Story of the Day:
As a result of the fluctuations in the Zambian economy and the volatility of the financial performance of industries caused by aggregate shocks from macroeconomic policies, there have been many businesses in distress. Read more
Local Business and Finance
Zambia has retained eighth position in the 2019 Absa Africa Financial Index Report. Generally Zambia slipped on (3) key pillars namely market depth, access to foreign exchange and market transparency, tax and regulatory environment compared to the 2018 index. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Five year Kwacha bonds are still very attractive for surplus units searching for yield but are signaling repricing risks in the term debt markets that referent government security curve. Fixed income sale by the central bank in Zambia, 5 year bonds repriced 50 basis points higher to 32.5% from 30% in the last primaries. Read more: The Business Telegraph
The Bank of Zambia (BoZ) has announced that Zampost Microfinance Limited (ZMFL) and Pan African Building Society (PABS) have with immediate effect been put under compulsory liquidation. Read more: News Diggers
Local and foreign investors should consider investing in infrastructure development and set up businesses at Chishimba Falls as it offers opportunities that can contribute to significant returns. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
The Food and Agriculture Organization says it will be difficult for Zambia to meet sustainable agriculture production with inadequate funding to the agriculture sector. FAO Country Representative Dr George Okech said Zambia’s funding to the sector is still way below the Maputo declaration which requires about 10 percent of the budget to be allocated to the agriculture sector. Read more: The Independent Observer
International Business and Finance
Deloitte LLP has become the latest international company dragged into South Africa’s government-linked corruption scandals. State-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said on Monday that it wants the accountancy and advisory firm to return 208 million rand ($14 million) that it alleges were overpriced contracts. Read more: Bloomberg
China and the United States have achieved some progress in their trade talks, Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng said on Tuesday, and any problem could be resolved as long as both sides respected each other. Read more: CNBC
Swiss-lender UBS saw a 16% drop year-on-year in its third-quarter profit and a 59% slump in investment bank amid a “challenging environment.” The bank’s net profit attributable to shareholder for the third-quarter came in at $1.049 billion. This is lower than the $1.2 billion figure reported in the same quarter in 2018. Read more: CNBC
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal is “acceptable” and the country should push ahead with it, leading banker Sir Ian Cheshire, chairman of Barclays UK has said. Sir Ian told the BBC that business leaders wanted to see certainty. Read more: BBC News
To address client needs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has introduced Accounts Payable Optimization.
The new system aims to solve a common business problem of choosing the best and most efficient payment method for hundreds of recipients, by analyzing each supplier to determine the most efficient payment method for each. Read more: Business Chief
Federal Reserve officials are heading into their meeting in two weeks likely to cut interest rates while debating whether they’ve done enough for now to vaccinate the economy against growing risks of a sharper slowdown. Read more: Wall Street Journal
Christine Lagarde, who takes the helm of the European Central Bank next month, said in an interview that the U.S. risks diminishing its role as a global leader and warned of dire consequences from its trade war with China. Read more: Wall Street Journal
Huawei is struggling to replace Google apps on its mobile phones after being hit by US sanctions, the company’s executives have admitted to the FT, saying it will be years before they can develop their own alternatives. Read more: Financial Times
Chart of the Day: