Story of the Day:
Prior 2008 money transfer was a struggle in Zambia. Post office dominated the sector however lack of presence in all corners of the country proved a struggle for end users. Zoona changed the playbook. Read more
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Zambia has said it will resist pressure from Chinese creditors to make paying arrears a condition of pursuing debt relief talks, as the southern African nation battles to restructure $11bn of external debts. Read more: Financial Times
The Bank of Zambia has in the last one month disbursed K66 million of the K10 billion stimulus package under the targeted medium-term refinancing facility. Last month, the disbursement stood at K1,819 billion but this month, it stands at K1,885 billion. The Central bank says banks have been allocated K1.5 billion while non-banks have been given K314 million. Read more: ZNBC
As Zambia engages the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address external debt, Standard Chartered Bank has advised Government to create fiscal space that will facilitate economic growth. Chief economist for Africa and Middle East Razia Khan said macro-economic concerns of debt accumulation by countries have weighed down economic performance. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
A US$500, 000 copper smelting investment is coming to Chingola’s Kasompe Township if the Zambia Environmental Agency will finally approve the project. Cupola Furnace Copper Smelter will be set up alone Kasompe road Aman Processing Zambia Limited with the capacity of producing 1.5 tons of copper blisters per day. Read more: The Independent Observer
International Business and Finance
The Bank of England has written to UK banks asking them how ready they are if interest rates were cut to zero or turned negative. The UK would be following countries such as Japan and Switzerland if it cut borrowing costs to such a low figure. The Bank of England cut rates to the current historic low of 0.1% in March. Read more: BBC News
British Airways has announced it is replacing its chief executive Alex Cruz as the airline navigates “the worst crisis” facing its industry. Mr Cruz, who has been with BA since 2016, will be immediately replaced by Aer Lingus boss Sean Doyle. Read more: BBC News
China reported strong trade data in September as most business activity resumed in the world’s second-largest economy, following what was apparently the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. For September, China’s imports surged 13.2% in U.S. dollar terms, according to official customs data on Tuesday. That was far above the 0.3% predicted by the Reuters’ poll. Read more: CNBC
The second quarter was the worst financial hit in the history of the airline industry. The third-quarter results won’t be much better. US airlines reported combined losses of $12 billion in the second quarter, excluding special items, as revenue plunged 86% from the prior year. And analysts are forecasting that losses will come to about $10 billion in the just-completed third quarter. Read more: CNN
Capital Markets Report Sponsored By ZCCM-IH
In 7 trades recorded yesterday, 5,651 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K4,443. Trading activity was recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Lafarge, Standard Chartered Zambia and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,811.75 points, as there were no share price movements The market closed on a capitalization of K55,896,157,023 including Shoprite Holdings and K21,656,951,043 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: