Story of the Day
In the second week of May 2022, trading on the Lusaka Stock Exchange. There was minimal trading on the bond market as we see it recorded a 32% to 68% on the equities’ side. In regards to the equities market Copperbelt Energy Corporation recorded the highest turnover throughout the week. Read more
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The Bank of Zambia (BOZ) has maintained the monetary policy rate at 9 percent for the second time this year. BOZ Governor Denny Kalyalya says the decision has been arrived at following a sharp decline in inflation over the past quarters and positive fiscal consolidation measures by Government. Dr. Kalyalya says the drop in the country’s inflation rate is likely to continue to the projected single digit of between 6 to 8 percent target ranges by the end of 2023. Read more: ZNBC
The European Union (EU) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have signed a 6.5 million Euros partnership agreement to implement a four-year Skills Development for Increased Employability Programme (SDEP) in Zambia. In a statement to ZANIS in Lusaka by ILO Programme Officer Gerald Tembo, the EU funded project is expected to contribute towards improving employability of both women and men, especially youths. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia’s central bank said it refused to pay ransom to a group known as Hive that was behind a cybersecurity breach that caused minimal damage to its systems. “All of our core systems are still up and running,” Greg Nsofu, information and communications technology director at the Bank of Zambia, told reporters in Lusaka, the capital. “Not much sensitive data has actually been shipped out.” Read more: Bloomberg
Expanding trade relations with and investments in African countries is crucial to Canada’s global economic recovery, as is establishing trade partnerships in expanding economies and diversifying supply chains to ensure continued prosperity. Today, Arif Virani, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, provided key take-aways from his trade visits to South Africa and Zambia, focusing on economic cooperation and trade diversification. Read more: Canada
This lawsuit to be heard in South Africa, brought by Zambian civilians against mining firm, Anglo American, is seen as an opportunity to send a signal to multinational companies not to violate human rights of communities where they extract natural resources. Amnesty International and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) have applied to intervene in the unprecedented class action lawsuit by the Kabwe community from central Zambia. The claimants are seeking compensation for the long-term impacts of lead mining. Read more: CAJ News
President Hakainde Hichilema says the current 1.6 billion Euros investment which Zambia has attracted from companies in the European Union (EU) is not sufficient compared to the vast potential in that region. President Hichilema has since set a new target of 5 billion Euros investment for the country. He stated that Zambia has a lot to tap from the huge investment opportunities in the European Union market. Read more: Lusaka Times
Diversified metal recovery business Jubilee, which is rolling out an investment of R786-million in South Africa and Zambia, has offered employment and contractor opportunities to more than 800 people in Zambia, most of which are long term, the company stated in a release on Monday. Read more: Mining Weekly
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Stock markets in Asia and the US have fallen over concerns that rising prices could send the global economy into a slowdown. US shares saw their biggest one-day drop since 2020 after downbeat earnings reports from some of America’s biggest retailers. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index was 1.8% lower in Asia afternoon trade, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.3%. That came after the S&P 500 index, which tracks shares of a wide swathe of America’s biggest companies, plunged more than 4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.5%. Read more: BBC News
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could soon cause a global food crisis that may last for years, the UN has warned. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war had worsened food insecurity in poorer nations due to rising prices. Some countries could face long-term famines if Ukraine’s exports are not restored to pre-war levels, he added. Read more: BBC News
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday signaled US officials will likely end a carve-out in Western sanctions that has allowed Russia to continue make payments on its debt. Speaking at a press conference in Germany, Yellen said it is “reasonably likely” to expect the license will be allowed to expire on May 25. “There has not been a final decision on that. But I think it’s unlikely [the carve-out] would continue,” Yellen said. Read more: CNN
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Wednesday criticized the Trump administration’s tariffs on China and voiced support for lifting some of the levies, in part to ease very high inflation pressuring the US economy. “Some of the tariffs that were imposed by President Trump in retaliation for China’s unfair trade practices, some of them, to me, seem as though they imposed more harm on consumers and businesses,” Yellen said during a press conference in Germany ahead of a G7 summit with finance ministers. Read more: CNN
Goldman Sachs analysts on Wednesday cut their forecast for China’s GDP to 4% after data for April showed a slump in growth as Covid-19 controls restricted business activity. The new forecast is even further below the “around 5.5%” growth target the Chinese government announced for the year in March. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report
In 68 trades recorded yesterday, 13,830 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K31,319. Share price gains were recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation of K0.08 and in Zanaco of K0.01. A share price loss was recorded in Pamodzi of K0.01. Trading activity was also recorded in Standard Chartered Zambia, ZCCM and Zambeef. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 6,811.08 points, 0.48% up from its previous close of 6,778.13 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K70,578,944,917 including Shoprite Holdings and K35,796,259,477 excluding Shoprite Holdings.