Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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IMF is ‘not going to let Zambia down,’ Georgieva says
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Zimbabwe introduces digital currency backed by gold
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ZCCM-IH Board Chairperson, Dolika Banda resigns and Kakenenwa Muyangwa is appointed as Financial Conduct Authority suspends trading of ZCCM-IH shares on London Stock Exchange
Story of the Day
Trade & Development Bank (TDB), held a two days conference forum on April 26 and 27 2023, themed “Harnessing Alternative Investment to Drive Economic Recovery”. The Trade and Development Bank, formerly the PTA Bank, is a trade and development financial institution operating in eastern and southern Africa. TDB is the financial arm of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, although membership is open to non-COMESA states and other institutional shareholders. Among its speakers were honorable minister of finance and national planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwanewho graced the occasion. Read more
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The International Monetary Fund is withholding a $188 million payment to Zambia to push the nation’s official creditors to agree to a long-awaited debt relief deal, but the Washington-based lender won’t fail the southern African nation, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said. Zambia has been trying since 2020 to restructure external loans that last year grew to $18.8 billion, and the slow progress in reaching an agreement is imperiling its economy. The nation needs creditors to sign a memorandum of understanding to provide relief before the IMF’s board can approve the payment, it said last month. Read more: Bloomberg
President Hakainde Hichilema is tomorrow, Tuesday May 9, 2023 expected in Scotland. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and made available to ZANIS, President Hichilema is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with the First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf. The bilateral talks will centre on strengthening the existing ties and enhancing development for the two economies. While in Scotland, the President will give a keynote address at Edinburgh’s prestigious Panmure House, once the home of the father of modern economics, Adam Smith to share his experience in driving sustainable economic development in Zambia and the region. On the same day, the President is expected to fly to Paris, the capital city of France, after concluding his engagements in Scotland. Read more: ZNBC
The Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) has described its business performance in 2022 as “generally well”. CEC Managing Director Owen Silavwe says the corporation saw a 3% increase in the amount of power it sold last year. Addressing the media, Friday, Silavwe said although the 3 percent was a modest growth, it was good for a mature business like CEC. “We believe as a company that we performed generally well in 2022. And when we talk about performance, one of our key priorities, and we would like to start with how we are performing from a safety perspective. And for us, we look at that holistically; so we look at health, safety, environmental and social. Read more: News Diggers
Government to set up a gold mining marketing centre in Lusangazi district of Eastern Province for easy access of the market for the mineral by the local people. The gold marketing centre will be set up at a central place within the district and the centre would be responsible for the purchase and selling of the Gold being extracted in Lusangazi. Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development Senior Planner, Angela Zulu said other gold marketing centers are also planned to be set up in other districts where Gold mining activities are taking place. Read more: Zambian Observer
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 18.0329 | 18.0811 |
GBP | 22.8062 | 22.8744 |
EUR | 19.9029 | 19.9579 |
ZAR | 0.9818 | 0.9849 |
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The Central Bank of Zimbabwe introduced this Monday a digital token backed by gold as legal tender. The aim is to help stabilize the Zimbabwean dollar and protect citizens from currency fluctuations. The gold-backed digital tokens will be a form of electronic money backed by Zimbabwe’s gold reserves, held by the Central Bank. The Bank’s intention is to allow Zimbabwean dollar holders to exchange their currency for the gold-backed tokens, offering protection against the volatility of the local currency. Read more: African News
Africa’s largest bank, Standard Bank, recently released its Africa Trade Barometer report, where African countries are ranked based on their business ecosystem. A business-enabling economy plays a pivotal role in fostering economic growth, innovation, and prosperity within a nation. It refers to the conducive environment, policies, and infrastructure that support the establishment, growth, and sustainability of businesses. This report is one of the most comprehensive research reports on the state of trade on the African continent as experienced on the ground by real African businesses. It offers a comparative view of the enablers and challenges to facilitating trade across 10 key African markets. Below are the top 10 African countries with the best environment for trade: Read more: Business Insider
Saudi state oil giant Aramco on Tuesday reported a 19% drop in its first-quarter earnings, recording net income of $31.9 billion down from $39.5 billion the previous year amid falling oil prices. Analysts expected to see a dip in net profit this quarter compared to the previous year, as inflation and rising interest rates pressure global demand and stoke fears of a recession. Still, Aramco’s net income beat expectations of $30.5 billion, which was forecast by analysts polled by Reuters. The company’s net profit was up 3.75% from the fourth quarter. It said that the weaker earnings result was offset by lower taxes and higher finance and other income. Shares rose 3.2% in early deals in Riyadh Tuesday. Aramco’s first-quarter dividend, which was increased in the fourth quarter to $19.5 billion, will be paid in the second quarter, the company said. It reported its quarterly cash flow from operating activities at $39.6 billion and free cash flow at $30.9 billion, both of which were slightly up on the previous year. Read more: CNBC
China’s exports grew 8.5% in April in U.S. dollar terms, marking a second-straight month of growth, while imports fell 7.9% compared with a year ago. Economists polled by Reuters estimated exports would rise 8% in April, while imports were forecast to remain unchanged. In March, imports declined 1.4% year-on-year while exports saw a surprise jump of 14.8%, government data showed. China’s trade surplus grew to $90.21 billion in April, up from the surplus of $88.2 billion in March. Softer trade data in April is likely to reflect “residual seasonality” after this year’s Lunar New Year, economists at Goldman Sachs said in a Monday note. Goldman Sachs economists expected to see “the dissipation of this seasonal bias to slow export growth in April,” they wrote in a note earlier this month previewing China’s trade data. Recent economic data released from the world’s second-largest economy showed that China’s service sector remained a bright spot despite disappointing factory data. The National Bureau of Statistics’ manufacturing purchasing manager’s index reading missed expectations and fell into contraction territory with a reading of 49.2 in April from March’s reading of 51.9. Read more: CNBC
Dolika Banda has resigned as Non-Executive Director and Board Chairperson of ZCCM Investments Holdings PLC, Zambia’s diversified mining investment entity, effective May 5, 2023. Banda was appointed to the board of ZCCM-IH in December 2021. According to the market update posted on Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) on Monday, Banda resigned from her post on May 5, 2023. However, the market update did not indicate her reasons for the resignation. “The Board would like to take this opportunity to thank Dolika Banda most sincerely for her immense contribution to the Company during her tenure of office and wishes her success in her future endeavours,” it stated in an order of the Board signed by Company Secretary, Charles Mjumphi. The board further announced the appointment of Kakenenwa Muyangwa, as Non-Executive Director and Board Chairperson with effect from May 5, 2023. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) of the United Kingdom has temporary suspended trading of shares for ZCCM Investments Holdings PLC on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). This is according to the market update posted on Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) on Monday. In an order of the board signed by Company Secretary,Charles Mjumphi, the suspension is as a result of the non-publication of audited financial results for the years 2021 and 2022 within regulation time, which is four months from the financial year end. He indicated that the financial statements audit for the year 2021 and 2022 have been delayed due to the prolonged completion of the fair valuation process of assets and liabilities related to the acquisition of 90 percent shares of Mopani Copper Mines PLC as of March 31, 2021. Read more
In 171 trades recorded yesterday, 67,584 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K291,893.52. Share price gains of K0.05 and K0.48 were recorded in British American Tobacco Zambia and PUMA respectively and a share price loss of K0.03 was recorded in Zambia Sugar. Trading activity was recorded in AECI, BATA, CEC Zambia, Zambia Re, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zanaco as well as CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 8,150.79 points, 0.68% higher than its previous close of 8,095.40 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,410,598,978.90 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,627,913,538.90 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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