Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Govt set to publish medium-term expenditure paper, spends K10.9 billion in June
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China accused of hacking US government emails
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Thursday’s bond trading was the best performing day in the last week of June
Story of the Day
When exploring for operate, a business tourist needs to be secure, secure and comfortable. If this is not possible, the trip might not be productive and the employee may lose motivation and production. To ensure that this is not a problem to your organization, it is crucial to plan the corporate journeys thoroughly. This requires ensuring that the employees have the best knowledge possible which they can attend specialist development possibilities when necessary. Corporate journeys are also an integral factor in attracting and retaining talent for your organisation. The chance to travel will be a major advantage for many people and, when it is effectively organized, can make the difference between whether an employee need or decrease a job deliver. Read more
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Finance and National Planning Minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane is pleased with the positive performance trajectory of the 2023 budget. Dr Musokotwane says the budget has seen the sustained financing of social sectors and meeting of several budget obligations for the current year. Dr. Musokotwane said this in reference to the June, 2023, budget expenditure in which K10.9 billion was released to finance public service delivery and developmental programmes. This is according to a statement released to ZNBC News by the Office of the Secretary to Treasury at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. Of the amount released, K4.9 billion was spent on servicing domestic and external debt and arrears, while K3.7 billion was released for the public service wage bill. Additionally, K673.5m was released for transfers, subsidies and social benefits. The Treasury also released K1.3m for implementation of various government programmes and general operations, while 407.6 Million Kwacha was spent on road infrastructure. Read more: ZNBC
President Hakainde Hichilema has called on African Member states to speak one voice and accelerate their obligations to climate action. President Hichilema says Africa should not be polarised in its ambition to redefine the narrative on how it tackles climate change. He says already Africa has demonstrated a strong momentum in how it’s tackling climate change through wooing investment into green economy. President Hichilema says there is also urgent need for the global community to meet it’s obligation to climate action as Africa does it’s part . President Hichilema said this during the virtual meeting for the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change on the Africa Climate Summit. He also advised African member states to work with private sector as the are critical to the continent and individual countries accelerating climate action. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) requires about US$1 billion to carry out a full rehabilitation of its infrastructure in the country. This is according to Transport and Logistics Minister, Frank Tayali. The minister said the long-term rehabilitation of the ZRL line is estimated to take a period of four years from commencement. Tayali told Parliament on Wednesday in Lusaka that the scope of works for the major rehabilitation will include complete track and civil rehabilitation works and purchase of brand-new rolling stock and equipment. He said other works will include refurbishment of workshops and ancillary equipment, procurement and installation of the signaling and telecoms system and capacity building/training. “Plans to undertake the major rehabilitation of the ZRL line have commenced and to this effect, in 2021 a contract was signed with a possible Contractor (Team Sweden Rail) and Phase 1 of the Contract which includes Final Track Assessment has reached 86 percent,” Tayali said. Read more: Zambia Monitor
ZESCO Limited Board Chairperson Vickson Ncube says the utility company’s intention to import power from Mozambique should not send people into panic mode. Ncube says the Zambezi River Authority’s move to reduce the country’s water allocation for power generation at Kariba Dam owing to low water levels on the Zambezi river necessitated the decision. While attending the Africa Energy Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, recently, Zesco Managing Director Victor Mapani disclosed that the utility company was planning to import some power from Mozambique to mitigate the expected deficit in the last quarter of this year and early parts of next year as water levels in important dams decline. Read more: News Diggers
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 18.4009 | 18.4495 |
GBP | 23.8587 | 23.9290 |
EUR | 20.3662 | 20.4273 |
ZAR | 1.0051 | 1.008 |
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China-based hackers have gained access to the email accounts of around 25 organisations, including government agencies, Microsoft says. The software giant has not provided details of where the government agencies are based. However, the US Department of Commerce has confirmed to the BBC that Microsoft notified it about the attack. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo was among the individuals impacted by the breach, according to reports. “Microsoft notified the Department of a compromise to Microsoft’s Office 365 system, and the Department took immediate action to respond,” a US Department of Commerce spokesperson told the BBC. “We are monitoring our systems and will respond promptly should any further activity be detected,” they added. US media reported that the State Department had also been targeted by the hackers. Read more: BBC News
The rate of price growth in the US dropped to its slowest pace in more than two years last month, helped by cheaper used cars. Inflation rose 3% in the year to June, according to data, from 4% in May. Inflation has fallen sharply from a peak of more than 9% in June 2022 and the latest reading marks the slowest pace since March 2021. The figures suggest a succession of interest rate rises have punctured soaring prices. However, analysts still expected the US Federal Reserve to raise rates again this month. Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings, said June’s slowdown in US inflation was “really only a small step in the right direction.” Read more: BBC News
Elon Musk on Wednesday announced the formation of a new company focused on artificial intelligence, after months of teasing plans to build a rival to ChatGPT. The company, called xAI, unveiled a website and a team of a dozen staffers. The new company will be led by Musk, according to the website, and “will work closely with X (Twitter), Tesla, and other companies to make progress towards our mission.” “The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe,” the website states, echoing language Musk has used before to describe his AI ambitions. Read more: CNN
The International Monetary Fund’s board approved a $3 billion bailout program for Pakistan which will immediately disburse about $1.2 billion to help stabilize the South Asian ailing economy, the lender said on Wednesday. Pakistan and the fund reached a staff level agreement last month, securing a short-term pact, which got more than expected funding for the country of 230 million people. The country has faced an acute balance of payments crisis with only enough central bank reserves to cover barely a month of controlled imports. The board’s approval was mandatory before disbursing the first tranche, with the rest to arrive later in installments. The IMF executive board “approved a 9-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Pakistan for an amount of SDR2,250 million (about $3 billion, or 111% of quota) to support the authorities’ economic stabilization program,” the lender said in a statement. Read more: CNN
In the fifth week of 2023 bond trading, there were four days that recorded trades during the week of which Thursday’s bond trading was the best performing day of the week. Bonds of total face value of K4764,807,000 were transacted in 76 trades, resulting in a market value of K499,072,080. 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 79 trades recorded today 1,082,849 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K2,096,872.86. A share price gain of K0.01 was recorded in CEC Zambia and share price losses of K0.05 and K0.02 were recorded in Chilanga Cement and Zambeef respectively. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 8,228.30 up by 0.001% from its previous close of 8,228.25. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,747,987,007.45 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,965,301,567.45 excluding Shoprite Holdings.