Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
-
Zambia, Angola and DRC Handover Concession of Lobito Corridor
-
Yellen to visit China this week in mission to help stabilise ties
-
The IMF grants a $203.3 Million loan to boost DRC’s foreign exchange reserves
In Local Business News Sponsored by
Zambia, Angola and the DRC have handed over the concession to a consortium of three companies to operate, manage and maintain the Lobito Corridor for a period of 30 years. And President Hakainde Hichilema has called for the quick implementation of the project so that the intended beneficiaries can begin to realize benefits. President Hichilema says there is also need for the three countries to rationalize laws and policies surrounding the Lobito Corridor such as border areas operations. Mr. Hichilema has assured Angola and the DRC of his government’s commitment to the project. He says the Lobito Corridor is the nerve centre of economic development for the three countries. Read more: ZNBC
The World Food Programme has approved a US$98,463,341 country strategic plan for Zambia for the period 2023 to 2028. And Agriculture Minister Mtolo Phiri says the approval shows the WFP Board’s commitment towards supporting the Zambian government’s ambitions to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people and strengthen the country’s economy. In a statement, Friday, First Secretary for Press at the Zambian Embassy in Rome, Italy Pamela Mulenga said the development was announced at the United Nations World Food Programme Annual Executive Board currently taking place in that country. Read more: News Diggers
National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) is said to have collected over K1 billion from Toll Gates this year, representing a collection performance efficiency of 126 percent. NRFA Public Relations Manager, Alphonsius Hamachila, said the K1.1 billion was raised from 38 Toll collection points across the country between January and May 2023. This is against a target of K887 million during this period. Hamachila said this at the ongoing Zambia International Trade Fair in Ndola on Sunday. He said the NRFA, through the Ministry of Finance and National Planning was channelling most of this revenue towards dismantling arrears owed to road contractors and consultants. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Zambia is losing over $10 million per annum due in forex due to lost production hours and revenues following the indefinite closure of Kasenseli gold mine of Mwinilunga, North Western Province. This follows revelations that during the first full year of the mine opening (from about June 2020 – October 2021), it had produced a total of about 143Kgs of gold worth over $10 million. It is now over one and half years (18 months to be specific) after the Government suspended operations at the gold mine, the country continues to lose out on this project as no definite decision regarding its reopening or way forward has been made, indecision seems to have creeped in. A total production of about 143kgs of gold was achieved in the first year of operations. Kasenseli gold mine was able to hit first year production of 143 kg of gold, which could have now been doubled or even quadrupled if production and investment plans were not discontinued. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 17.6815 | 17.7293 |
GBP | 22.4820 | 22.5499 |
EUR | 19.2657 | 19.3214 |
ZAR | 0.9447 | 0.9478 |
In International Business News Sponsored By
Janet Yellen, the United States’s Treasury secretary, will visit Beijing this week in the second trip by a top official in a matter of weeks as the world’s two biggest economies try to repair frayed ties. Yellen will travel to Beijing from July 6-9, the US Treasury Department said in a statement on Sunday. The visit was also confirmed in a statement by China’s Finance Ministry on Monday morning. Yellen is expected to discuss the importance for both countries “to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges,” the Treasury Department statement said. Read more: Al Jazeera
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has granted the Democratic Republic of the Congo a $203.3 million loan to increase the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, which have dropped to $4.5 billion and are now only enough to pay two months’ worth of imports. The loan is a component of the extended credit facility (ECF) agreement the DRC agreed with the multilateral lender in July 2021. Under the terms of the agreement, DRC will receive 1.066 special drawing rights (SDRs), or about $1.52 billion, by the year 2024. With the payment, the total cash received under the agreement now stands at $1.02 billion. The East African Community (EAC) trading bloc’s mandated 4.5 months of import cushion has not been met by the DRC’s foreign exchange reserves. Read more: Business Insider
Despite facing challenges like inflation and supply-chain bottlenecks, Uganda’s economy is gaining momentum. According to the World Bank’s latest report, the country’s economic activity is projected to grow by 5.7 per cent in FY22/23. The services sector, driven by rapid growth in information and communication technologies (ICTs), has been the driving force behind the post-pandemic recovery. Real estate and construction have also performed well. However, the agricultural sector has faced difficulties due to droughts and heavy rains, leading to rising costs. Uganda’s per capita income has shown improvement, nearing the lower-middle-income threshold at approximately US$930 for FY21/22. Read more: Business Insider
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has said that the company’s newly-launched Threads app aims to outrival Twitter. Experts say Threads could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform. Threads – which is not launching in the European Union for now – allows users to post up to 500 characters, and has many features similar to Twitter. The app passed five million sign-ups in its first four hours, Mr Zuckerberg said. Earlier, he said that keeping the platform “friendly… will ultimately be the key to its success”. But Twitter chief Elon Musk responded: “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter, than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.” Read more: BBC News
In 29 trades recorded yesterday 1,618 shares were transacted reuslting in a turnover of K9,706.72. Trading activity was recorded in CEC Zambia, Zambeef and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 8,238.86 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,793,950,255.85 including Shoprite Holdings and K42,011,264,815.85 excluding Shoprite Holdings.