Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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US, China hold local talks in Zambia over country’s economy, debt crisis
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IMF says U.S-China tensions could cost the world about 2% of its output
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Bata shareholders approve a dividend of 0.35 ngwee per share
Story of the Day
They say the best time to bow out is when you are on top. One gets that sense when reading the recent announcement from Zambia Sugar that the Chief Financial Officer Raphael Chipoma was exiting the boardroom. At the end of their last financial year, Zambia Sugar recorded total revenue for the year ended 31 August 2022 of K5.111 billion, which represented a 2.4% increase from the prior year comparative, bolstered largely by a 5% growth in domestic sales volume. But what was even more exciting was what was happening on the balance sheet relating to the company’s debt position. According to analysis conducted by African Financials, the sugar manufacturer achieved strong technical performance, in both factory and fields, and had focused working capital management resulting in strong cash generation which led to significantly reduced borrowings from K403 million at the beginning of the year to K42 million at year end. This is why the board has expressed gratitude for the work the Rapael has done for the company. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
In a move to easy the tension on their perceived growing influence on Zambia’s economy, the government of the United States of America (USA) met their Chinese counterpart to discuss collaboration on areas of mutual interest in Zambia. During the meeting held at the American Embassy in Lusaka on Tuesday, US Ambassador to Zambia, Micheal Gonzales, and Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) Ambassador to Zambia, Du Xiaohui, deliberated on issues such as anti-corruption measures and strengthening the Zambian economy. Gonzales said the United States shares President Hakainde Hichilema’s vision of seeing Zambia engage positively with all partners committed to collaborating to benefit the Zambian people. He said his government and China both seek to support a strong and vibrant Zambian economy. “A conducive business environment, set on the foundations of transparency in operations and strict compliance with the rule of law,” Gonzales said. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Silicon Valley start-up KoBold Metals, which uses artificial intelligence to identify battery metal deposits, has appointed a woman as CEO of its copper unit in Zambia, making her the country’s first female head in a mining exploration company. Top female executives at global metals and mining companies held just over 11% of C-suite positions in 2022, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence shows. In Zambia, Africa’s second biggest producer of copper, which is in high demand for the transition to a low-carbon economy, Mfikeyi Makayi will be the most senior woman yet in the mining sector. “I am the first Zambian woman running an exploration or even a mining company in the country… (Mining) is something that will drive our economy into the future if we get this right,” Makayi told Reuters in an interview. Read more: Reuters
President Hakainde Hichilema says Southern Africa must never run short of energy as this will create ripple effects on factories, small-scale businesses and cause employment issues. According to a statement, President Hichilema said this on Wednesday when he conducted a tour of the Maputo Combined Cycle Thermoelectric Power Plant where he was briefed on the construction and operations of the company. Hichilema noted the great effort by the company not only to increase their capacity to generate, but also their undertaking to convey this power to demand areas in order to strike a balance between supply and demand. He implored the company to utilize the borrowed financing to invest in the company that will ultimately generate income. Read more: Zambian Monitor
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is collaborating with the Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to build resilient economies that can withstand shocks within the region. This collaboration is also meant to promote sustainable development, empowering women and youth, and improving the livelihoods of the people in the region, says UNDP country Representative, Lionel Laurens. Laurens said this included promoting job creation, developing infrastructure, and promoting sustainable agriculture and natural resource management. He said this at the COMESA – UNDP partnership dialogue on Tuesday in Lusaka. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Finance Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane has said the government is aware of the challenges that local businesses and entrepreneurs are facing in accessing finance to grow their businesses. During the launch of the new head office and new Longacres branch of Zambia Industrial Commercial Bank, Dr. Musokotwane said the number one obstacle to the growth of businesses in Zambia is access to finance. He said the government want to see enhanced growth and increased productivity of local businesses because it is the most sustainable way to create wealth and alleviate poverty among the people. Read more: Lusaka Times
Zambia is experiencing a mealie meal shortage, which has prompted the government to take action. The Zambia Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) is urging its members to take advantage of the government’s move to allow the importation of mealie meal and to utilize the quickened process related to the acquisition of import permits. This will help avert the situation and satisfy the overwhelming demand for mealie meal in the country. In addition, Agriculture Minister Reuben Mtolo has disclosed that the government will release 65,000 metric tonnes of maize to millers this week to suppress the current demand for mealie meal. Read more: Lusaka Times
Minister of Health has disclosed that the Global fund has disbursed a total of US$1.6 billion to Zambia towards the fight against public health threats such as HIV, TB, Malaria and COVID-19. Speaking when Global Fund Board Chairperson Dr. Donald Kaberuka paid a courtesy call on her, Sylvia Masebo commended the Fund for allocating to Zambia about US$350 million. Ms. Masebo said this will further boost the fight against HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as in building resilient and sustainable systems for health. Read more: Money FM
