Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Mobile money transactions reach K170 billion in 2022, as 2 million SIM cards eliminated
-
Shocking IMF report reveals Angola and Ethiopia to surpass Kenya as top economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
-
In the second week of January, bonds of total face value of K574,009,000 were transacted in 48 trades
Story of the Day
Two weeks into January 2023, in the battle of opposites between the equity market and the bond market. There was a 93% score on the bond market to 7% on the equities side. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
Mobile money transactions have hit K170 billion in 2022, four times Zambia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati has said. These financial transactions were collectively carried out on Airtel, MTN and Zamtel mobile money platforms in 2022. Mutati said this during the unveiling of the MTN Enterprise Business Unit (EBU) in Lusaka on Friday. Read more: Zambia Monitor
A payment system that will ensure smooth transactions under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is currently underway. The payment system is being developed by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank). This is according to the UBA Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba on Tuesday in Lusaka when he met with the UBA Zambia customers. Alawuba pointed out that the bank was keen to build a strong payment system for settlement of trade in Africa. Read more: Zambia Monitor
An agreement for Lobito Corridor Traffic Transport Facilitation Agency (LCTTFA) will be signed in Angola’s coastal Benguela Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia are expected to sign the deal on Friday (27). The signing of the corridor governance tool will create a framework for the SADC state members to jointly develop laws, policies, regulations and harmonised corridor systems. The agreement will also promote the development of infrastructures in a coordinated and consistent way, as well as, aligned with the SADC Treaty, Protocols and frameworks for development as the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030. Read more: MSN
The Central Bank of Zambia has granted Zeepay Zambia approval to operate a revolutionary new remittance outbound service directly from its Zeepay Mobile Money Wallet. This groundbreaking service will empower Zambians to easily and securely transfer money directly from their mobile money wallets to over 150 countries around the world. Read more: Pulse Ghana
The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) is urging the Zambian government to extensively engage with relevant stakeholders in the process of developing legislation on carbon market. This comes after the signing of the 450 million Euros Forest partnership between the European Union (EU) and Zambia, as well as four other countries, at the COP27 to the Paris agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt). Read more: Lusaka Times
First Quantum Minerals (FQM) Trident Limited has awarded a 7% salary increment to unionized employees in Kalumbila district. The agreement was signed between FQM Trident Limited and National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW), Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ), Miners and Allied Workers Union (MAWU) and United Mine Workers Union of Zambia -UMUZ. And NUMAW President Saul Simujika, who spoke on behalf of the three unions said the unions had higher expectations for their members considering the fact that Trident Limited is currently the largest copper producer in the country. Read more: ZNBC
Energy Minister Peter Kapala says the importation of electricity from Mozambique is likely to commence early next week. Mr. Kapala says paper work relating to the importation is expected to be completed by this week. The Minister says the outstanding US$24 million dollar debt to Mozambique has been cleared. he says the additional supply of about 102 mega watts is expected to cushion the current load-shedding being experienced in the country. Read more: ZNBC
In International Business News
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently projected that the economies of Ethiopia and Angola are set to overtake Kenya in terms of size, potentially weakening Kenya’s ability to attract investors with its growing consumer market. The IMF expects the economies of Ethiopia and Angola to expand by 13.5 per cent and 8.6 per cent, respectively, on dollar terms this year. However, Kenya is projected to record a slower growth of 2.4 per cent in the review period as the country grapples with the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, drought, election jitters, and disruption of global supply chains by the Russia-Ukraine war. Read more: Business Insider
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the credit ratings of the Nigerian government due to the country’s continuing fiscal and debt position decline. The long-term foreign-currency and local-currency issuer ratings, as well as the foreign currency senior unsecured debt ratings, have been lowered to Caa1 from B3, and the outlook has been changed to stable. The main driver behind the rating downgrade is Moody’s expectation that the Nigerian government’s fiscal and debt position will continue to deteriorate. Read more: Business Insider
Federal Reserve policymakers are finally seeing some sustained progress in sapping high inflation, cementing their plan to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point next week, with traders betting they’ll end their hiking campaign in March. The U.S. central bank’s preferred gauge for inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, rose 5.0% in December from a year earlier, slower than the 5.5% 12-month gain as of November, the government reported on Friday, and the lowest level since September 2021. Read more: Reuters
The world’s biggest luxury group has reported strong sales driven by the holiday shopping season. LVMH said they experienced a second straight record year with revenue and profits despite geopolitical tensions and high cost of living. Sales reached almost $25bn, a 9% increase in the final three months of the year. The company saw strong growth in Europe, US and Japan which made up for losses in China due to Covid lockdowns. Read more: BBC News
Stock futures traded lower on Monday morning as investors geared up for a week of key corporate earnings and a possible interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 102 points, or about 0.3%. S&P 500 futures ticked down 0.34%, and Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower by 0.41%. Read more: CNBC
Finally, Capital Markets News
In the second week of the month of January 2023 bond trading, there were four days that recorded trades of which Wednesday’s bond trading was the best performing day of the week. Bonds of total face value of K574,009,000 were transacted in 48 trades, resulting in a market value sales of K360,291,710. Bonds are a low-risk investment issued when the government borrows money from its people. You can purchase bonds using the Lusaka Securities Exchange Application online. Read more
In 48 trades recorded on Friday, 779,120 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K850,809.27. A share price loss of K0.01 was recorded in CEC Zambia. Trading activity was recorded in Chilanga Cement, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed 7,222.94 points down by 0.05% from its previous close of 7,226.68 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,371,854,623.44 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,589,169,183.44 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day
Zambeef Products Plc has continued on its mission to revamp its retail division, as part of the company’s continued efforts to expand its product range and provide locally produced goods. Latest in this move is the company’s newly renovated mini macro outlet in Livingstone, which will stock supplementary products such as rice, kapenta and fish which are sourced from local companies in the country. Read more
Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
-
Mobile money transactions reach K170 billion in 2022, as 2 million SIM cards eliminated
-
Shocking IMF report reveals Angola and Ethiopia to surpass Kenya as top economies in Sub-Saharan Africa
-
In the second week of January, bonds of total face value of K574,009,000 were transacted in 48 trades
Story of the Day
Two weeks into January 2023, in the battle of opposites between the equity market and the bond market. There was a 93% score on the bond market to 7% on the equities side. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
Mobile money transactions have hit K170 billion in 2022, four times Zambia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati has said. These financial transactions were collectively carried out on Airtel, MTN and Zamtel mobile money platforms in 2022. Mutati said this during the unveiling of the MTN Enterprise Business Unit (EBU) in Lusaka on Friday. Read more: Zambia Monitor
A payment system that will ensure smooth transactions under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is currently underway. The payment system is being developed by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank). This is according to the UBA Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba on Tuesday in Lusaka when he met with the UBA Zambia customers. Alawuba pointed out that the bank was keen to build a strong payment system for settlement of trade in Africa. Read more: Zambia Monitor
An agreement for Lobito Corridor Traffic Transport Facilitation Agency (LCTTFA) will be signed in Angola’s coastal Benguela Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia are expected to sign the deal on Friday (27). The signing of the corridor governance tool will create a framework for the SADC state members to jointly develop laws, policies, regulations and harmonised corridor systems. The agreement will also promote the development of infrastructures in a coordinated and consistent way, as well as, aligned with the SADC Treaty, Protocols and frameworks for development as the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2020-2030. Read more: MSN
The Central Bank of Zambia has granted Zeepay Zambia approval to operate a revolutionary new remittance outbound service directly from its Zeepay Mobile Money Wallet. This groundbreaking service will empower Zambians to easily and securely transfer money directly from their mobile money wallets to over 150 countries around the world. Read more: Pulse Ghana
