Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
-
Jito Kayumba says Government is engaging various stakeholders at the Mining Indaba in South Africa in line with meeting its aspirations of increasing annual copper production
-
A copper deficit is set to inundate global markets throughout 2023
-
In regards to the equity market Zanaco Plc recorded the highest turnover during the 4th week of January
Story of the Day
Wood Mackenzie, the leading provider of decision intelligence for the world’s natural resources sector, today launched the Electric Vehicles and Battery Supply Chain Service (EVBSC) at the Mining Indaba 2023 conference in Cape Town, South Africa. The EVBSC is a new product that provides end-to-end detailed analysis and forecasts of the electric transportation value chain including quarterly long-term outlooks to 2050 and 10-year forecasts, and monthly short-term reports and data for EV, Li-ion battery and raw materials (lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and manganese) markets. Read more
Updates from the 2023 Cape Town Mining Indaba Sponsored By
The Minerals Council of South Africa gave a cautious guidance on the outlook of mining in 2023 and onwards this morning at a press briefing hosted at the Standard Bank Groups stand at the ongoing Mining Indaba in Cape Town. The Council is mandated to advise Samson Gwede Mantashe, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, on occupational health and safety at mines, develop legislation, conduct research, and liaise with other statutory bodies. Read more
Minister of Resources & Energy, Gwede Mantashe, in his opening address at the annual Investing in African Mining Indaba 2023, made no tangible pronouncements on what South Africa and the African continent can do to leverage the opportunities that the metals of the future afford the continent. Andrew Lane, Energy, Mining & Industrials Lead at Deloitte Africa, comments on this saying that all critical minerals to drive energy transition and supply the world can be found in Africa. Moreover, it is at this juncture that it is critical for business and governments to think and act strategically as to not make mistakes of the past and miss the opportunity to generate economic benefit for the continent and its people. Lane noted: “The challenge is to really ensure we draw benefit for our continent and drive socio-economic development, instead of it being a pit-to-port process.” Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
Presidential Special Advisor for Finance and Investments Jito Kayumba says Government is engaging various stakeholders at the Mining Indaba in South Africa in line with meeting its aspirations of increasing annual copper production to 3-million metric tonne in the next decade. Mr. Kayumba says Government is keen on engaging stakeholders with the expertise, capital and interest in investing in Zambia. He has told ZNBC News in an interview in Cape Town that Government is also looking at repositioning Zambia in addition to the 1.3 billion dollars investments set aside by First Quantum Minerals to expand operations. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia Airways Chief Executive Officer Abiy Asrat Jiru commended President Hakainde Hichilema for assisting the National Carrier in securing the long-awaited permit. Mr. Jiru says the airline, despite announcing in July last year that it would start regional flights, failed to actualize the announcement as there had been delays in securing the Foreign Operator Permit which is a requirement for the commencement of regional flights. Read more: ZNBC
Government has released K12.4 billion in January to finance public service delivery with the wage bill for civil servants gabbling a huge portion of the funds. Of this amount, K3.6 billion went to the public service wage bill whilst K3.5 billion was spent on debt service for both domestic and external and other liabilities, according to Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane. “In line with the government’s commitment to reduce indebtedness, a sum of K3 billion was released towards the payment of both domestic debt and external debt (multilaterals). Read more: Zambia Monitor
Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will benefit from the technical support from the United States (US) government to develop the supply chain for Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). This will be Zambia’s first ever BEV manufacturing plant setup on the Copperbelt Province, which is a joint venture project undertaken between Zambia and DRC. According to US Undersecretary of States for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose Fernandez, Zambia and DRC are expected to benefit from the technical support for the supply chain of BEV. Addressing journalist at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa on Monday Fernandez said the US government was working with DRC to ensure that the value chain supply was developed. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Policy Monitoring and Research Centre has urged government and stakeholders in the Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) to address structural impediments such as cultural and gender norms that continue to undermine women’s participation in decision-making, access to resources and economic participation in productive sectors such as mining. Read more: Money FM
In International Business News
A copper deficit is set to inundate global markets throughout 2023 — and one analyst predicts the shortfall could potentially extend throughout the rest of the decade. The world is currently facing a global copper shortage, fueled by increasingly challenging supply streams in South America and higher demand pressures. Copper is a leading pulse check for economic health due to its incorporation in various uses such as electrical equipment and industrial machinery. A copper squeeze could be an indicator that global inflationary pressures will worsen, and subsequently compel central banks to maintain their hawkish stance for longer. Read more: CNBC
The U.S. government risks “economic and financial catastrophe” if the House fails to pass a bill to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday. The nation hit the statutory limit last month, but Republican members of Congress are holding out on raising it to negotiate changes in federal spending rules with the White House before drafting a bill. The Treasury Department under Yellen has taken several temporary measures to help the government avoid default. “America has paid all of its bills on time since 1789, and not to do so would produce an economic and financial catastrophe,” Yellen told ABC’s George Stephanopolous on Monday. “And every responsible member of Congress must agree to raise the debt ceiling.” Read more: CNBC
Social media giant Meta, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, has failed to stop a Kenyan court from hearing a case that alleges poor working conditions at the company. Meta wanted the case dismissed, saying that Kenyan courts have no jurisdiction because Meta is not domiciled in, nor does it trade from, Kenya, but a judge rejected the argument. Former content moderator Daniel Motaung, who worked for local outsourcing company Sama, said he was paid about $2.20 (£1.80) per hour to review posts including beheadings and child abuse. The toll of the work left Mr Motaung with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He alleges he was fired after pushing to form a union to advocate for better working conditions. Read more: ZNBC
A new study has revealed the countries with the highest rate of cryptocurrency usage and ownership. The ranking was determined by the percentage of the population that reported using or owning cryptocurrency from 2019 to 2022. According to by Trading Browser, an online casino guide, Nigeria topped the list with 45% of its population using or owning cryptocurrency in 2022. This equates to over 90 million people, almost 1.5 times the population of the United Kingdom. From 2019 to 2022, the country saw a 17% increase in cryptocurrency usage and ownership, with over 34 million people adopting the digital asset. Read more: Business Insider
The second Dakar Financing Summit for Africa’s Infrastructure Development opened in Dakar, Senegal, with 69 infrastructure projects worth $160 billion on display. African heads of government, the African Development Bank, development finance institutions, and institutional investors will gather to draw the modalities for pushing the projects to completion by 2030. The African Union Development Agency and the Government of Senegal are co-hosting the summit. The 69 projects are a part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), a plan for building infrastructure to boost Africa’s economic integration and competitiveness. The AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government approved PIDA’s Priority Action Plan 2 in 2021. Read more: Business Insider
Finally, Capital Markets News
Four weeks into the month of January 2023, trading on the Lusaka Securities Exchange. There was minimal trading activity on the equity market as the bond market recorded a 100% score. In regards to the equity market Zanaco Plc recorded the highest turnover during the week. In the week ended 27th January 2023, a total of 2,062,622 shares were transacted in 383 trades, yielding a market turnover of K6,131,960. Read more
In 84 trades recorded yesterday, 21,315 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K73,872.74. Trading activity was recorded in British American Tobacco Zambia, CEC Zambia, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained it’s close at 7,226.74 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,388,368,505.24 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,605,683,065.24 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day