Story of the Day:
According to information published by the Irish Embassy of Lusaka 61,300 cases of Irish Whiskey were sold in the Zambian market in 2019 (the most recent numbers available). This means Zambia consumes on average 735,000 bottles of Irish Whiskey (well Jameson) per year and represents 10% of the total consumption of Irish Whiskey in Africa (8,592,000), Our consumption has increased from an estimated 1,500 annually in 2010. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Telecom
The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it would continue talks with Zambia over a programme though a number of challenges remained. However, the IMF said there was still work needed towards implementing fiscal reforms to correct large fiscal imbalances, ramping up revenues and improving governance. Read more: Reuters
The kwacha is expected to trade at around K22.50 per dollar by the end of the half-year period, mainly in response to continued strong demand for foreign currency, compounded by weak supply. Read more: News Diggers
Galileo Resources said it had entered a conditional agreement with Siege Mining to sell its stake in the Star zinc project in Zambia for US$750,000. Read more: Mining Weekly
A Chinese firm has commenced the construction of two factories for the production of ceramic tiles and baby diapers in Zambia. Sunda Group is constructing the two factories at the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Zone, with $110 million to be invested. Read more: Xinhua
International Business and Finance Sponsored By Royal Zambian Airlines
China is aiming for an economic growth rate above 6% in 2021, after scrapping its target last year. China’s Premier Li Keqiang announced the target today at the opening of this year’s National People’s Congress. Read more: BBC News
The United States has agreed to suspend tariffs on UK products including Scotch whisky and cashmere as both sides work to resolve a long-running dispute over Boeing and Airbus subsidies. Read more: CNN
Opec and Russia decided against unleashing a flood of crude on to the market after Saudi Arabia urged fellow oil producers to “keep our powder dry” in the face of persistent uncertainty linked to the pandemic. The careful approach to April production sent oil prices up more than 5 per cent. Read more: Financial Times
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that he expects some inflationary pressures in the time ahead but they likely won’t be enough to spur the central bank to hike interest rates. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report Sponsored By ZCCM-IH
In 120 trades recorded yesterday, 213,024 shares were transacted resulting in a market turnover of K216,641. Share price gains were recorded in Lafarge of K0.07 and in Real Estate Investments Zambia of K0.10. Share price losses were recorded in Zanaco of K0.02 and in ZAFFICO of K0.18. Trading activity was also recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation and Standard Chartered Zambia. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 3,965.29 points, 0.47% down from its previous close of 3,983.90 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,584,578,297 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,350,807,112 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day:
