Story of the Day:
Oil marketing company Puma Energy Zambia Plc has announced the resignation of Gregoire Charmetant as a director on the board, according to a statement from the company. Read more
Local Business and Finance
Zambian inflation accelerated for an eighth straight month to 10.8% in November, the highest rate in three years as a drought pushed up food prices and a rapid depreciation of the currency made imports more expensive. Read more: Bloomberg
Stanbic has unveiled an energy finance solution to the copper producers energy crisis dubbed yasha mailiti at the Alternative Energy expo last week. Yasha mailiti is a vernacular term meaning switch on your lights. Read more: The Business Telegraph
The Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation (ZAFFICO) is expected to be listed on the Lusaka stock Exchange by the end of next January. Read more: ZNBC
Minister of Energy, Matthew Nkhuwa, has revealed that Mozambique’s publicly owned electricity company EDM is owed US$70 million for energy supplied during 2015 and 2016. Read more: Club of Mozambique
Rio Tinto Group has joined the contest for Zambia’s number one copper miner, First Quantum Minerals, which recently ceded 20% of its shares to the Chinese state-owned Jiangxi Copper Company. Read more: Daily Maverick
Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) chief executive officer Owen Silavwe has expressed concern over Konkola Copper Mines’ failure to pay for its electricity offtake for about a year now. In an interview after a tour of some of the company’s assets in Kitwe, Silavwe noted that failure by the mine to meet its obligations would have a negative impact on both CEC and Zesco. Read more: News Diggers
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is ready to engage Government to come up with a plan and implementation programme to develop a climate-resilient agriculture sector. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
International Business and Finance
Alibaba’s newly listed Hong Kong shares got off to a rough start Friday, but still nearly 14% higher than what the shares were priced at when Alibaba first started trading in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Read more: CNN
Huawei Technologies Co. has decided to fight a Federal Communications Commission decision last week that further curtails its business with some of its few remaining customers in the U.S., as it continues to advocate for itself in an escalating battle with Washington, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more: Wall Street Journal
The New York Stock Exchange has submitted a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that would allow companies going public through a direct listing to raise capital. Read more: Wall Street Journal
China reacted furiously to President Donald Trump’s signing of two bills on Hong Kong human rights, summoning the U.S. ambassador to strongly protest and warn the move would undermine cooperation for a trade deal with Washington. Read more: Market Watch
Deutsche Bank has sold $50 billion in unwanted assets to Goldman Sachs as part of its restructuring, three people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. Read more: Reuters
Capital Markets Report
In 10 trades recorded yesterday, 19,608 shares were transacted, resulting in a market turnover of K18,336. Trading activity was recorded in AEL Zambia, Airtel, CEC Zambia, Lafarge and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close of 4,259.02 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K56,532,725,628 including Shoprite Holdings and K22,293,519,648 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: