Story of the Day:
Into the first week of January 2021 bond trading on the LuSE, the bond market continues to dominate the equities market as it recorded a 99% to 1% on the equities market. This is a 1% increase from the first week of January 2020 which was completely dominated as it recorded a 100% to 0% on the equities market. Read more
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The Zambian government has concluded its talks with Glencore about buying a majority stake in Mopani Copper Mines, state radio reported, citing President Edgar Lungu. Read more: Reuters
Zambia’s move to further subsidize fuel prices highlights the government’s balancing act of seeking to retain power while convincing the IMF to approve a bailout. The finance ministry removed a 16% VAT on gasoline and diesel prices from Jan. 1. The IMF opposes subsidies and that could prove to be a stumbling block in the government’s talks for assistance. Read more: Bloomberg
The Public Service Micro Finance Company (PSMF) says the company recorded a reduction in the disbursement of loans in 2020. PSMF Chief executive Officer Mubanga Mwiko has disclosed that the company disbursed about K133 Million in 2020 compared to K180 million in 2019. Read more: ZNBC
About 40 investors have expressed interest in investing in local businesses to ensure more jobs are created, Impact Capital Africa (ICA) has said. Since 2018, the company has facilitated 22 investment deals that allowed 15 Zambian businesses to access funding worth over US$80 million. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
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China’s factory gate prices fell last month at their slowest pace since February, official data showed on Monday, suggesting China’s manufacturing sector continues to see a steady recovery from the Covid-19 shock. The producer price index (PPI) fell 0.4% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. Read more: CNBC
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has projected to realise 5 billion Kenyan shillings ($45.5 million) from its new tax targeting crypto exchanges and other online services in the first half of 2021. This is what is known as the Digital Service Tax (DST). It became operational on January 2 this year after it was proposed in August 2020. Read more: Business Insider
The presidency of the Democratic Republic of Congo has disclosed that China has cancelled a part of the debt owed by the African country. In a statement, the presidency said that China has cancelled about $28 million of its debt to help DRC fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more: Business Insider
U.S. government bond yields have registered some notable moves in the first few days of 2021. Should they continue on their current pace, they risk causing headaches for both policy makers and stock investors because of their underlying drivers. Read more: Yahoo Finance
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In 27 trades recorded on Friday, 138,279 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K424,316. Trading activity was also recorded in Lafarge, Zambia Breweries and Zambeef. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,912.33 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,358,966,682 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,119,760,702 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: