Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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- Cost of living shoots to K9,047
- African tech startups raised a combined $3.33 billion in 2022, marking the first time the sector has passed the $3 billion mark
- Airtel Zambia ranked “Best Dividend Paying Company” by LuSE
Story of the Day
Sustainability used to be the home of tree huggers and bird lovers. Today, it seems like everyone has embraced sustainability. Over the years, both clients and industries have become more environmentally aware. For this reason, more and more businesses are now keen to incorporate sustainability in their strategies, which in effect, filters into their operations. Most companies are gravitating towards the ability to coexist with, and even enhance their environments. This has fostered new ways and ideas of how most companies and businesses are operating. The transitioning from the old ways of doing business, to new sustainable ways, for most companies, has had a positive impact on the environment. This has therefore significantly rendered sustainability to be an important aspect for most companies and businesses these days. Read more
Updates from the 2023 Cape Town Mining Indaba Sponsored by
Mopani Copper Mines will secure a new investor by the end of this quarter, Zambia’s mines minister Paul Kabuswe said on Monday, calling the complex owned by state mining investment firm ZCCM-IH a “critical asset” for the country’s copperbelt. There are 10 suitors for the mine and smelter complex, including South Africa-listed mining firm Sibanye-Stillwater and “one or two” Chinese mining firms, Kabuswe said in an interview on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town. Read more
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA AT THE 2022 INVESTING IN AFRICAN MINING INDABA: ” Mining has been the bedrock of African economies for millennia, and it continues to play a pivotal role in development and industrialisation across the continent. In the global drive towards sustainability, the mining sector has a particularly important role to play, requiring it to be responsible, agile and innovative. For South Africa, mining continues to be an essential part of our economy. The mining sector is an important contributor to job creation and retention, accounting for close to half a million direct jobs and close to a million indirect jobs.” Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
A consortium of companies from the United Arab Emirates has expressed interest to invest in Carbon credit trade and other economic sectors in Zambia. The companies focus is on mining, agriculture, carbon education, health and energy. Member of the Royal family of the United Arab Emirates Ahmed Maktoum disclosed this when he met President Hakainde Hichilema at State House. Sheikh Maktoum said the UAE would like to cooperate with Zambia in carbon credit as the country is blessed with forests. He said his delegation has also observed that there are more areas that Zambia and the UAE can partner citing the agriculture and energy sectors. Read more: ZNBC
Arc Minerals Ltd. said Tuesday that it and Anglo American PLC are in the final stages of the terms for their joint venture over Arc’s copper interests in Zambia, which are expected to be finalized in the next few weeks. The parties have therefore extended the exclusivity period to March 31 to allow for final internal approvals and signing of the agreement. Arc said on May 12 that it had entered into an agreement with Anglo American under which AA would get 70% of the joint venture in exchange for an aggregate investment of up to $88.5 million, including a cash sum of up to $14.5 million. Read more: Market Watch
The cost of living for a family of five in Lusaka has increased by K64.49 for the month of January. The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) Basic Needs and Nutrition Basket (BNNB) for January stood at K9,047.31, compared to the K8,982.82 recorded in December, 2022. Read more: News Diggers
Government and millers have agreed to drop mealie meal prices between K160 and K170 for a K25 kilogramme (Kg) bag. This is meant to alleviate the current high mealie meal prices on the market. And the Food Reserve Agency (FRA) has also announced that it has so far offloaded 153, 330.00 metric tonnes of maize to various millers countrywide. Read more: Zambia Monitor
In International Business News
Despite a global downturn in investment, particularly in riskier asset classes such as venture capital, African tech startups experienced a landmark year in 2022. According to Disrupt Africa’s annual funding report, a total of 633 African tech startups raised a combined $3.33 billion in 2022, marking the first time the sector has passed the $3 billion mark. The number of funded startups increased by 12.2% compared to 564 in 2021, while the total secured funding jumped 55.1% from $2.15 billion in 2021. This represents significant growth, albeit smaller than the previous year, in the face of global economic conditions. Read more: Business Insider
The West’s five largest oil companies raked in combined profits of nearly $200 billion in 2022, intensifying calls for governments to impose tougher windfall taxes. French oil giant TotalEnergies on Wednesday reported full-year profit of $36.2 billion, doubling last year’s total, as fossil fuel prices soared following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The results see TotalEnergies join supermajors Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Shell
President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night, marking the halfway point of his tenure. It was an opportunity for him to highlight his administration’s achievements to date, as well as set the tone for how he hopes the next two, possibly more, years go. Biden has been upbeat on his economic policies after recent reports showed near record low unemployment and strong job growth, but his speech exhibited his broader ambitions to reshape the economy into one that grows “from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down.” Here is the economic news you missed: Read more: CNBC
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that inflation is beginning to ease, though he expects it to be a long process and cautioned that interest rates could rise more than markets anticipate if the economic data doesn’t cooperate. “The disinflationary process, the process of getting inflation down, has begun and it’s begun in the goods sector, which is about a quarter of our economy,” the central bank chief said during an event in Washington, D.C. “But it has a long way to go. These are the very early stages.” Read more: CNBC
Trade between the US and China hit a record high last year even as their diplomatic relations deteriorated. Imports and exports between the two countries totalled $690.6bn in 2022, official figures show. Relations between the countries have hit new lows in recent days after a Chinese balloon travelled across the US. Beijing denies US claims it was used for spying. The world’s two biggest economies have also been in a trade war since 2018. The new figures show that US imports from China increased to $536.8bn last year as American shoppers spent more on Chinese-made goods, including toys and mobile phones. In the same period, US exports to China increased to $153.8bn. While some of the increase in trade between the two countries is a result of the rising cost of living, the figures also point to how reliant the US and China still are on each other even after years of trade conflict between them. Read more: BBC News
Finally, Capital Markets News
Airtel Networks Zambia has been declared WINNER of the ‘Best Dividend Paying Company’ at the 12th Corporate Governance Annual Awards of the Lusaka Securities Exchange (LuSE) held on 27th January 2023 in Lusaka. Receiving the award, Airtel Networks Zambia Plc, Managing Director Manu Sood said the award would not have been possible without the unwavering trust of customers in Airtel as the preferred network provider. Sood said the growing Airtel customer base is further testament of continued customers’ trust in Airtel. He said best Dividend Paying Company award from LuSE is a recognition of Airtel’s consistent and high dividend track record in recent past adding that Airtel is focused on serving customers, shareholders and communities as a responsible corporate. Read more
In 90 trades recorded yesterday, 1,047,457 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K7,424,967.32. A share price gain of K0.04 and K0.02 was recorded in Airtel and PUMA as well as a K0.02 gain in CEC Africa on the quoted tier. Trading activity was also recorded in British American Tobacco Zambia, CEC Zambia, Chilanga Cement, Standard Chartered Bank Limited, Zambia Breweries, Zambeef, Zanaco, Zambia Sugar and ZAFFICO. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) it’s closedat 7,229.99, 0.05% points up from its previous at 7,226.74 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,402,528,505.24 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,619,843,065.24 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day