Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
-
IMF sees Zambia agreement with official creditors ‘within a few days’
-
Four firms shortlisted in race to buy Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines
-
It could take 131 years for the world to close the gender gap – World Economic Forum
-
Standard Chartered Bank CEO flags off tree planting challenge for sustainability
Story of the Day
REMARKS BY H.E. HON. WILLIAM RUTO, PHD., CGH., PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES, DURING THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE AFRICA ENERGY FORUM (AEF) JUNE 20TH, 2023 KICC, NAIROBI:
Distinguished guests,
Regardless of whether we like to acknowledge it or not, humanity today must confront not just a defining moment in the history of our existence, but also the fact that the unprecedented existential crisis of climate change has a lot to do with our relationship with energy. Energy makes human life safer, human activity more efficient and society better. The different ways in which societies access and utilize energy describe the contours of human productivity and inequality, and also define our contributions to the worsening climate crisis. For these reasons, the world now has clarity on the right, as well as the wrong ways of sourcing energy. The question of whether we need energy at all shall never arise, because that is the mandatory fact of life. The matter of how we cater for our energy needs must therefore escalate to the highest priority of humanity’s urgent existential concerns, and must continuously occupy us all. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
The International Monetary Fund is encouraged by the progress in discussions between Zambia and its official creditors, and an agreement could be reached “within a few days,” the fund said in a statement on Tuesday. “We are very encouraged by the significant progress being made in discussions between official creditors and Zambia on a potential debt treatment,” a spokesperson for the fund wrote. “We expect an agreement could be reached within a few days, which would allow the Executive Board consider the first review of the Fund-supported program within a few weeks.” Read more: Reuters
China’s Zijin Mining and Norinco Group, South Africa’s Sibanye Stillwater and an investment vehicle owned by ex-Glencore officials have been shortlisted in the race to buy Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines. Rothschild & Co, hired last year to find investors for Mopani, has whittled down the list to four, the sources said. Switzerland-based commodities giant Glencore sold a 73% stake in Mopani to ZCCM-IH in 2021 for $1.5-billion in a deal funded by debt, but retained offtake rights of Mopani’s copper production until the debt had been repaid in full. Read more: Reuters
President Hakainde Hichilema has arrived in Kigali, Rwanda, for a two-day state visit at the invitation of his Rwandan counterpart, President Paul Kagame. The visit aims to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries and foster a partnership for development and cooperation. President Hichilema’s visit is a reciprocal gesture following President Kagame’s state visit to Zambia in April of the previous year. It underscores the commitment of both leaders to enhance cooperation and explore avenues for mutually beneficial collaboration. Read more: Lusaka Times
Zambia’s currency advanced the most in seven years on expectations the southern African nation is on the verge of reaching a deal with its official creditors on restructuring its debt. The kwacha rose almost 12% to as high as 17.425 per dollar, breaking above its 200-day moving average. The country’s dollar bond due July 2027 was the best performer among emerging-market peers. Read more: Bloomberg
The European Union (EU) has taken a decision to increase the funding for Zambia under the bilateral envelope of the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation instrument (NDICI)-Global Europe for the period 2021-2024, worth 60 million Euros. Minister of Finance and National Planning Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane and EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen confirmed the development in a communique issued in Lusaka on Tuesday. In the communique, Urpilainen said as a sign of faith and trust in the government’s reforms, this ‘democratic dividend’ is to be provided in the form of Budget Support towards education and health. She said the funding is in recognition of Zambia’s commitment to democratic values and reforms. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 17.7038 | 17.7538 |
GBP | 22.5440 | 22.6130 |
EUR | 19.3113 | 19.3729 |
ZAR | 0.9645 | 0.9680 |
In International Business News Sponsored By
A new report from the World Economic Forum estimates that women won’t attain parity with men for another 131 years. In other words, not until 2154. The overall gender gap — a measurement of equality across the realms of the economy, politics, health and education — closed by a mere 0.3% as compared to last year, according to the WEF’s “Global Gender Gap Report 2023,” released Wednesday. The “tepid progress” in closing those gaps and indications of parity slipping in areas such as the economy create an “urgent case for renewed and concerted action,” Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the WEF, wrote in the report. “Recent years have been marked by major setbacks for gender parity globally, with previous progress disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on women and girls in education and the workforce, followed by economic and geopolitical crises,” Zahidi wrote. “Today, some parts of the world are seeing partial recoveries while others are experiencing deteriorations as new crises unfold.” The WEF’s Gender Gap Index measures gender parity in 146 countries and across four areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment. Overall parity has improved by 4.1 percentage points since the WEF launched the index in 2006. Read more: CNN
China’s central bank has cut its main benchmark lending rates for the first time in 10 months, in its latest effort to bolster growth as the world’s second largest economy falters. The rate cuts come as Wall Street banks, including Goldman Sachs, slash their forecasts for China’s economy. Goldman said on Sunday that the recovery sparked by the country’s post-Covid reopening appeared to have “fizzled out” in the second quarter as it downgraded its forecast for growth this year to 5.4% from 6%. The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday trimmed its one-year loan prime rate (LPR) by 10 basis points from 3.65% to 3.55%, and reduced the five-year rate by the same margin to 4.2%. The cuts follow reductions in other interest rates last week. Read more: CNN
Ukraine’s economy will need external help for many years to come, a senior World Bank official has told the BBC. The war-torn country “also has a lot of potential to turn a lot of its assets into economic opportunity and recovery”, according to Anna Bjerde. The managing director for operations was talking before a major international conference in London on rebuilding Ukraine’s economy. Last year the country’s economy shrank 29% to just over $140bn. Read more: BBC News
A recent report by BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, has highlighted Uganda’s positive economic trajectory. The report projects a slight upturn in real GDP, with expectations of a 6.5% growth rate in 2023, up from an estimated 6.3% in 2022. This forecast is based on robust fixed investment growth and increased major infrastructure projects. However, import demands pose a partial offsetting factor. According to BMI’s report, Uganda experienced a slowdown in growth during the fourth quarter of 2022. However, the coming quarters are expected to witness a rebound as inflows of foreign investment and moderating price pressures provide tailwinds for the domestic economy. Read more: Business Insider
According to official figures from Rwanda’s National Institute of Statistics, the country’s service sector saw a significant recovery in the first quarter of this year, driving a 9.2% increase in Rwanda’s economy compared to the same period in 2022. According to the figures issued on Monday, the services sector contributed 44% of the GDP as a result of a robust rebound in the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions/events) industry. The Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD2023) will take place in Rwanda from July 17–20. There will be at least 6,000 attendees in person and more than 200,000 online. In November, Kigali will also play home to the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit. Separate data from Rwanda’s National Bank, which oversees the banking industry, reveal that the economy as a whole improved in the three months leading up to March 2023. Read more: Business Insider
Standard Chartered Bank has taken significant steps toward accelerating net zero, by providing 400 seedlings to members of staff, which were planted at respective locations of their choice, including their homes and farms. Every year, the Bank’s CEO challenges every member of staff to plant at least 1 tree to support national efforts to mitigate deforestation – Zambia’s greatest environmental challenge. The tree planting challenge is a culmination of several activities that the bank undertook to celebrate World Environment Day(WED). To demonstrate the Bank’s commitment to combat deforestation, Sonny Zulu, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, flagged off the tree planting challenge by handing over 400 seedlings to staff at a colourful event held at the Bank’s icon EDGE–Certified Head Office Building. Speaking to employees when he handed over the trees, Mr Zulu stressed the importance of environmental sustainability and urged everyone to be more conscious of their carbon footprint. With the planting of the seedlings, the Bank is taking a significant step in the long-term commitment towards a cleaner environment and a green economy. Read more
No trading activity was recorded yesterday. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 8,235.00 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,777,153,106.90 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,994,467,666.90 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Pictures of the Day from The Africa Energy Forum in Nairobi