Story of the Day
The Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc (CEC) recorded US$182.3 million worth of revenue during the first half of this year, 12 per cent above the comparative period last year. The performance is attributed primarily to growth in its regional power supply business segment which grew by more than 28 per cent, anchored on increased volume sales of 22 per cent and robust power sourcing arrangements. Read more
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Government says bilateral discussions between Zambia and Angola to resuscitate the possibility of Zambia owning a stake in the Lobito oil refinery are advancing well as the two governments continue to engage on various details that will enable this to come to fruition. Government earlier this year announced that it had successfully lobbied Angola to re-open the opportunity for Zambia to own a stake in the Lobito refinery project which will have a capacity of 200,000 barrels oil per day. Read more: Zambian Observer
At the G7 Leaders’ Summit in June 2022, President Biden announced that the United States is expanding Feed the Future, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, to reach eight new African countries, including Zambia. This expansion will help directly address the impacts of recent shocks to global food security and nutrition. Zambia and the seven other focus countries were prioritized based on a combination of factors, including risk of food insecurity, poverty, and malnutrition, along with impacts from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the opportunity—and each government’s commitment—to tackle these deep-rooted issues in partnership with the United States. Read more: African Business
Major mining companies are getting increasingly involved in the Central African Copper Belt, expanding existing operations and exploring for new discoveries as the positive fundamentals for copper in terms of soaring demand and limited new supply remain in place. Those groups include Barrick Gold, Anglo American, Ivanhoe Mines and First Quantum, which are stepping up their investments in copper mining in Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and even Angola. The driving forces behind the copper boom are that demand for the metal from EV (electrical vehicle) and renewable energy generation is expected to more than double over the next five years because EVs use up to four times more copper than internal combustion engines, and renewable power generation uses five times more than conventional generation. Read more: Mining Mx
Zambia’s Non Traditional Exports (NTEs) has increased by 7.9 per cent to K5.1 billion in July this year from K4.8 billion the previous month. In terms of share in total exports, NTEs accounted for 32.3 per cent of total export earnings in July 2022, according to Zambia Statistics Agency (ZamStats) interim statistician general Mulenga Musepa. He said agricultural products accounted for a share of 27.9 per cent of Zambia’s NTEs in July 2022 compared to 28.8 in June 2022. Addressing journalists in Lusaka last, week, Mr Musepa indicated that export earnings from agricultural products increased by 4.5 per cent to K1.43 billion in July 2022 from K1.37 billion in June 2022. Read more: Times of Zambia
Commerce Trade and Industry Minister Chipoka Mulenga says government expects to see reduction in prices of cement. Mr. Mulenga says this is because of the factors that government has put in place that have triggered reductions in the price of cement. The Minister has told ZNBC news that frequent engagements with cement manufacturers has also been key in the reduction of Cement Prices. Read more: ZNBC
Water Development Minister Mike Mposha says Zambia is seeking to mobilize $5.7b to improve water security and sanitation investments by 2030. Mr. Mposha was speaking during the world water week session on governing values and benefits of water in Sweden. He called on Zambia’s partners to consider working with government to implement the Zambia investment program. Read more: ZNBC
International Business and Finance
A Kenyan High Court has frozen an additional sum of $3.3 million (Sh400.6 million) belonging to the pan-African fintech giant Flutterwave. Business Insider Africa gathered that the funds were discovered in three bank accounts and 19 M-Pessa paybill numbers. Justice Grace Nzioka said the company is prohibited from spending or transferring the funds. Recall that the company had vehemently denied the allegation of fraud, describing it as a calculated attempt to smear its reputation. The company also explained that it makes use of its financial partners to receive funds and make payments on behalf of merchants and corporates. Read more: Business Insider
Kenya Airways received $94.1 million (Sh11.3 billion) worth of loans from the National Treasury of Kenya, about half of the $166.7 (Sh20 billion) that was approved by the government during the period. The airline has been receiving bailouts from the Kenyan treasury over the years, including $91.7 million (Sh11 billion) in 2020 and $116.7 (Sh14 billion) in 2021. In July this year, an additional bailout of $300.1 million (Sh36 billion) was approved. The National Treasury of Kenya has said that the bailouts are strategic investments by the government, after earlier plans to nationalise the airline faltered. Read more: Business Insider
Oil prices dipped on Tuesday, paring some gains from the previous session, as the market feared that more aggressive interest rates hikes from central banks may lead to a global economic slowdown and soften fuel demand. Brent crude futures for October settlement dropped 56 cents, or 0.5%, to $104.53 a barrel by 0620 GMT, after climbing 4.1% on Monday, the biggest increase in more than a month. Read more: Reuters
Stock futures ticked higher on Tuesday morning as Wall Street sought stability after another down day for stocks. Futures for the S&P 500 inched upward by 0.38%, while Nasdaq 100 futures also added 0.50%. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 101 points, or 0.32%. Read more: Reuters
Capital Markets Report
In 177 trades recorded yesterday, 402,961 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K4,700,246. A share price loss was recorded in Zambeef of K0.01. Trading activity was also recorded in Investrust, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zanaco, Zambia Sugar and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,014.06 points, 0.01% down from its previous close of 7,014.75 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K71,462,627,292 including Shoprite Holdings and K36,679,941,852 excluding Shoprite Holdings.