Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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China wants the World Bank to offer debt relief to Zambia
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The U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England are all expected to hike interest rates once again this week
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For the six-month period to 1 January 2023, the Shoprite Group increased total sale of merchandise by 16.8% to approximately R106.3 billion.
Story of the Day
First National Bank (FNB) Zambia and Cactus Money Transfers have announced a CashPlus agency banking partnership adding 80 agencies across Zambia Speaking on the partnership, FNB Zambia Chief Executive Officer, Bydon Longwe said, “We are thrilled to announce this partnership with Cactus Money Transfers, an organization that shares our vision of creating a better world through the provision of intuitive help in the communities where we operate in. When we launched CashPlus, FNB’s agency banking proposition in May 2018, the Bank was very clear on the intent to complement government efforts in bridging the financial inclusion gap, while providing our customers and stakeholders with alternative access to cash and bill payment options without them having to step into a branch, and right in the convenience of their own neighbourhoods” Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has adjusted upwards the price of petroleum products by an average of two kwacha. ERB Board Chairperson Reynolds Bowa says the price adjustments has been necessitated by the increase of oil prices on the international market caused by sanctions on Russian products as well as increased demand for travel to China. Speaking at the ERB monthly fuel price review press Briefing in Lusaka, Mr. Bowa said petrol has increased by K2.73 Ngwee and will now be sold at K27.22 Ngwee per liter.Read more ZNBC
China has called for multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to offer debt relief to Zambia. China believes that the key to resolving Zambia’s debt crisis lies in the involvement of both multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors in debt-relief efforts. In a statement, the Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, pointed out that multilateral institutions and private creditors hold the majority of Zambia’s foreign debt, accounting for 24% and 46% respectively. “They combined hold the bulk of Zambia’s foreign debt. The key to easing Zambia’s debt burden thus lies in the participation of multilateral financial institutions and commercial creditors in the debt relief efforts,” she said. Read more: Lusaka Times
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has dispelled fears among Zambians that the institution’s bailout package for the country will come with harsh conditions that will negatively affect the citizens. A number of local stakeholders have criticised the pending IMF bailout package being sought by the New Dawn Government of President Hakainde Hichilema saying it won’t be the solution to Zambia’s economic problems. Speaking on ZNBC TV’s Sunday Interview, Ms. Georgieva said the IMF was aware of fears among some Zambians that its bailout package for the country will come with harsh conditions. She said the IMF over the years has transformed into a better global institution that means well for nations seeking bailout packages like Zambia. Read more: Lusaka Times
Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) says the country has maintained its score of 33 on the 2022 Corruption Perception Index for the third consecutive year. TI-Z says the development is against political assurances from the UPND administration that it would improve in the corruption fight, resulting in an improved CPI score for Zambia. Speaking during the launch of the CPI yesterday, TI-Z Advocacy, Policy and Research Lead Bright Chizonde said Zambia was not doing well compared with other countries. Read more: News Diggers
Zambia’s market capitalization has increased by 8.12 percent to K72.641 billion in 2022. And total savings for the Zambian capital markets rose by 8.05 percent to over K74.8 billion last year supported by positive macro-economic and financial market fundamentals. This is an increase from about K69.2 billion recorded in 2021, according to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chief Executive Officer Philip Chitalu. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Government is scouting for K10.3 billion to finance entrepreneurs through it’s Citizen Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) facility.In response to this, the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZANACO) has pledged to set aside K50 million towards the funding. Currently, the government has K400 million to support entrepreneurs, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Development Minister Elias Mubanga said. “Government has a huge deficit for SME funding. When Government asked SMEs to apply through CEEC, what we found out was that Government needs K10.3 billion to finance the SMEs. “The government only had about K400 million so we are in asking financial institutions to come and partner with the Government to seal this gap,” he said. Read more: Zambia Monitor
In International Business News
The U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England are all expected to hike interest rates once again this week, as they make their first policy announcements of 2023. All three banks are expected to re-emphasize commitments to returning inflation toward targets near 2%, but recent positive data have fueled hopes that central banks will eventually be able to slow the pace of rate hikes. Read more: CNBC
Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies, known as OPEC+, will meet virtually on February 1. The meeting comes as the price of oil has rallied towards $90 a barrel. Al Jazeera’s Fidelis Mbah in Abuja, Nigeria, spoke to OPEC President Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima — who is also Equatorial Guinea’s hydrocarbons minister — about issues confronting the organisation. The piece has been edited for clarity. “We want to remind you, one thing OPEC does not control is the price. What OPEC does is make sure that the supply and the demand are stable. So it is very important that we watch and we monitor and we make sure that the consumer … always receives the product.” Read more: Reuters
PayPal is shedding around 2,000 jobs, or 7% of its workers, as it becomes the latest big tech firm to cut costs. The online payments company says it was forced to make the decision as it faces “the challenging macro-economic environment.” PayPal’s announcement follows tens of thousands of layoffs by technology giants in the last month alone. This year, Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft have announced major job cuts. Read more: BBC News
The transition to a greener economy is worth £71bn and has brought jobs and investment to parts of the UK experiencing industrial decline. Those are the key findings of a new report written by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The drive to reach net zero emissions involves more than 20,000 businesses, it calculates. Some 840,000 jobs are linked to sectors ranging from renewable energy to waste management, it adds. Read more: BBC News
Finally, Capital Markets News
For the six-month period to 1 January 2023 (“the period”), the Shoprite Group increased total sale of merchandise by 16.8% to approximately R106.3 billion. The Group’s core business, Supermarkets RSA, contributing 80.1% to Group sales, achieved sales growth of 17.5% (like-for-like 11.1%). This growth is reported against the six-month period ended 2 January 2022 (“first half 2022”) when sales increased by 11.3%. Read more
In 80 trades recorded yesterday, 29,817 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K75,440.25. A share price fall of K0.40 was recorded in Real Estate Investments Zambia and a share price increase of 0.01 was recorded in CEC Africa Trading activity was recorded in BAT Zambia, CEC Zambia, Pamodzi, PUMA, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained it’s close 7,217.75 points 0.07% points down from it’s previous close at 7,222.94 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,349,270,544.24 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,566,585,104.24 excluding Shoprite Holdings.