Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Zambia to waive visa requirement for Israel to boost trade
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Bank of England Raises Interest Rates
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Apple reports another dip in earnings
Story of the Day
The Zambian Chapter of CFA Society South Africa held its Charter Recognition event in Lusaka, Zambia on the 2nd of August 2023. The event, which also serves as an opportunity for charter holders to get insights into trending topics, this time around had an in-depth presentation organized by the CFA Society of South Africa (of which Zambia is affiliated with). The presentation was on ESG which has fast become a topical issue that is impacting everything from business governance to capital raising. Kyle Durham who is Head of Sustainability at FNB in South Africa was the lead presenter on the topic and he shared some interesting insights into where the world is heading as regards to the ESG agenda. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
President Hakainde Hichilema has announced a visa waiver for Israeli nationals entering Zambia. President Hichilema says the long process of acquiring a visa in itself is an impediment to development between the nations. The Head of State explained that the removal of visa requirements for Israeli nationals is aimed at facilitating easier business interactions which promote trade and investment. Meanwhile, President Hichilema has reiterated his call for more Israeli investment in Zambia especially in the area of agro processing. Mr Hichilema said the Agro processing sub-sector is key for job creation and value addition. He said his administration is keen on finding solutions to the high youth unemployment and the general wellbeing of the Zambian citizens hence calling for opportunities that help to enhance the country’s economic performance. Israel is keen to partner with Zambia in addressing issues of food security and climate change. Read more: Zambia Monitor
An Israeli based investor, Gigawatt Global, is set to pump in $100m in a hybrid solar photovoltaic -PV- and wind power project in Zambia. Gigawatt Global President and Chief Executive Officer, Josef Abramowitz, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with ZANIS on the sidelines of the Israeli – Zambia Business Forum 2023 held in Jerusalem yesterday. Mr. Abramowitz said the 1-hundred million dollar investment by his company is meant to develop a 71 Megawatts hybrid solar and wind power project in Chibombo district of Central Province. He said his company is a multinational renewable energy platform that develops, finances, builds and operates utility-scale PV solar projects in emerging markets. Read more: ZNBC
The Insurers Association of Zambia (IAZ) has released a report for the 2022 industry performance which has shown that sector’s growth in premiums and an increase in settled claims. The 2022 performance of the insurance sector is cause for optimism as it shows that the industry is meeting clients at their point of need, says IAZ Executive Director, Nkaka Mwashika. Mwashika in a statement issued on Thursday highlighted that the industry recorded gross written premiums of K6.033 billion in 2022 compared to K5.344 billion in 2021 representing a growth of 13 percent. He said the gross written premium for non-life insurance was K3.867 billion (compared to K3.514 billion in 2021) and life insurance was K2.166 billion (compared to K1.830 billion in 2021). Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Kwacha has continued depreciating and is now trading at about K19 to one United States dollar. The currency has opened the market today trading at K19.08 and K19.45 per US dollar after closing Wednesday’s trading session at K18.91 and K19.28 to the dollar. Despite the positive outlook resulting from the conclusion of the debt restructuring programme, the currency continues to face persistent inflationary pressures. According to financial market players, the depreciation of the local unit continues to be mainly driven by the demand for foreign exchange against limited supply. In the month of July, 2023, the Kwacha depreciated from K17.73 per US$ to K18.51 US$, representing 4.35%. Continuous weakening of the Kwacha, against major convertible currencies is causing serious challenges for small and medium businesses in the country. Read more: Money FM
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 19.2550 | 19.3034 |
GBP | 24.3788 | 24.4420 |
EUR | 21.0496 | 21.1044 |
ZAR | 1.0295 | 1.0322 |
In International Business News
Interest rates will not fall until there is “solid evidence” that rapid price rises are slowing, the boss of the Bank of England has told the BBC. Andrew Bailey said once both prices and pay are stable, then rates would drop. His comments came after the Bank raised interest rates to a 15-year high of 5.25% from 5% on Thursday – the 14th increase of rates in a row. The move will mean higher mortgage and loan payments for some, but should also mean higher savings rates. The Bank said for the first time that interest rates would stay higher for longer in an effort to battle soaring price rises. Mr Bailey said he would need more evidence that inflation was falling before cutting rates. Read more: BBC News
Apple said Thursday that its revenue slipped 1% to $81.8 billion for its quarter ending July 1, marking the third consecutive year-over-year drop in quarterly revenue for the world’s most valuable company. There were some bright spots, however. The company said its services revenue reached a new all-time high of $21.2 billion. The services business — which includes Apple Music and Apple TV+ — is an increasingly important revenue driver for Apple. Moreover, Apple’s results narrowly beat Wall Street’s estimates for revenue and profit. iPhone revenue came in at $39.7 billion for the quarter, marking an approximately 2% year-over-year decline. Mac revenue was $6.8 billion for the quarter, a 7% drop, and iPad revenue was down nearly 20%. (The new iPad Air launched in the same quarter last year.) Read more: CNN
Amazon’s sales boomed on strong demand in the second quarter for its wide range of products, from fast delivery for Prime deals to ads, fueling a massive jump in profit from a year ago. Sales grew 11% to $134.4 billion. That’s an increase from $121.2 billion in the second quarter of 2022. The number exceeded analyst predictions of $131.4 billion revenue. The stock surged nearly 10% in after-hours trading. Amazon’s stock has risen 52% year to date, one of a handful of tech stocks that has helped power the market higher this year. The company’s profit jumped sharply compared to this quarter last year. Its net income was $6.7 billion in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of $2 billion in second quarter of 2022. It soared past Refinitiv analyst predictions of $3.592 billion in earnings. Read more: CNN
Airbnb forecast third-quarter revenue above market estimates on Thursday, but industry fears of softening U.S. domestic demand sent the vacation rental firm’s shares down 1.2% in after-hours trading. The San Francisco-based company forecast quarterly revenue between $3.3 billion and $3.4 billion, ahead of analysts’ average estimate of $3.22 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Read more: Yahoo Finance
In 26 trades recorded yesterday 8,638 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K32,861.02. A price gain of K0.01 was recorded in CEC Zambia.Trading activity was also recorded in Chilanga Cement, Zambeef, ZANACO and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 8,365.80 points, 0.04% higher than its previous close at 8,362.07 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K77,346,471,095.47 including Shoprite Holdings and K42,563,785,655.47 excluding Shoprite Holdings.