Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Yellen says China should move faster on some debt restructurings, especially Zambia’s
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The UK economy narrowly avoided a recession last year
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CEC Africa Further Cautionary Announcement Update On Takeover Of AEDC Plc
Story of the Day
Social commerce is making inroads across Africa, propelled by stronger cross-border trade corridors that are helping to plug local supply chain gaps. Amid lingering hitches to the continent’s social commerce ecosystem — chief among them high costs of transportation and disjointed supply chains — a new and pivotal enabler is emerging: the “runner.” The runner bridges the gap between fractured social commercial spaces and real-world complications on the ground, a facilitator that brings together the various players in social commerce and across the cross-border supply chain to compare prices and facilitate the movement of supplies as well as payments. The question becomes whether they signify an intermediary step in what will eventually be full, inclusive digitization — or whether they merely improve the efficiency of old and financially excluded processes. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Thursday that she wants China to move more quickly to support specific debt restructuring for developing countries, especially for Zambia, while leaving broader restructuring questions to separate talks. Yellen told an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington that China has held up restructurings because Beijing has demanded that the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other institutions also participate in reducing debts for distressed countries. Read more: Reuters
President Hakainde Hichilema says Zambia needs help with technology to map the country’s mineral resources. President Hichilema says currently only 50-percent of Zambia’s mineral resources are mapped. He says mapping the country’s minerals will reduce risks among potential investors as they will know what is in the ground before committing their investments. The President was speaking when he met US Under Secretary for International Trade Marisa Lago at state house today. Read more: ZNBC
ZESCO has announced the end of load shedding in the country. ZESCO Managing Director Victor Mapani says the country will no longer experience load-shedding. Mr. Mapani says households and companies countrywide will now enjoy 24-hours of power supply without any disruptions. He says this has been necessitated by various measures which include restoration and upgrading of power generation at various power stations in the country. Read more: ZNBC
Government will carry out due diligence in selecting the investor to takeover operations at the Mopani Copper Mines. This is according to the Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane. Musokotwane said government would uphold accountability and transparency during the selection process. Musokotwane also noted that the Indaba had provided a vital platform for networking and investment opportunities. He pointed out that the number of companies willing to invest in Zambia was overwhelming. Read more: Zambia Monitor
ZANACO Plc has to identify ways of de-risking and addressing the issues affecting the supply chain during the Covid-19 pandemic era. Chief Executive Officer Mukwandi Chibesakunda said this during a panel discussion at the on-going Investing in African Mining Indaba to discuss supply chain disruption and the lessons learned from the pandemic times. She said the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on supply chains as noted by the shifts in importation periods. “As a bank, we were able to maintain a bird’s eye view of the pandemic impact on the community and our people. In terms of the supply chains it took us back literally to the day to day management of businesses,” Chibesakunda said. Read more: Zambia Monitor
In International Business News
The UK narrowly avoided falling into recession in 2022, new figures show, after the economy saw zero growth between October and December. The economy shrank between July and September. A recession is defined as when the economy contracts for two consecutive three-month periods. But in December alone the economy fell by 0.5% partly due to strikes across health, trains and the Royal Mail. The Bank of England still expects the UK to enter recession this year. But it will be shorter and less severe than previously thought. Read more: BBC News
The International Monetary Fund recently advised the Nigerian government on the steps to take, to mitigate what appears to be an impending economic crisis. The advice was given in a statement summarizing the IMF’s recently ended 2022 Article IV Consultation with Nigeria. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board began by suggesting that the Nigerian government enhance well-targeted social expenditure to mitigate the expected negative consequences of the elimination of gasoline subsidies. This advice is based on the fact that the Nigerian government has disclosed that fuel subsidies in the country would be removed sometime this year. The country is already dealing with a scarcity of fuel, which has inadvertently created a hike in fuel prices. Experts have warned of worse, predicting that if the subsidy should be removed, fuel prices could shoot as high as N1000/liter, as opposed to its current 206.190/liter. Read more: Business Insider
Yahoo said Thursday that it will cut 20% of its total workforce by the end of this year as it restructures its advertising unit, just the latest example of the layoffs spreading throughout the tech and media industries. A Yahoo spokesperson told CNN that the company’s legacy ad tech division, Yahoo for Business, will be overhauled and transformed into a new division called Yahoo Advertising. As part of that change, Yahoo plans to cut nearly 50% of the division this year, “including nearly 1,000 employees this week,” the spokesperson said. Read more: CNN
Global investors are reducing their holdings of Chinese government bonds, a steady source of secure returns during the pandemic years, as they prepare for some monetary tightening in China and eye juicier stock markets in the reopened economy. China’s bond market was the outlier in 2022 as global central banks raised rates hurriedly to fight inflation, while policymakers in Beijing faced a sharp, COVID-induced slowdown. But now, as the economy reopens swiftly, analysts expect the People’s Bank of China will eventually rein in stimulus. Read more: Reuters
Finally, Capital Markets News
Shareholders are referred to the cautionary announcement dated 15 December 2021 issued by the CEC Africa Investments Limited (“CECA” or the “Company”) informing the market of the developments in Nigeria in relation to the purported takeover of Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (“AEDC”) by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (“BPE”). Read more
In 60 trades recorded yesterday, 65,742 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K234,503.74. A share price loss of K0.02 and K0.18 was recorded in CEC Zambia and Zanaco respectively. Trading activity was also recorded in CHIL as well as CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,166.65, 0.93% points down from its previous at 7,233.82 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,126,823,285.86 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,344,137,845.86 excluding Shoprite Holdings
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