Story of the Day
ZCCM-IH recorded a loss after tax of ZMW817.4 million compared to a profit of ZMW479.7 million in the six months period to 30th June 2021. This was mainly due to a significant loss recorded by a subsidiary, namely Mopani Copper Mines PLC, of ZMW2.1 billion (US$70 million) in this period. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Intelligent Technologies
Paratus Zambia, of the pan-African telco Paratus Group, and Meta announce an investment to build a 900km open access metro fibre network in Zambia to improve high-quality connectivity in under-served communities in 10 Zambian cities and towns.* Paratus Zambia will own, build and operate the network to provide wholesale services to mobile network operators and internet service providers. The build will create about 500 jobs for local communities, enhance Paratus’ infrastructure and help them provide more affordable services and improved coverage. The network will also connect to the Paratus carrier-neutral data centre in Lusaka, where Paratus can serve local businesses directly with high-quality connectivity. This first phase will bring fibre to six cities by January 2023. The second phase will connect four towns before the end of 2023. Read more: IT Web
Government says it wants to hand over Mopani and Konkola Copper Mines to competent and technically qualified equity partners who will be able to increase production at the two mines. Minister of Finance and National Development Situmbeko Musokotwane says the process to unlock the two mining companies has taken longer than expected because of the complexities surrounding their handover to government. Speaking in Kitwe on Saturday, during a budget analysis symposium for the 2023 National Budget, Dr. Musokotwane cited legal issues around the KCM case that needs to be sorted out before the mine can be offered to any investor. Read more: Lusaka Times
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has said that that President Hakainde Hichilema will travel to Sharm, El-Sheikh, Egypt to attend the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) High Level Segment for Heads of State and Government scheduled for 7th to 8th November, 2022. This event will be the 27th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP27) to the Convention. The President will be attending the COP27 at the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The President is scheduled to deliver a Statement during the High Level Segment for Heads of State and Government on 7th November, 2022. President Hichilema is expected to participate in High Level Roundtable events on Innovative Finance for Climate Change and Development and Investing in the Future of Energy. Read more: Lusaka Times
Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane says the country is still bankrupt and has limited money for infrastructure, hence the need for Public-Private Partnerships. And Dr Musokotwane says government will be sealing the PPP deal for the Lusaka- Ndola Dual Carriageway in the next three weeks so that works can start after the rainy season. Read more: News Diggers
Nature is fascinating and the uncut gems it churns out from the earth, are more so. Recently, Guinness World Records confirmed that the world’s largest uncut emerald was unearthed in Zambia. Here’s what we know so far. Guinness World Record published a blog about a wonderful discovery from Zambia. The newly-discovered uncut emerald reportedly weighs 7,525 carats or 1.505 kg. The gem was then named ‘Chipembele,’ which in the local dialect of the Bemba people of Zambia means “rhino.” Read more: India Times
Updates From The Africa Fintech Summit In Cape Town
The “techies” are gone but they have left an indelible mark on participants of the just ended African Fintech Summit in Cape Town South Africa. Not only was the summit well organized from scheduling of program and ensuring delegates were ever engaged, it was the selection of topics for the panel discussions that was most intriguing. The location was perfect. South Africa has created a unique environment for startups and fintechs in particular. Cape Town itself is now positioning itself as the continents Silicon Valley complete with not only innovation hubs but the venture capital presence needed to spur their ideas to a global scale. Read more
International Business and Finance
A UK subsidiary of mining giant Glencore has been ordered to pay more than £275 million for bribing officials in African countries to get access to oil. The company paid $26 million through agents and employees to officials of crude oil firms in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast between 2011 and 2016. Prosecutors said Glencore Energy UK employees and agents used private jets to transfer cash to pay the bribes. Glencore Energy UK pleaded guilty to seven corruption offences in June. Read more: BBC News
Africa currently has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Recently, the International Monetary Fund released a report detailing and, numerically predicting the fate of the sub-Saharan African economy in the coming year. Some Sub-Saharan countries were predicted to decline in GDP growth, while several African countries were projected to experience some economic growth amidst the continent’s economic challenges. The IMF predicts Zambia to have the 7th highest GDP growth in Africa in 2023. The expected growth rate is 4%, which is higher than the GDPs IMF has projected for South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Congo, Tanzania and other countries. Read more: Business Insider
China’s exports and imports unexpectedly contracted in October, the first simultaneous slump since May 2020, as surging inflation and rising interest rates hammered global demand while new COVID-19 curbs at home disrupted output and consumption. The bleak October trade figures highlight the challenge for policymakers in China as exports had been one of the few bright spots for the struggling economy . Outbound shipments in October shrank 0.3% from a year earlier, a sharp turnaround from a 5.7% gain in September, official data showed on Monday, and well below analysts’ expectations for a 4.3% increase. It was the worst performance since May 2020. The data suggests demand remains frail overall, heaping more pressure on the country’s manufacturing sector and threatening any meaningful economic revival in the face of persistent COVID-19 curbs, protracted property weakness and global recession risks. Read more: CNN
Top officials kicked off proceedings at the U.N.’s flagship climate conference by urging wealthy countries to finally fix their broken $100 billion promise, while the hot-button issue of reparations was adopted onto the official agenda for the first time. The COP27 summit, which formally opened on Sunday, sees delegates from nearly 200 countries gather in Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh for talks on how to address the climate crisis. Climate finance, as it has done since the first U.N. climate conference in 1995, will once again play a pivotal role. Read more: CNBC
Facebook parent Meta could begin large-scale layoffs as soon as Wednesday, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The layoffs are expected to impact thousands of employees, the report said, and the move would mark the first major headcount reduction in Meta’s history. At the end of September, the company reported that it had more than 87,000 employees. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report
In 42 trades recorded yesterday, 20,408 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K84,847.06.Trading activity was also recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation Zambia, Chilanga Cement, Pamodzi, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambezi, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 7,233.54 points as there was no share price movement. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,417,985,445.77 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,635,300,005.77 excluding Shoprite Holdings.