Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
-
Bank of Zambia Increases Rates by 25 Basis Points
-
World Bank President David Malpass Quits
-
Standard Chartered ‘absolutely not’ for sale, bank CEO says
Story of the Day
The Bank of Zambia has increased the monetary policy rate by 2.5 percent to 9.25 at its 2023 Quarter One MPC event held at their offices in Lusaka Zambia. “The Monetary Policy Committee, at its February 13-J.I, 2023 Meeting, decided to raise the Monetary Policy Rate by 25 basis points to 9.25 percent”, read the Central Bank’s official statement to the press on 15th February 2023 issued by their Public Relations Division. “The decision was underpinned by the projection that inflation will increase and remain above the target range over the forecast horizon”. According to the Governor Dr Denny Kalyalya, the central bank anticipates a return to double digit inflation over the forecast period if they did not act now. The forecast horizon is from the first quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024. The central bank in most of its 2022 monetary statements had indicated that they anticipated inflation to return to the 6 to 8 percent range by 2024. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
President Hakainde Hichilema says the twenty two million US Dollar Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) Solar Plant in Kitwe will help improve energy sufficiency in the Country. Speaking when he commissioned the Solar Plant in Kitwe today, President Hichilema said the construction of the facility is a big achievement because 33 mega watts of power will be channelled to the national grid. He further said the government will support CEC and all energy projects to ensure the country has sufficient energy. President Hichilema said the economy can only develop if the energy sector is improved. Read more: ZNBC
Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has attributed the delays for Zambia getting a debt relief to ongoing discussions among creditors. Dr. Musokotwane says government is in contact with creditors and bond holders who are currently discussing the kind of debt relief to be given to Zambia and which debts should be considered for restricting. He has however expressed optimism that the country will secure a debt relief by the end of March. Addressing the media in Lusaka today, The Finance Minister said government acknowledges the high cost of living but is addressing it. Read more: ZNBC
China will continue to play a constructive role in the settlement of the Zambian debt issue, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. As a friendly country of Zambia, China always attaches great importance to Zambia’s concerns about the debt issue, spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing. Read more: Lusaka Times
Jubilee Metals said its operational performance in the past six months has been broadly in line with earnings and revenue targets, mainly supported by the performance of its South African PGM (platinum group metals) and chrome operations. These had buffered the impact of the power and water infrastructural challenges faced in Zambia that the company said have since been addressed. In Zambia, copper production was down 10% on the previous six months to 1,149t with in-process stock from processed material at Roan increasing to approximately 830t of contained copper. Production fell below the 3,000t target for the period, with the Zambian operations suffering severe disruptions due to country-wide power outages. Read more: Mining Weekly
In International Business News
The president of the World Bank will step down from his post in June, leaving the organisation almost a year before his term was due to end. David Malpass announced his decision on social media, without providing a specific reason for his departure. The pick of former US President Donald Trump, he has been criticised as a climate-change denier. Last year, the White House rebuked him after he said he did not know if fossil fuels were driving climate change. He later apologised for the remarks. Read more: BBC News
The CEO of Standard Chartered said the bank was “absolutely not” for sale following speculation of a takeover bid. Bill Winters told CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore Thursday that a potential sale is not what the company is focused on. “On the right terms, somebody wants to come and thinks that they can so something, I would encourage engagement rather than … speculation through the press,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.” “But of course, we have a fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders and if somebody wants to come and thinks they can add a lot of value, as I’ve said, be my guest.” Read more: CNBC
Standard Chartered raised a key performance metric and unveiled a new $1 billion share buyback program on Thursday, after reporting a 28% rise in annual pretax profit as global interest rate hikes boosted its lending revenue. StanChart’s performance, like that of global peers, was aided by aggressive central bank interest rate hikes aimed at combating inflation, which in turn allowed lenders to charge more after a decade of near-zero rates. The Asia, Africa and Middle East-focused bank, which has been the subject of takeover speculation linked with First Abu Dhabi Bank, said its latest share buyback exercise would start imminently. Its shares rose 3.5% in Hong Kong after the announcements. Read more: CNBC
Ghana’s consumer inflation fell marginally in January to 53.6% year on year, down from a more than two-decade high of 54.1% the previous month, according to statistics released on Wednesday. This is the first month that inflation has slowed since May 2021. The country is facing its worst economic crisis in a generation as capital outflows, a crushing debt-service load, and fast currency devaluation wreak havoc on government and individual budgets. Read more: Business Insider
South Africa’s annual inflation rate fell slightly in January to 6.9% from 7.2% the previous month, but food prices continued to rise, the country’s statistics agency StatsSA said Wednesday. “The main contributors to the annual inflation rate of 6.9% were food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and utilities, and transport,” StatsSA said in a statement. Read more: Africa News
Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi warned Sunday that his country could sever ties with South African diamond giant De Beers if talks to renegotiate a sales agreement prove unfavorable for his country. The 2011 sales agreement governing the terms of marketing diamonds produced by Debswana – a 50-50 joint venture between the government and De Beers – expired in 2021. Read more: Africa News
Finally, Capital Markets News
In 44 trades recorded yesterday, 8,291 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K30,281.86. A share price gain of K0.12 was recorded in Zanaco. Trading activity was also recorded in CEC Zambia, Zambia Breweries and Zambeef. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,241.41 points, 0.55% points up from it’s previous close at 7,201.12 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,452,226,053.86 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,669,540,613.86 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day