Story of the Day:
Lafarge Zambia Plc has announced the appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer following the resignation of Mr. Raphael Chipoma in June 2019. Read more
Local Business and Finance
Zambia will set aside $48million (Kwacha equivalent) next year for dollar debt redemption. This was pronounced by the Minister of Finance Dr. Bwalya Ng’andu in his maiden budget to parley on Friday 27. Zambia has 3 dollar bonds running maturing in 2022,2024 and 2027. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Zambia’s mining sector welcomed a decision by the government to retain its value added tax (VAT) instead of replacing it with a non-refundable tax as previously proposed. However, other imposts that were ratified following presentation of the country’s national budget on September 27 will make mining more expensive, it said. Read more: Lusaka Times
Zambia’s disaster management agency on Monday dismissed reports by an international organization that the country will soon slide into famine, with 38 districts already in the emergency phase. Read more: News Ghana
Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu says the aborted Sale Tax Regime if implemented would have sparked employment loss. Dr. Ng’andu said this is because the tax system would have adversely affected business in the country due to inherent complications associated with its implementation. Read more: ZNBC
International Business and Finance
Aliko Dangote, the richest person in Africa, is looking to expand cement capacity on the continent by 29% to 62 million tons, entrenching his flagship company’s position as the continent’s biggest producer of the construction material. Read more: Bloomberg
Japan has increased its consumption tax for the first time in five years, bringing the long-delayed policy into effect despite concerns it may knock the economy. Read more: BBC News
The US-based e-commerce giants, Amazon, has acquired INLT for an undisclosed figure. The company told Reuters that the transaction will help merchants on its online marketplace more easily import goods into the US. Read more: Business Chief
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York added $63.5 billion to the financial system Monday, using the market for repurchase agreements, or repo, to relieve funding pressure in money markets. Read more: Wall Street Journal
The Federal Reserve faces pressure to cut interest rates from investors and President Donald Trump. But the recent, albeit brief, spike in oil prices following an attack on oil fields in Saudi Arabia earlier this month raises a problem with that rate-cutting strategy: Inflation. Read more: CNN
The U.S. — and other countries — has complained about the difficulties of doing business in China, but the Asian economic giant is not the only one that should change its practices, according to former Morgan Stanley chairman Stephen Roach, The U.S. needs to change how it does business too. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report
In 11 trades recorded yesterday, 1,065 shares were transacted, yielding a market turnover of K1,859. Trading activity was recorded in Airtel and Copperbelt Energy Corporation. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its previous close of 4,395.34 points as there were no price movements. The market remained on a capitalization of K57,099,736,193 including Shoprite Holdings and K22,860,530,213 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: