Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Zambia to adopt, implement AfDB Performance Outlook report —President Hichilema
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China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for a sixth straight month in February
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SEC censures Madison Financial Services for breaching multiple listing rules
Story of the Day
Synthetic data is everywhere, fueling viral innovations splashed across the Internet — yet few have even heard of it. Chat GPT, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion — all of these AI generative tools now capturing the public’s imagination are powered by synthetic data. The advent of synthetic data is happening swiftly and with profound implications for the data economy in areas such as data privacy, sharing and AI fairness. If data is 21st century oil, then imagine a world where financial services companies can create and share accurate data that is not finite, is not privacy-sensitive and adjustable to eliminate historical biases. That world — with both its massive potential in financial services yet unpredictable risks — is what synthetic data will usher in over the next few years. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
The newly released Africa’s Macro-Economic Performance and Outlook report provides Zambia with concrete policies that must urgently be implemented to sustain the recovery, says President Hakainde Hichilema. Hichilema said the study, conducted by the African Development Bank Group, provided an impetus for Zambia’s and continent’s leaders to forge ahead with needed reforms. He said this through the Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, during an event to present the report at the 36th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa on Sunday. “The findings of this important report, therefore, provide us with a set of concrete policies that we must urgently implement to sustain the recovery and build resilience in Zambia, and on the continent more generally,” Hichilema said. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) says it received a number of enquiries from investors interested in setting up investment in the Multi-Facility Economic Zones (MFEZ) at the just ended annual mining indaba in South Africa. Overseer of the MFEZ at the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) Jones Zulu, said the agency received a surprising number of enquiries at the Indaba. “This year has been so much better than last year for ZDA. We have seen a lot of interest from people that are wanting to invest in Zambia or looking for partners to work with in both mining and mining-related opportunities,” he told Mining for Zambia magazine on Friday. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The government of Zambia is working towards regulating cryptocurrency in the country by testing new technology, according to Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati. In a statement, Mutati said that Zambia is keen to embrace the future of cryptocurrency, but stressed the need for a policy framework that supports the technology. Cryptocurrencies use blockchain technology to record and secure transactions and are increasingly used as a digital form of cash for everyday items. The testing of technology on regulating cryptocurrency will be upscaled as part of deliberate measures to achieve an inclusive digital economy for Zambia, Mutati added. Read more: Lusaka Times
ZESCO, Zambia’s state-owned power company, has proposed a 37-percent tariff increment in a bid to attract more investments in power generation and distribution. The company has applied to the Energy Regulation Board (ERB) for the increase, citing the urgent need to invest in alternative energy sources to lessen Zambia’s dependence on hydro power. During a recent stakeholder engagement meeting held at the Garden Court Hotel in Kitwe, ZESCO Head of Business Development Fitzpatrick Kapepe explained the company’s plan to pursue investments in alternative energy sources. ZESCO Chief Engineer Systems Operations Kennedy Bupe also disclosed that the utility is investing in other alternative energy sources like solar to meet national demand for electricity. Read more: Lusaka Times
In International Business News
China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for a sixth straight month in February, as expected, with the world’s second-largest economy showing more signs of recovery from a pandemic-induced slump. A clutch of better-than-expected data recently suggests economic activity is rebounding as Beijing exited from its stringent zero-COVID strategy in December and shifted to a pro-growth policy stance. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was kept at 3.65%, while the five-year LPR was unchanged at 4.30%. Read more: Financial Post
China’s oil refining capacity overtook the United States as the world’s largest in 2022, an industry official said on Thursday, though its production of fuel products lagged the United States due to low utilisation rates. Total refining capacity in China expanded to 920 million tonnes per year, or 18.4 million barrels per day (bpd), in 2022 Fu Xiangsheng, vice president of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association, told reporters. Read more: Reuters
The World Bank, under pressure to do more to help developing countries cope with climate change, may change its internal lending guidelines to free up $4 billion in lending capacity each year, World Bank President David Malpass told Reuters on Thursday. Malpass said the bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) arm may lower its equity-to-lending ratio by one percentage point to 19%, taking on a bit more risk, in line with an independent report prepared for the Group of 20 (G20) major economies last year. Read more: Reuters
Afghanistan’s Taliban government says it will turn some former foreign military bases into economic zones for businesses. Afghanistan has faced a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis since the Taliban regained control of the country in August 2021. Foreign military forces had been in the country for two decades. The decision was announced by acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. “It was decided that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should progressively take control of the remaining military bases of the foreign forces with the intention of converting them into special economic zones,” Mullah Baradar said in a statement on Sunday. He added that project will begin with sites in the capital of Kabul and the northern Balkh province but did not give further details. Read more: BBC News
Finally, Capital Markets News
The Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) in Africa’s red metal hotspot Zambia, on February 17, privately censured Madison Financial Services Plc for disclosure inadequacies concerning credit risk exposures and failure to provide financial statements. The decision taken by the securities regulator follows an investigation into a matter concerning the group triggered by breaches after the asset management arm of the business defaulted on repayment obligations to retail investor classes. The liquidity crunch signaled potential mis – investment and conduct inconsistent with prescriptions of the securities regulations. Read more
In 82 trades recorded yesterday, 43,853 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K158,000.96. A share price loss of K0.15 was recorded in Zanaco. Trading activity was also recorded in CEC Zambia, Chilanga Cement, PUMA and Zambeef. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,211.56 points, 0.69% points down from it’s previous close at 7,261.31 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,322,288,550.14 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,539,603,110.14 excluding Shoprite Holdings
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