Good afternoon. Here’s what you need to know
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Zambia woos Japanese investors to establish vehicle manufacturing plants
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Google’s online search monopoly is illegal, US judge rules
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Ethiopia to save $4.9 billion after completing debt restructuring exercise
In Local Business and Finance News
The Zambian government has invited Japanese investors to consider establishing a vehicle manufacturing plant in the country. Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga, stated the availability of both local and regional markets through SADC, COMESA and the broader continent during the Japan-Zambia investment promotion webinar. Mulenga highlighted government’s priority to transform Zambia’s economy through strategic partnerships, according to a statement issued in Lusaka by Faith Chilube, the First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. He stated government’s policy aimed to accelerate the creation of a diversified economy driven by value addition to raw materials such as copper, nickel and manganese. Additionally, he said opportunities existed in assembling light industrial equipment, processing timber into furniture, processing hides into leather and manufacturing textiles and garments. Sectors open for investment included agriculture, agro-processing, mining, and the Electric Vehicle Battery value chain.” he noted. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The government has been urged to outline a clear strategy for tackling the high cost of living, particularly for middle-income households struggling with tax obligations and rising expenses. The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) reported in its Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) survey that the cost of living now stands at K10,575.93, reflecting a K133.48 increase from June. In a statement on Friday, JCTR Social and Economic Development Programme Manager, Muchimba Siamachoka, said there was need for a comprehensive strategy encompassing both income-based and cost-based approaches. She recommended the implementation of employment creation programmes to boost income levels and measures to control and reduce the cost of essential goods and services. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Zambia has initiated the importation of 218 megawatts of power from South Africa’s Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) during off-peak hours. This move, starting from August 1st, aims to mitigate the country’s power deficit. ZESCO Spokesperson, Matongo Maumbi, confirmed the additional power import in an interview with ZNBC News at the ongoing 96th Agricultural and Commercial Society show in Lusaka. Maumbi stated that the importation has enabled ZESCO to stabilize the power supply, meeting the rising demand and ensuring critical installations like hospitals, mines, and other industries receive uninterrupted power. Read more: Lusaka Times
President Hakainde Hichilema and his Burundian counterpart Evariste Ndayishimiye have pledged their government’s support to remove trade barriers. The two Heads of State have since instructed the respective ministries to investigate ways to improve commerce between the two nations. The heads of state note that the two nations can tap into opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area and COMESA Treaties to which both countries are state parties. In a joint communiqué released to ZNBC News, the two leaders have recognized the need for both countries to implement the MoU on the improvement of port and maritime infrastructure. They have also noted the need to develop the Lake Tanganyika Corridor and provide connection from Mpulungu port via Nseluka to the TAZARA railway line to enhanced trade. The two leaders have also identified the Public-Private Partnership model to develop the Nseluka-Mpulungu project. Read more: ZNBC
In International News
Ethiopia’s State Finance Minister, Eyob Tekalign, said on Friday it expects creditors will agree to restructure $4.9 billion of debt when it completes its current restructuring exercise. The announcement comes as the country puts its long-delayed debt overhaul back on track after securing a new International Monetary Fund financing programme. Agreed at the end of last month, the deal with the IMF will see Ethiopia receive financing of $3.4 billion for the four-year programme. It was announced hours after the country agreed to one of the fund’s key recommendations and floated its currency, the birr. Ethiopia, which is East Africa’s biggest economy, has since resumed talks to reduce its debt-repayment burden. Read more: Africa News
The World Bank on Thursday said that more than 100 countries risk becoming stuck in a “middle-income trap”, unless they adopt radical growth strategies for their economies. It said countries, including South Africa, India, Brazil and China, face serious obstacles that could hinder their efforts to become high-income countries in the next few decades. The World Development Report 2024: The Middle Income Trap found that as countries grow wealthier, they usually hit a “trap” at about 10 per cent of annual US GDP per person. Senior Advisor to the World Bank Group Chief Economist, and Director of the report, Somik Lall, said the prospect for these countries “is not promising”. “Over the last 30 years, only 34 middle-income economies have been able to transition from middle-income to high-income. The rest are stuck in a middle-income trap,” he said. Read more: Africa News
In a landmark ruling, the Federal High Court in Lagos has declared the sale of Nigeria Air Ltd to Ethiopian Airlines null and void. In a landmark ruling, the Federal High Court in Lagos has declared the sale of Nigeria Air Ltd to Ethiopian Airlines null and void. Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, presiding over the case, ordered that the Federal Government’s proposed establishment of a national carrier, Nigeria Air, be halted. The judgment came as a significant victory for the plaintiffs, the Registered Trustees of the Airline Operators of Nigeria, alongside Azman Air Services Limited, Air Peace Limited, Max Air Limited, United Nigeria Airlines Company Limited, and Topbrass Aviation Limited. Read more: Business Insider
African start-ups raised an impressive $420 million in July 2024, the highest monthly fundraising performance in over a year. African start-ups raised an impressive $420 million in July 2024, the highest monthly fundraising performance in over a year, according to a recent report by Africa: The Big Deal. The ecosystem has now raised over $1.2b since the beginning of the year. This feat is more than the total funds raised in the entire second quarter and is 2.5 times the average monthly amount raised over the past 12 months. The increase in fundraising makes July 2024 the best month on record since tracking began in 2019. Despite hitting the $1 billion funding mark in July, it has been the slowest pace in recent years. Read more: Business Insider
A US judge has ruled Google acted illegally to crush its competition and maintain a monopoly on online search and related advertising. The landmark decision on Monday is a major blow to Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and could reshape how technology giants do business. Google was sued by the US Department of Justice in 2020 over its control of about 90% of the online search market. It is one of several lawsuits that have been filed against the big tech companies as US antitrust authorities attempt to strengthen competition in the industry. This case has at times been described as posing an existential threat to Google and its owner given its dominance of the search and online advertising business. It is unclear yet what penalties Google and Alphabet will face as a result of the decision. The fines or other remedies will be decided in a future hearing. The government has asked for “structural relief” – which could, in theory at least, mean the break-up of the company. Read more: BBC News
Saudi state oil giant Aramco reported $29.1 billion in net profit for the second quarter, a dip of just over 3% from the same period last year as crude production volumes remained low. Net income from the first half of the financial year was $56.3 billion, down from $62 billion during the same period last year. The firm also posted free cash flow for the second quarter of $19 billion compared to $23.2 billion one year prior. Aramco reaffirmed its second-quarter base dividend of $20.3 billion, and declared a performance-linked dividend of $10.8 billion to be paid in the third quarter. The largest oil company in the world expects to declare total dividends of $124.2 billion in 2024, its earnings release said. “We have delivered market-leading performance once again, with strong earnings and cash flows in the first half of the year,” Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said in the company’s press statement. “Leveraging these strong earnings, we continued to deliver a base dividend that is sustainable and progressive, and a performance-linked dividend that shares the upside with our shareholders.” Read more: CNBC
China on Tuesday launched its first batch of internet satellites that will form part of a constellation it hopes will rival SpaceX’s Starlink. Known as “Thousand Sails,” the constellation is a low-Earth orbit set of more than 15,000 satellites that China has said will create global internet coverage. A Long March 6A carrier rocket took off from the Taiyuan launch center in the northern Shanxi province of China to deliver the initial 18 satellites into space, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which called the mission a complete success. By 2025, China is aiming to deploy 648 satellites in the first phase of the constellation’s buildout, in order to create an internet network with global coverage, according to state media CCTV. Read more: CNBC
Finally, Capital Markets News
In 120 trades recorded on Friday, 33,188 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K182,867.84. Price changes of +K0.07 and +K0.01 were recorded in Airtel and Standard Chartered Bank Limited respectively. Trading activity was also recorded in CEC Zambia, Real Estate Investments Zambia, Zambia Breweries, ZAFFICO, Zambeef, ZANACO and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 14,480.57 points, 0.04% higher than its previous day close at 14,475.21 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K118,566,083,810.24 including Shoprite Holdings and K75,087,727,010.24 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
1 Govt Bond trade with quantity K4,585,000 and turnover K4,068,210 were processed yesterday.
