Story of the Day:
When Andrew Chibuye meets with his fellow members of the Twin Palm Bike Club, which he helped form and leads, on their next biking adventure through the tarred streets of eastern Lusaka, his peers will toast to one of their own being crowned as PWC’s Country Managing Partner for Zambia. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Telecom
According to JCTR’s Basis Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) which is a measure of the monthly cost of living for a family of 5 and conducted in 16 towns, the April 2020 basket stood at K7,159 for Lusaka with an increase of 2 percent or by K145 from K7, 015 in March 2020. Read more: Zambian Business Times
The total Copper production at Konkola Copper Mines – KCM two Mines located at Nchanga in Chingola and Konkola at Chililabombwe has dropped by about 24%. Read more: Zambian Business Times
The Bank of Zambia’s treasury bill auction last week to raise K950 million was oversubscribed by 40% after bids totalled K1.3 billion, signalling high investor appetite in the instrument.
Last Thursday, the central bank was in the market as it continued to raise funds for government operations. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Germany has made available €18.5million to Africa’s second largest copper hotspot Zambia for COVID relief purposes. Ambassador Achim Burkart the Germany Ambassador to Zambia advised the nation to re-prioritize government expenditures to safeguard the vulnerable and should actively address the debt crisis to prevent the breakdown of public finances through speeding up reforms and negotiations with the IMF. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Natsave Mukwandi Chibesakunda has committed to funding SMEs affected by coronavirus. The bank’s MD, Mukwandi Chibesakunda spoke about the partnerships with Zambia National Marketeers Credit Association – ZANAMACA, an initiative comprising 500,000 members which will benefit through the Central Bank K10billion credit line through Natsave to curb the liquidity and credit impact of COVID19. Read more: The Business Telegraph
International Business and Finance
Talks between the UK and EU over a post-Brexit trade deal will enter their third round later, ahead of a decisive summit next month. Both sides are due to decide by the end of June whether the current deadline for negotiating an agreement should be extended beyond the end of December. Read more: BBC News
Boeing Co Chief Executive Dave Calhoun does not expect passenger traffic to reach even a quarter of its levels in September, creating the need for airlines to make “adjustments” as they weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Read more: Reuters
Toyota Motor Corp said on Tuesday it expects to post its lowest annual operating profit in nine years as the automaker grapples with the impact of the novel coronavirus, which has sapped global demand for cars. Read more: Reuters
The Federal Reserve said a facility designed to purchase eligible corporate debt from investors will launch on May 12, bringing a key part of the U.S. central bank’s emergency coronavirus lending program online following weeks of anticipation. Read more: Bloomberg
PayPal Holdings Inc., a digital payments platform that helps money move online, raised $4 billion in the corporate bond market on Monday, underscoring how companies that make life under lockdown easier can also borrow cheaply. Read more: Market Watch
Capital Markets Report
In 1 trade recorded yesterday, 2,800 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K2,884. Trading activity was recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 4,094.16 points, as there were no changes in share price. The market closed on a capitalization of K56,640,868,984 including Shoprite Holdings and K22,401,663,004 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: