Story of the Day:
When Barclays Zambia became ABSA, many Zambians were wondering what in the world Melu Mizinga and her team were up to. What many consumers of the old Blue Brand Banking offering did not realise that ABSA was now taking them into a whole new era of banking. Read more
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Zambia’s government debt is yielding as much as 33% thanks to a widening budget deficit, and there’s one clear winner: local banks, which are reaping record profits. Read more: Bloomberg
The Bank of Zambia in Thursdays 13 February, treasury bill sale sold K1.54billion worth of treasury bills in deeply oversubscribed auction which exceeded its 40% borrowing limit. The central bank reserves the right to fill up to 40% above the debt sale size of K950million, which translates to a maximum borrowing limit of ZMW1.33billion. Read more: The Business Telegraph
The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Center for Innovative Governance and Research (CIGR) with a view to increase competitiveness and investor friendly practices benchmarked on charter city best practices and building capacity in areas under the scope of ZDA in Zambia. Read more: Zambian Business Times
First National Bank (FNB) Zambia has partnered with the North-Western Energy Corporation (NWEC) Limited to further enhance the construction, operation and distribution management of electricity in the non-mine areas of Lumwana, Kalumbila and Solwezi (Kabitaka) concession and surrounding areas. Read more: Zambian Business Times
The World Bank has called on government agencies involved in the procurement process to adhere to transparency and accountability in the implementation of funded projects. World Bank Zambia country representative Sahr Kpundeh said the bank’s shareholders require borrowers to comply with policies in the utilisation of resources. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Vice President Inonge Wina says the investment climate in the country is conducive for sectors such as energy, agriculture, tourism and mining. Mr Wina says she expects to see trade volume to increase given the conducive investment climate in the country. She was speaking when Turkish Minister of Family, Labour and Social Services Zehara Selcuk and her entourage called on her at her office. Read more: ZNBC
The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) recorded a $12.6billion projected investment and $80.7million worth of new export deals and works with over 22,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in 2019. ZDA Acting Director General Matongo Matamwandi says the recorded growth in projected investment of 160% in 2019 from $4.8billion in 2018 was facilitated in various sectors of the economy. Read more: ZNBC
KPMG Featured Article
Nobody thought we would have Sales Tax again; this was last tested in Zambia in the pre-economic liberalization era. Little detail has emerged about the proposed Sales Tax administration. Uncertainty in the implementation of Sales Tax and details of the administration have concerned taxpayers. Many taxpayers don’t understand why a consumption tax abolished in 1995 would be reintroduced. Is it better or worse than VAT? Read more
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President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa pledged to free more of the power supply of Africa’s most industrialised nation from the grip of Eskom, the failing state-owned electricity monopoly, as its intense rolling blackouts plague the economy. Towns and cities will be permitted to buy independent power and investors will be invited to bid for renewables projects. Read more: Financial Times
The US has expanded its lawsuit against Huawei, accusing the Chinese telecoms giant of a “decades-long” plan to steal technology from US firms. Read more: BBC News
The S&P 500, the broadest measure of America’s stock market, closed at another all-time high on Wednesday. The index has climbed more than 4.5% this year. The Dow is a whisker away from 30,000 points. But volatility, geopolitical risks and political uncertainty are keeping ultra-cautious investors out of stocks, according to market participants. Read more: CNN
Tesla plans to sell up to 3 million additional shares in an effort to take advantage of the massive rally in its stock price. The offering, disclosed in a filing early Thursday, would raise up to $2.3 billion for the company at Wednesday’s closing price. Read more: CNN
Sudan’s annual inflation rate hit 64.28% in January, from 57.01% in December, due to rising food and drink prices, the state statistics agency said on Thursday. Read more: Reuters
Tesla received a subpoena in December from the Securities and Exchange Commission asking the electric-car maker to turn over information about its financial data and contracts, the company said in a filing with the agency on Thursday. Read more: New York Times
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There were no trades recorded yesterday. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 4,254.82 points as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K56,514,664,618 including Shoprite Holdings and K22,275,458,638 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: