Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Zambia’s Non-Traditional Exports grew by 33% in January
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IMF unveils crypto plan, advising against legal tender status
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Zambia Sugar Plc as the highest priced company on LuSE in the second week of February
Story of the Day
The Bank of Zambia is the central bank of the country and is responsible for the formulation and implementation of monetary policy. One of the most important tools available to the Bank of Zambia is its ability to change interest rates. In this article, we will explore the impact of an increase in Bank of Zambia rates on the Zambian economy. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
Even as differences emerged over the wording of the Russia-Ukraine war in Summary after the first G20 meeting of the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) under India’s presidency, there was consensus over addressing debt vulnerabilities of low and middle-income countries and measures to manage crypto assets with a proposed regulatory framework. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the FMCBG arrived at a common position for ‘debt language’. “Vulnerable nations are looking at G20 nations to relieve the debt stress,” she said, adding that four countries – Ghana, Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ethiopia, would benefit from the discussions. Read more: Indian Express
Zambia’s Non-Traditional Export (NTEs) earnings has reached K7.4 billion in January this year from K5.3 billion the previous month, representing a growth of 33.4 percent. In terms of share in total exports, NTEs accounted for 33.9 percent in January 2023, according to Zambia Statistical Agency (ZamStats) Interim Statistician General Mulenga Musepa. Addressing journalists in Lusaka recently, Musepa said agricultural products accounted for 19.0 percent of Zambia’s NTEs in January 2023 compared to 27.4 percent in December 2022. Export earnings from agricultural products decreased by 7.4 percent to K1.4 billion in January 2023 from K1.5 billion in December 2022. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) says that anti-competitive practices remained a major driver of increased cost of doing business in Zambia. Acting Executive Director Brian Lingela said statistics from the cases handled indicate that anti-competitive conduct contributed between nine and 30 percent to the cost of doing business between Business to Business (“B2B”) . According to the 2022 CCPC report released on Thursday, Lingela indicated that about 45 to 100 percent of the cost to consumers was recorded due to unfair trading practices. Read more: Zambia Monitor
A World Bank Report has revealed that total amount of the agriculture sector program financing over 2022 to 2026 period is expected to be K42.89 billion of which 83.1 percent will be financed by Government and 16.9 percent by World Bank’s International Development Association credit. According to World Bank International Development Association Program Appraisal Document, for Zambia Growth Opportunities Program for Results report, aggregate public spending on the Government program including livestock and fisheries over fiscal years 2018 to 2022 amounted to K48.49 billion. Read more: Money FM
Zimbabwe and Zambia have agreed to work on a pilot project for the development of Common African Agro-Parks (CAAPs), which will be used as a template across the continent. African industry ministers agreed during an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia last week that CAAPs were an important part of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a US$3,4 trillion block, which aims to create a single continental market for goods and services. An agro-park is an area of an intensive, contiguous parcel of land for agricultural production that seeks to integrate all facets of the agricultural value chain from pre-production to production, post harvesting and marketing. Read more: MSN
In International Business News
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has laid out a nine-point action plan for how countries should treat crypto assets, with point number one a plea not to give cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin legal tender status. The global lender of last resort said its executive board had discussed a paper, “Elements of Effective Policies for Crypto Assets,” that provided “guidance to IMF member countries on key elements of an appropriate policy response to crypto assets”. Read more: Al Jazeera
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s annual GDP growth rate in 2022 stood at 3.10%, a decline from the 3.40% recorded in 2021. According to the NBS’s GDP report, published on Wednesday, the performance of industry and agriculture declined in 2022 compared to 2021. The research did point out that Nigeria’s GDP increased by 3.52% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022, driven by the service sector. Read more: Business Insider
U.S. equity futures were higher on Monday morning after the major averages posted their biggest weekly losses of the year and ahead of another big week in retail earnings. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15 points, or 0.05%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.12% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.23%. The major averages Friday ended the day lower and posted their biggest weekly declines for 2023. The Dow finished lower by 3%, its fourth down week in a row. The S&P 500 lost 2.7% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 3.3% for the week. Read more: CNBC
The state-owned utility Eskom, which currently imposes 12-hour power cuts on South Africans, has appointed an interim leader after its chief executive, Andre de Ruyter, quit in the wake of a shock interview in which he denounced corruption at the highest level of government. Calib Cassim, Eskom’s current chief financial officer since 2018 and who has worked for the public company for over twenty years, will ensure this interim, announced Eskom Friday morning in a statement. Read more: Africa News
Airbus SE and Qantas Airways Ltd plan to announce the first investment from a $200 million fund to develop a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in Australia within about a month, an Airbus executive said on Monday. The companies established the fund last year after Qantas set a target of using 10% SAF in its fuel mix by 2030 and placed a multibillion-dollar order for Airbus narrowbody and widebody planes. Australia lacks an SAF industry, meaning Qantas’ purchases of the fuel are made at overseas airports. Read more: Yahoo Finance
Finally, Capital Markets News
In the second week of February 2023, there were fourteen companies that recorded trades of which Shoprite Holdings was the highest priced security. In comparison to week two of February 2022, which also recorded fourteen companies with Zambia Sugar Plc as the highest priced company security. Friday was the best performing day of the week. Read more
In 160 trades recorded on Friday, 205,527 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K913,269.06 Trading activity was recorded in AECI, CEC Zambia, Pamodzi, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, SHOP, Zambia Breweries, Zambeef, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 7,233.16 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,416,350,084.85 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,633,664,644.85 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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