Story of the Day:
Enygma Ventures has made a $1 million investment in Zambian based micro finance startup, Lupiya. This investment, will enable Lupiya to continue to scale and roll out its services fulfilling its mission of ensuring Zambians, particularly women are able to participate in the economy through its financial inclusion strategy. Read more
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Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie says China will consider cancelling interests on Zambia’s debt to that country that was supposed to mature by the end of 2020. Mr. Li says China will also extend the debt repayment period for Zambia. Read more: Lusaka Times
Access Bank announced that its wholly owned subsidiary in Zambia, Access Bank Zambia Limited has entered into exclusive discussions with Cavmont Capital Holdings regarding a potential transaction between Access Bank Zambia and Cavmont Bank Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cavmont Capital. The potential transaction relates to the sale of 100% of Cavmont Capital’s interest in Cavmont Bank to Access Bank Zambia. Read more: Proshare
The appointment of Dr Samuel Munzele Maimbo as a Director in the World Bank Group has elated the Zambian Government. Dr Maimbo, a Zambian, assumed duties as Director in charge of International Development Assistance (IDA) mobilisation, and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Corporate Finance, on 1st July, 2020. Read more: Zambia Reports
The cost of basic needs for a family of five in Lusaka recorded a reduction of K134 in the month of June, standing at K7, 060.80. The latest JCTR report has indicated that there were some notable reductions in prices of foodstuffs and non food items in the month under review. Read more: Zambia Reports
The Ministry of Mines says copper production has increased in the first six months of 2020. This is in comparison to last year, during the same period. Director of Mines Fred Banda says the production of copper increased from over 330,000 tonnes in 2019, to 342,000 tonnes this year. Read more: ZNBC
As the world continues to face economic turmoil resulting from the COVID-19, communities in Zambia are turning to informal savings groups to cushion the impact of the pandemic. Read more: Xinhua
International Business and Finance
The U.K. is set to cut VAT on hospitality as part of a £30billion plan to prevent mass unemployment as the economy is hit by coronavirus. The government will also pay firms a £1,000 bonus for every staff member kept on for three months when the furlough scheme ends in October. Read more: BBC News
United Airlines is warning nearly half of its frontline workforce that they could be furloughed this fall. The world’s third-largest airline says 36,000 workers — including 15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 customer service and gate agents, 5,550 maintenance employees and 2,250 pilots — will receive layoff notices. Read more: CNN
A sweeping new law from Beijing that aims to bring Hong Kong’s internet under its control has left Silicon Valley scrambling, with at least one Big Tech company considering a total retreat from the territory. The national security law passed last week effectively moves Hong Kong’s internet within China’s Great Firewall, giving police the power to censor the web and potentially arrest the managers of tech companies who refuse to hand over data on users. Read more: Financial Times
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard expressed optimism in the pace of the U.S. economic recovery, saying the unemployment rate could fall substantially by the end of the year. With the current jobless level at a post-World War II high 11.1%, Bullard told CNBC that he could see a rate as low as 7% in a few months. Read more: CNBC
Five candidates are in the running to take the helm of the World Trade Organization, at a time when the institution is going through a deep identity crisis. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report
There were no trades recorded yesterday. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,926.75 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K55,912,229,257 including Shoprite Holdings and K21,673,023,277 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: