Story of the Day
In the 2021 financial year Zambrew experienced a strong start which continued throughout the year. The company continued to deliver a robust performance with a 15% increase in the beer volume sales compared against the 2020 sales. Profit after tax (2021: ZMW 147,952 million) increased by 2432% against prior year (2020: ZMW 5,939 million) even in the context of the on-going COVID-19 related restrictions, due to the growth in volume and net revenue (Abridged Financial Statements, 2021). Moreover, the operating profit for the year was 700% higher than prior year, driven by a strong performance and better managed costs, specifically with the comparative foreign exchange losses, which were 30% lower than 2020. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Intelligent Technologies
Zanaco has attributed the slight appreciation of the kwacha to the statement made by the Chinese Central Bank Governor Yi Gang that China will finally join Zambia’s creditor committee. According to Zanaco’s Indicative Forex Rates on 22 April 2022, the kwacha is buying at K17.03 and selling at K17.36. The Bank’s Head of Economic Research Dr. Patrick Chileshe said China’s commitment is likely to accelerate the pace of restructuring Zambia’s debt because previously investors were concerned with china’s participation in the process. Read more: Zambian Business Times
President Hakainde Hichilema says Zambia is getting better under the UPND leadership. President Hichilema says his team has set out an ambitious plan which will see sectors such as Agriculture flourish. He says in order to realize this dream, government has factored in, through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), resources for dams, boreholes and other agriculture supporting tools. Read more: ZNBC
Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati says a lot needs to be done to transform Zambia’s economy into a digital one. Mr. Mutati says the country has adequate investment in digital infrastructure with coverage at 92 percent but that there is a challenge of affordability, access and availability of ICT services by citizens. He says there is also need to work with the private sector to address the issue of integration of digital infrastructure to ensure the cost of communication is kept low. Read more: ZNBC
Government says there is need to transform the livestock sector so that it becomes a key sector in the country’s economic diversification agenda. Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock Permanent Secretary, Anna Songolo said the livestock sector has the potential to contribute immensely to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Dr Songolo said the sector impacts 60 per cent of the country’s population yet it only contributes three per cent of the GDP. Read more: Lusaka Times
International Business and Finance Sponsored By Agricultural and Commercial Society of Zambia
Twitter’s board reportedly met Elon Musk over the weekend to explore his $43bn takeover offer for the social media platform. After the Tesla boss first revealed his bid, Twitter’s management announced a so-called “poison pill” strategy to fend off a potential hostile buyout. Mr Musk plans to finance his bid with the backing of US lender Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions. A spokesperson for Twitter declined to comment on the reports. Read more: BBC News
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he wants a free trade deal with India by November. But as he prepares to meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, it’s too soon to toast the prospects of a deal that may well prove hard to agree. No other nation drinks as much whisky as India – which should have Scotland’s world-famous industry celebrating. But each bottle of Scotch sold in India comes with a hefty price tag attached, thanks to tariffs of 150% on imported liquor. So currently the majority of whisky drunk in India is made within its borders. Scotch whisky accounts for just 2% of the market. Read more: BBC News
Capital Markets Report
In 67 trades recorded on Friday, 20,818 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K191,318.89.Trading activity was recorded in AECI, Copperbelt Energy Corporation, First Quantum Minerals Zambia, Chilanga Cement, Standard Chartered Bank and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 6,973.96 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K71,172,289,877 including Shoprite Holdings and K36,389,604,437 excluding Shoprite Holdings.