Story of the Day:
On the 17th of November, the Minister of Finance Hon. Dr Bwalya Ng’andu presented a statement announcing that Zambia was going to default on a Eurobond after failing to produce a $42.5 million coupon payment on. In a much similar bond position as Zambia’s current one, Argentina failed to produce a coupon payment of $500 million on $66 billion worth of Eurobonds thus forcing them to default for the 7th time. Read more
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Barrick Gold said it was keeping tabs on developments in Zambia as it sought expansion opportunities for Lumwana, its 100%-owned, 160 million pound a year copper producer. Read more: Mining Mx
Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu says Zambia will continue to foster and deepen the strategic partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Dr. Ng’andu says there is need for enhanced collaboration in view of the economic challenges that the country is going through. Read more: ZNBC
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Zambia has advised government to consider increasing funding in the wildlife and tourism sector as it has the potential to contribute to Gross Domestic Product in the country. Read more: Lusaka Times
With a population that has a higher number of children and elderly, Zambia is left with not enough workers. Its dependency ratio leaves it vulnerable to taking on too much future debt, regardless of any post-default restructuring solution. Read more: The Africa Report
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The “economic emergency” caused by Covid-19 has only just begun, according to U.K. chancellor Rishi Sunak, as he warned the pandemic would deal lasting damage to growth and jobs. Forecasts predict the biggest economic decline in 300 years. The UK economy is expected to shrink by 11.3% this year and not return to its pre-crisis size until the end of 2022. Read more: BBC News
China’s equity and bond markets are set to give investors progressively greater opportunities in 2021 and regulatory risks from the US are unlikely to stop China’s tech companies from growing according to Credit Suisse. Read more: CNBC
Disney is expanding the scope of its layoffs to around 32,000 workers as the coronavirus pandemic continues to pummel the theme park industry. In an SEC filing published Wednesday, the company revealed that thousands of employees will have their jobs terminated in the first half of 2021. Read more: CNBC
Optimism around vaccine developments and expectations of a strong bounce in corporate confidence and profitability will push European stocks to near record highs next year, as policymakers look set to keep stimulus flowing. Read more: CNBC
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In 4 trades recorded yesterday, 3,704 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K13,371. A share price loss of K1.20 was recorded in Lafarge. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 3,854.41 points, 1.43% down from its previous close of 3,909.42 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,255,324,065 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,016,118,085 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: