Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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A consortium of investors in the energy sector met President Hakainde Hichilema, explaining their intention to develop 770 Mega Watts of wind and solar plants
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Tinubu’s emergence as president-elect leads to Nigerian stocks falling
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CEC incorporates its subsidiary ‘CEC Renewables’
Story of the Day
The Africa Energy Indaba has been in a long-term strategic partnership with the South African Electrotechnical Export Council (SAEEC) with the joint purpose of increasing understanding of and accelerating growth in Africa’s rapidly changing and lucrative energy space. For years, the innovative partnership has leveraged the respective strengths of both entities to create compelling value for those with an interest in Africa’s evolving energy sector. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
A consortium of investors in the energy sector met President Hakainde Hichilema, explaining their intention to develop 770 Mega Watts of wind and solar plants. The consortium comprises Mphepo Power, Total Eren, Chariot and First Quantum. And the President said he is pleased that the consortium made a comprehensive presentation. He said the projects would greatly contribute to Zambia’s grid resilience. President Hakainde said government is determined to unlock the energy sector by weighing in on any initiative by Independent Power Producers to complement existing efforts to increase the current base load. He said Load shedding should never be an annual event. Read more: ZNBC
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Permanent Secretary, Chembo Mbula says there is need for proactive interactions between Zambia and Saudi Arabia in order to increase trade volumes between the two countries. Mr. Mbula says areas of cooperation which Zambia and Saudi Arabia can explore include investment, mining, science and technology, youths, sports as well as culture. He said this during the official opening of the 4th session of the Joint Permanent Commission, Committee of Senior Officials Meeting between Zambia and Saudi Arabia in Lusaka today. Mr. Mbula noted that progress is being made towards the conclusion of various outstanding Memoranda of understanding and Agreements between the two countries. Read more: ZNBC
Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has justified the intention by the Macro Ocean Investment Consortium to borrow from NAPSA, Workers Compensation Fund and other financiers towards the upgrade of the Lusaka-Ndola Dual Carriageway. Macro Ocean Investment Consortium which consists of AVIC International Project Engineering Company, Zhenjiang Communications Construction Group Limited and China Railway Seventh Group Limited has engaged NAPSA and Workers Compensation Fund, among other institutions for a loan facility towards the upgrading of the 327KM Lusaka- Ndola Dual Carriageway and rehabilitation of 45KM of Masangano-Fisenge Luanshya Road. In an interview, Thursday, Dr Musokotwane said the money to be borrowed from NAPSA would benefit all NAPSA beneficiaries. Read more: News Diggers
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has announced that a pre-feasibility study for the battery mineral value chain will be ready by third quarter of this year. The study once completed will determine among other economic indicators the levels of investments needed, production capacity and impact it will have on both the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia in terms of value addition, job creation and wealth. Zambia and DRC in 2021 agreed to develop their cobalt reserves, a metal that is essential to the energy transition and electric mobility because of its high energy storage capacity. Read more: Zambia Monitor
A delegation from Zambia including representatives from Kalahari Geo Energy went on a tour in the geothermal direct use facilities of KenGen and the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) in Kenya to to look at best practices in the region and explore avenues for collaboration. Zambia seeks to develop direct use geothermal projects to utilize geothermal wells in the country that did not have sufficient pressure to support power generation. Joining the Zambia delegation were representatives from the Office of the President and Chief of the Chiefdoms in the regions where geothermal direct use projects have potential. Read more: Think GeoEnergy
Namibia and Zambia have agreed to revive the joint trade and investment committee (JTIC) to strengthen bilateral cooperation on trade, trade-related and investment matters. The agreement came after the minister of industrialisation and trade, Lucia Iipumbu, held consultations last week with her Zambian counterpart, Chipoka Mulenga, to explore export market opportunities, and to strengthen existing bilateral cooperation between the two neighbouring countries. Read more: The Namibian
In International Business News
Nigeria’s equity market, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX), ended its five-day gaining streak on Wednesday, February 28th, after the announcement of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s emergence as the President-elect of Nigeria. According to People’s Gazette, performance indices dropped by 0.53%, leading to a market capitalization loss of N162 billion or 0.53%, to close at N30.238 trillion, as opposed to the N30.4 trillion recorded on Tuesday. The All-Share Index (ASI) also declined by 297.65 points to close at 55,508.61, compared to 55,806.26 in the previous session. Nigeria’s presidential election is likely to significantly impact the country’s economy, with exchange rates at the heart of the ongoing debate. Read more: Business Insider
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has begun an enforcement investigation into the London Metal Exchange’s (LME) suspension of nickel trading in 2022, the watchdog said on Friday. The FCA’s investigation will review the conduct, systems and controls that the LME had in place between Jan. 1 and March 8 last year. The LME suspended chaotic nickel trading on March 8, 2022, after prices doubled to a record above $100,000 a tonne in a few hours. Both the FCA and the Bank of England began a review into the trading halt last April. Read more: CNBC
The recovery in euro zone business activity gathered pace last month as growth accelerated in the bloc’s dominant services industry, a survey showed, providing the latest piece of evidence suggesting the currency union will avoid a recession. S&P Global’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), seen as a good barometer of overall economic health, climbed to an eight-month high of 52.0 last month from 50.3 in January, a little shy of a 52.3 preliminary reading. Read more: Yahoo Finance
The U.S. dollar eased from a 2-1/2-month high versus the yen on Friday and looked set for its first weekly loss since January against major peers as traders tried to gauge the path for Federal Reserve policy. The yen, though, which is particularly sensitive to U.S.-Japanese long-term interest rate differentials, threatened to extend its recent losing streak to seven weeks, even as it gained strength on Friday with 10-year U.S. yields retreating from a nearly four-month high close to 4.1%. Cryptocurrencies took a beating as the crisis engulfing Silvergate worsened, with industry heavyweights including Coinbase Global and Galaxy Digital dropping the lender as their banking partner. Read more: Yahoo Finance
Finally, Capital Markets News
Copperbelt Energy Corporation PLC is pleased to inform its Shareholders and the general public that it has incorporated the subsidiary, CEC Renewables Limited. Wholly owned, CEC Renewables is part of the CEC Group since 28th October 2022 and is responsible for driving the Group’s development and integration of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind. CEC Renewables Limited has constructed the 33.11MWp Solar PV Plant, expanding the 1.04MWp Solar PV Plant in Kitwe, Zambia, bringing the current total capacity to 34.15MWp. The location of the plant near existing CEC installations simplifies grid connection, monitoring and operation, as well as maintenance of the solar farm. The 34.15MWp Riverside Solar PV Plant was commissioned by Mr Hakainde Hichilema, the President of the Republic of Zambia, on 15th February 2023 and is now operational at full scale. Read more
In 68 trades recorded yesterday, 1,638,557 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K6,159,674.46. A share price gain of K0.22 was recorded in Standard Chartered Bank Limited. A share price gain of K0.01 was recorded in ZAMEFA. A share price gain of K0.01 was recorded in Zambia Sugar. Trading activity was also recorded in CEC Zambia, PUMA, Zambia Breweries, ZCCM, Zambeef, Zanaco and in CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,347.93 points, 1.17% up from its previous close at 7,262.89 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,915,917,470.79 including Shoprite Holdings and K38,133,232,030.79 excluding Shoprite Holdings
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