Good morning. Here’s what you need to know
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Govt spends K8.8 billion in March, debt servicing takes K2.5 billion
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Iranian currency plunges to record low against dollar after strikes on Israel
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Oil prices fall after Iran attack on Israel
In Local Business and Finance News
The Ministry of Finance and National Development released K8.8 billion to finance public service delivery in March, as government cautions public officials managing public funds to exercise prudence and comply with the guidelines. Out of the money released, K2.5 billion was spent on debt service for both domestic and external, while the public service wage bill consumed K4 billion. According to the report released on Sunday, about K575.6 million went towards transfers and social benefits, K1.2 billion to implementation of various government programmes and general operations, while K507.9 million was spent on capital expenditure programmes. Reflecting on budget implementation, Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, cautioned public officials charged with the responsibility of managing public funds to exercise prudence and comply with the relevant laws, regulations and guidelines. Read more: Zambia Monitor
ZESCO Limited has announced that it is reinstating an eight hour load shedding schedule to enhance stability and predictability in power management across Lusaka. Company Spokesperson, Matongo Maumbi, said this was also due to valuable feedback from the customers. Maumbi made the announcement in a statement issued in Lusaka on Sunday. He said the decision followed challenges identified with the previous staggered schedule and that the Corporation was committed to refining its approach to better serve customers. Read more: ZNBC
The Bank of Zambia (BOZ) has confirmed that there is only one Bank in Zambia that is wholly owned by local Zambians following the takeover of Investrust Bank due to insolvency. Responding to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT query on whether there is any bank remaining that is locally owned after the repossession of the Investrust Bank which was locally owned, BOZ Governor Dr. Denny Kalyalya explained that the Country only has one locally owned Bank, the Zambia Industrial Commercial Bank – ZICB as others are a mixture of institutions that are partly owned by local Zambians and foreign-owned. “Yes, we have Zambia Industrial Commercial Banks which is totally locally owned at the moment. Now with that what we have is a mixture of institutions that are partly locally owned and others that are not. We take Zanaco for instance with such a significant local shareholding, we also take Indo Zambia Bank which also has significant local sharing.” Said Dr. Kalyalya during the question and answer time after giving an update on the Investrust Bank Plc Repossessed. Read more: Zambia Business Times
The inauguration of the newly constructed K6.9 million civic centre and two high-cost houses in Manyinga District highlights the UPND government’s steadfast commitment to advancing infrastructure development and improving service delivery. Minister of Infrastructure, Housing, and Urban Development, Charles Milupi, emphasized the government’s pledge to leave no community behind in its pursuit of essential infrastructure projects nationwide. Addressing attendees at the commissioning ceremony, Minister Milupi reiterated the government’s dedication to ensuring that no community is left behind in its efforts to deliver essential infrastructure development projects across the country. Read more: Lusaka Times
In International News
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) in its trade outlook for 2024 has projected that exports from Africa will increase at the fastest pace this year by 5.3 percent when compared with other regions. The report noted that the continent’s exports would exceed pre-pandemic levels, but imports will continue to limp as a result of higher energy and commodity prices. The report was released on Thursday this week. Between 2019 and 2023, the continent saw its imports decline by five percent, the worst in the world. This meant that increase in exports did not translate into higher consumption and income across the continent. “If current projections hold, Africa’s exports will grow faster than those of any other region in 2024, up 5.3 percent from a low base since the continent’s exports remained depressed after the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the report. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Iran’s currency, the rial, briefly plunged to a record low against the dollar on the unofficial market, after Tehran launched an expansive missile and drone attack on Israel on Saturday night, exacerbating tensions in the Middle East. The exchange rate was at 705,000 rials / USD on the open market around 10:30 a.m. local time on Sunday, according to data from foreign exchange monitoring site Bonbast. The Iranian currency has since pared some losses. The government set an official exchange rate of 42,000 rials / USD in 2018. The rial’s drop came hours after Iran deployed a massive drone and missile offensive against Israel Saturday night, in response to a suspected Israeli strike that killed several top Iranian commanders in Damascus earlier this month. Read more: CNBC
