Story of the Day:
This is a summary of the key points of Honorable Dr Bwalya N’gandu’s statement to parliament on the performance of the Zambian economy. Our economy is expected to recline by -4.2% down -7% from the original 2020 GDP forecast of “no lower than 3% growth” based on the IMF forecasts. Read more
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Zambia National Commercial Bank plans to launch microfinance services including loans and savings for poor households in the fourth quarter, CEO Henk Mulder tells The Africa Report. The services are part of Zanaco’s digital strategy and will rely on digital credit-scoring and collection systems, says Mulde. Read more: The Africa Report
The Business Survey Report on the impact of COVID-19 on Zambian enterprises has revealed that 38% of businesses in the country had their revenues reduce by 50% due to the pandemic, with four per cent having to completely shut down. Read more: News Diggers
Dubious financial transactions in Zambia have continued to skyrocket, now costing the country K6.1 billion from K4.5 billion in 2017, according to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report. Read more: Zambian Observer
Zambia will today, join 46 other countries in making presentations about its progress on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the Annual High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) at the United Nations. Zambia has integrated the SDGs in the Seventh National Development Plan (7NDP). Read more: Zambia Reports
Zambian Government has set aside K1.7 billion to help a million vulnerable but viable farmers under the Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) access fertilizer and seed ahead of the 2020-2021 farming season, Minister of Agriculture Michael Katambo has disclosed. Read more: Zambia Reports
International Business and Finance
China’s economy grew 3.2% in the second quarter following a record slump. The world’s second biggest economy saw a sharp decline in the first three months of the year during coronavirus lockdowns. But figures released on Wednesday show China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) returned to growth during April to June. Read more: BBC News
EU judges have annulled a European Commission order for Apple to pay back €13bn in taxes to Ireland, in a blow to competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager. Read more: Financial Times
American Airlines on Wednesday warned about 25,000 front-line employees — roughly 29% of its U.S. mainline workforce — that they could be furloughed this fall, the latest carrier to prepare staff for job cuts as surges in coronavirus cases dash hopes for a quick rebound in travel demand. Read more: CNBC
A failure by South Africa to lower public debt risks triggering credit downgrades deeper into subinvestment, Fitch said on Wednesday. Read more: Reuters
S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday revised Kenya’s outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’, citing that the coronavirus pandemic will slow the country’s GDP growth significantly in 2020 and weigh on its already weak public finances. Read more: Reuters
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In 9 trades recorded yesterday, 41,000 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K34,133. A share price loss of K0.05 was recorded in Lafarge. Trading activity was also recorded in Zambia Sugar and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 3,890.85 points, 0.06% down from its previous close of 3,893.15 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K55,755,977,208 including Shoprite Holdings and K21,516,771,228 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: