambia are becoming increasingly important markets for Africa’s banks. Africa’s biggest lender, Johannesburg-based Standard Bank, has expressed ambitions to increase investment in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia as it seeks to position itself as an early leader in two markets rich in natural resources critical to the world’s green transition. Kenny Fihla, the CEO of Standard Bank’s corporate and investment banking division, said earlier this week that “because of the energy transition, we need to think differently about our businesses in the DRC and Zambia… we are likely to see that, in the next five years or so, the DRC will be one of the most important countries within the Standard Bank group.” “It’s about where the minerals needed to drive the transition will come from – that’s going to change completely the composition of our portfolio,” he noted. The DRC and Zambia have emerged as crucial African markets because of the abundance of natural resources available in both countries that are essential to the production of green technologies. The DRC is home to almost half of the world’s cobalt, for example, which is a critical mineral for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Read more

In Local Business and Finance News Sponsored By 

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) Board has appointed Clement Kapalu as its new Director General with immediate effect. According to a statement issued by the FIC Board Chairperson, Friday, Kapalu’s appointment followed an extensive recruitment process and approval by the Minister of Finance and National Planning. The board said Kapalu fills a vacancy left by Mary Chirwa who in January 2022, was appointed Director General of the Drug Enforcement Commission. “The Board of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Clement Kayombo Kapalu as the new Director General of the FIC with immediate effect. Read more: News Diggers

In a bid to strengthen trade ties and foster investment opportunities, the President Hakainde Hichilema, met with prominent international delegations recently. Discussions primarily centered around trade, investment, and the role of positive discrimination in procurement processes. President Hichilema welcomed a delegation from the Norwegian-Africa Business Association, led by Ms. Mathilde Thue, at State House. The talks emphasized the significance of Zambia’s vast potential for water harvesting, irrigation, mechanization, and efficient resource management. The President urged the Norwegian-Africa Business Association to address the concern of the high cost of capital in Africa and invited them to consider investing in Zambia. The country’s strategic location, favorable hydrology, and efficient logistical support through various corridors position Zambia as a hub for swift exports and a wide array of business opportunities. Read more: Lusaka Times

London Aim-listed Arc Minerals on Friday closed out a joint venture (JV) agreement with Anglo American in a deal worth $90-million. Parties have completed the subscription of shares in the JV company resulting in a 70% interest being acquired by Anglo American Exploration BV and a 30% interest acquired by Unico Minerals, a 67% Arc subsidiary. Arc is headed by former Anglo and De Beers executive Nick von Schirnding, whose late father Kurt von Schirnding, was South Africa’s former ambassador to the United Nations. “I look forward to a very exciting new chapter ahead for us,” Von Schirnding enthused. Read more: Mining Weekly

Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) says it is seeking smart partnerships to acquire funding for the recapitalization of the railway infrastructure and rolling stock. Company Managing Director, Fred Mwila, said the rail share in Zambia was less than 10 percent due to the lack of adequate capacity track and rolling stock due to lack of investment. Mwila said this at the just-ended Southern African Railways Association (SARA) Conference held in South Africa. This is according to a statement issued in Lusaka on Saturday by Tamara Nyirenda, the First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambian High Commission in South Africa. He said the event provided an ideal platform for key decision makers to engage directly with sponsors, exhibitors, and delegates attending the SARA event. “Forging partnerships, especially with the private sector, is aimed at deploying technology such as signalling and telecommunications, traffic monitoring, and surveillance, among others,” Mwila said. Read more: Zambia Monitor

Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates

In International News 

UK-based banking giant HSBC says its quarterly profits jumped to $7.7bn, boosted by higher interest rates. The bank’s pre-tax profit for the three months to the end of September more than doubled from a year earlier. “We have had three consecutive quarters of strong financial performance,” group chief executive Noel Quinn said in a statement. However, that was still lower than the $8.1bn profit expected by analysts. The bank also announced a plan to buy back another $3bn of its shares from investors, as well as a new dividend payout to shareholders. Read more: BBC News 

Russia’s central bank has put up its key interest rate to 15% to try to curb inflation and bolster a weak rouble. The higher-than-expected rate hike of two percentage points raises borrowing costs for the fourth time in a row. Globally the pace of price rises has been high, in part due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Inflation in Russia hit 6% in September. There has also been increased government spending in Russia as it pours resources into its war machine. The Bank of Russia, the country’s central bank, has now raised rates by 7.5 percentage points since July as it seeks to get inflation back down to its 4% target. Read more: BBC News

The World Trade Organization’s director-general warned that the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict will impact global growth if it spills over to the wider Middle East region. In an interview with CNBC aired on Monday, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said: “If it spreads beyond where it is now, to the rest of the Middle East, there will be an impact.” “Remember that this region is also the source of a lot of the world’s energy with respect to natural gas as well as oil, which is still very much in use and all over the world. So you will see an impact on global growth, on global trade,” she added. “We do hope it does not amount to that. We’re praying for de-escalation and peace,” she told CNBC’s Martin Soong on the sidelines of the Group of 7 meeting in Osaka, Japan. Read more: CNBC

Zimbabwe will extend its multi-currency system, with the U.S. dollar as its anchor, until 2030, according to an announcement made on Friday. Previously, the government had indicated that the multi-currency system would be phased out by 2025. This has led to uncertainty in the banking sector, with some banks refusing to approve loans beyond 2025. In a government gazette, President Emmerson Mnangagwa revoked the 2019 order that had set the 2025 deadline. The gazette specifies, “Settlement of any transaction or payment for goods and services in foreign currency shall … be valid until the 31st December 2030.” Read more: Business Insider

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that its financial commitment to development projects in Nigeria totals $4.4 billion, making it the largest investment in Africa. This information was shared by Lamin Barrow, the country director of AfDB, during the joint country portfolio performance review meeting between the AfDB and the Ministry of Finance’s international economic relations department, He commended the federal government for its recent policy changes, such as the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of foreign exchange rates, Nairametrics reported. According to him “Currently, the Bank’s portfolio in Nigeria is one of the largest among the Regional Member Countries (RMCs), with a total commitment value of US$ 4.4 billion. These are comprised of 48 operations fairly evenly distributed between public and private sector operations.” Read more: Business Insider

Finally, Capital Markets News

In 84 trades recorded yesterday 58,936 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K362,754.92. No price changes were recorded today. Trading activity was also recorded in Airtel, CEC Zambia, Chilanga Cement, Madison Financial Services, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, PUMA ,Zambia Breweries, Zambeef and ZANACO. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 9,917.12 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K84,745,484,042.46 including Shoprite Holdings and K49,962,798,602.46 excluding Shoprite Holdings.

Picture of the Day

Greg Mills launched his book, ‘RICH STATE, POOR STATE’ at Protea Hotel last week. Greg provides a perspective on why African countries continue to struggle and points out some of the key issues that need to be addressed for development to be achieved. Watch him discuss it on the latest episode of The FiZ Show. #GetToKnow