Story of the Day
InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) and the EU-funded Electrification Financing Initiative (EDFI ElectriFi) have together committed US$15.5m to enable Africa GreenCo to scale its innovative offering as Zambia’s first renewable energy buyer and services provider. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Intelligent Technologies
The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has issued an alert to the financial sector urging it to be vigilant on cyber security threat after it experienced a partial disruption to some of its Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications. BoZ assistant director-communications Besnat Mwanza said in a statement yesterday that the central bank on May 9, 2022 experienced a partial disruption on its ICT applications which affected some systems such as the Bureau De Change monitoring system and the website which emanated from a cyber security incident. Read more: All Africa
Minister of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Elias Mubanga has noted that Zambia has huge potential for high economic growth due to its rich natural resource endowment and a youthful population. Mr Mubanga was speaking during the launch of the mentorship training programme for SMEs held in partnership with Germany and the Finish governments and other stakeholders in Lusaka this weekend. Mr Mubanga stated that the mentorship training is an important programme and that more similar mentorship programs have been organized for SMEs, an indication that a lot of activities to promote SMEs development are gaining momentum. Read more: Lusaka Times
The Ministry of Mines has refused to confirm or deny if First Quantum Minerals – FQM has been awarded a nickel mining license following the company announcement that it will begin nickel production in kalumbila district of the Copperbelt in the next twelve (12) months. Read more: Zambia Business Times
The Elsewedy Electric Company of Egypt local unit has disclosed that it intends to invest about $500 million and will set up its own mining company in Zambia. However, the planned investments are currently at concept stage. Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT Elsewedy Electric country Manager Mohamad Hassan said the investment budget is not yet out or finalized but is projected to be about US$500 million in total investments. Read more: Zambian Business Times
As global food prices scale higher on the back of geopolitics and drought exacerbating the supply side, nations continue to take stock of food production to mitigate food inflation threats. It is about a dry point of construction that climate change effects, have weighed precipitation which has ultimately impacted agribusiness. Africa’s ‘green’ metal producer Zambia, not immune to climate effects, forecasts a 25.24% ebb in maize production for the 2020/2021 agriculture season according to its Agriculture Ministry. Read more: The Business Telegraph
International Business and Finance Sponsored By Agricultural and Commercial Society of Zambia
The price of wheat has jumped on international markets after India banned the export of the staple cereal. The benchmark wheat index rose as much as 5.9% in Chicago, the highest it has been in two months. The export ban comes after a heatwave hit India’s wheat crops, taking domestic prices to a record high. Wheat prices have soared by around 60% on world markets this year, pushing up the cost of everything from bread to noodles. Read more: BBC News
Saudi Aramco has posted its highest profits since its 2019 listing as oil and gas prices surge around the world. The state-owned energy giant saw an 82% jump in profits, with net income topping $39.5bn in the first quarter. In a press release, the firm said it had been boosted by higher prices, as well as an increase in production. The invasion of Ukraine has seen oil and gas prices skyrocket. Read more: BBC News
In the first three months of the year, leading telecom operator, MTN Group Limited, grew its service revenue by 15.9% to $2.86 billion. The telco said growth was spurred by strong performances in virtually all its business verticals across the 19 African and Middle Eastern countries where it currently operates. In specific terms, there was 2.6% growth in voice revenue, a 21.2% growth in fintech revenue and a 37.3% growth in data revenue. In the same vein, MTN Group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation & amortisation (EBITDA) improved to 46.4% from 44.2% during the comparable quarter in 2021. Read more: Business Insider
The Chinese currency is declining rapidly as the world’s second largest economy falters under the weight of Covid restrictions.Since the start of the year, investors have been moving money out of China, driven by concerns about rising lockdowns in major cities, and Beijing’s close ties with Moscow in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The links have raised fears that China could be targeted by Western sanctions if it helps Moscow. Read more: CNN
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos accused President Joe Biden of spreading “misdirection” on Twitter, after the president tweeted that wealthy corporations should be paying their fair share of taxes to bring down inflation. “You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share,” Biden tweeted from his personal account Friday evening. Bezos shot back later Friday with a tweet of his own claiming there is no link between inflation and corporate taxes. Read more: CNN
Capital Markets Report
In 68 trades recorded on Friday, 13,830 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K31,318.81. Trading activity was recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Pamodzi, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, ZCCM, Zambeef, and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 6,811.08 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K70,435,507,368 including Shoprite Holdings and K35,652,821,928 excluding Shoprite Holdings.