Story of the Day:
In the tale of opposites, the final week of February corporate bond trading our pattern continues with the bond market eclipsing the equities market, with a score of 100% to 0%. Although, week two was a good week for the equities market in February as it was the first week in the year that the equities market was not completely dominated by the bond market as it recorded a score of 12%. Read more
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Zambia on Monday launched a plan aiming at unlocking the tourism sector in the southern African nation. The launch of the Zambia Tourism Master plan was aimed at facilitating systematic exploitation of the country’s vast tourism for the sector to contribute to the growth of the economy. Read more: Xinhua
The decline in copper production by some mining houses has resulted in Zambia posting a drop in the export value of the metal to almost K6.2 billion in January from about K64 billion last December.
Copper, which is Zambia’s major foreign exchange earner, has witnessed a decrease in the price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) market from US$6,062.4 per tonne in December to US$6,049.2 per tonne in January. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
TheZambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) has called on the private sector in Africa to take control of their respective economies to help create fiscal fitness. ZACCI membership chairperson Alexander Lawrence said business is about partnerships. Speaking at the chief executive officers (CEO) Africa Roundtable breakfast on Friday, Mr Lawrence said there is need for countries such as Zambia and Zimbabwe to create synergies necessary for economic growth. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) has delivered over one million litres of gas oil to Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. The delivery was made with the first train of 24 fuel-tank wagons of gas oil from the Port of Dar es Salaam, under a transportation agreement signed last year with Delta Energy Zambia Limited. Read more: The Independent Observer
Barely five months after entering into the Kenyan market, US company Corteva Agriscience has closed its shop in Nairobi and shifted base to Zambia. Corteva, a New York Stock Exchange-listed agricultural chemical and seed company, said it had identified Zambia as the most suitable site for its factory. Read more: Mwakilishi
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Zambia is among very few countries in the world whose mining tax regime has repeatedly and erratically been amended over the past decade. This is a sign that Zambian tax legislation, Regulations, and Statuary Instruments may be drafted to fix what is deemed a current problem and not prepared to adapt to trends, be forward-looking, and achieve equity and certainty. Read more
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The global economy could grow at its slowest rate since 2009 this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned. The influential think tank has forecast growth of just 2.4% in 2020, down from 2.9% in November. But it said a longer “more intensive” outbreak could halve growth to 1.5%. Read more: BBC News
A free trade deal with the United States could add just $4.3 billion to the UK economy over the next 15 years, the British government estimated Monday. The modest potential windfall underscores the difficulty of replacing the economic benefits of membership in the European Union. Read more: CNN
Apple has agreed to settle a long-running class-action case in the US over allegations it deliberately slowed down older iPhones. The proposed settlement, which still has to be approved by judge Edward Davila, could cost Apple up to $500m. Read more: Tech Radar
Global shares and oil prices extended their rebound on Tuesday as policymakers indicated their willingness to move to ease the economic fallout from the coronavirus, while investors waited for a conference call by Group of Seven heads for trading cues. Read more: Reuters
South Africa‘s seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell deeper into contraction territory in February, sliding to its lowest since the 2009 global financial crisis as new sales and business activity tanked, the survey showed on Monday. Read more: Money Web
African fintech startup JUMO has raised $55mn in debt and equity funding, including from Goldman Sachs. JUMO is on the rise. The five year old African startup, which offers a full technology stack for building and running financial services, has raised a total of $146.7mn in funding over nine rounds dating back to 2014. Read more: Africa Business Chief
Capital Markets Report
In 27 trades recorded yesterday, 20,998 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K41,169. Trading activity was recorded in Airtel, Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close of 4,250.48 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,319,774,180 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,080,568,200 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: