Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Zambian inflation accelerated to a two-month high in February as non-food price growth quickened
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The US economy grew less in fourth quarter than previously believed
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US President Joe Biden has named Indian-American businessman Ajay Banga as the US pick to lead the World Bank.
Story of the Day
Zambia’s Securities and Exchange Commission has officially launched the Cabinet approved Capital Markets Master Plan that is poised to grow the country’s financial sector over the next 10 years. As part of extensive financial sector reforms aimed at enhancing the role of the financial sector towards bolstering the economy, the Philip Chitalu led commission has, with the help of the Zambian Government and various key sector stakeholders, delivered a 10-year plan which it believes is a comprehensive strategy for development. According to the SEC Boss who spoke at the official launch that was held at Mulungushi Conference Center in Lusaka which, Zambia on 23 February 2023, the broad objectives of the plan include; the transformation of Zambia into a choice market for domestic issuers and investors, enabling the market to play a greater role in acting as a source of funds to the real sector of the economy, and enable a deeper development of liquid capital markets based on the strengthening of financial market infrastructure. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
Zambian inflation accelerated to a two-month high in February as non-food price growth quickened, suggesting that underlying price pressures are mounting. Zambia’s annual inflation rate rose to 9.6%, up from 9.4% in January, driven by rising fuel and charcoal prices and a weaker currency, Statistician-General Mulenga Musepa told reporters Thursday in Lusaka, the capital. A quarter point rate hike last week and an increase in commercial lenders’ reserve ratios to 11.5% from 9% from Feb. 13 has done little to halt a slide in the kwacha, which has declined 1.7% since the implementation, fanning price pressures and led the Bank of Zambia’s monetary policy committee to alter its inflation forecasts. Read more: Bloomberg
Zambia plans to increase its power generation capacity from the current 3,000 MW to 10,000 MW in the next 10 years, Minister of Energy Peter Kapala said Thursday. The government is keen to attract more investments in power generation. Investments in solar power will play a major role in improving the generation capacity, he told reporters during a press briefing. He said the country is also looking at thermal power to complement hydropower which was usually affected by changing weather patterns. Read more: China.org
Government says it has reduced its borrowing from the domestic market from K24 billion in 2022 to K16 billion in 2023 and hopes to reduce even further. In a speech read on his behalf by Finance Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane during the launch of the Capital Markets Master Plan, Thursday, President Hakainde Hichilema observed that borrowing too much from the domestic market stifled the required capital for private sector growth. “Allow me to highlight the focus development areas of the master plan. The plan aims at enhancing the government bond market by implementing measures aimed at improving market operations.” Read more: News Diggers
Government has urged Finnish firms to tap into Zambia’s circular economy concept by taking advantage of the huge waste around the country. Tapping into this area will help transform Zambia to a sustainable economy, says Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister, Elias Mubanga. Mubanga said government had been championing the use of clean energy to prevent damage to the environment. He said at the fifth annual business week in Lusaka on Thursday that Finland had an advanced circular economy, a concept fairly new in Zambia but a number of companies are championing the cause. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Board has appointed Albert Halwampa as the new Director General. Mr. Halwampa joined ZDA in 2015 and at the time of his appointment, he was acting as Director General. ZDA Board Chairman Biemba Maliti says Mr. Halwampa will bring the much desired change and contribution to the increase in trade and investments in Zambia. Professor Maliti says the board appointed Mr. Halwampa because he has a lot of knowledge and strategic experience in promoting trade, investment and policy development in regional and international markets. He added the new ZDA Director General led teams to the successful inaugural Business Forums that included the EU-Zambia Economic Forum, the China Zambia Trade and Investment Forum and the US -Zambia Business Forum. Read more: ZDA
In International Business News
The US economy grew at a 2.7% annual rate in the final three months of the year, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That’s less than the previous estimate of 2.9% growth in the quarter. The slower increase in gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic activity, could be a sign that the Federal Reserve’s series of steep interest rate hikes are having more of an impact than previously thought. Other recent economic readings, including the very strong January jobs report and a strong rebound in retail sales, suggest the Fed could do more to try to beat back inflation through higher interest rates meant to slow the economy. The Fed’s most recent rate hike earlier this month was only a quarter of a percentage point, the smallest increase in its benchmark rate in nearly a year. Read more: CNN
Google should face court sanctions over “intentional and repeated destruction” of company chat logs that the US government expected to use in its antitrust case targeting Google’s search business, the Justice Department said Thursday. Despite Google’s promises to preserve internal communications relevant to the suit, for years the company maintained a policy of deleting certain employee chats automatically after 24 hours, DOJ said in a filing in District of Columbia federal court. The practice has harmed the US government’s case against the tech giant, DOJ alleged. Read more: CNN
A 30% upfront cut of debt-stressed countries’ borrowings could save them $148 billion over eight years, the U.N. Development Programme said on Wednesday, proposing a move to address global debt problems stirring growing international concern. A ‘haircut’ of 30%, or $191 billion, on the 2021 external debt of the 52 most “debt vulnerable” nations could reduce their combined debt service bill by $66.4 billion to private creditors, $44.2 billion to multilateral lenders and $38.9 billion to bilaterals by 2029, the UNDP said in a report. Improving the loan restructuring process for countries struggling with their debts is expected to be prominent on the agenda of the G20 finance minister and central bank meetings taking place in India in the coming days. Read more: Lusaka Times
US President Joe Biden has named Indian-American businessman Ajay Banga as the US pick to lead the World Bank. The move comes as the US increases pressure on the bank to put more emphasis on tackling climate change. Mr Banga led credit card giant Mastercard for more than a decade and now works in private equity. US officials said he had the experience to help the bank work with the private sector towards its goals. It is up to the bank’s board to officially appoint its next head. Read more: BBC News
The continent’s burgeoning digital economy is rife with opportunities for growth, but also presents challenges that must be addressed to ensure that the benefits of technology are fully realised. One of the most significant challenges facing Africa is the lack of digital security infrastructure. While many African countries focus on building reliable electricity and internet networks to grow their startup ecosystems, cybersecurity is often not given the priority it deserves. Approximately 90% of African businesses are operating without cybersecurity protocols in place, making them vulnerable to cyber threats, such as hacking, phishing, and malware attacks. The economic consequences of digital insecurity are already substantial. It is estimated that it costs South Africa $570m a year, Nigeria $500m and Kenya $36m. Read more: African Business
South Africa unveiled Wednesday new tax incentives to encourage investment in the production of clean power to help the country battle an energy crisis that has sparked worsening blackouts. Starting March 1, “businesses will be able to reduce their taxable income by 125 percent of the cost of an investment in renewables,” Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said as he presented his annual budget to parliament. “We will also introduce a new tax incentive for individuals to install rooftop solar panels to reduce pressure on the grid and help ease” the scheduled blackouts, also known as load-shedding, he said. Read more: Africa News
Finally, Capital Markets News
In 155 trades recorded yesterday, 62,003 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K126,752.62. A share price gain of K0.10 was recorded in Airtel. A share price loss of K0.15 was recorded in Zanaco and a share price loss of K0.02 was recorded in CEC Africa on the quoted tier. Trading activity was also recorded in AECI, CEC Zambia, Investrust, National Breweries, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,213.95 points, down by 0.65% from it’s previous close at 7,261.31 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,332,688,550.14 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,550,003,110.14 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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