Story of the Day
Lower ore grades at First Quantum Minerals’ two flagship Zambian mines last year have underscored the company’s goal of investing further in new production facilities. Globally the company achieved its highest-ever annual copper production of 816,000 tonnes, a 5 percent increase from 2020, but this was attributed to record production at its new Cobre Panama mine, and the resilience of its other operations. Copper production in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 201,000 tonnes. Read more
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With billions of dollars worth of African gas, gold, copper and cobalt to hit the markets in 2022, industry players are focused on the next big deals. The election of a new government in Zambia in August 2021 has led to optimism that the country is the stand-out player in African minerals exploration for 2022. Read more: The Africa Report
The chief executive officer, Inlaks African Operations, Mr. Kyari Bukar said the foremost ICT infrastructure and systems integrator in Sub- Saharan Africa has successfully completed a technical upgrade of T24 Transact from release 14 to release 20 for the Bank of Zambia (BOZ). Read more: Leadership
Minister of Infrastructure Housing and Urban Development Charles Milupi has called for the review of the contracts awarded to China Geo Engineering Corporation which has abandoned a number of projects in the country. Mr. Milupi says Government wants to work with contractors that are ready to work and deliver work. Read more: ZNBC
President Hakainde Hichilema has pledged to accelerate investments in all sectors of the Zambian economy to better the lives of citizens. He says his administration is determined to change and do things better to speed up development in the country. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
International Business and Finance
Some financial analysts and economists have predicted that many African central banks could most likely retain interest rates when their monetary policy makers meet in just a few weeks from now. The prediction comes amid expected rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve Bank, a move that will inevitably trigger sell-offs of dollar bonds and other assets in emerging markets (especially those in Africa) by global investors. Read more: Business Insider
U.S. stock index futures fell in early trading Tuesday, after a wildly volatile session that saw the Dow erase a more than 1,100 point decline to finish the day in positive territory. Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 280 points, or around 0.8%. S&P 500 futures dropped 41 points, or 1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures tumbled about 175 points, or 1.2%. Read more: CNBC
IBM shares jumped as much as 7% in extended trading but later lost most of their gains Monday after the software and services company said revenue climbed 6% in the fourth quarter, surpassing expectations. Read more: CNBC
Moody’s upgraded Tesla Inc’s debt rating by two notches to “Ba1” from “Ba3” on Monday, reflecting the ratings agency’s expectations that the Elon Musk-led company will maintain its position as the leading battery electric vehicle manufacturer. Moody’s affirmed in a note that Tesla’s outlook remains positive and the company will continue to increase its scale rapidly and improve its profitability notably. Read more: Reuters
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In 39 trades recorded yesterday, 1,251,580 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K8,418,823. A share price gain of K0.49 was recorded in FQM. Share price losses were recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation of K0.05 and in Zambia Sugar of K0.63. Trading activity was also recorded in Airtel, CHIL, Zambia Breweries, and Zambeef. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 6,083.86 points, 0.98% down from its previous close of 6,143.69 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K67,288,332,687 including Shoprite Holdings and K32,505,647,247 excluding Shoprite Holdings.