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President Hakainde Hichilema expected in Ukraine, Russia for peace mission
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Asia’s growth is set to outpace that of the U.S. and Europe’s by the end of the year
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In the second week of June 2023, there were fourteen companies that recorded trades of which AECI Mining was the highest priced security.
Story of the Day
Fintech in South Africa is one of many caveats. A country with a highly banked population — yet one whose masses rarely use their accounts. A key financial and tech hub of Africa — yet with a wholly different financial services landscape compared to other African countries. South Africa’s advanced regulator breeds comparisons to countries like the UK and Australia at times, while the country deals with rolling blackouts. Through it all, the country’s fintech ascendency — and surprising stability in the current environment — is providing a vital test case for how the fintech revolution permutates in an emerging market replete with a ubiquitous — yet underutilized — banking sector. Read more
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President Hakainde Hichilema is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week as part of the African Peace Initiative aimed at addressing the situation between Russia and Ukraine. The initiative seeks to promote dialogue and peaceful negotiations between the two nations. Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Stanley Kakubo announced that President Hichilema will embark on his diplomatic trip, starting today. He will first meet President Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday, followed by a meeting with President Putin in Saint Petersburg on Saturday. President Hichilema will be accompanied by six other African Heads of State and Government, representing Comoros, Congo Brazzaville, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. Minister Kakubo highlighted that the African Peace Initiative draws upon Africa’s successful track record of resolving conflicts through dialogue and peace-building. The African leaders participating in the initiative aim to encourage open dialogue and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, leveraging their collective experience in conflict resolution. Read more: Lusaka Times
In an effort to strengthen bilateral ties and explore opportunities of mutual benefit, the Czech Republic Foreign Affairs Minister, Honourable Jan Lipavsky, and his accompanying delegation visited Zambia today. The visit was marked by a warm reception at State House, where discussions were held to foster cooperation between the two sister countries. Minister Lipavsky’s delegation consisted of prominent business representatives from the Czech Republic, showcasing the shared interest in exploring economic prospects and expanding trade relations. Both sides actively engaged in conversations, focusing on key areas such as technology, agriculture mechanization, and value addition, with the aim of boosting local and international markets. At the forefront of Zambia’s agenda was the goal of positioning the country as a production hub within the region. President Hakainde Hichilema reiterated the need for local drug production, emphasizing the importance of ensuring a sustainable supply of medications for hospitals, clinics, and neighboring countries. By producing drugs locally, Zambia aims to enhance healthcare accessibility and reduce dependency on imports. Read more: Lusaka Times
Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Governor, Denny Kalyalya, says access to finance, technical assistance, and capacity-building programmes were crucial in helping Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) navigate the challenges of carbon markets. Kalyalya noted that the development of the carbon market had been sluggish due to capacity constraints, even when Zambia already had structures for the carbon market. He said this in a speech read on his behalf by Director – Bank Supervision, Ms. Gladys Chiwele, at the two-day carbon capacity building workshop for women, youths and SMES at Lusaka’s Taj Pamodzi hotel. The workshop which opened on Tuesday, was been held under the theme,” Accelerating success for women, SMEs, and youth in Carbon markets: Paving the way for women, SMEs, and youth in carbon markets,”. Kalyalya said the transition to low-carbon economy would not only help mitigate climate change but also created new avenues for growth, innovation and investment. Read more: Zambia Monitor
A business consultant based on the Copperbelt says the answer to Zambia’s debt burden may lie in exploiting its huge gold discovery. Augustine Mubanga estimates that a well-structured gold mining subsector can stimulate to the tune of US$1.4 billion. Mubanga said the country cannot fail to get 20 tonnes of gold monthly, which can grant it in excess of US$ 1.4 billion using the prevailing world price of the precious mineral. “The government should structure a local benefits mining policy that can enable the country gain more from gold, we can generate US$1.4 billion, which would provide an alternative to the IMF,” he said in an interview in Kitwe on Tuesday. He claimed Zambia’s Chinese debt was around US$6 billion and further suggested that gold can be debt-swaped, thereby reducing the country’s debt burden. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 18.9983 | 19.0483 |
GBP | 24.0728 | 24.1438 |
EUR | 20.5790 | 20.6370 |
ZAR | 1.0375 | 1.0411 |
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The US central bank has announced it will hold interest rates steady – the first time it has opted against a rise in more than a year. The Federal Reserve kept the target for its benchmark rate at 5%-5.25% saying it wanted time to assess the impact of rate hikes so far. The bank has already raised rates 10 times since March 2022 as it battles to bring inflation under control. Bank forecasts show most officials expect rates to rise further. Read more: BBC News
Asia’s growth is set to outpace that of the U.S. and Europe’s by the end of the year as the region has been largely spared from interest rate shocks, said Morgan Stanley. “By the fourth quarter of this year, we think Asia’s growth will be outperforming U.S. and Europe by about 450 basis points,” the investment bank’s Chief Asia Economist Chetan Ahya said in a webinar on Tuesday, hours before the U.S. released its inflation print for May. Citing reasons for his optimism, he said Asia is expected to deliver healthier growth rates while the West lags behind. On top of that, China’s broad recovery could come in the second half of this year, while three large Asian economies — India, Indonesia and Japan — are also showing robust domestic demand. Read more: CNBC
Global oil demand is projected to peak in the next few years even as some major energy companies announce plans to reinvigorate their fossil fuel businesses. The world’s appetite for oil is still rising, the International Energy Agency said in a report Wednesday, but annual growth is expected to slow to just 0.4% by 2028. “The shift to a clean energy economy is picking up pace, with a peak in global oil demand in sight before the end of this decade,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. Read more: CNN
According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria has reclaimed its status as the continent’s top producer of crude oil for the month of May 2023. A report by Nigeria’sNairametrics,a business publication, shows that during the month, Nigeria produced 1.184 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to OPEC direct communication statistics. In contrast, Angola, Libya, and Algeria each produced 1.111 million barrels per day, 1.158 million barrels per day, and 962,000 barrels per day, respectively. The OPEC report also emphasized Nigeria’s economic development, noting that in the first quarter of 2023, the nation’s economy grew by 2.4% year over year. The study, however, blamed a variety of reasons, including a fall in crude oil output, for the poor rise. Read more: Business Insider
Denmark and the Netherlands are exploring the possibility of joining South Africa’s groundbreaking $8.5 billion climate-finance pact, aiming to help the country transition away from coal and embrace cleaner energy sources. Next week, the prime ministers of Denmark and the Netherlands will visit South Africa, where they are expected to make an important announcement on June 20 regarding the country’s just energy transition and the promotion of green hydrogen, Bloomberg reported. “We hope that the Netherlands is able to contribute meaningfully to South Africa’s just energy transition,” the Dutch embassy said in an emailed response to questions. “The extent and form that this contribution by the Netherlands takes will be announced on June 20.” Read more: Business Insider
In the second week of June 2023, there were fourteen companies that recorded trades of which AECI Mining was the highest priced security. In comparison to the second week of June 2022, we see eighteen companies recorded trades with AECI Mining as the highest priced. Friday’s equity trading was the best performing day of the week. Read more
In 45 trades recorded yesterday, 33,841 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K202,412.77. A share price gain of K0.99 was recorded in Chilanga Cement. Trading activity was also recorded in CEC Zambia, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 8,234.48, 0.56% higher than its previous close of 8,188.98 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,774,869,878.90 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,992,184,438.90 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day