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HH Holds Talks With Polish President Duda
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European Central Bank hikes interest rates to highest level in 22 years
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CEC Plans to Expand Investments
Story of the Day
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. recently rebuffed an informal takeover approach from Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s second-largest producer of the precious metal, as miners scour the globe for deals, people with knowledge of the matter said. Barrick made overtures to First Quantum in the last few months as part of its search for ways to expand in copper, the people said. First Quantum indicated it wasn’t keen on a combination and declined to enter any substantive talks, according to the people. Read more
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President Hakainda Hichilema held bilateral talks with Polish President Andrzej Duda. President Hichilema says the two leaders discussed matters around collaborating in various areas including education and technology. He says the talks are part of government’s commitment of fostering an inclusive, growing economy for the mutual benefit of citizens of both countries. President Hichilema says he also thanked President Duda and the Polish people for the help rendered to Zambian students at the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He says Zambia and Poland enjoy cordial relations, which he is committed to strengthen and deepen. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia said a plan to build a 2,400-megawatt power plant on the Zambezi River is over-priced and it will exit a construction contract awarded to General Electric Co. and Power Construction Corp. of China in 2019. Proper procurement methods weren’t followed when the deal was struck, Peter Kapala, Zambia’s energy minister, said in comments broadcast late Tuesday on the state-owned Zambia National Broadcasting Corp. The Zambezi River Authority, a state agency overseeing the construction of the dam, estimated last year that the project would cost $5 billion. “We are disengaging from that contract and we hope to re-advertise it and revisit everything that was agreed to before,” said Kapala. “Mainly, it was because of the cost, it was just too much.” GE had no immediate comment. PowerChina didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment sent by email outside normal business hours. Work on the 2,400-megawatt Batoka Gorge project was initially scheduled to begin in 2020, but it encountered several delays, including the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and difficulties in securing funding. Read more: Yahoo
Technology and Science Minister, Felix Mutati, has said that Zambia and Angola would collaborate on satellite earth observation services to drive development. The countries recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focusing on collaboration in Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), digital transformation, cross-border optic fiber connectivity, and satellite technology during the ANGOTIC Angola ICT Forum. Mutati said the two countries were now harnessing the power of satellite earth observation technology to revolutionize priority sectors such as Agriculture, Mining and Infrastructure Development after signing a MOU recently. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Liquid Intelligent Technologies Chief Executive Officer Mark Townsend says the entrance of Starlink in Zambia will ensure healthy competition on the market and ultimately lead to improved services for consumers. And Zambia Consumer Association Executive Secretary Juba Sakala hopes that Starlink will offer competitive pricing for its services and also stand the test of time. Government recently issued billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink company with a network licence to provide internet data services in Zambia. In response to a press query, Townsend welcomed the development, saying Liquid Intelligent Technologies firmly believes that healthy competition invigorates the market. Read more: News Diggers
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 19.1640 | 19.2127 |
GBP | 24.2922 | 24.3617 |
EUR | 20.8389 | 20.8996 |
ZAR | 1.0434 | 1.0469 |
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The European Central Bank raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Thursday and signaled another hike to come next month, unmoved by evidence of a mild recession in the 20 countries that use the euro. The ECB has now hiked rates at eight consecutive meetings since July in a fight against inflation. The latest move takes the benchmark rate in the euro area to 3.5%, the highest since May 2001. The central bank diverged from the US Federal Reserve, which opted to pause its historic rate-hiking campaign Wednesday after 10 successive increases. ECB President Christine Lagarde said another rate hike in July was “very likely.” Read more: CNN
The hefty debt burden of Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways has caused concern among potential investors for the projected equity interest sale, making it the largest challenge for the airline in its quest to lure in purchasers. KQ managers who have made multiple scouting trips to evaluate the appeal of the company’s stock offer in the US, China, and the Middle East informed Parliament that they had some leads but no firm commitments as of yet. “All the potential investors we spoke to agreed that the fundamentals of the company are very strong. Their concern was on the debt level and that’s why a good strategy would be reducing the company’s debt to get extra funding into the company,” KQ CEO Allan Kilavuka said. Read more: Business Insider
Ghana, the jewel of West Africa, has once again ascended to the pinnacle of Africa’s gold industry, reclaiming its coveted position as the continent’s top gold producer. After a temporary setback in 2021 due to a sharp decline in output, the nation has staged an extraordinary comeback, surpassing South Africa with its remarkable surge in gold production. Read more: Business Insider
Toyota Motor’s stock is having its best week since 2009 following the company disclosing plans for its next-generation electric vehicles and shareholders voting in favor of its new leadership, including former CEO Akio Toyoda as chairman. Shares of Toyota on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday achieved a new 52-week high of more than $168 per share, up 2% during intraday trading and roughly 13% this week. If shares can retain their current momentum, it would be the stock’s best week since April 2009 when they increased 14.5%. It would also mark only the third double-digit weekly gain in more than two decades. The notable increase in the relatively mundane stock follows additional details about the company’s EV strategy, which has previously been criticized by some for not being aggressive enough. Read more: CNBC
France’s top politicians told CNBC they see the beginnings of global regulation on artificial intelligence coming by the end of this year, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying the country wants to work with the U.S. on rules around the fast-growing technology. The comments come as interest in AI, sparked by the rapid growth of chatbot ChatGPT, continues to rise and governments around the world debate how the technology should be regulated. But there is no global consensus on how AI should be managed and controlled with the U.S., China and European Union taking different approaches to rules around the tech. Any global regulatory framework would be a huge feat. France has looked to position itself as the European hub for AI development even as the European Union, of which France is a member, pushes forward with first-of-its kind regulation. Read more: CNBC
The Copperbelt Energy Corporation -CEC plans to expand investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo by seeking more energy-related business prospects. CEC Managing Director Owen Silavwe says the DRC is a key market and it fits into the power company’s development plan. This is according to a statement issued by CEC Head of Corporate Communications Verona Nkolola. Speaking in Lubumbashi at the ongoing DRC Mining Week, Expo and Conference which is being held under the theme ‘Recognising DRC’s Mining’s Triumphs and Victories’ Mr. Silavwe said CEC is a key stakeholder and one of the largest power traders in the Southern African region. He says the company is looking to cement its presence in the DRC, having entered the market in 2011. Read more
In 55 trades recorded yesterday, 953,566 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K2,409,643,43. A share price gain of K0.03 was recorded in BATA. Trading activity was also recorded in Airtel, Chilanga Cement, PUMA, Real Estate Investments Zambia, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 8,235.00, 0.01% higher than its previous close of 8,234.48 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,777,153,106.90 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,994,467,666.90 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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