Story of the Day:
Cement manufacturing company, Lafarge Zambia Plc has recorded a loss after tax of K12.339 million for the financial year 2019 due to a 3% reduction in sales revenue, according to financial statements published by the company. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Telecom
Kagem Mining, a Zambian unit for Gemfields has suspended principal operations at its emerald mine in Lufwanyama to safeguard employees during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Read more: Zambian Business Times
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) will undertake a tax compliance audit on Copperbelt based millers as soon as the list of those that have an agreement with the government is cleared by the Commissioner General’s office. Read more
The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) says government should consider increasing capital allowances to 100 per cent, among other fiscal measures to be applied, to sustain production levels of mining houses amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. Read more: News Diggers
To accelerate the use of digital platforms in the wake of COVID-19, Zanaco has waived fees on its digital banking solution.
And Zambia will benefit from the US$4.2 million coronavirus response fund from United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Improved exports of agricultural products have resulted in Zambia posting an increase in non-traditional exports (NTEs) earnings from about K2.1 billion in January to over K2.2 billion in February. During the period under review, agricultural products exports increased by 20.5 percent. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
KMPG Featured Article
A professional in the corporate world who does not aspire to be Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or managing director is rare. One who does not aspire to be a leader in his field is rarer still. And a professional who does not crave recognition of any kind – you would search the whole world, you’d be lucky to find one. Read more
International Business and Finance Sponsored By Royal Air Charters
As the spread of the Coronavirus hits 4,368 cases in Africa, the AfDB has raised a three year bond of US$3bn to alleviate the economic and social impact. The ‘Fight Covid-19 Social Bond’ has been allocated to central banks and official institutions (53%), bank treasuries (27%) and asset managers (20%) with bids exceeding US$4.6bn. Read more: Africa Business Chief
South Africa’s rand hit an all-time low on Monday after ratings firm Moody’s removed the country’s last investment grade credit rating and downgraded it to “junk” status – although the selloff did not deepen as some expected. Read more: Reuters
Asia Pacific banks will find it increasingly challenging to maintain their financial performance as economies around the world get hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Fitch Ratings said. The ratings agency earlier this month downgraded the outlook for 10 banking systems in the region to “negative.” All 17 banking systems in Asia Pacific that Fitch assesses now have a “negative” outlook. Read more: CNBC
US stock futures and Asian markets were up Tuesday morning following better-than-expected China data and a positive day for Wall Street Monday. Dow futures climbed 110 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures were up around 0.5% and Nasdaq Composite futures gained about 0.8%. Read more: CNN
Visa Inc. once again lowered its outlook for revenue growth in the fiscal second quarter, saying the coronavirus pandemic has led to a sharp decline in cardholders’ overseas spending. The company now expects adjusted revenue growth by a percentage “in the high end of mid-single-digit” range for the three months through March, while expenses are likely to climb by a percentage in the “low end of high single digits.” Read more: Bloomberg
American Airlines has confirmed it will seek $12billion of financial support from the US government because of the impact of coronavirus. Employees were told in an email this “would allow us to fly through even the worst of potential future scenarios”. Read more: BBC News
The price of oil has sunk to levels not seen since 2002 as demand for crude collapses amid the coronavirus pandemic. Brent crude fell to $22.58 a barrel at one point on Monday, its lowest level since November 2002. Meanwhile the price of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell below $20 a barrel and close to an 18-year low. Read more: BBC News
Capital Markets Report
There were no trades recorded yesterday. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 4,233.35 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,245,169,522 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,005,963,542 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: