Story of the Day
ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH and Zambia National Commercial Bank Plc (Zanaco) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at fostering and providing growth opportunities that contribute to the participation of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the mining supply value chain in Zambia. Read more
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China’s top official for Africa is headed to Zambia next week, just days after Chinese President Xi Jinping held phone talks with his counterpart from the debt-hit nation. Wu Peng, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry’s African affairs department, is currently in South Africa during a tour of the continent that will also take him to Malawi, Tanzania, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Togo. “I hope that this trip will deepen friendly exchange and practical cooperation in various areas between China and African countries,” Wu tweeted on Tuesday. Read more: South China Morning Post
Vedanta Zambia Corporate Communications Director Masuzyo Ndhlovu says Vedanta is in continuous dialogue with ZCCM-IH and government for its return, adding that the company is the most suitable operator to save KCM. In an interview, Ndhlovu said Vedanta would partner with the new dawn government to run KCM, and was also ready to work with the communities in corporate social responsibility programmes. Read more: News Diggers
Mines and Minerals Development Minister Paul Kabuswe says government is seriously scrutinising whichever investor that shows interest in investing in Zambia. In an interview, Kabuswe said the government was using the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria in scrutinising the investors. Read more: News Diggers
President Hakainde Hichilema has called for increased investment in the agricultural sector that will make Zambia not only food secure, but also meet the continental and the global food basket. ZANIS reports that President Hichilema says there is a looming global food shortage, adding that the world will soon be looking to Africa for food. Read more: Lusaka Times
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The pain of higher prices continues for US consumers. Record gas prices drove inflation to 8.6% for the 12 months ending in May, higher than the pace in April, according to the latest Consumer Price Index, the government’s basic inflation measure. The reading for core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, posted a 6% increase over the same period, higher than the previous month’s level. Both readings are among the biggest jumps in prices experienced by consumers since 1981. Read more: CNN
The UK economy shrank again in April as businesses felt the impact of price rises and supply chain shortages. The economy contracted by 0.3% in April after it shrank by 0.1% the month before, official figures showed. April was the first time all main sectors of the economy – services, manufacturing and production – had shrunk since January 2021. BBC News
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it plans to put together a $50 billion trust fund that would benefit low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries of the world. In a recent blogpost published on its website, the multilateral lender explained that the trust fund would primarily help the targeted countries to become resilient to balance of payment shocks, as well as ensure sustainable recovery. Read more: Business Insider
Nigeria has failed to extensively diversify its export portfolio, a new report by the International monetary Fund (IMF) said. Do note that during the 30-year period between 1990 and 2020, the West African country only added 47 new products to its export portfolio. The report pointed out that this is unlike other countries (including Tanzania and Cameroon) who all added 95 new products during the same period under review. In the year 2020, Nigeria only exported 205 products. This is far less than the 258 average recorded across Sub-Saharan African countries. Read more: Business Insider
Capital Markets Report
In 68 trades recorded on Friday, 62,028 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K186,932. A share price gain of K0.01 was recorded in CEC Africa on the quoted tier. A share price loss of K0.05 was recorded in Zanaco. Trading activity was also recorded in AECI, British American Tobacco Zambia, Copperbelt Energy Corporation and Real Estate Investments Zambia. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 6,794.44 points, 0.24% down from its previous close of 6,811.02. The market closed on a capitalization of K70,506,669,556 including Shoprite Holdings and K35,723,984,116 excluding Shoprite Holdings.