Story of the Day
Absa Africa Financial Markets Index shows improving market infrastructure in majority of countries in the region. African countries have responded positively to the need to develop domestic financial markets to protect economies from external shocks, OMFIF’s 2022 Absa Africa Financial Markets Index reveals. Even as challenging market conditions weighed on performance in the index, 19 of the 26 countries improved their scores relative to last year. This was largely due to broad-based progress in developing sustainable financial markets, which is becoming increasingly important to global investors. While Namibia, Uganda, and Kenya are among the countries with the greatest increase in scores, Zambia’s overall score improved from 52 in 2021 to 54 in 2022 driven by the significant decrease in inflation and improved growth outlook. Notably, the Lusaka Securities Exchange unveiled the LuSE Gem Portal, which is a digital platform designed to provide financing to Zambian small-and-medium- sized enterprises. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Intelligent Technologies
Zambia requires over US$14 billion worth of investment in its energy sector to meet the growing demand of electricity services. The US$14 billion is being spent on investment into the energy sector between 2020 and 2040. The demand has been projected to increase by 95% and will be mainly driven by domestic and bulk supply. Energy Regulation Board (ERB) Director for Economic Regulation, Alfred Mwila, said this during the dissemination of the findings of the electricity Cost Service Study (CoSS) and government green paper in Lusaka today. Read more: Lusaka Times
President Hakainde Hichilema has called for concerted efforts in addressing the challenges in the agriculture sector for it to perform to its full potential. President Hichilema said government and the private sector should place a premium on the issue of low productivity in the agriculture sector for economic transformation. He bemoaned the staggering numbers in the production of crops as the country continues to record the same tonnes, which he said is of great concern. The Head of State was speaking at the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) 116th annual congress under the theme ‘stimulating a resilient agriculture sector.’ Read more: Lusaka Times
The Zambia Airports Corporation Limited (ZACL) says air passenger traffic has recovered after the negative impact of the Covid 19 pandemic. Communications and Brand Manager Mweembe Sikaulu says the passenger statistics in the third quarter of 2022 represent a combined recovery of 97 percent compared to recovery levels of 38 percent in 2021. Ms Sikaulu notes that the Corporation had over 500,000 passengers compared to over 200,000 passengers in the same period in 2021. Read more: ZNBC
Energy Minister, Peter Kapala says government is consulting the African Development Bank (ADB) to fund the Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Scheme. This is a proposed power project between Zambia and Zimbabwe, downstream of the Victoria Falls. Mr. Kapala says now that concerns brought out by UNESCO have been addressed, government is looking at actualising the construction of the proposed power plant within the shortest period possible. He also told journalists in Livingstone that government is looking at maximising on surplus electricity the country generates to export to other countries. Read more: ZNBC
International Business and Finance
The US economy has held up better than expected, as shoppers keep spending despite rising prices and higher borrowing costs. The economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.6% in the three months ending in September, returning to growth after two quarters of decline. The better-than-expected figure is one of the last major economic readings before US midterm elections next month. Many analysts say the US is still on track for a slowdown next year. In the most recent quarter, a surge in exports helped drive the growth, the commerce department said. Read more: BBC News
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has completed his $44bn takeover of Twitter, according to US media and an investor in the firm. He tweeted “the bird is freed”, in an apparent reference to the deal closing. A number of top executives, including the boss, Parag Agrawal, have reportedly been fired. It brings to a close a saga that saw Twitter go to court to hold the multi-billionaire to the terms of a takeover deal that he had tried to escape. Twitter has not yet confirmed the takeover, but an early investor in the company told the BBC that the deal had been completed. Read more: BBC News
The tech giant posted sales of just over $90 billion during its fiscal fourth quarter, up 8% from the same period in the prior year. Profits reached $20.7 billion, a gain of just under 1% from the year-ago quarter. Read more: CNN
The European Central Bank hiked interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point on Thursday, promising further hikes to come and forecasting an extended economic slowdown. The move will take the benchmark rate for the 19 countries using the euro to 1.5%. The central bank has now hiked rates at three consecutive meetings by a combined 2 percentage points in a bid to get control of inflation even as a recession looms. Before the hiking cycle began, rates in the region had been negative since 2014. “Inflation remains far too high and will stay above the [2%] target for an extended period,” the ECB said in a statement. The eurozone’s annual rate of inflation hit a record 9.9% in September, up from 9.1% in August. Read more: CNN
International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol told CNBC Thursday that the main driver of clean energy investment was energy security rather than climate change. Namechecking the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. and other packages in Europe, Japan and China, Birol said a “major increase in clean energy investment, about [a] 50% increase,” was being seen. “Today it’s about 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars and it will go up to about 2 trillion U.S. dollars,” Birol told CNBC’s Julianna Tatelbaum. “And as a result, we are going to see clean energy, electric cars, solar, hydrogen, nuclear power, slowly but surely, replacing fossil fuels.” “And why do governments do that? Because of climate change, because of the greenness of the issues? Not at all. The main reason here is energy security.” Read more: CNBC
Asia-Pacific has more to lose than any other region if the global trade system splits up in the wake of geopolitical tensions, the International Monetary Fund warned. Asia and Pacific countries could lose over 3% in gross domestic product if trade is cut off in sectors hit by recent U.S. chip sanctions on China and if non-tariff barriers in other areas are raised to “Cold War-era levels,” the IMF said in research released on Friday. That’s twice the amount of projected global annual losses. Sectors in Asian countries forced to contract because of reduced trade could suffer average employment losses of as high as 7%, the IMF added. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report
In 68 trades recorded yesterday, 38, 128 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K262,736.23. Trading activity was recorded in AECI, Copperbelt Energy Corporation Zambia, Chilanga Cement, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef, Zanaco, Zambia Sugar, and ZAFFICO. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 7,233.72 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,418,746,522 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,636,061,082 excluding Shoprite Holdings.