Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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HH embarks on state visit to Israel
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ERB hikes fuel prices
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EU records 0.3% growth in GDP in Q2
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Friday’s bond trading was the best performing day in the third week of July
Story of the Day
Since Sunday, websites belonging to government agencies, media, hospitals and banks have been targeted by hackers claiming to be exacting revenge on behalf of the Sudanese regime. Anonymous Sudan, a pro-Russian hacktivist group says it is responsible for a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack which intermittently took websites belonging to Kenyan media, hospitals, universities, and businesses, including Safaricom, offline. The group had previously been involved in a series of “unprecedented escalation in DDoS attack sophistication” with pro-Russian hackers that targeted Western websites including Microsoft, according to a report published by Cloudflare earlier this year. Denial of service attacks are cyberattacks where the attacker prevents users from accessing a website, online service, or connected device, by flooding the servers with internet traffic. Read more
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President Hakainde Hichilema has embarked on a significant 3-day state visit to Israel, following an invitation from Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The two nations have signed a General Framework Agreement of cooperation between the two countries under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Zambia’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Stanley Kakubo, signed on behalf of Zambia while Mr. Eli Cohen, signed on behalf of the State of Israel. The aim of the agreement is to provide a framework for cooperation between the Republic of Zambia and the State of Israel on the basis of equality and reciprocity in fields of mutual interest. The signed agreement also aims to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. The agreement will further reaffirm the importance of economic and social cooperation for the betterment of the two countries. Read more: Lusaka Times
As of midnight, the Energy Regulations Board (ERB) announced the revision of pump prices for petroleum products in Zambia. The adjustments come as a response to movements in international oil prices and exchange rates, necessitating changes in domestic fuel costs. According to ERB Chairperson Reynolds Bowa, the new pump prices for August 2023 are as follows:
Petrol: 25 Kwacha 57 ngwee per liter (previously 24 Kwacha 93 ngwee)
Diesel: 23 Kwacha 36 ngwee per liter (previously 21 Kwacha 87 ngwee)
Kerosene: 20 Kwacha 44 ngwee per liter (previously 18 Kwacha 53 ngwee)
Jet A-1: Adjusted by 2 Kwacha 21 ngwee
The price revisions reflect the changes in global oil prices between July and the current review period for August. Chairman Reynolds Bowa highlighted that the international oil market experienced a surge in prices, primarily due to speculation surrounding a potential global supply deficit. Read more: Lusaka Times
The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) says Zesco did not meet various performance targets which were set for the years 2020 to 2022, among them targets for new customer connections as well as financial performance. And ERB has cautioned that it will not hesitate to take action against the utility company for poor performance arising from factors that are within its control. Speaking during the signing of the Key Performance Indicator (KPI), Friday, ERB Chairperson Reynolds Bowa said in the previous framework, Zesco attained scores of 37 percent, 46 percent and 49 percent for 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively, against a minimum benchmark score of 75 percent. Read more: News Diggers
Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe says negotiations on the ownership of Konkola Copper Mines and Mopani Copper Mines are STILL ongoing. Mr. Kabuswe says a decision will not be made today as promised because the two parties are still yet to agree on a number of issues. He says he will give periodic updates on the matter until a final decision is made. Read more: ZNBC
The World Bank says it is excited to partner with the Zambian government to further enhance the development of the tourism sector in the country. World Bank Country Director, Nathan Belete has praised the government for taking the decision to advance and enhance the tourism sector. Mr. Belete was speaking in Livingstone after an engagement meeting with Tourism Minister Rodney Sikumba and other officials in the ministry of tourism. And Mr. Sikumba said about seventy eight percent of the World Bank funds will go towards infrastructure development such as roads, airstrips and water reticulation in the earmarked areas. Mr. Sikumba said the infrastructure development will enhance accessibility as well as support tourism growth in the selected areas. Read more: ZNBC
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 18.7932 | 18.8430 |
GBP | 24.1267 | 24.1982 |
EUR | 20.7158 | 20.7725 |
ZAR | 1.0584 | 1.0616 |
In International Business News
The euro area economy is growing again, but may struggle to maintain the momentum for the rest of the year. Gross domestic product across the 20 countries that share the euro currency rose by 0.3% in the second quarter, compared with the previous three months, according to an official estimate published Monday. GDP had fallen by 0.1% in the last three months of 2022, and stagnated in the first quarter of this year. Separately, official data showed that the overall rate of inflation continued to fall this month. The consumer price index for the euro area rose by 5.3%, down from 5.5% in June. But core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy costs — was unchanged at 5.5% in July. And inflation for services and unprocessed food ticked up to 5.6% and 9.2% respectively. Read more: CNN
International airlines have reported significant profits this year, boosted by strong demand for leisure travel – and events, such as the World Cup, which gave Qatar Airways an enormous lift. On Thursday, International Airlines Group, which includes Aer Lingus and British Airways, announced a record profit of about $1.4 billion for the first half of the year. IAG’s CEO Luis Gallego said in a statement that the group is setting its sights on returning to pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the year. “Customer demand remains strong across the Group, particularly for leisure travel, with around 80% of passenger revenue for the third quarter already booked. And our airlines have put in place plans to support operations during the busy summer period,” he added. Read more: CNN
Half of Ghana’s government’s $7 billion debt to the country’s central bank has been wiped off, and the remaining balance has been replaced with a 15-year bond with a reduced rate. This is according to a report by the American news agency Reuters, which cites three sources with direct knowledge of the transaction. The most recent action is a component of the West African country’s effort to restructure its domestic debt, which is necessary to be eligible for the next installment of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loan. Ghana now wants to concentrate on talks with foreign creditors. Read more: Business Insider
Banking giant HSBC’s profits have more than doubled as it benefited from rising interest rates around the world. The London-based lender posted pre-tax profit of $21.7bn (£16.9bn) for the first six months this year, compared to $9.2bn a year earlier. That figure was also boosted by a $1.5bn provisional gain from its purchase of collapsed Silicon Valley Bank’s British business (SVB UK). Central banks have increased interest rates as they try to curb price rises. “There was good broad-based profit generation around the world, higher revenue in our global businesses driven by strong net interest income, and continued tight cost control,” said HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn. Despite the surge in profit, the bank – which gets around two-thirds of its revenue from Asia – warned of the uncertain economic outlook. Read more: BBC News
Finally, Capital Markets News
In the third week of 2023 bond trading, there was a full week of trades days of which Friday’s bond trading was the best performing day of the week. Bonds of total face value of K 783,961,000 were transacted in 59 trades, resulting in a market value of K516,052,460. Bonds are a low-risk investment issued when the government borrows money from its people. You can purchase bonds using the Lusaka Securities Exchange Application online. Read more
In 68 trades recorded yesterday 10,949 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K39,771.79.Trading activity was recorded in CEC Zambia, Standard Chartered Bank Limited and ZANACO. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 8,361.81 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K77,329,091,885.54 including Shoprite Holdings and K42,546,406,445.54 excluding Shoprite Holdings.