Good morning. Here’s what you need to know
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Government starts preparations for 2025 National Budget
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Saudi Arabia urges Zambia to take advantage of Kingdom’s rapid development
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Gold prices hit another record high
In Local Business and Finance News
The Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) serves as a platform for trading financial instruments, including shares, sovereign bonds, and corporate bonds in Zambia. There are a few steps to follow for one to participate on the LuSE. This article breaks these steps down. To start investing in LuSE, one must first choose a certified broker from the list provided on the exchange’s official website. A broker acts as an intermediary, connecting buyers with sellers in the market. The selection process involves careful consideration of various brokers, taking into account factors such as reputation, service offerings, and fees. The LuSE website guides on the percentage fees charged by the brokers. Read more on Financial Insight
Ministry of Finance says Government has therefore commenced preparations for the 2025 National Budget and the 2025/2027 Medium Term Budget Plan. In a statement, Secretary to the Treasury, Felix Nkulukusa said Ministry of Finance and National Planning will be conducting broad-based consultations on the 2025 National Budget and the 2025/2027 Medium Term Budget Plan to facilitate inclusive and transparent budget preparations. Mr. Nkulukusa added that Government has set 1st to 28th April, 2024, as the budget consultation period to enable a good number of stakeholders to participate in the process. He encouraged players in private and public sector, civil society, individuals and other stakeholders to submit tax, non-tax and expenditure proposals, for review and possible inclusion in the 2025 National Budget as well as the 2025/2027 Medium Term Budget Plan. Read more: MoneyFM
The Energy Regulations Board (ERB) has maintained the fuel pump prices for the month of April. Petrol was maintained at K31.12 per litre while diesel would still fetch at K28.78 per litre. Kerosene remained at K20.44 while Jet-A would be static at K28.23 until another price review as authorities continued on a path of monthly reviews. President Hakainde Hichilema had hinted on reverting to quarterly revision. ERB Board Chairperson, Reynolds Bowa, attributed the decision not to temper with fuel prices due to little change in both the international oil market pricing and the local exchange rate. Bowa in statement on Sunday said that the two factors remained fairly stable since the last review on February 29,2024. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Saudi Arabian government has called on Zambia to take advantage of the kingdom’s rapid rate of growth to enhance relations between the two countries. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud, noted the need for the two countries to also enhance cooperation. Bin Salman Al said this at the Royal Court in Jeddah, when Zambia’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Duncan Mulima, presented his Letters of Credence. Mulima presented his credentials to the Saudi Prime Minister, who, on behalf King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, also received credentials from other newly appointed foreign Ambassadors-Designate to the Kingdom. Read more: Zambia Monitor
International Resources Holding (IRH), a unit of Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company, said it intends to bid for a stake in Lubambe Copper Mine in Zambia. IRH, which recently bought a 51% stake in Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines, told Reuters the deal had unlocked more opportunities to benefit from Africa’s second largest copper producer. A unit of Abu Dhabi’s most valuable company, IRH is interested in buying an 80% stake in Lubambe held by EMR Capital, even after Chinese firm JCHX Mining agreed to buy the stake, Reuters reported on March 22, citing sources. Read more: Reuters
In response to stakeholder concerns, ZESCO Limited on 1st April implemented a staggered 8 hour daily load shedding program for residential areas in Lusaka. This means each area will experience two power outages of four hours each,spread throughout the day with the aim of minimizing disruption. This is according to a statement issued by Matongo Maumbi, company spokesperson. ZESCO acknowledged the unique needs of industrial and farming operations. These sectors will continue to experience a single, uninterrupted 8 hour block of loadshedding, with 16 hours of full power supply. This allows for better production planning. Read more: Lusaka Times
In International News
China’s manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in 13 months in March, with business confidence hitting an 11-month high, driven by growing new orders from customers at home and abroad, a private survey showed on Monday. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI rose to 51.1 in March from 50.9 the previous month, above analysts’ forecasts of 51.0 and marking an expansion for the fifth consecutive month. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction. The upbeat results followed recent better-than-expected export and retail sales data, suggesting a bright start to the year for the world’s second-biggest economy. Official factory data published on Sunday also entered positive territory, offering relief to policymakers even as a crisis in the property sector remains a drag on the economy and confidence. The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 50.8 in March from 49.1 in February, expanding for the first time in six months. Read more: CNN
The price of gold rallied to another record high on Monday, following fresh inflation data from Friday that boosted rate-cut hopes. The yellow metal climbed as much as 1.6% to a new high of $2,265.73 an ounce. The year-over-year index of personal consumption expenditures rose 2.5% in February, in line with economist expectations. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 2.8% for the month, also in line with estimates. The results have fueled anticipation that the central bank’s first rate cut will come in June. Typically, a lower-rate environment makes holding gold more alluring compared with other assets such as bonds, which yield lower returns when interest rates drop. Read more: Business Insider
The World Bank is looking to issue up to $1 billion in a debut hybrid note on capital markets this year, a senior executive told Reuters, as development banks face increasing pressure to find new ways to boost their lending. The G20 group of major economies has urged multilateral lenders to explore hybrid financing structures in a push to try and maximise balance sheets and increase funding to help developing economies cope with crises, including climate change. The World Bank would be only the second multilateral lender to issue such an instrument after the African Development Bank (AfDB) sold its hybrid capital note in January – the first such financing of its kind from a multilateral lender. When the AfDB sold this deeply subordinated, debt-like equity instrument, it said it hoped to establish this as a new asset class. “We are working towards a potential pilot transaction some time this calendar year,” said George Richardson, director of the capital markets and investment department at the World Bank Treasury. Read more: Reuters
Russia’s benchmark stock index strengthened to its highest point since the day Russia sent its troops into Ukraine in February 2022 on Monday, while the rouble firmed slightly against the U.S. dollar. By 1025 GMT, the rouble-based MOEX Russian index gained 0.9% to 3,361.5 points, its strongest since Feb. 24, 2022. The dollar-denominated RTS index rose 0.9% to 1,147.5 points. The rouble was 0.2% higher at 92.29 to the dollar. The rouble could face weakening risks in the coming days, said Yevgeny Loktyukhov of Promsvyazbank, as a favourable month-end tax period has ended and there could be pent-up demand for dollars and euros in the United States and Europe after the Easter break. Against the euro, the rouble rose 0.1% to 99.53 and dropped 0.1% to 12.69 against the yuan. Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, fell 0.3% to $86.71 a barrel. Read more: Reuters
After a solid lift to near one-year highs the copper price is once again in danger of falling below US$8,820 a tonne in New York as the first quarter closes. On London Metal Exchange (LME) prices have followed the same course after hitting a high of $9,164.50 on March 18, 2024. A Zambia Monitor scan on Mining.com, an influential industry news platform, on Monday showed that copper’s runup was sparked by pledges from Chinese smelters to cut output by five-10 percent in the face of tighter-than-expected concentrate supply and overcapacity. This was after years of China’s relentless expansion which had lifted the country’s global refining share to over 50 percent. Evidence of how desperate Chinese refiners were to source raw material was a report out Thursday by Bloomberg that BHP sold concentrate from Escondida. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Finally, Capital Markets News
In 37 trades recorded on Thursday 9,497 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K63,566. The following price changes were recorded on Thursday: +K0.33 in Real Estate Investments Zambia and -K0.13 in ZANACO. Trading activity was also recorded in Airtel, CEC Zambia, National Breweries, Zambeef, Zambia Sugar and ZAFFICO. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 12,703.03 points, 0.30% higher than it’s previous close at 12,741.87 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K97,761,172,411.34 including Shoprite Holdings and K62,978,486,971.34 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
5 Govt Bond trades with total face value of K6,477,000 were processed on Thursday, resulting in a total turnover of K6,363,190.