Story of the Day:
Young Zambian startup Sage Valley has been awarded a revolving working capital facility of up to K250,000 by the Empress Fund based in South Africa. Sage Valley was established in October 2019 to produce locally made spices and pastes after sisters Zita and Nancy Kafwimbi noticed a gap in the market. The funds secured through this facility will be channelled towards increasing their production capacity and meeting increased demand for their products. Read more
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Zambia has to date issued a total of K6.8bln worth of long dated Kwacha fixed income paper to absorb the effects of disease pandemic. These bonds were named COVID bonds as part of an K8bln stimulus package to absorb obligations to retirees, suppliers and contractors. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Finance Minister, Bwalya N’gandu says the country is expected to incur a shortfall of K17.2 billion of the approved 2020 budget. Read more: ZNBC
Mines Minister Richard Musukwa says authorities are eager to increase earnings from mining to finance the country’s economic diversification agenda. Mr. Musukwa says this will enable the country diversify other economic sectors. Read more: ZNBC
Japan has given Zambia a grant of about K450million to upgrade two health centres and district hospitals on Copperbelt. Speaking during the signing ceremony, Minister of Finance Bwalya N’gandu says the implementation of the project will help the country make a lasting impact on the enhancement of human development in Zambia. Read more: The Independent Observer
ABSA Group Limited chief executive officer Daniel Mminele has warned African countries to be wary of participation in debt relief schemes as this could lead to them being downgraded and restrict their participation in the financial markets post-COVID-19. Read more: News Diggers
Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) Director General Likando Mukumbuta says the Commission is expecting to create 125,000 jobs by next year following the operationalization of industrial yards using the K1 billion COVID-19 Fund from the African Development Bank (AfDB). Read more: News Diggers
International Business and Finance
South African Airways creditors and unions approved a rescue plan that includes at least 26.7 billion rand ($1.6 billion) in state funding and thousands of job losses. Read more: Bloomberg
South Africa’s economy will contract by more than initially projected, likely shrinking 6.9% in 2020 compared to an earlier forecast of a 4.5% contraction, ratings agency S&P Global Ratings said on Monday in a report. Read more: Reuters
Three of the biggest US banks have set aside almost $28bn amid concerns about customers defaulting on loans due to the pandemic. The decision helped to push Wells Fargo to its first quarterly loss since the financial crisis and weighed on the financials of other banks. JP Morgan Chase profits roughly halved, while Citigroup’s plunged 73%. Read more: BBC News
Richard Branson is pumping more money into Virgin Atlantic as part of a £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) rescue deal to keep the airline solvent just days before it is due to resume passenger flights. Read more: CNN
The Chinese yuan is set to see a sizable appreciation against the greenback in the next 12 months, according to Zach Pandl, co-head of global foreign exchange, rates and emerging market strategy at Goldman Sachs. Pandl forecasts the Chinese currency could hit 6.70 per dollar in the next 12 months, “primarily through the health of the Chinese economy.” Read more: CNBC
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In 7 trades recorded yesterday, 31,890 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K16,010. Trading activity was recorded in Lafarge and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,893.15 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K55,765,979,203 including Shoprite Holdings and K21,526,773,223 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: