Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
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Total savings in capital markets increase 3.04% – SEC
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African companies run by women outperformed the continent’s leading stock exchanges in 2022
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ZANACO CEO Mukwandi Chibesakunda is among the top CEOs on the 2023 Definitive List of Women CEOs in Africa.
Story of the Day
Invest Africa Ltd is gearing up for its annual flagship event: The Africa Debate ’23. Now in its 9th year, this year’s event will take place on the 11th of May in London under the theme of “Catalysing the Continent’s Trade Potential.” In the wake of COVID-19 and a multitude of global economic shocks, the continent’s trade outlook is at a crossroads. The pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global economic slowdown, and rising protectionism paint a gloomy picture. And yet, the continent also finds itself perhaps more resilient to trade and economic shocks than ever before, with African countries aligning trade and investment policies behind the #AfCFTA. This year’s programme will bring together leaders from across the continent to discuss and debate the future of African trade and how investors can best support and prepare for a more integrated – and competitive – African trade environment. Read more
In Local Business News Sponsored by
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed that an analysis of the Capital Market as of 31st March 2023 against 1st January 2023 shows the total savings in the capital markets increased by 3.04%. SEC Chief Executive Officer Philip Chitalu during a media brief of Capital Market for first Quarter of 2023 says Zambia’s capital market in quarter 1 of 2023 was resilient with global equity markets also proving the same in face of weaker economic forecasts and baking tensions. “The global economy is in a moderate slow down, with global financial markets being subjected to financial shocks by tensions in the banking sectors of the US and Europe in final weeks of quarter 1 of 2023” he said. Mr. Chitalu noted delays in concluding Zambia’s bet restructuring with creditors affected flow of funds and investors’ perceptions on the country’s credit ratings. He added that depreciation of the local currency in the first quarter of 2023 affected foreign investor’s positions while higher yields on government securities affected performance of the corporate debt market. Read more: Money FM
Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has arrived in Livingstone City to attend the Transform Africa Summit (TAS2023) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, at the invitation of his counterpart President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. The summit, which is set to officially open on April 26, 2023, will bring together government officials, companies, and organizations from over 100 nations under the theme of “Connect, Innovate, Transform.” The goal is to accelerate the digital transformation of participating African countries, creating competitive, agile, open, and innovative smart societies. Minister of Technology and Science Felix Mutati, who is also attending the summit, confirmed President Hichilema’s participation. He said the summit would focus on discussing practical ways to advance the commitment of transforming Africa into a fully digitized economy where technology is harnessed to reap the benefits of integration. Mr Mutati says currently digital literacy stands at 34 percent which is low compared to some other African countries whose literacy levels are over 50 percent. Read more: Lusaka Times
Minister of Finance and National Planning has revealed that Japan will provide a Grant of up to Eighty-Nine Million Three Hundred Thousand Japanese Yen, equivalent to about K11.6 Million, for implementation of the improvement of equipment for Research, Conservation, Exhibition and Education project for at the Livingstone Museum. Speaking during the signing ceremony for exchange of notes for the improvement of Equipment for Research, Conservation, Exhibition and Education project, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane stated that the support follows a request by the government for the Japanese government to consider providing support for the improvement of the Livingstone museum. Dr. Musokotwane said the overall objective of the project is to promote the understanding of national heritage and to improve heritage 5 value and its conservation through improving equipment necessary for educational programs among others. He added that the grant will be provided through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) over a period of 2 years, from 2023 to 2025. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) has disclosed that it attained 55% loan recovery rate by the close of 2022 against the 80 percent target. Speaking in an interview with Money FM News, Commission Public Relations & Communications Manager Michelo Mukata said the 55% loan recovery rate was not to CEEC’s satisfaction, but the institution is determined to still reach the target it has set. Mr. Mukata stated that increased staffing levels, constant project monitoring and evaluation, as well as improved de-risking measures give the Commission the confidence of improving the loan repayment rate. “The Commission had embarked on a vigorous loan recovery campaign from July 2022 when the loan recovery rate was at 27 percent and as at the end of last year, the loan recovery rate was at 55 percent. It wasn’t to our satisfaction, but we are determined to still reach the target we set for ourselves,” Mr. Mukata stated. Read more: Money FM
After successfully launching an innovation powerhouse of Agricultural solutions at last year’s edition of the Agritech Expo, Syngenta Zambia has once again partnered with Agritech in 2023 as a platinum sponsor under the theme “Transforming growers’ productivity sustainably through regenerative agriculture, innovative solutions while partnering for impact. With new and improved solutions, Syngenta is making bold moves to transform farmer yields at scale and increase their profitability in a way that creates sustainable value and as a result, boost Zambia’s food security. “We have invested in new innovations that will help farmers improve their yields through access to quality new products. As an organization, we are conscious that climate change, soil health and biodiversity has depleted. Agriculture is in a transformative era; meaning that what worked before is not working any more. Regenerative agriculture blends sustainable innovation with tradition by focusing on literal restoration of the soil health, the planet’s ecosystems and in return enhancing farms’ productivity and profitability” said Mr Given Mudenda, Syngenta Zambia Managing Director and Southern Africa Head. Read more: Zambian Business Times
