Story of the Day:
In accordance with Section 3.59(a) of the Lusaka Securities Exchange Listings Rules, the Board of Directors of Standard Chartered Bank Zambia PLC wishes to announce the resignation of Ms. Kapambwe Doreen Chiwele from the Board effective 30 September 2022. Furthermore, the Board would like to announce the appointment of Mr. Christopher Ian Egberink as Director of the Board effective 13 December 2022. With more than 25 years’ experience in the banking industry, Mr. Egberink is a holder of two degrees, a Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) degree from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (1993) and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) degree from UNISA (2001). He is currently employed by Standard Chartered Bank South Africa having joined in February 2013. Mr. Egberink is the current Managing Director: Global Banking Head for South and Southern Africa, a Member of the Country Executive Committee (Manco) for SCB SA. Read more
Local Business and Finance Sponsored By Liquid Intelligent Technologies
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema urged the country’s creditors on Monday to agree to a quick debt restructuring to aid economy recovery efforts. Hichilema made the remarks during a visit to Zambia by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who met Hichilema, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane, central bank governor Denny Kalyalya and other senior government officials. Zambia defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2020, becoming the first African country to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic. In August last year it won IMF approval for a $1.3 billion, three-year loan programme intended to help ease pressure on its public finances while it conducts $13 billion restructuring discussions. “If (the debt restructuring is) not concluded soon, it is going to distort all the good efforts that we have been making to reconstruct the economy and bring investment,” Hichilema told Georgieva, in remarks with reporters present. Read more: Reuters
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, on the second leg of an African tour aimed at promoting American investment and ties, said on Monday it’s crucial to immediately address Zambia’s heavy debt burden with China. Yellen was in Lusaka, a capital city that’s visibly dominated by Chinese financing. Visitors to Lusaka arriving at the renovated Kenneth Kaunda International Airport see a facility expanded in 2015 with Chinese money. A ride into the city passes billboards and newly built firms bearing Chinese signage, more evidence of Beijing’s influence and increasing competition with the United States. But the growth that the country has experienced has come with a heavier debt burden. Zambia became Africa’s first coronavirus pandemic-era sovereign nation to default when it failed to make a $42.5 million bond payment in November 2020. Negotiations over how to deal with the debt load have been ongoing. Read more: Yahoo Finance
Rhoma Foreign Relations has disclosed that Zambia’s Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) grew by 158% in 2022 alone, amounting to US$8.59 Billion worth of investments and creating 74,679 jobs. Institute Executive Director, Lengwe Bwalya told Money FM News in an interview that President Hakainde Hichilema’s recent trips abroad in Angola and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are therefore huge opportunities for the much needed Foreign Direct Investments especially in the energy sector where the country is facing a crisis. Read more: Money FM
President Hakainde Hichilema has called for more trade and investment between Zambia and the United States of America (USA) in order to address the various economic challenges the country is facing. Speaking during a bilateral meeting with the US Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen at State House in Lusaka yesterday, the President said strengthened trade and investment between the two countries will help to address various economic challenges in Zambia which were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war. The Head of State said enhanced investment in various sectors such education and agriculture are vital for the economic growth of the country. Read more: Lusaka Times
United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has encouraged Zambia to apply to access part of the 450 million dollars Pandemic Fund when the American government issues out a call for applications in a few weeks time. Dr. Yellen says the funding will help Zambia and other developing countries boost their health security systems and strengthen their preparedness for diseases. Speaking when she officially opened the Emergency Operations Center at the Zambia National Public Health Institute in Lusaka, Dr. Yellen said the United States is investing in global health security due to the high cost of pandemics. Read more: ZNBC
Government is establishing a minerals commission to monitor mining activities countrywide. Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe says the commission will enable the country have control over its mineral wealth. Speaking on ZNBC TV’s Sunday Interview program last night, Mr. Kabuswe said the commission whose implementation process is underway will act as a regulator. And Mr. Kabuswe said Government and Vedanta are currently doing outside court discussions to address the complexities surrounding operations and the way forward on the Konkola Copper Mine. And on Mopani, Mr Kabuswe he said the Transaction advisor is in negotiations with potential investors. Read more: ZNBC
International Business and Finance
The African Development Bank predicts the continent’s growth will be a stronger-than-expected 4% this year, with China’s ending of strict Covid-19 curbs one of the major contributory factors highlighted in its 2023 Africa’s Macroeconomic Performance and Outlook report. “Despite the confluence of multiple shocks, growth across all five African regions was positive in 2022- and the outlook for 2023–24 is projected to be stable,” AfDB chief economist Kevin Chika Urama said at the report’s launch. The report says that Africa’s GDP slowed to 3.8% in 2022 from 4.8% in 2021, and Urama predicts it will stabilise at 4% over 2023–24, with a risk of a continent-wide recession close to zero. Read more: African Business
Uganda on Wednesday issued a final tender to company controlled by TotalEnergies to construct a $3.5 billion oil pipeline through to Tanzania. The final approval will provide a way forward to the construction of the pipeline that will be used to transport the country’s crude to international. The signature follows a Monday approval by the Uganda’s cabinet allowing the construction of the pipeline by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Company Limited. TotalEnergies is the largest shareholder in EACOP with a 62% stake. Other investors include the state-run Uganda National Oil Company and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation, which have 15% each, while China’s CNOOC (0883.HK) holds 8%. The project, which includes drilling in Murchison Falls, Uganda’s largest national park, has run into strong opposition from activists and environmental groups that say it threatens the region’s fragile ecosystem and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to proceed with the project regardless of the EU resolution, warning that the government would look for other partners in case TotalEnergies chose to “listen to the EU Parliament”. Read more: Africa News
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index hovered fractionally above the flatline in early trade, with tech stocks adding 0.4% while telecoms fell 0.4%. PMIs track business activity in the services and manufacturing sectors. Last month, euro zone PMI data signaled that the slowdown in business activity was easing so investors will be hoping to see that trend continue. Elsewhere overnight, markets in the Asia-Pacific traded higher as Lunar New Year holidays were observed in most of the region. Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures were largely flat on Tuesday morning as investors looked to continue a strong start to the week during a busy stretch of corporate earnings. Read more: CNBC
During the last quarter of 2022, the East African Trade Council hit an intra-trade value of $10.17 billion, which represents a 20% proportion of intra-trade to world commerce. Ms. Angelina Ngalula, Chairperson for the East African Business Council shared her optimism, noting that intra-trade within East Africa has gone nowhere else but up. She revealed in her estimation that the intra-regional-trade could hit $15 billion in 2023 as a result of prevailing political goodwill. During the beginning of the new year, she made mention of the same political goodwill in her new year’s address, stating that the efforts from the leaders of the EAC partner nations in things like the removal of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) was key to the EAC intra-trade growth. The trade jumped from $9.5 billion in 2021, to $10.17 billion in 2022. Read more: Business Insider
Capital Markets Report
In 82 trades recorded yesterday, 159,105 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K169,902.35. Trading activity was recorded in Bata, CEC Zambia, Chilanga Cement, Madison Financial Services, Pamodzi, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 7,233.16 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,416,350,084.85 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,633,664,644.85 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
