Story of the Day:
The Economics Association of Zambia (EAZ) is this year hosting the 2nd National Economic Summit under the theme ‘Sustainable Development Goals: 10 years to 2030. Where Are We As Africa?.’ The Summit will be held in the tourist capital, Livingstone from Thursday 30th July to Friday 31st July of 2020 at Avani Victoria Falls Resort. The Summit will be officiated by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zambia, Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu. Read more
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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has awarded Zambia a grant of US$1.5 million for technical assistance in the implementation of the Zambia Renewable Energy Financing Framework. Read more: News Diggers
Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) has called on the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) to urgently look for ways of strengthening the Kwacha to mitigate effects on the consumers. Last week, the Kwacha breached the K15 barrier against the United States dollar for the second time in less than four months. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Government has called on various economic sector players to take keen interest in formulating home-grown solutions to local problems that are adversely affecting fiscal growth. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
The Board of Directors of Airtel Networks Zambia Plc has advised the Shareholders of the Company that the Earnings per Share for the year ended 31 December 2019 is expected to be approximately 75% lower than the year ended 31 December 2018. The drop in the EPS is primarily attributed to currency depreciation across the financial year which have had a significant impact on the Company’s income statement. Read more: LuSE
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As a result of the fluctuations in the Zambian economy and the volatility of the financial performance of industries caused by aggregate shocks from macroeconomic policies, there have been many businesses in distress. High-interest rates and the weakening of the kwacha have made it difficult for Zambian businesses to stay above water as opposed to multinational companies that are able to rely on their parent companies for survival. Read more
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Global airlines stand to lose $113 billion in sales if the coronavirus continues to spread, according to the International Air Transport Association. The losses would be similar to those experienced by the aviation industry during the global financial crisis of 2008, IATA warned as it dramatically increased its estimate of the damage caused by the outbreak. It said airlines could lose 19% of their business if the virus isn’t contained soon. Just two weeks ago, IATA had been expecting lost sales in the range of $30 billion. Read more: CNN
OPEC has agreed to impose a deeper round of production cuts in order to support oil prices, paving the way for crunch talks with non-OPEC leader Russia, who still has to agree to the plan. The 14-member group, led by Saudi Arabia, decided on Thursday to cut production by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) through the second quarter of the year. Read more: CNBC
Nigeria’s Senate approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to borrow $22.7 billion from external creditors to finance infrastructure projects. Lawmakers gave their endorsement to the government during Thursday’s proceedings in the capital, Abuja, to seek the funding expected from the Islamic Development Bank, the African Development Bank, the World Bank and creditors in China, Japan and Germany. Read more: Bloomberg
Tanzania’s economic growth in 2019 is estimated at close to 6%, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, driven by “buoyant” activity in the construction and mining sectors. “The pace of economic activity appears to have increased in recent months prompted by higher public investment, a rebound in exports, and an increase in credit to the private sector,” the IMF said in a statement. Read more: Reuters
President Donald Trump said on Thursday the U.S. economy might take a hit from the coronavirus outbreak but predicted the challenge would eventually pass and defended his handling of the crisis. Read more: Reuters
Apple Inc. could see a hit of nearly $5 billion due to COVID-19’s spread in China, but signs point to supply issues easing next month, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank. Read more: Market Watch
Britain’s long-term economic growth prospects are expected to be downgraded in next week’s Budget because of the impact of Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit crackdown on EU immigration. The forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the independent fiscal watchdog, is set to be revised downwards, meaning that Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, will have less money to spend on public services than if the prime minister had approved a more liberal migration regime. Read more: Financial Times
If the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread and hammer global growth, US equities could fall into a bear market according to MSCI. An analysis released Thursday from MSCI shows that US equities could fall another 11% from March 3 in the short-term if coronavirus continues to halt global growth. Read more: Business Insider
Capital Markets Report
In 8 trades recorded yesterday, 2,958,580 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K3,254,344. A share price gain of K0.20 was recorded in Zambeef. Trading activity was also recorded in Lafarge and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 4,264.29 points, 0.32% up from its previous close of 4,250.48 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,379,890,102 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,140,684,122 excluding Shoprite Holdings
Chart of the Day: