Story of the Day
During the ZAMREN 10 years celebrations, Liquid Intelligent Technologies Zambia was presented an award in recognition of the pivotal role played in the formation, establishment and operationalization of ZAMREN. ZAMREN is a National Research and Education Network established in 2012 with a mandate to provide ICT solutions for Higher Education and Public Research Institutions in Zambia. Liquid Zambia has been providing wholesale services to ZAMREN since its inception, including IPT, International MPLS and last-mile services across Zambia. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Intelligent Technologies
The Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO) has clinched a 50 million United States Dollars package for support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia. ZANACO has signed a deal with the British International Investment aimed at supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia. The British International Investments (former CDC) and ZANACO Bank signed the package in Washington DC, USA on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings currently going on. Read more: Lusaka Times
Airtel Africa, a provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, announced that its Zambia subsidiary, Airtel Networks Zambia, has purchased 60 MHz of additional spectrum spread across the 800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands from the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA), for a gross consideration of $29m, payable in local currency. Read more: Post Online Media
One of Zambia’s leading telecommunication firms has partnered with the Lusaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in an arrangement that will see members of the business umbrella organisation offering digital payment options to customers. Cellulant Zambia announced on Friday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with LCCI under which the organisation’s members “can now readily access payment solutions that will enable them to accept payments from their customers’ preferred mobile money wallet” from anywhere in Africa. Read more: APA News
Zambia’s finance minister said on Saturday it is still unclear who will be leading talks for renegotiating its nearly $6 billion debt with China, the largest bilateral creditor of the first African sovereign default in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. China co-chairs a committee of official bilateral creditors with France as part of a debt restructuring that Zambia is seeking under the Group of 20’s Common Framework, a platform for highly indebted countries to rework their debt with bilateral creditors. Read more: Reuters
International Business and Finance
Over 50% of CEOs surveyed about the impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) do not know where to access useful information on the project, according to a new survey. The 2022 CEO Trade Survey Report by PAFTRAC, in association with African Business, Afreximbank and other partners, surveyed over 800 private sector players between March and June 2022. It found that there was significant optimism that the AfCFTA will revitalise Africa trade but significant demand for information on how the project will work. Without the right information, positive legislative moves could be stymied by hesitancy on the ground, leading to confusion in border posts and boardrooms, the authors write. Read more: African Business
The pound rose on Monday following the news that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is to make a statement later, fast-tracking tax and spending measures in an attempt to reassure the markets. Sterling gained 1% to trade around $1.13 in morning trading. On Friday, Prime Minister Liz Truss sacked Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor and said the mini-budget “went further and faster than markets were expecting”. Read more: BBC News
The World Bank has decided to evaluate Nigeria’s strategy for meeting its payment obligation before it decides to restructure the country’s debt. This was disclosed at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings which have been ongoing in Washington DC. The World Bank also noted that Nigeria is yet to request debt relief under the G20 common framework. Read more: Business Insider
Nigeria and Morocco have decided to work jointly to diversify both parties’ energy economies. Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) Limited disclosed that the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project is a very progressive idea and is critical to the development of the West African economy. The GCEO noted the significance of both nations’ cooperation during the signing ceremony of the project’s memoranda of understanding (MoU), which was held in Morocco on Saturday. Read more: Business Insider
Markets plunged on Thursday morning after red-hot inflation data raised fears on Wall Street that the Federal Reserve would continue hiking interest rates aggressively. Then, something strange happened. Stocks staged a massive comeback. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,500 points from peak to trough and the S&P 500 posted its widest trading range since March 2020, ending the day up more than 2%. Read more: CNN
Three weeks after the presentation of the state budget, the British Minister of Finance is about to leave. The British-born Ghanaian minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced his resignation on Friday in a letter to Prime Minister Liz Truss which he tweeted: “You asked me to step down as Chancellor of the Exchequer, I have accepted,” he says in this letter. Read more: Africa News
In 2021, Angola exited a long recession brought about by nearly five years of low crude prices. A recent World Bank report puts growth this year at 3.1%. It forecasts momentum to fall slightly in 2023, before stabilizing at 2.9% in 2024. For the country’s leaders, finding new sources of growth and jobs is a must or another economic downturn becomes inevitable. Since taking office in 2017, President João Lourenço’s government has begun to enact reforms to promote investment and boost competitiveness. The authorities have been trying to direct investment in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing in a bid to cut Angola’s over reliance on oil. Read more: Africa News
Capital Markets Report
In 73 trades recorded on Friday, 17,895 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K50,284. Trading activity was recorded in AECI, Bata, Copperbelt Energy Corportion, Investrust, Chilanga, Pamodzi, PUMA, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zambia Breweries, ZCCM, Zambeef, Zanaco and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 7,232.76 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,414,586,522 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,631,901,082 excluding Shoprite Holdings.