Good morning. Here’s what you need to know
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Cabinet approves 2024 revised budget, set for presentation to parliament
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Apple is now the most valuable US public company
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China needs bond market reforms to rein in soaring debt, S&P Global says
In Local Business and Finance News
The Cabinet has approved the 2024 revised National Budget, designed to protect vulnerable households from the effects of the ongoing drought in the country. Information and Media Minister, Cornelius Mweetwa, stated that the revised budget aimed to build resilience and sustainability through early recovery interventions, aligned with the recent declaration of a State of Disaster and Emergency. The Cabinet meeting, chaired by President Hakainde Hichilema, took place on Monday. Mweetwa, in a statement issued on Wednesday, highlighted that the revised budget considered debt restructuring agreements with all creditors and the prevailing macroeconomic conditions. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Special Audit Report on the Road Development Agency (RDA) for the financial year ending December 31, 2017, to 2022 has revealed severe mismanagement of road contracts and significant financial irregularities. Among the key findings is the accrual of K1.3 billion in interest charges due to the agency’s failure to settle contractors’ and consultants’ bills during the period under review. Acting Auditor-General, Dr Ron Mwambwa, issued the report in Lusaka on Thursday evening, produced in accordance with the provisions of Article 250 of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016. Mwambwa explained that the report, covering a five-year span, provided a comprehensive picture of the road projects, noting the extended nature of such projects. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Mines and Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe says government has agreed to resolve all negotiations with Vedanta by June 30 to facilitate for the full operation of KCM. And Kabuswe says the return of former president Edgar Lungu to active politics has caused the country to be in disarray. Speaking when he featured on Prime TV’s “The Big Debate” on Tuesday, Kabuswe said government and Vedanta had given each other up to June 30 to conclude negotiations so that KCM could begin producing. Read more: News Diggers
In International News
The United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFFs) has opened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, focusing on mobilizing and utilizing financial resources to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Africa. The two-day meeting aims to strengthen public finance systems with experts and stakeholders from across Africa. In her opening remarks on Thursday, Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of the Macroeconomics and Governance Division at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), called for immediate action. Schwidrowski noted that INFFs, first introduced in the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda, are designed to enhance public and private financing for sustainable development. “They align financing policies with national development plans, fostering collaboration between public and private sectors,” she stated. She highlighted that Africa was leading this initiative, with over 40 governments adopting the approach. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Standard Bank Group Ltd. announced it will proceed with funding TotalEnergies SE’s planned 1,443-kilometer East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline project following a comprehensive, multi-year review. The $5 billion pipeline, extending from Uganda’s oil discoveries to an export terminal on Tanzania’s coast, has faced huge opposition from environmental groups scrutinizing potential lenders, Bloomberg reported. In 2021, Standard Bank, Africa’s largest lender, engaged an independent adviser to guide its decision on the project’s involvement. “We have done our governance processes internally,” Standard Bank Chairman Nonkululeko Nyembezi said in an interview in Rio de Janeiro. That includes a credit review and “the environmental and social due diligence, which took quite a long time,” she added. Read more: Business Insider
Apple edged past Microsoft on Thursday to become the most valuable public company in the United States, as announcements made at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference including generative AI features for iPhones sent the stock climbing. Apple’s market cap closed at roughly $3.29 trillion on Thursday, above Microsoft’s $3.28 trillion. Apple shares rose 0.6% on Thursday and have popped 8.8% so far this week. Microsoft shares rose 0.1% on Thursday. The iPhone maker’s comeback comes just a week after Nvidia on June 5 surpassed it to become the second-largest public US company. Nvidia now ranks third, behind Microsoft. Read more: CNN
China needs bond market reforms as soaring debt poses significant longer-term risk to the country, according to S&P Global. Despite the government’s efforts, debt levels remain very high even as nominal GDP growth has slowed, the rating agency said in a report on Thursday. “Policymakers understand the need to simultaneously control leverage and sustain economic growth” to manage systemic risks over the long-term, the analysts noted. As a result, have tightened local government financing in recent years. But market reforms appear to have “taken a back seat,” with authorities focused on addressing pressing issues such as the real estate crisis, stimulating economic growth, as well as keeping local government debt under control, S&P said. Pushing ahead with bond market reforms may be necessary to “concurrently” tackle those challenges, as it could lower debt levels over the long term, the report said. Read more: CNBC
Finally, Capital Markets News
In 141 trades recorded yesterday, 185,418 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K591,518.39. The following price changes were recorded yesterday: K.03 gain in British American Tobacco Zambia, K0.11 gain in CEC Zambia, K0.03 loss in Zambeef and K0.28 loss in ZAFFICO. Trading activity was also recorded in Chilanga Cement, Real Estate Investments Zambia, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambia Breweries, ZANACO, and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 13,178.48 points, 0.11% higher than its previous close of 13,164.19 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K101,659,844,029.46 including Shoprite Holdings and K66,877,158,589.46 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
5 Govt Bond trades with a total face value of K19,802,000 and turnover K11,963,000 were processed yesterday.