Story of the Day:
Over the past few months every Zambian citizen has experienced an extremely sharp rise in the cost of living. As exports rose, we hit K9 billion in trade surplus for the first time in more than a year. But an over dependence on South African imports has left the country reeling, as the after effects of a disastrous year for the Kwacha keep increasing. Read more
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BeMetals Corp. is pleased to announce it has entered into a Joint Exploration and Option Agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation that provides an initial investment of US$1.5 million for money-in-the-ground exploration at the Pangeni Copper Project in Zambia with additional ongoing pro-rata contributions. Read more: Yahoo Finance
Mobile money transactions in Zambia increased to K105.6 billion by the end of last year from K49.6 billion in 2019, representing a 113 per cent increment, according to ZICTA. Read more: News Diggers
A source at the Ministry of Agriculture has disclosed to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that government is yet to lift the ban on the exportation of maize but that the the country should instead expect the exportation of mealie meal to be lifted this week or anytime soon. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Defying a persistent risk skew that has weighed Zambia for over one and half years, the third bond sale of the year has so far been the best as the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) tracked appetite of close to 3 yards of which K1.47billion ($66.2million) was satisfied of the K1.5billion worth of assets on offer. Read more: The Business Telegraph
International Business and Finance
Industrialization remains a key priority for the Central African sub-region despite the adverse consequences of COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) sub-regional office said on Monday. “The bloc has made some economic breakthroughs but needed to boost its industrialisation progress.” Read more: CGTN
China’s biggest carmaker Geely is launching a premium electric car brand it hopes will take on Tesla. The Chinese company, which owns Volvo and Lotus, announced its Zeekr brand on Tuesday to tap into China’s demand for electric vehicles (EVs). Read more: BBC News
India is set to overtake Japan as the world’s third-largest economy behind the U.S. and China by 2031, according to a new report from BofA Securities. Bank of America previously predicted that overtaking to happen in 2028 but said Monday the economic shock from Covid-19 will push back the timeline by three years. Read more: CNBC
Boeing Co said on Monday it had entered into a $5.28 billion, two-year revolving credit agreement, as the U.S. planemaker contends with a prolonged slowdown in commercial air travel fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more: Reuters
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In 9 trades recorded yesterday, a volume of 8,069 shares were transacted resulting in a market turnover of K7,152. A share price gain was recorded in CEC Africa of K0.02. Trading activity was also recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Standard Chartered Zambia and Zambeef. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,974.75 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,631,278,180 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,392,072,200 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: