Story of the Day:
ZCCM IH’s wait for a confirmed CEO came to an end on 11 October 2019 as Acting CEO Mabvuto T Chipata got the nod from the board to be the don of the investment company. Read more
Local Business and Finance
Zambia’s debt-carrying capacity has weakened with its FX reserves’ import coverage declining from 4.7 months in 2015 to 1.7 months in May 2019. All four external debt burden indicators breach their indicative thresholds, three of them by large margins and throughout the medium-term under the baseline scenario. Read more: World Bank
The Governments of Zambia and Tanzania have agreed to ask China to recapitalize the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority – TAZARA. Read more: ZNBC
A Turkish Cora Energy Company has expressed interest to invest 70-million dollars in a 50-megawatt solar project in Zambia. Cora Energy Chief Executive Officer Servet Cora says this comes as a result of Zambia’s efforts in creating investment opportunities in renewable energy. Read more: ZNBC
Southern Cross Motors Ltd has disclosed that it has invested over USD15 million in the automotive industry for all its 3 facilities in Zambia and that the company is looking forward to growing its market share of the Zambia automotive market. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Economics Association of Zambia president Dr Lubinda Habazoka has called on South Africa businesses operating in Zambia to increase the use of local banking services.Dr Habazoka has said the use of local banks will help foreign businesses sustain their investments in Zambia. Read more: Lusaka Times
Finance Minister Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu says observations raised by the public on the 2020 Budget have helped to structure and sharpen Zambia’s resolve to address public concerns ahead of the planned engagements with bilateral and multilateral cooperating partners at the ongoing 2019 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington DC. Read more: Lusaka Times
International Business and Finance
Two months ago, Nigeria slapped restrictions on cross-border trade with its neighbours, but there are mixed signals as to whether the controversial move is benefitting the country. Read more: MSN
Kenya’s interest-rate caps will be scrapped because lawmakers won’t be able to raise enough support in parliament to oppose the president, acting Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani said. Read more: Bloomberg
International Monetary Fund is examining the impact of climate on the world’s financial markets and whether it is priced into market valuations, the head of the global lender’s markets division said on Saturday. Read more: Reuters
Now that discount brokers have cut commissions to zero for certain trades, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman says it’s valid to speculate whether there will be increased pressure on advisory fees in the future. Read more: Investment News
The governor of the Bank of England has told the BBC that the new Brexit deal struck by the government is “welcome” and a “net economic positive”. Mark Carney said the deal “takes away the tail risk of a disorderly Brexit”. However the governor warned that the deal might not boost the economy to the same extent as the deal put forward by Boris Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May. Read more: BBC News
Nobel-prize winning economist Robert Shiller believes a recession may be years away due to a bullish Trump effect in the market. According to the Yale University professor, President Donald Trump is creating an environment that’s conducive to strong consumer spending, and it’s a major force that should hold off a recession. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report
In 9 trades recorded on Thursday, 8,162,500 shares were transacted, resulting in a market turnover of K64,565,576. A share price loss of K0.08 was recorded in Zambia Breweries. Trading activity was also recorded in AEL Zambia and Lafarge. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 4,355.43 points down by 0.24% from its previous close of 4,365.93 points. The market remained on a capitalization of K56,933,743,685 including Shoprite Holdings and K22,694,537,705 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day:
