Good afternoon. Here’s what you need to know today.
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BOZ Approves Access Bank Zambia, Atlas Mara Merger
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Silicon Valley Bank bought by rival
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Airtel Zambia shareholders approve final dividend
Story of the Day
On the 25th of March 2023, When Females Lead, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and raising confident female leaders across the continent, held the Women in the Boardroom event at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka. Under the theme “Thriving in the Boardroom,” the event brought together predominantly female established professionals, corporate leaders and aspiring young professionals. The purpose of the event was to raise funds for the construction of a maternity wing in Mwalukanga Village, a rural community in Zambia where access to quality healthcare is limited. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
The Bank of Zambia has approved the acquisition of African Banking Corporation limited (Atlas Mara) by Access Bank of Zambia limited and the subsequent merger of the two entities effective March, 2023. In a press statement availed to the media by Bank of Zambia Assistant Director, Communications, Besnat Mwanza says the approval is reflective of the Bank of Zambia’s commitment to financial systems stability and support the Banking sector in playing a meaningful role in economic development. Ms Mwanza has since informed the public that in the meantime, the two Banks will operate as two separate entities until the process of regulatory consolidation and transitioning has been concluded. She said once concluded, the merged Banks will operate as Access Bank Zambia limited. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) says it expects to collect tax revenue to a tune of K23.7 billion in the first quarter of 2023. Speaking in an interview with Money FM News on the sidelines of the just ended ZRA/USAID media training on tax reporting, Authority Director-Research and Corporate Strategy Ezekiel Phiri revealed that ZRA has so far collected a gross amount of K17 billion in January and February, 2023. Mr. Phiri also disclosed that during the same period, tax refunds for various tax claims amounted to K2.7 billion, leaving the Authority with net revenue of K15 billion against the K16.4 billion target for the two months. Read more: Money FM
Invest Africa, a leading business and investment platform, has said Zambia is set to attract foreign investment due to its ripe business environment. Karen Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, spoke exclusively to Zambia Monitor in an interview in Lusaka on Wednesday, stating that Zambia was ready for investment. She said: “As a delegation, we feel the country is ready for investment, the environment is right, and it’s very much Zambia’s moment which should be grabbed with both hands.” Read more: Zambia Monitor
Investors are optimistic about Zambia’s long-term potential for economic development, particularly in renewable energy, and sustainable agriculture despite the country’s debt and challenges. This is according to the Zambia Impact Investment Climate Survey 2022/23 report unveiled in Lusaka undertaken by the Zambian National Advisory Board on Impact Investing (NABII), Prospero Zambia Limited and Creo-Hub. The report showed that despite Zambia’s debt and economic challenges, investors were optimistic and committed to invest in Zambia. It showed that investors were optimistic about Zambia’s long-term potential for economic development, particularly in Renewable Energy, Sustainable Agriculture, Financial Services and Environment. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Zambia’s President, Hakainde Hichilema, has urged his fellow citizens not to demonise the export of electricity. Speaking at the commissioning of the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydro Power Station, President Hichilema expressed his gratitude to the Chinese Government, Sino Hydro, ZESCO workers, and other construction staff for their phenomenal engineering achievement that will help end load-shedding in the country. He implored ZESCO to prioritize local people as the principal beneficiaries of the KGL station through the provision of power and jobs. President Hichilema also called on Zambians not to be misled about the export of surplus power to neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe and Malawi. President Hichilema further stated that energy exportation is crucial for generating foreign exchange, which is necessary for sustainable development. He said the government is determined to make energy exportation second to mining in terms of generating foreign exchange for the country. Read more: Lusaka Times
In a major development, the World Bank has appointed a Zambian National, Dr. Samuel Munzele Maimbo, as its Vice President for Budget, Performance Review and Strategic Planning. This appointment is a testament to the exceptional capabilities of Dr. Maimbo and his extensive experience in the field of international development and banking. Dr. Maimbo has been associated with the World Bank for over two years now, where he previously served as the Director of the International Development Association (IDA) Resource Mobilization and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) Corporate Finance department. In this role, he was responsible for implementing IDA’s hybrid financial model and conducting policy analysis of IBRD income and corporate finance. Prior to that, he served as the Chief of Staff in the Office of the World Bank President since September 2022. Read more: Lusaka Times
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Average Exchange rates: 24-03-2023 | ||
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Currency | Buying | Selling |
USD | 21.0955 | 21.1409 |
GBP | 25.7703 | 25.8342 |
EUR | 22.6692 | 22.7265 |
ZAR | 1.1580 | 1.1609 |
In International Business News
Billionaire mining tycoon Anil Agarwal fights to clear debt. For decades, Anil Agarwal cultivated a reputation as one of India’s great survivors. Starting as a scrap metal dealer, the billionaire magnate built a mining conglomerate to rival any other, weathering cash crunches, government friction and disputes with Indigenous people over expansion plans. But in recent months, Agarwal has faced one of his toughest acts yet. The tycoon’s Vedanta Resources Ltd. has close to $2 billion of bonds to settle in 2024 — half of which is due in January. Short of that, his London-headquartered company risks getting cut deeper into junk and losing crucial access to funding. That’s bad news for one of India’s richest men, who has long dreamed of competing against Glencore Plc and BHP Billiton as the world’s dominant natural resources supplier. Read more: Bloomberg
The assets and loans of collapsed US lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) are being bought by rival First Citizens BancShares. The failure of SVB earlier this month triggered fears about the stability of other lenders, sparking sharp falls in bank shares around the world. In Europe, worries over the strength of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse led to a rushed takeover by rival UBS. Markets have remained nervous, although bank shares opened higher on Monday. Read more: BBC News
Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar al-Khudairy resigned his post on Monday, days after his comments exacerbated the share collapse of troubled bank Credit Suisse. He will be replaced by SNB Managing Director and Group CEO Mohammed al-Ghamdi, with former deputy Talal Ahmed al-Khereiji now the new SNB acting CEO, according to a SNB statement to the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). Al-Khudairy is stepping down “due to personal reasons,” the bank said. Al-Khudairy’s resignation comes within days of his mid-March comments to Bloomberg that SNB was unlikely to increase its stake in Credit Suisse, at a time when the European lender battled a crisis of investor confidence that plunged its shares. The then-SNB chairman said the Saudi bank would not intercede “for many reasons outside the simplest reason, which is regulatory and statutory.” Read more: CNBC
The head of the International Monetary Fund called for greater vigilance over the global financial system during a speech in China on Sunday in which she also pointed to “green shoots” emerging in the world’s second-largest economy. “Risks to financial stability have increased,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said during remarks at the China Development Forum in Beijing. Georgieva lauded how policy-makers had acted swiftly in response to the banking crisis, citing the recent collaboration by major central banks to boost the flow of US dollars around the world. “These actions have eased market stress to some extent,” she said. “But uncertainty is high, which underscores the need for vigilance.” Read more: BBC News
Finally, Capital Markets Report
At the Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) held on 23rd March 2023 in Lusaka, a Final Dividend of ZMW5.5 Kwacha per share for the financial year ended 31st December 2022 was approved by the Shareholders of Airtel Networks Zambia Plc (“Airtel”). Read more
In 62 trades recorded yesterday, 10,155,410 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K12,692,957.82. A share price gain of K0.02 was recorded in CEC Zambia and a share price gain of K0.10 was recorded in Standard Chartered Bank Limited. Trading activity was also recorded in PUMA, Real Estate Investments Zambia, Zambeef and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,285.09 points 0.63% up from its previous close of 7,239.32. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,642,355,538.78 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,859,670,098.78 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day