The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) is urging the Zambian government to extensively engage with relevant stakeholders in the process of developing legislation on carbon market. This comes after the signing of the 450 million Euros Forest partnership between the European Union (EU) and Zambia, as well as four other countries, at the COP27 to the Paris agreement in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt). Read more: Lusaka Times
First Quantum Minerals (FQM) Trident Limited has awarded a 7% salary increment to unionized employees in Kalumbila district. The agreement was signed between FQM Trident Limited and National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW), Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ), Miners and Allied Workers Union (MAWU) and United Mine Workers Union of Zambia -UMUZ. And NUMAW President Saul Simujika, who spoke on behalf of the three unions said the unions had higher expectations for their members considering the fact that Trident Limited is currently the largest copper producer in the country. Read more: ZNBC
Energy Minister Peter Kapala says the importation of electricity from Mozambique is likely to commence early next week. Mr. Kapala says paper work relating to the importation is expected to be completed by this week. The Minister says the outstanding US$24 million dollar debt to Mozambique has been cleared. he says the additional supply of about 102 mega watts is expected to cushion the current load-shedding being experienced in the country. Read more: ZNBC
In International Business News
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently projected that the economies of Ethiopia and Angola are set to overtake Kenya in terms of size, potentially weakening Kenya’s ability to attract investors with its growing consumer market. The IMF expects the economies of Ethiopia and Angola to expand by 13.5 per cent and 8.6 per cent, respectively, on dollar terms this year. However, Kenya is projected to record a slower growth of 2.4 per cent in the review period as the country grapples with the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, drought, election jitters, and disruption of global supply chains by the Russia-Ukraine war. Read more: Business Insider
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the credit ratings of the Nigerian government due to the country’s continuing fiscal and debt position decline. The long-term foreign-currency and local-currency issuer ratings, as well as the foreign currency senior unsecured debt ratings, have been lowered to Caa1 from B3, and the outlook has been changed to stable. The main driver behind the rating downgrade is Moody’s expectation that the Nigerian government’s fiscal and debt position will continue to deteriorate. Read more: Business Insider
Federal Reserve policymakers are finally seeing some sustained progress in sapping high inflation, cementing their plan to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point next week, with traders betting they’ll end their hiking campaign in March. The U.S. central bank’s preferred gauge for inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, rose 5.0% in December from a year earlier, slower than the 5.5% 12-month gain as of November, the government reported on Friday, and the lowest level since September 2021. Read more: Reuters
The world’s biggest luxury group has reported strong sales driven by the holiday shopping season. LVMH said they experienced a second straight record year with revenue and profits despite geopolitical tensions and high cost of living. Sales reached almost $25bn, a 9% increase in the final three months of the year. The company saw strong growth in Europe, US and Japan which made up for losses in China due to Covid lockdowns. Read more: BBC News
Stock futures traded lower on Monday morning as investors geared up for a week of key corporate earnings and a possible interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 102 points, or about 0.3%. S&P 500 futures ticked down 0.34%, and Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower by 0.41%. Read more: CNBC
Finally, Capital Markets News
In the second week of the month of January 2023 bond trading, there were four days that recorded trades of which Wednesday’s bond trading was the best performing day of the week. Bonds of total face value of K574,009,000 were transacted in 48 trades, resulting in a market value sales of K360,291,710. Bonds are a low-risk investment issued when the government borrows money from its people. You can purchase bonds using the Lusaka Securities Exchange Application online. Read more
In 48 trades recorded on Friday, 779,120 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K850,809.27. A share price loss of K0.01 was recorded in CEC Zambia. Trading activity was recorded in Chilanga Cement, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed 7,222.94 points down by 0.05% from its previous close of 7,226.68 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,371,854,623.44 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,589,169,183.44 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day
Zambeef Products Plc has continued on its mission to revamp its retail division, as part of the company’s continued efforts to expand its product range and provide locally produced goods. Latest in this move is the company’s newly renovated mini macro outlet in Livingstone, which will stock supplementary products such as rice, kapenta and fish which are sourced from local companies in the country. Read more
