Story of the Day:
Lafarge Cement, Zambia’s top ranking player in cement aggregates and concrete businesses recently published it’s Annual Report, in which the Company’s Chairman elaborated how Lafarge showcased it’s business resilience, innovation and commitment to delivering value for all stakeholders in a period characterized by unprecedented global challenges with the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting global businesses. Read more
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Four years ago Hakainde Hichilema was being held in a Zambian prison accused of treason. Now he is aiming to save the southern African nation from financial ruin. Nearly 100 days into his presidency after he beat the man who put him in jail, former leader Edgar Lungu, in a landslide election victory, Hichilema faces the task of turning round the resource-rich but near-bankrupt country. Read more: Financial Times
Zambia’s Foreign Affairs minister Stanely Kakubo said on Wednesday he had discussed the refinancing of Chinese debt with the China’s foreign affairs minister. “We are discussing issues to do with how that debt can be re-negotiated by the minister of finance,” Kakubo told parliament, adding the conversation had taken place in a recent telephone call. Read more: Yahoo Finance
Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Wednesday that he was in active engagement with the World Bank Group and other multilateral organisations for funding to the agricultural sector. Read more: Reuters
The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has launched the Service Charter intended to enhance the standards of operation of the Board. Minister of Energy Peter Kapala indicated that the Service Charter has been developed in the spirit of realigning ERB’s service delivery commitments to new legislation under the National Energy Policy of 2019. Read more: Lusaka Times
International Business and Finance
Americans’ cost of living is rising faster than it has for three decades, with food and fuel driving the increases. The consumer prices index for October showed prices rose 6.2% over the last twelve months. It marks a sharp jump from September when prices were already rising at 5.4%. Read more: BBC News
Elon Musk has sold his first block of Tesla shares since 2016, exercising some stock options and then selling a portion of that to raise the cash he’ll need to pay taxes on the shares he acquired. The options he exercised were about 9% of those he will need to exercise by August of 2022, or the option to purchase them will expire. But exercising those shares will result in a $1 billion federal tax bill, under the top federal income tax rate of 37%, with another 3.8% net investment tax on top of that. Read more: CNN
U.S. solar and wind deployments are on track to hit new records in 2022 as momentum behind the energy transition grows, according to a new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The firm expects as much as 44 gigawatts of utility-scale solar, and 27 gigawatts of wind to come online next year. For solar, the forecast is nearly double 2021′s estimated 23 gigawatts of new capacity. For wind, 2022′s projected additions easily surpass the current annual record of 16 gigawatts, set in 2020. Read more: CNBC
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In 53 trades recorded yesterday, 4,383,470 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K6,141,854.00. Trading activity was recorded in, British American Tobacco Zambia, Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Pamodzi, Puma, Standard Chartered Zambia, ZCCM, Zambia Sugar, and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) remained at 5,269.12 with a percentage change of 0.21.
Chart of the Day:
