Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has disclosed that commercial banks posted significant rise in profits between 2021 and 2022.
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African Development Bank predicts stable GDP growth in Africa for the next two years
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Bata posted a 757% increase in profit before tax
Story of the Day
Surf the internet, and you’ll find countless Twitter wars and Op-Eds about blockchain and cryptocurrencies, especially following the turbulent events from recent months. Walk around a college campus, however, and you’ll find a population that hardly even acknowledges its existence. That is, until you walk into a blockchain club or sit in on a Special Topics in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) lecture. Small pockets of American college campuses will reveal a network of young blockchain developers, enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. While the broader public may be reassessing views on this polarizing technology, the next generation of innovators arguably have their heads in the sand, raising questions of whether a course correction or a doubling down is nigh when this young generation become the entrepreneurs and tech talent of tomorrow. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
President Hakainde Hichilema has encouraged Qatari investment to invest in Zambia in order to create jobs for the citizens. The President said this when he held a bilateral meeting with Qatar Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. President Hichilema further thanked Qatar for choosing Zambia as one of the destinations for their airline as this will enhance tourism. The two leaders also discussed the impending opening of a resident Zambian Embassy in Doha that will enhance cooperation and consolidate ties between the two nations. Read more: ZNBC
The United Kingdom (UK) has assured Zambia of its commitment to supporting debt negotiations under the Common Framework. President Hakainde Hichilema said U.K made this commitment on the side-lines of Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) on Sunday. “On the side-lines of Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) today, we had a bilateral meeting with UK Minister of State for Development and Africa, Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell MP. “Mr. Mitchell assured us of the UK’s commitment to supporting Zambia’s debt negotiations under the Common Framework,” Hichilema said on his official social media handle. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has disclosed that commercial banks posted significant rise in profits between 2021 and 2022.
Bank Deputy Governor- Operations, Dr. Francis Chipimo revealed that over 50 percent of the profit was as a result of massive investment in government securities. Dr. Chipimo recently explained that part of the big investment in government securities came during the Covid-19 period when risks were heightened and banks were pulling back from lending. “What is clear from the two periods, 2022 and 2021 of course the banks have posted very significant rise in profits and what we see is that I think over 50 percent of that is coming from investment in government securities.” Read more: Money FM
Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati has announced that Zambia has been recognised as the most improved country in Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of mobile connectivity. Mutati has also disclosed that the country has been ranked fourth in pricing of monthly data bundles of 1.5 GB relative to 14 other countries. In a statement, Monday, Mutati said the recognition was announced during the 2023 Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) Mobile World Annual Congress. Read more: Zambia Monitor
In International Business News
According to a new report by the African Development Bank Group, African economies are expected to remain resilient with a stable outlook in 2023-2024, despite the tightening global financial conditions. The report, Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook (MEO) 2023, projects that Africa’s average GDP growth will stabilise at 4% in the next two years, up from 3.8% in 2022. Presenting the report, African Development Bank Chief Economist and Vice President Kevin Urama noted that African economies could benefit from high demand for its commodities as countries seek alternatives for food and energy in response to disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine. Urama urged African countries to strive for higher growth rates, more inclusive economies, and greater resilience to external shocks. Read more: Business Insider
Senior Chinese authorities have continued to defend their stance on Africa’s debt trap, insisting that they are not deliberately setting a debt trap for African countries. This point was re-iterated as the country approaches the 10th anniversary of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI, proposed by China in 2013, entails infrastructure development, trade and investment liberalization, and people-to-people interactions with the goal of enhancing connectivity on a transcontinental scale. Read more: Business Insider
Every few years, Washington plays a dangerous game of chicken over whether to raise the debt ceiling or default on US debt. Even if a default is avoided this time, the frequent nature of these political showdowns could cause America’s credit rating to get downgraded, Fitch Ratings told CNN on Monday. “We are more concerned this time around,” James McCormack, Fitch’s global head of sovereign ratings, said in an interview. America has a perfect credit rating from Fitch and Moody’s, but not because of its fundamental finances. Those already look messy and were at the heart of the unprecedented credit ratings downgrade by S&P Global Ratings in 2011. America’s mountain of debt and interest costs have only worsened since then. Read more: CNN
Tesla has cut prices for its electric cars – again – as it tries to boost sales and compete with rival firms. The reductions – worth several thousand pounds, depending on the market and model – have been listed for sale on the company’s website in the UK, US and elsewhere in recent days. They follow big markdowns of up to 20% that the firm introduced in January. Tesla is facing challenges as higher borrowing costs weigh on buyers and rivals offer more electric options. Read more: BBC News
The European Union has announced an initial investment of €50m in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s critical minerals sector and infrastructure projects. The funding was announced at the first-ever Kinshasa Economic Forum, which brought together the DRC, the EU, and France. French President Emmanuel Macron attended the forum alongside the European Commissioners for internal market and international partnerships Thierry Breton and Jutta Urpilainen, and more than 50 French company CEOs. Read more: African Business
Meta plans another round of layoffs that could affect thousands of workers, according to a Bloomberg News report published Monday evening. The job cuts could start this week and represent an additional round of layoffs, adding to the 13% of Meta workers who were laid off as part of a major cost-cutting plan announced in November. A Meta spokesperson declined to comment to CNBC about the report Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously indicated that the social networking giant would be concentrating this year on efforts intended to lower the company’s costs, pitching 2023 as the “Year of Efficiency.” He told analysts in February that Meta is focused on “cutting projects that aren’t performing or may no longer be crucial” and that it plans on “removing layers of middle management to make decisions faster.” Read more: CNBC
China’s leader Xi Jinping hit out at the United States with unusually direct comments as he called on the country’s private companies to “fight” alongside the Communist Party at a time of mounting challenges at home and abroad. “[In the past five years,] Western countries led by the United States have contained and suppressed us in an all-round way, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our development,” Xi told a group of government advisers representing private businesses during an annual legislative meeting in Beijing on Monday. China’s top leader usually avoids directly attacking the US in public even as relations between Beijing and Washington have deteriorated sharply in recent years. He generally refers only to “Western countries” or “some developed nations” when making critical comments about Washington. Read more: CNN
Finally, Capital Markets News
Bata Shoe Company Plc advises the shareholders of the Company that the Earnings Per Share (“EPS”) for the financial year ending 31 December 2022 is expected to be approximately 897% higher than that of the corresponding period. The movement in EPS for the Company is primarily attributed to an increase of around 36% in Revenue, an increase of around 757% in Profit Before Tax (“PBT”) and an increase of around 897% in Profit After Tax (“PAT”). The increases in Revenue, PBT and PAT were mainly attributed to retail business turnaround and marketing reactivation and advertisement which created a new sense of awakening of the “Bata” brand. Expenses were also optimised effectively with real time tracking and monitoring during the period. Read more
In 35 trades recorded yesterday, 18,776 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K53,545.12. A share price loss of K0.05 was recorded in PUMA. Trading activity was also recorded in AECI, BATA, CEC Zambia, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,343.24 points, 0.08% down from its previous close at 7,348.99 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,895,500,022.79 including Shoprite Holdings and K38,112,814,582.79 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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