Story of the Day
Vedanta Limited’s second quarter of 2022 has been a busy one in regard to its capital structure strategy. At the end of April 2022, Bloomberg’s Ryan Hesketh reported that the company was in talks with banks to raise US$ 2.5 to 3 billion in debt from Indian banks the company has financial banking relationships with, citing in Reuters. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Intelligent Technologies
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. approved a $1.25 billion project to expand its Kansanshi copper mine in Zambia after the new government committed to a more predictable investment climate. The investment will extend the life of one of Africa’s biggest copper mines until the 2040s and increase copper and gold production by about 25%, the company said in a statement Sunday. First Quantum has also approved the development of a new nickel project, which is expected to cost about $100 million. Read more: Bloomberg
An orderly debt restructuring process for Zambia will be hard to achieve without an IMF programme, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Friday, as he confirmed China and bondholders would join negotiations. Musokotwane told journalists he expected an International Monetary Fund programme to be concluded by the end of June, and the World Bank has also committed to providing financial resources to the country once the IMF deal is agreed. Read more: Reuters
Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry Chipoka Mulenga says the electric battery manufacturing venture between Zambia and Congo DR will create about 1,000 direct jobs and about 2,000 indirect jobs. And Mulenga says government is considering Ndola and Chingola for the setting up of a manufacturing plant, adding that a piece of land has already been found in Chingola and only needs to be evaluated. Read more: News Diggers
Vedanta Resources has offered to step up investment in Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and implement several social responsibility programmes if it resumes control of the local firm, a company letter sent to the government showed. Read more: Mining Weekly
News from Cape Town Mining Indaba Sponsored by HLB Zambia
After a two-year hiatus following the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the annual mining indaba returns to Cape Town South Africa. According to the organizer’s website, this year’s ‘Mining Investment Cape Town’ is now an official part of the 2022 Investing in African Mining Indaba. Both events are teaming up to deliver an unrivalled offering for the entire African mining ecosystem and drive the sustainable development of African mining companies. Read more
The African Mining Indaba is back after two years forced break due to the restrictions of physical gatherings due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. This year’s event is expected to cover a wide range of topics covering investment opportunities in the mining sector, regulatory reforms and new technology and innovations. The event brings together stakeholders and African leaders whose decisions will drive and shape the future of investments into African metals and minerals industry. Read more
International Business and Finance Sponsored By Agricultural and Commercial Society of Zambia
After the rough patch that was experienced by African airlines over the past two years due to the pandemic, there are strong indications that things are getting back to normal. According to information made available by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and African Airline Association (Afraa), African airlines were able to improve their performance by 69% and 70% between February and March, respectively. Read more: Business Insider
Underproduction in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and force majeure in Libya led to a lower than expected output target of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in April. According to a Reuters survey, OPEC produced 28.58 million barrels per day, (BPD) in April, meaning that, OPEC’s 10 members produced only 40,000 bpd more than in March. Read more: CGTN
After a week of extraordinary turbulence, stocks are likely to remain volatile as investors await fresh data on inflation and watch the course of bond yields. The big report for markets is Wednesday’s April consumer price index. Economists expect a high inflation reading, but it should moderate from the 8.5% year-over-year pace of March. A second inflation report, the producer price index, which is a gauge of wholesale prices, is released Thursday. Read more: CNBC
Uber will cut back on spending and focus on becoming a leaner business to address a “seismic shift” in investor sentiment, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees in an email obtained by CNBC. “After earnings, I spent several days meeting investors in New York and Boston,” Khosrowshahi said in the email, which was sent out late Sunday. “It’s clear that the market is experiencing a seismic shift and we need to react accordingly.” Read more: CNBC
Elon Musk is aiming to increase Twitter’s annual revenue to $26.4 billion by 2028, up from $5 billion last year, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing a pitch deck presented by the world’s richest man to investors. Advertising will fall to 45% of total revenue under Musk, down from about 90% in 2020, generating $12 billion in revenue in 2028, while subscriptions are expected to pull in another $10 billion, according to the report. CNN
Capital Markets Report by WWF Zambia
In 89 trades recorded on Friday, 17,950 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K98,551. Share price losses were recorded in AECI of K0.48 and in Copperbelt Energy Corporation of K0.01. Trading activity was also recorded in Chilanga Cement, Pamodzi, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zambia Breweries, ZCCM, ZAMEFA, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 6,721.90 points, 0.09% down from its previous close of 6,727.88 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K70,190,752,079 including Shoprite Holdings and K35,408,066,639 excluding Shoprite Holdings.