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 19.9491 | 19.9991 |
GBP | 24.9024 | 24.9728 |
EUR | 21.8382 | 21.9010 |
ZAR | 1.1144 | 1.1176 |
In International Business News
The International Monetary Fund said in a Wednesday report that global tensions could disrupt overseas investment and eventually lead to a long-term loss of 2% of the world’s gross domestic product. Companies and policymakers across the globe are exploring ways to make their supply chains more resilient by “moving production home or to trusted countries,” the IMF warned in its report, adding that this will lead to fragmenting foreign direct investment. The IMF pointed to recent bills adopted against the backdrop of rising tensions between the U.S. and China, such as Washington’s Chips and Science Act. Japan recently imposed its own restrictions on 23 types of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, joining U.S. efforts to curb China’s ability to make advanced chips. Read more: CNBC
United States President Joe Biden has said artificial intelligence (AI) “could be” dangerous but it remains to be seen how the technology will affect society. Speaking at the start of a meeting with science and technology advisers on Tuesday, Biden said technology companies had a responsibility to ensure their products are safe before their release. “Tech companies have a responsibility, in my view, to make sure their products are safe before making them public,” Biden said at the opening of a meeting of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Asked if AI was dangerous, Biden said it “remains to be seen” but “it could be”. Read more: Al Jazeera
Asia will see strong economic growth this year following China’s scrapping of strict pandemic curbs, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said. Economies in Asia and the Pacific are expected to grow by 4.8 percent in 2023 and 2024, up from 4.2 percent last year, amid rising consumption, tourism and investment, the ADB said in its latest growth outlook released on Tuesday. China’s economy is on track to grow by 5 percent this year and 4.5 percent in 2024, the ABD said. The bank also highlighted a strong outlook for India, with growth estimated to hit 6.4 percent this year and 6.7 percent next year. Inflation is expected to slow to 4.2 percent in 2023 and 3.3 percent in 2024, after hitting 4.4 percent last year. Read more: Al Jazeera
The US Virgin Islands wants to expand its lawsuit accusing JPMorgan Chase & Co of aiding in Jeffrey Epstein’s trafficking of girls and young women, adding a new obstruction charge and a claim that bank executives joked about the late financier. In a Monday filing in Manhattan federal court, the territory said Epstein’s behaviour had been “so widely known” at JPMorgan, where he was a client from 2000 to 2013, that senior executives “joked about Epstein’s interest in young girls”. JPMorgan did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters after market hours. Read more: Al Jazeera
Morgan Stanley said on Thursday it looks forward to setting up a futures company in China after the country’s securities regulator accepted its application. China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) accepted Morgan Stanley’s application to open up a futures business in the world’s second-largest economy on Monday, according to CSRC’s website. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson said the bank “looks forward to establishing a futures company in China as we grow our domestic business footprint.” Read more: Yahoo Finance
Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s plan to build a $19 billion chipmaking plant in India is floundering as his venture struggles to secure a technology partner and faces challenges in obtaining financial incentives from the government. Seven months after Agarwal announced a chip partnership between his Vedanta Resources Ltd. and Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the venture is yet to tie up with a fabrication unit operator or license manufacturing-grade technology, people familiar with the matter said. One of those is required for the venture to receive the significant financial incentives the government has pledged for such projects. Read more: Yahoo Finance
Britain’s media and communications regulator Ofcom says it has “significant concerns” that Amazon and Microsoft could be harming competition in the market for cloud services. In a statement Wednesday, Ofcom said it was “proposing to refer” the cloud services market to the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK antitrust regulator, for further investigation. Ofcom’s own probe, which it launched in October, had so far uncovered some “concerning practices, including by some of the biggest tech firms in the world,” said Fergal Farragher, the Ofcom director leading the investigation. Read more: CNN
At the 61st Annual General Meeting held on 27th March 2023, a final dividend of K0.35 ngwee per share for the period ended 31st December 2022 was approved by the shareholders of the Company. In accordance with the requirements of the Securities Act 2016 and the Listing Rules of the Lusaka Securities Exchange, notice is hereby given that the dividend shall be payable to shareholders registered in the Company’s books at the close of business on Friday 5th May, 2023, which shall be the record date. The Company shall commence payments on Monday, 8th May, 2023. Therefore, the last day to trade and qualify for the announced dividend will be 2nd May, 2023. Read more
In 39 trades recorded yesterday, 17,743 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K62,336. Trading activity was also recorded in AECI, Airtel, CEC Zambia, Chilanga Cement, National Breweries, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambian Breweries, Zambeef, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar as well as CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintainted its closed at 7,922.17 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K75,415,453,218.77 including Shoprite Holdings and K40,632,767,778.77 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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