Story of the Day
The Stanbic Bank Zambia PMI was down slightly to 51.5 in December of 2021 from 51.8 in November but continued to signal improvements in the health of the private sector in December, helped by a further acceleration in the pace of new order growth. New business rose by expanding employment and purchasing activity, while output ticked down. Read more
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President Hakainde Hichilema says he is optimistic that Zambia and China’s conversations will lead to a paradigm shift from borrowing for consumption to borrowing for investment while encouraging joint ventures. Read more: News Diggers
Gemfields, which operates the Kagem emerald mine in Lufwanyama, is inviting governance bodies, mining organisations, industry observers and host governments to adopt the ‘G-Factor for Natural Resources’. This is a new measure promoting greater transparency regarding the level of natural resource wealth shared with the governments of host countries. Read more: Mining Review
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have disclosed that their fuel imports orders have been placed on hold until the government clarifies the status of tax waivers that were implemented in 2020/2021. Read more: Lusaka Times
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock says it has so far disbursed 11 Million United States Dollars of the Aquaculture Seed Fund to beneficiaries under the Zambia Aquaculture Enterprise Development Project (ZAEDP). Director of Fisheries Alexander Kefi says the Ministry will continue disbursing loans to beneficiaries until the total amount of 23point 7 Million of the Aquaculture Seed Fund is utilised. Read more: ZNBC
International Business and Finance
It is going to be another slow year for the automobile sales industry in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Fitch Solutions. “Looking to 2022, we forecast that the SSA regions vehicle sales growth to slow to 5.6% y-o-y with strong upside risk if currencies strengthen and if the supply and the price of used vehicles normalise we could see a strong uptick in sales towards the end of 2022,” said part of the report. Read more: Business Insider
Stock futures were mostly higher in overnight trading Sunday after a rocky start to 2022 for equity markets as interest rates rise. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average retraced most of their earlier losses and were down about 15 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures erased losses and rose 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.32%. Read more: CNBC
Emerging economies must prepare for U.S. interest rate hikes, the International Monetary Fund said, warning that faster than expected Federal Reserve moves could rattle financial markets and trigger capital outflows and currency depreciation abroad. Read more: Reuters
Major British companies plan a surge in investment in 2022 to meet strong demand and respond to climate change against a backdrop of growing labour shortages, according to a survey from accountants at Deloitte. Some 37% of chief financial officers viewed higher capital spending as a priority for 2022, the most since the quarterly survey started in 2009 and up from 20% at the start of 2021. Read more: Reuters
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In 29 trades recorded on Friday, 91,466 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K299,187.A share price increase of K0.1 was recorded in First Quantum Mineral and Zambeef of K0.1. Trading activity was recorded in CEC Africa, Copperbelt Energy Corporation, First Quantum Minerals, Lafarge, PUMA, Zambeef, Zanaco and ZAFFICO. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 6219.27 points,0.01% up from its previous close of 6218.49 points.The market closed on a capitalization of K67,879,227,814 including Shoprite Holdings and K33,096,542,374 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day