Story of the Day:
When the ZCCM IH board meets with investors later this month, they will be unveiling a new Director on their board. “ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (the “Board”) wishes to announce the appointment of Mr Michael Chibonga as a Director on the Board of Directors of the company with effect from 7 June 2021.” Read more
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Zambian inflation accelerated to a near 19-year high in June as the cost of meat, fish and chicken pushed up food prices. Consumer prices rose 24.6% from a year earlier, compared with 23.2% in May, according to Zambia’s interim statistician-general, Mulenga Musepa. Costs increased 1.3% in the month. Annual food inflation quickened to a record of 31.2% in June from 28.5% a month earlier. Read more: Bloomberg
Zambia’s implementation of homegrown technology to reduce its dependence on expensive, imported systems has saved the state tax authority millions of dollars and accelerated local capacity building, an official said Thursday. Read more: Bloomberg Tax
Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba has called on Zambians to uphold First President Kenneth Kaunda’s aspiration of citizens to take charge of the management of the national economy. Mr. Yamba says Dr Kaunda’s Zambianisation programme was premised on the belief that Zambians have the capacity of managing their economy. Read more: ZNBC
Ministry of Mines Permanent Secretary, Barnaby Mulenga says government may consider giving out its 30 per cent shares in the black mountain to the youths in Kitwe following the High Court Judgement that allowed it to pull out of its partnership with Nkana Alloy and Smelting Company Limited. Read more: Lusaka Times
International Business and Finance
Venture capital funding for African tech startups this year will be between $2.25 and $2.8 billion, according to AfricArena. The report also forecast that 2022 will mark a very sharp acceleration, with the African tech sector racking between $3.8 and $4.7 billion. Read more: Business Insider
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has indicated that they are considering setting up vaccine production hubs in four African countries. The four countries are South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda and Nigeria. Read more: Business Insider
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, said he plans to diversify his group’s investments in Cameroon, starting with energy. “We have plans to expand our investment to other sectors beginning with oil and gas,” Dangote told reporters Wednesday after meeting Cameroonian President Paul Biya in the capital, Yaounde. He didn’t provide further details. Read more: CGTN
Stocks rallied Thursday after President Joe Biden announced a bipartisan agreement on an infrastructure deal. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit new record highs and the Dow climbed more than 320 points. Read more: CNN
The UK boss of banking giant Citigroup has said its “business works best from being together” as the firm plans for staff to work from the office for three days a week. James Bardrick said workers needed to be together “to get the best out of yourself and for the team”. His comments come as other firms such as Goldman Sachs plan to get all staff back in the office after 19 July. Read more: BBC News
The chairman of scandal-hit Japanese conglomerate Toshiba has been voted out after a shareholder revolt. Osamu Nagayama’s ousting comes after the company was found to have colluded with the government to suppress the interests of foreign investors. Read more: BBC News
Capital Markets Report Sponsored By ZCCM-IH
In 48 trades recorded yesterday 196,128 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K384,026. A share price gain was recorded in Lafarge of K1.09. Trading activity was also recorded in AEL Zambia, Airtel, BATA, British American Tobacco Zambia, Copperbelt Energy Corporation, National Breweries, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zambia Breweries, Zambeef, Zanaco and ZAFFICO. The LuSE All Share index (LASI) closed at 4,451.44 points, 1.12% up from its previous close of 4,401.47 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K59,630,262,712 including Shoprite Holdings and K25,385,621,938 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: