Story of the Day:
Prima Reinsurance has advised shareholders that it is making steady progress in the paperwork around the forthcoming rights offer, according to a statement from the company. Read more
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Zambia seeks to sell K13.6bln ($755mln) worth of government securities in the third quarter of 2020. According to a public notice on tenders and issuance calendar, the Bank of Zambia will increase its bond and treasury bill offerings by 37% in the third quarter. Treasury bill offer size will increase to K1.3bln retaining a fortnight frequency while bond offer size will widen to K1.5bln with monthly frequency. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Zambia is among 59 other countries that have been selected to benefit from the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (IFAD) newly established Rural Poor Stimulus Facility, a release from the country’s finance ministry said on Thursday. Read more: Xinhua
Mopani Copper Mines has committed to pay K8 million out of the K58 million it owes the Kitwe City Council. On Wednesday afternoon, bailiffs pounced on Mopani Copper Mines in trying to recover debt owed to the local authority. Read more: Zambia Reports
Kansanshi Mine in Solwezi North Western Province has for the first time appointed a Zambian as the Mine’s General Manager.
Anthony Mukutuma takes over as the Kansanshi Mine General Manager from David De Vries. Read more: ZNBC
The Export Trading Group – ETG, one of Africa’s largest Agro conglomerates with operations in over 40 countries has disclosed that its actively engaged in the Zambian Cashew-nuts development project and will work to deliver high quality and export grade nuts in Zambia. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Government has launched the ‘Meet the farmers’ virtual summit’, an online conference designed to bring agricultural players on one virtual platform. The platform will link farmers and various input suppliers in Zambia and the region, while giving farmers an opportunity to gain information on current trends and technologies that are practised in the agriculture sector. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
International Business and Finance
South Africa recorded its first current account surplus in 17 years in the first quarter of 2020 as the trade balance more than doubled, central bank data showed on Thursday. The current account swung to a surplus of 1.3% of gross domestic product, or 69.7 billion rand ($4.12 billion), in January-March from a deficit of 1.3% of GDP or 68 billion rand in the previous three months. Read more: Reuters
African countries have lost almost $55 billion in travel and tourism revenues in three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the African Union (AU) commissioner for infrastructure and energy said on Thursday. Read more: Reuters
The US economy created jobs at a record pace in June as firms took on more staff after the coronavirus downturn. Payrolls surged 4.8 million, the most since the Labor Department began keeping records in 1939, helped by the reopening of factories and restaurants. Read more: BBC News
Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect global oil demand to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2022, citing a pick-up in commuting, a shift to private transportation and higher infrastructure spending. In a note, analysts at the bank estimated global oil demand would decline by 8% in 2020, rebound by 6% in 2021 and “fully recover” by 2022. Read more: CNBC
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In 7 trades recorded yesterday, 273 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K771. A share price gain of K0.10 was recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation and a share price gain of K0.03 was recorded in PUMA. Trading activity was also recorded in Zambia Breweries and Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 3,926.75 points, 1.04% up from its previous close of 3,885.97 points. 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: