Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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More than US$300 million has been provided to Small and Medium entrepreneurs (SME) including women-led business by Absa Bank Zambia.
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The BRICS has overtaken the G7 in global GDP.
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In the third week of March, bonds of total face value of K345,452,000 were transacted in 66 trades, resulting in a market value sales of K209,560,180
Story of the Day
Global leaders, celebrities, individuals, youth groups and businesses from over 190 countries and territories came together at 8:30pm on Saturday 25 March, to Give an Hour for Earth, with 410,000 hours of planet-positive activities pledged as part of Earth Hour’s ‘Hour Bank’. The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, South Korea’s Choi Si Won from boyband Super Junior, one of the world’s youngest climate activists, Tanzanian Activist, Sharon Ringo and Malaysian singer-songwriter Zee Avi were among the many influential leaders and celebrities who supported Earth Hour 2023, as part of the Biggest Hour for Earth yet. Landmarks across the world took part in Earth Hour’s signature switch off moment, including China’s Beijing National Speed Skating Hall and the Zhouzhuang in Kunshan, the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Cambodia’s Independence Monument, and the Notre-Dame de Paris in France. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
More than US$300 million has been provided to Small and Medium entrepreneurs (SME) including women-led business by Absa Bank Zambia. This has been provided under United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Enterprises for Development, Growth, and Empowerment (EDGE) programme and USAID Alternative to Charcoal Project. Out of this development, more than 3,000 SMEs including women have been trained while the bank intends to double the number this year, says bank’s Managing Director, Mizinga Melu. Read more: Zambian Monitor
The government of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have signed a Financing Agreement with Afreximbank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) for the pre-feasibility study for the establishment of special economic zones, dedicated to the Electric Vehicle Battery (EVB) Value Chain. Speaking at the signing ceremony in Kinshasa, DRC, Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Chipoka Mulenga said the agreement demonstrates the commitment of the two countries, under the leadership of His President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema and his Democratic Republic of Congo counterpart Felix Tshisekedi to ensure the success of the initiative. Read more: Lusaka Times
Zambia is set to start commercial Uranium production in 2027. GoviEx Uranium, the company with mining rights has exclusively confirmed that the company is expected to secure the project financing and start construction at Muntanga Uranium Mine once the bankable feasibility study is completed. GoviEx Uranium Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications Isabel Vilela disclosed that the Company aims to deliver a bankable Feasibility Study for the much expanded Muntanga Uranium project by next year in 2024. The mine is located in Siavonga district of Southern Province. Read more: Zambian Business Times
First National Bank (FNB) country economist Chileshe Moono says pressure on the exchange rate is expected to ease once the debt restructuring talks are successfully concluded. Speaking during a customers breakfast meeting in Kitwe on Friday, Mr Moono said the current depreciation of the Kwacha against other major convertible global currencies is just a symptom of the underlying economic issues that the country is grappling with. “FX [foreign exchange] is a symptom and not necessarily a disease on its own. Just like if you have a headache, there could be an underlying issue with your body which is causing you to have a headache,” Mr Moono said. “It is the same with FX. It is a symptom telling us what is happening in the underlying economy.” He said the manufacturing base is not where it ought to be as the country continues to import more than it exports. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Bank of Zambia (BoZ) deputy governor – administeration Rheka Mhango says rising cyber-security risks are a major threat that may erode confidence in the provision of digital financial services. And Absa Group chief executive for regional operations Saviour Chibiya says over K350 million has been invested during the past three years in upgrading information and communications technology (ICT) aimed at ensuring safe and seamless transactions. Mrs Mhango said the financial sector is showing resilience and moving towards recovery with strong capitalisation and more liquidity. “But cyber-security risks are rising and posing to be major threats that may erode market confidence in the digital financial space. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 21.1587 | 21.2042 |
GBP | 25.9490 | 26.0133 |
EUR | 22.8302 | 22.8878 |
ZAR | 1.1571 | 1.1606 |
In International Business News
The BRICS has overtaken the G7 in global GDP. The India-based Megh Updates platform, one of the world’s largest online informational platforms in terms of views, has stated that BRICS countries have officially overtaken G7 in share of world PPP GDP, and that this trend can be expected to continue. The BRICS currently include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, while the G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union. A real shake up is also to be expected these coming days with Mexico, long part of the North American free trade bloc NAFTA (now superseded by the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) agreement) poised to join BRICS. That will be seen as a direct affront to Mexico’s US relations and a sign that global economies, even on America’s border, are having serious doubts about the US ability to trade on fair and equal terms. The current BRICS five now contribute 31.5% of global GDP, while the G7 share has fallen to 30%. The BRICS is expected to contribute over 50% of global GDP by 2030, with the proposed enlargement almost certainly bringing that forward. China’s GDP actually overtook that of the United States in 2015 when comparing economies in purchasing parity terms. Read more: Silk Road Briefing
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris sets her sights on investment opportunities in Africa. In preparation for her week-long trip to Africa aimed at countering China’s influence, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced on Sunday that the United States will increase investment in Africa and assist in economic growth. China has made significant investments in Africa in recent years, primarily in infrastructure and natural resources development, while Russian influence has increased due to the deployment of Russian military personnel by the private military contractor Wagner Group to support governments in several nations. “On this trip, I intend to do work that is focused on increasing investments here on the continent and facilitating economic growth and opportunity,” Harris made this statement shortly after landing in Ghana, the first stop of a journey that would also take her to Tanzania and Zambia. Read more: Business Insider
South Africa’s economy is at risk of stagnating this year as the country’s electricity crisis continues to cause regular power cuts, the IMF warned on Wednesday. But the short-term outlook in the continent’s leading industrial power has worsened, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) findings after a mission to the country. “South Africa’s economic and social challenges are mounting, posing a risk of stagnation amid an unprecedented energy crisis,” the IMF said. “Real GDP growth is expected to slow sharply to 0.1% in 2023, mainly due to a significant increase in the intensity of power cuts,” the fund said. GDP contracted by 1.3% in the last quarter of 2022. The country would enter a recession if its economy continued to contract in the first quarter of 2023. Read more: Africa News
Kenya Airways remained loss-making in 2022 with a net loss more than doubling to hit a record $290.62 million. It grew 1.4 times from $120.55 million posted in 2021 and took the national carrier’s accumulated loss to $1.3 billion. The results were announced during a virtual investor briefing, Monday (Mar. 27). Costs grew from $656.29 million to $1.18 billion, mainly driven by rising fuel prices. Other direct operating costs shot up due to increased capacity. However, the board said the airline was on course to hit break-even point this year and profitability by 2024; something it has not done since 2012. Read more: Africa News
The US case against Binance calls out one of the worst-kept secrets in crypto. If you live in America, you’re not allowed to trade crypto derivatives. And if you’re a big international platform for trading crypto derivatives, you can’t let Americans trade those products if you haven’t registered with the boring-sounding but not-to-be-trifled-with federal regulator known as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC. Today, that regulator sued Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, for allegedly doing just that. (And if that name sounds familiar, it may because back in November, Binance briefly flirted with bailing out its smaller rival, FTX. Obviously, Binance took one look under the hood at FTX, now at the center of a massive federal fraud investigation, and promptly bailed.) Here’s the deal: The CFTC alleges that Binance and its CEO violated US trading laws by, among other things, secretly coaching “VIP” customers within the United States on how to evade compliance controls. Read more: CNN
When Uganda intends to start producing oil in 2025, economic growth is anticipated to reach 7%, which would aid in Uganda’s massive public debt entering a “declining trend.” This is according to the country’s ministry of finance, who had earlier warned that Uganda is concerned about the expanding public debt load and surging debt-servicing expenses, and similar reservations have been raised by the central bank and others. To assist relieve its debt woes, the ministry announced it will not conduct any external borrowing in the next financial year starting in July. Read more: Business Insider
In the third week of March 2023 bond trading, there were four days that recorded trades of which Thursdays’ bond trading was the best performing day of the week. Bonds of total face value of K345,452,000 were transacted in 66 trades, resulting in a market value sales of K209,560,180. Bonds are a low-risk investment issued when the government borrows money from its people. You can purchase bonds using the Lusaka Securities Exchange Application online. Read more
In 98 trades recorded yesterday, 855,042 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K3,082,517.78. Share price gains of K1.50 and K0.22 were recorded in Airtel and CEC Zambia respectively. The following share price losses were recorded K0.02 in BATA, K0.01 in British American Tobacco Zambia, K0.13 in Real Estate Investments Zambia and K0.10 in Standard Chartered Bank Limited. Trading activity was also recorded in AECI, Chilanga Cement, National Breweries, Pamodzi, PUMA, Zambeef, ZAMEFA, Zanaco and Zambia Sugar. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,362.24 points 1.06% up from its previous close of 7,285.09. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,978,171,129.34 including Shoprite Holdings and K38,195,485,689.34 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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