Oil prices fell on Monday after after Iran’s reprisal attack on Israel over the weekend. Brent crude – a key benchmark for oil prices internationally – was lower but still trading close to $90 a barrel on Monday morning. Prices had already risen in expectation of action by Iran, with Brent crude nearing a six-month high last week. Analysts said the markets would be looking to see how the conflict could affect global supply chains. Oil price fluctuations can cause ripple effects across the world due to countries being heavily reliant on the commodity, which is used to produce fuels such as petrol and diesel. Fuel and energy prices have been a major driver behind the higher cost of living worldwide in the past couple of years. Read more: BBC News
The EU on Friday (Apr.12) said it would loan Egypt a little over $1 billion in short-term financial aid to help stabilise the country’s economy. The sum is part of a bigger package worth 5 billion euros in loans, the statement said. The second part of the operation, still to be adopted, would provide €4 billion over the period 2024-2027. Officially, the loan is meant to address Cairo’s deteriorating fiscal situation and financial needs, notably after the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Read more: Africa News
Libya overtook Nigeria as the top African crude oil producer for March, data from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has shown. According to the April 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), Libya recorded 1.236 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude production in March, up from 1.173 million bpd in February. Meanwhile, Nigeria recorded an output of 1.23 million barrels per day in March 2024, compared to 1.32 bpd in February 2024. Despite the drop in output by 6.8 per cent, Nigeria retained its leadership position on the continent, producing 1.398 million bpd, while Libya produced 1.161 million bpd during the period. “According to secondary sources, total OPEC-12 crude oil production averaged 26.60 mb/d in March 2024, 3 tb/d higher, m-o-m. Crude oil output increased mainly in IR Iran, Saudi Arabia, Gabon, and Kuwait, while production in Nigeria, Iraq, and Venezuela decreased.” Read more: Business Insider
China’s central bank on Monday left a key policy interest rate unchanged as widely expected when rolling over maturing medium-term loans, and drained some cash from the banking system through the bond instrument. Keeping the medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate steady underscores the central bank’s intention to maintain currency stability amid a shaky economic recovery and push back on market expectations around the timing of a first U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cut this year. Cooling inflation, slowing credit expansion and shrinking exports in March all pointed to the need for more stimulus to revive momentum in the world’s second-largest economy, analysts said. But a weakening yuan on the back of a resurgent U.S. dollar and yield differentials with other major economies constrained authorities’ monetary-easing efforts. Read more: Reuters
Apple’s smartphone shipments dropped about 10% in the first quarter of 2024, hurt by intensifying competition by Android smartphone makers aiming for the top spot, data from research firm IDC showed on Sunday. Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% to 289.4 million units during January-March, with Samsung, at 20.8% market share, clinching the top phonemaker spot from Apple. The iPhone-maker’s steep sales decline comes after its strong performance in the December quarter when it overtook Samsung as the world’s No.1 phone maker. It’s back to the second spot, with 17.3% market share, as Chinese brands such as Huawei gain market share. Xiaomi, one of China’s top smartphone makers, occupied the third position with a market share of 14.1% during the first quarter. South Korea’s Samsung, which launched its latest flagship smartphone lineup – Galaxy S24 series – in the beginning of the year, shipped more than 60 million phones during the period. Read more: Reuters
Finally, Capital Markets News
In 170 trades recorded on Friday, 58,570 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K273,288.87. The following price changes were recorded on Friday:+K 0.01 in CEC Zambia. Trading activity was also recorded in AECI, Airtel, CEC Zambia, Real Estate Investments Zambia, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef, ZANACO, Zambia Sugar, ZAFFICO as well as CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 12,770.3 points, 0.03% higher than it’s previous close at 12,766.68 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K99,753,228,008.06 including Shoprite Holdings and 64,970,542,568.06 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
7 Govt Bond trades with total face value of K81,227,850 were processed on Friday, resulting in a total turnover of K71,757,820.