Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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FSD Zambia stressed the need to work with financial institutions to develop gender responsive financial products and services
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Argentina’s inflation hit 102.5% in February
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AECI Mining posted a 76% decline in profit after tax in 2022
Story of the Day
As COVID-19 swept around the world, hundreds of millions of employees retreated from their offices and into the new world of work-from-home. The pandemic showed us all just how rapidly technology can change the way we work. As remote working continues post covid, and as technology improves by the day. There have been speculations about the metaverse being the future office space for most companies and organisations. Some people even believe that in five to ten years, we’ll be spending most of our days working and transacting in a virtual reality. To this end, there has been a growing number of CEOs experimenting with the metaverse as a workplace. Whilst there isn’t a concrete definition of the metaverse yet, many in the computer industry believe it to be the next iteration of the internet. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
President Hakainde Hichilema has commissioned Mimbula Copper Mine in Chingola with a call to residents to safeguard the mine. President Hichilema says the nine which has created 900 jobs is key to revenue generation, job creation and stabilizing the kwacha. The President also urged workers to resort to dialogue when faced with grievances instead of taking to the streets. Speaking during the Launch this afternoon, President Hichilema praised management of Mimbula which is owned by British Company Moxico Investments to ensure they look after workers. He also encouraged foreign investors to partner with locals and work with local suppliers. Read more: ZNBC
President Hakainde Hichilema says the debate around the Ndola – Lusaka dual carriageway should not even be had as the contract sum is nearly half of what was initially signed. He says the previous contract sum was around $1.8 billion with interest but was canceled and the new sum is now around 6-hundred million dollars. President Hichilema says the Public Private Partnetship -PPP- approach to the over 300 kilometer stretch is vital as government will not engage in foreign borrowing but use local resources. He says some people thought that government would not manage to work on the road before addressing the debt burden but has managed using local solutions. Read more: ZNBC
The World Bank Group has underscored the importance of sustainable private sector development in strengthening small and medium enterprises to promote economic growth. Executive Director for World Bank Group, Africa Group in the Office of the Executive Director, Floribert Ngaruko, said this is because the private sector helps to reduce unemployment levels, thus supporting development. Dr Ngaruko said when he paid a courtesy call on the Zambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ZACCI) president in Lusaka, that there is need to find ways of building capacity within the private sector as it rolls out its projects in Zambia. He noted that there is need to interact with the private sector given the role it plays in the development of the country, especially in the areas of employment. Read more: Lusaka Times
Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Zambia has stressed the need to work with financial institutions to develop gender responsive financial products and services. Speaking during the dissemination of results of financial decision-making, Gender and Social Norms Study conducted in Eastern Province, Organization Chief Executive Officer Engwase Mwale said access to financial services is critical to economic growth and poverty reduction, hence it is important to consider and appreciate how gender and social norms affect other players in the financial market system. Ms. Mwale noted that results of the 2020 Finscope survey revealed a 6 percentage point gender gap in formal inclusion, therefore the need to address gender disparities and work towards ensuring greater financial inclusion for all. Read more: Money FM
Government says it will continue to dismantle regulatory barriers that may prevent the uptake of renewable energy by businesses and citizens. In this vein, government has developed numerous policies aimed at promoting clean energy which includes the renewable energy strategy and action plan. This is according to Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister, Chipoka Mulenga, in commemorating the 2023 world consumer rights day under the theme “Empowering Consumers Through Clean Energy Transitions.” Mulenga regretted there were still barriers that prevented the uptake of renewable energy by businesses and citizens. He however said government was committed to dismantling such barriers. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) is targeting to reach out to one billion potential tourists across the world through an ambitious digital campaign to be launched in June this year. ZTA Chief Executive Officer Matongo Matamwandi revealed this when the Ministry of Tourism and ZTA delegation that was in Germany to attend the 2023 ITB Travel Trade Show paid a courtesy visit at the Zambian Embassy in Berlin. He said that Public Relations Marketing Agencies will be engaged to beef up the campaign in all key source markets and that by January 2024 the country will have significantly increased visibility on social media platforms. Read more: Zambia Monitor
In International Business News
Argentina’s inflation rate has soared past 100% for the first time since the end of hyperinflation in the early 90s. Inflation hit 102.5% in February, the country’s statistics agency said, meaning the price of many consumer goods has more than doubled since 2022. Argentina has been in economic difficulty for years, and most of the population now live in poverty. Its government has being trying to stem price rises by capping the prices of food and other products. But the food and drink sectors saw the most dramatic increase recent, with prices growing by 9.8% in February compared to January. Argentinian media said that this increase could partly be due to a sharp hike in the price of meat, which rose by almost 20% in the space of a month. Adverse weather conditions, a prolonged heatwave and a drought seriously impacted livestock and crops, said local news outlet Ambito. Read more: BBC News
South Korea says it will build an enormous facility to make computer chips in greater Seoul, with about $230 billion in investment from memory chip giant Samsung Electronics. The plans were announced by President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday and confirmed by the electronics giant. “We will build the world’s largest new ‘high-tech system semiconductor cluster’ in the Seoul Metropolitan area based on large-scale private investment of almost 300 trillion Korean won,” he said. “In addition, we will grow the ‘semiconductor mega cluster’ to the world’s largest in connection with the existing memory semiconductor manufacturing complexes.” Read more: CNN
Silicon Valley Bank was the backbone of many startups and venture capital funds around the world. The effects of its collapse, the biggest banking failure since the 2008 financial crisis, is likely to be felt across the technology landscape globally over the coming years. “With SVB in essence the Godfather of the Silicon Valley banking ecosystem for the past few decades in the tech world, we believe the negative ripple impact of this historical collapse will have a myriad of implications for the tech world going forward,” Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in a note on Tuesday. SVB’s collapse began last week when it said it needed to raise $2.25 billion to shore up its balance sheet. Venture capital firms told their portfolio companies to withdraw money from the bank and other clients looked to get their cash before it became unobtainable. This effectively led to a bank run. The bank had to sell assets, mainly bonds, at a massive loss. Read more: CNBC
Ratings agency Moody’s said Wednesday it maintained a “negative” outlook on China’s banking sector as a result of a drawn out recovery after Beijing’s Covid controls ended. China’s economy missed a national growth target in 2022 due to the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant and a prolonged slump in the massive real estate sector. While Beijing ended its stringent Covid controls in early December, the economic rebound so far has remained muted. “The challenging adjustment to the exit from zero-COVID, for both borrowers and lenders, will weigh on banks’ asset quality and profitability over the next 12-18 months,” Moody’s said in a note Wednesday. Read more: CNBC
Finally, Capital Markets News
AECI Mining’s revenue reported for the year ending 31 December 2022 decreased by 8% to ZMW 904.4 million (2021: ZMW 983.8 million). Revenue figures were impacted by a drop in export sales. Material margins decreased as a result of decreased revenue. Material margin percentages were adversely affected by increased raw material prices. The company achieved a net profit after taxation of ZMW 23.7 million (2021: ZMW 99.9 million), a decrease of 76% from 2021. The reported numbers for revenue and net profit after tax were significantly impacted by the appreciation in the value of the Kwacha compared to 2021. Fixed costs were managed to compensate to a certain extent for the loss of margin. Read more
In 96 trades recorded yesterday, 28,817 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K80,869.29. A Share price gain of K0.10 was recorded in Standard Chartered Bank Limited. Trading activity was also recorded in British American Tobacco Zambia, Copperbelt Energy Corporation Zambia, Chilanga Cement, PUMA, Zambia Breweries, Zambeef, Zanaco, Zambia Sugar and CEC Africa on the quoted tier . The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 7,265.46 points. 0.53% up from its previous close of 7,227.17. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,556,937,909.89 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,774,252,469.89 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day