Story of the Day:
First Quantum Minerals Ltd. today issued the following update regarding the status of the Cobre Panamá mine operated by its subsidiary Minera Panamá. Engagement between First Quantum, MPSA and the Government of Panamá (“the Government”) continues regarding the long-term future of the Cobre Panamá mine. The Company remains ready to reach an agreement that is fair and equitable to both parties. First Quantum and MPSA are prepared to agree with, and in part exceed, the objectives that the Government outlined in January 2022 related to revenues, environmental protections and labour standards. This includes a minimum of US$375 million per year in Government income, comprised of corporate taxes and a profit-based mineral royalty of 12 to 16 percent, with downside protections aligned with the Government’s position.
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President Hakainde Hichilema has held bilateral talks with United Arab Emirates -UAE- President Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed . President Hichilema thanked the UAE President for his leadership in ensuring that Zambian institutions partnered with their counterparts in that country’s multi-million dollar investments in the Energy, Agriculture, Mining and Technology sectors. He said Zambia shall open a permanent Embassy in the UAE to address the increased trade and opportunities between the two countries as part of deepening existing relationships between the two nations. Read more: ZNBC
GreenCo Power Services Zambia has mobilised 15 million dollars to fund a 25 megawatts of solar power project in Sesheke District. GreenCo Power Services Zambia Company Secretary Brian Mwanza says the firm has received support from several funders who have guaranteed their finance to make sure the project succeeds. Mr. Mwanza says the project will be buying power from the Ilute Solar Project in Sesheke which will then be channeled into the national grid by Zesco. He says the Ilute Solar project is owned by Western Solar Power and Serengeti Energy and it is being developed on its basis of bankability and offtake agreement with GreenCo. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia’s Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Friday that the economy grew 3.1% last year but that the country should aim for higher growth. The Southern African country contained annual inflation to single digits at 9.9% in December from 16.4% in December 2021. But reducing inflation to 6%-8% in the medium term remains the target, Musokotwane said. Central government external debt rose to $13.36 billion at end-September 2022 from $13.04 billion at end-December 2021, he added. Read more: Reuters
The 2023 World Economic Forum (WEF) has officially begun, and the delegation from Zambia has arrived to participate in the event. Led by Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, the delegation includes Commerce Trade and Industry Minister Chipoka Mulenga, Bank of Zambia Governor Dr. Denny Kalyalya, and Zambia’s Ambassador to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Eunice Luambia. Throughout the WEF, the Zambian delegation will attend scheduled events and engage in bilateral meetings with development and cooperating partners. One of the key bilateral meetings will be with the Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development, where the two nations will discuss Zambian exports to Egypt, identify opportunities for further cooperation, and exchange insights on debt management and Zambia’s IMF Supported Programme – The Enhanced Credit Facility 2022-2025. Read more: Lusaka Times
International Business and Finance
India’s top 1% owned more than 40.5% of its total wealth in 2021, according to a new report by Oxfam. In 2022, the number of billionaires in the country increased to 166 from from 102 in 2020, the report said. Meanwhile, it added that the poor in India “are unable to afford even basic necessities to survive”. The charity called on India’s finance minister to levy a wealth tax on the ultra rich to tackle this “obscene” inequality. The report – Survival of The Richest – was released as the World Economic Forum began in Davos, Switzerland. Read more: BBC News
There is still a “hangover effect” from the financial instability seen during the prime ministership of Liz Truss, the Bank of England governor has said. Andrew Bailey told MPs that the cost of government borrowing, which soared after the mini-budget, had normalised. But he said international investors were still wary about lending money to the UK government. “It’s going to take some time to convince everybody that we’re back to where we were before,” Mr Bailey said. “Not because I doubt the current government, I am not trying in any sense to be negative. Obviously there is something of a hangover effect.” Read more: BBC News
China’s economy expanded by just 3% in 2022, far below the government’s own target, marking one of the worst performances in nearly half a century. Growth was impacted heavily by months of widespread Covid lockdowns and a historic downturn in the property market. Still, the number came in slightly better than market expectations, with some signs of stabilization in the final weeks of 2022 because of policy support in infrastructure investment and credit expansion. Gross domestic product (GDP) increased 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. A Reuters poll of economists had previously estimated expansion of just 1.8% for the fourth quarter and 2.8% for 2022. Read more: CNN
China’s population shrank in 2022 for the first time in more than 60 years, a new milestone in the country’s deepening demographic crisis with significant implications for its slowing economy. The population fell in 2022 to 1.411 billion, down some 850,000 people from the previous year, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced during a Tuesday briefing on annual data. Analysts said the decline was the first since 1961 during the great famine triggered by former leader Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward. “The population will likely trend down from here in coming years. This is very important, with implications for potential growth and domestic demand,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. Read more: CNN
A recent report shows that Ghana has extended the deadline for its domestic deb exchange program for the third time since it was initiated. As a result of Ghana’s economic struggles last year, the country’s government came up with the idea to restructure its domestic debt exchange, an idea that was lauded at the time. The idea followed Ghana’s success in securing a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3 billion rescue package in December of 2022. Read more: Business Insider
Capital Markets Report
In 93 trades recorded yesterday, 35,847 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K145,872.09. A share price loss of K0.02 was recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation Zambia. Trading activity was recorded in AECI, Airtel, Bata, National Breweries, PUMA, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,225.70 points down by 0.10% from its previous close of 7,233.16 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,383,850,072.91 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,601,164,632.91 excluding Shoprite Holdings.