Story of the Day:
Zambeef announced that, based on work undertaken to date, it expects to report, for the year ended 30 September 2020, audited dollar-denominated revenue and EBITDA that are in line with current market expectations, with EBIT and adjusted Profit Before Tax* that are over 25% ahead of current market expectations. Read more
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Holders of Zambia’s Eurobonds plan to reject a government request to defer payments on its sovereign dollar debt, according to four sources, pushing the country closer towards a protracted debt overhaul and possible hard default. Read more: Reuters
In Zambia, disease pandemic has manifested in a faster climb in costs than revenue growth for the financial sector, a negative jaws scenario. According to third quarter prudential returns published in the local press, aggregate jaws for the period averaged -8.2% on a year on year basis. This was exacerbated by a 30.6% industry spend jump to K6.25billion surpassing a 21.5% rally in total income to K9.30billion. Read more: The Business Telegraph
The Bank of Zambia (BOZ) says it will disburse an additional K500 million to financial service providers for onward lending to customers. BoZ Governor Christopher Mvunga says this is in addition to the K2.45 billion which has already been disbursed, thereby bringing the total to about K3 billion. Read more: ZNBC
ZSIC Life has been recognised in the 2020 digital Financial literacy awards for its exceptional financial education program and outstanding theme messaging. ZSIC Life Public Relations Manager Nabwalya Vlahakis says the company has over the years been committed to ensuring that nationwide financial literacy is in tandem with its mandate of taking insurance products to all. Read more: ZNBC
Zambia urgently needs debt relief to help the country deal with the Coronavirus pandemic and revive the stressed economy, says Oxfam. In a policy note dubbed: Zambia’s Private Debt and the Coronavirus, Oxfam urged Eurbond holders, among other creditors, to grant Zambia debt relief because the country was currently overwhelmed with the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic. Read more: News Diggers
Power utility giant – ZESCO has granted both domestic and commercial customers a COVID-19 Relief Package to cushion the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic on selected low households and small business. Read more: Zambian Business Times
International Business and Finance
The stock market debut by Chinese tech giant Ant Group has been abruptly halted. Ant, backed by Jack Ma, billionaire founder of e-commerce platform Alibaba, was set to sell shares worth about $34.4bn on Thursday. The listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong would have been the biggest stock market debut to date. But Chinese authorities have cited “major issues” as the reason behind the eleventh hour suspension. Alibaba shares declined by 7%. Read more: BBC News
The dollar could depreciate by 15% by the end of 2023 irrespective of the election outcome, and an even larger dip is “certainly possible,” Goldman Sachs said. The greenback is currently overvalued by 10% to 15% based on several reasons, according to Zach Pandl,co-head of global FX and EM strategy at Goldman Sachs. Read more: Business Insider
South Sudan President Salva Kiir has dismissed Central Bank governor Jamal Wani at a time when the economy is ailing. He has been replaced by former governor Dier Tong. The president did not provide reasons for the decision, although he cited presidential powers enshrined in the Constitution. Read more: All Africa
Bayer AG on Tuesday posted a loss in the third quarter as the coronavirus pandemic compounded problems the German chemical and drug giant has been facing since its acquisition of agriculture giant Monsanto just over two years ago. Read more: Wall Street Journal
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There were no trades recorded yesterday. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,809.22 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,090,342,990 including Shoprite Holdings and K22,851,137,010 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: