Story of the Day:
Just when it seemed like the provisional liquidator and his team were about to hit a concrete wall in their bid to have KCM be split into two subsidiary companies under two separate management, the high court of Zambia has come through for them. Read more
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Zambia isn’t looking to take over more mining companies, nor is the government planning to nationalize the industry, according to Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu. Read more: MSN
Upgrades to Kariba Dam, the main source of electricity for Zambia and Zimbabwe, have been set back by at least two years because of technical challenges and supply disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Zambezi River Authority said. Read more: Bloomberg
PUMA oil Zambian unit risks having its operating license revoked after the company was accused of deliberately failing to stock enough fuel at most of its retail service stations, leading to creating of what has been described as an artificial shortage. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Securities and Exchange Commission SEC has granted Capital Markets Association of Zambia (CMAZ) a self-regulatory organisation recognition aimed at growing and shaping the market. SEC Vice Chairperson George Nonde urged CMAZ to ensure that the capital markets are repositioned to play their rightful role in Zambia’s sustainable developmental agenda. Read more: ZNBC
International Business and Finance
The UK’s rapid Covid-19 vaccination programme will help the economy bounce back strongly this year, according to the Bank of England. The economy is expected to shrink 4.2% in the first three months of 2021, amid tighter lockdown restrictions to slow the spread of the virus. Read more: BBC News
Ford reported surprisingly good financial results at the end of a tough year, and said it was increasing its commitment to vehicles of the future with a big bet on electric and autonomous driving vehicles. For the full year, income excluding items was $1.6 billion, down two-thirds from what it reported on that basis in 2019. Revenue for the year fell 18% to $127 billion, as the number of vehicles it sold dropped 22%. Read more: CNN
PayPal said it reported its strongest quarterly growth in total payment volume in its fourth-quarter earnings with $277 billion, a 36% increase from Q4 2019. PayPal CFO John Rainey made the comment in a Wednesday earnings call after the company posted its Q4 results, with revenue of $6.12 billion and earnings-per-share of $1.32. Read more: Business Insider
The stock market has 20% upside potential from current levels, according to a Thursday note from JPMorgan. Analysts at the bank said the bull market in stocks is not yet exhausted and that investors should remain overweight stocks. Read more: Business Insider
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In 6 trades recorded yesterday, 3,400 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K5,358. Trading activity was recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,904.59 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,319,772,494 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,086,001,308 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: