Story of the Day
Food safety is of the highest importance when it comes to ensuring that consumers are protected against food-borne illnesses and common allergens. It is against this backdrop that Zambeef Products, the nation’s largest integrated cold chain food products and agribusiness, has been awarded ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System Certification for its ZamMilk, Masterpork and Zamchick plants. Read more
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Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Chipoka Mulenga says government intends to renegotiate some clauses in the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement. Mr. Mulenga says the agreement in its current form does not entirely protect local industries against the already big economies. He says despite the agreement being an engine for economic growth, Government is focusing on strengthening the local industry to enhance industrialization. Mr. Mulenga says it is important that Zambia benefits from the agreement but in its form it is not able to support the growth of the local industry. Read more: ZNBC
Commerce Minister Chipoka Mulenga has challenged French investors to increase their investments in Zambia. Mr. Mulenga says Zambia has many existing investment opportunities in the mineral beneficiation and value addition, manufacturing, tourism and agro-processing, among others. Mr. Mulenga was speaking at a Virtual Zambia Business Forum organised by the Zambian Mission in Paris, Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry ZACCI and the Movement of French Enterprises (MEDEF). Read more: ZNBC
The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) is formulating a comprehensive policy framework to mainstream climate change in the formulation and implementation of monetary and financial sector policies to promote green finance. BoZ Governor Denny Kalyalya says the policy will also enhance the regulatory framework to ensure financial services providers are assessed and disclose climate change-related risks in their operations to improve the uptake of green finance. Dr Kalyalya said this is because the financial sector’s approach to environmental issues through corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not enough. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Government has suspended six senior officials at the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) following ZRA findings which established that about 33,045 registered motor vehicles at the agency have no matching records of customs clearance. Read more: News Diggers
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The London Metal Exchange (LME) has been sued for $456m by fund manager Elliott Associates following the suspension and cancellation of nickel trades earlier this year. The claim was filed in the English High Court against the trading platform and its subsidiary LME Clear. It alleges that LME’s decision to cancel trades on 8 March because of a surge in nickel prices was “unlawful”. Read more: BBC News
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and wants to cut about 10% of jobs at the electric carmaker, he said in an email to executives on Thursday seen by Reuters. The message came two days after the world’s richest man told employees to return to the workplace or leave the company. Tesla employed around 100,000 people in the company and its subsidiaries at the end of 2021, according to its annual SEC filing. Read more: CNN
Stock futures were higher in early morning trading Monday after a losing week as investors continued to bet that the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy aggressively to combat surging inflation. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 132 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.57% and 0.77%, respectively. Read more: CNBC
Amid the fanfare of U.S. President Joe Biden’s new Indo-Pacific strategy, China flew under the radar and hosted a high-level discussion on RCEP, the world’s largest trade pact. It came days after the Biden administration launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF — a partnership which involves 13 countries, excluding China, as the U.S. seeks to expand its political and economic leadership in the Indo-Pacific region. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) meeting in the southern island of Hainan underscored analysts’ expectations that instead of reacting to or countering IPEF, China will likely forge ahead with agreed-upon trade pacts and capitalize on ready-to-go tariffs and market accesses. Read more: CNBC
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In 116 trades recorded on Friday, 273,238 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K741,376. Trading activity was recorded in AECI, Bata, British American Tobacco Zambia, Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Investrust, Chilanga Cement, National Breweries, Pamodzi, Real Estate Investments Zambia, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zambia Breweries and ZCCM. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 6,802.76 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K70,542,889,811 including Shoprite Holdings and K35,760,204,371 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