Paratus Zambia, a part of the pan-African telecommunications company, Paratus Group, has just been awarded the last available data gateway licence in Zambia from the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA). This is a big deal for Paratus Zambia because only data licence holders can now deploy international gateways, cross-border communications services and import internet data traffic into the country. This means that Paratus Zambia and the other five data gateway licensees in Zambia hold exclusive rights to import and export internet data capacity. This service was previously limited to mobile network and carrier providers only. Marius van Vuuren, Managing Director of Paratus Zambia, said: “Being awarded the last gateway licence is a major achievement for us. With this licence, we can leverage our terrestrial and cross-border fibre network and satellite communications to provide high-quality internet services and import/export internet data capacity to other ISPs in Zambia. This presents a great business opportunity for us, and it’s important to note that many ISPs may not be aware of the regulations surrounding internet capacity delivery. We are looking forward to working with them to offer seamless and high-quality services in Zambia.” Read more: IT Web
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
Currency | Buying | Selling |
---|---|---|
USD | 17.6067 | 17.6565 |
GBP | 21.8446 | 21.9134 |
EUR | 19.3832 | 19.4451 |
ZAR | 0.9630 | 0.9660 |
In International Business News
While only a fraction of companies listed on Africa’s 24 stock exchanges have women CEOs, those that are led by women outperform financially by a wide measure according, to a new report from Africa.com. Women-led companies remain a rarity across Africa, despite a growing body of evidence that more diverse management produces better results. For the third year running, Africa.com analysed the companies listed on Africa’s 24 stock exchanges to establish a definitive list of the continent’s top businesswomen. It also examined the performance of companies where women hold the top position as CEO and found that the collective market capitalisation of the 34 African companies that had women group CEOs was up 2.8% for the year ended 31 December 2022, outperforming many stock exchanges in Africa and across the world. Read more: African Business
An agreement to scale up investments and spur institutional investor capital mobilisation for Sustainable Development Goals and climate-focussed private sector projects in Africa has been signed by two multilateral institutions. This partnership has been signed between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and ILX Management B.V. (ILX) in Netherlands capital Amsterdam. The new agreement will mobilise institutional investor capital in support of AfDB’s private sector loan operations focused on African countries; Partnership to support the UN SDGs and climate finance-related targets, enable investments in Africa for ILX’s European pension fund participants. The cooperation arrangement enables the AfDB to deliver on its ambition to mobilise financial resources from institutional investors to bridge the significant financing gap required to meet the Bank’s High Five priorities. These are Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. Read more: Zambia Monitor
The Bank of England’s top economist has said people in the UK need to accept that they are poorer otherwise prices will continue to rise. Huw Pill told a podcast in the US that there was a “reluctance to accept that, yes, we’re all worse off”. He said in response to higher bills and other costs rising, workers had responded by asking for wage increases and businesses were charging more. UK inflation, the rate at which prices rise, was 10.1% in the year to March. Read more: BBC News
British American Tobacco is to pay $635m plus interest to US authorities after a subsidiary admitted selling cigarettes to North Korea in violation of sanctions. The US authorities said the settlement related to BAT activity in North Korea between 2007 and 2017. BAT’s head Jack Bowles said “we deeply regret the misconduct”. The US has imposed severe sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile activities. Tuesday’s settlement was between BAT and America’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. BAT is one of the world’s largest tobacco multinationals and one of the UK’s 10 biggest companies. It owns major cigarette brands including Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Pall Mall. Read more: BBC News
Kearney, a global management consulting firm, has released its highly anticipated ‘2023 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index’ (FDICI), which provides a unique perspective on which countries are most attractive to investors. The report also reveals emerging market trends, including those in Africa, with a focus on countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, and South Africa. According to the FDICI, South Africa remains an attractive investment destination, thanks to its stable governance and robust legal framework. Kearney notes that the country’s business environment offers unique opportunities and potential for growth, making it a standout investment hub in the emerging market landscape. Read more: Business Insider
The first review of Tanzania’s three-year extended credit facility was authorized by the International Monetary Fund’s executive board on Monday, enabling an immediate distribution of around $153 million in budgetary support, the IMF said in a statement. According to the IMF, Tanzania’s economic reform program is making good progress despite the difficult global economic climate, but policymakers should seek to increase domestic revenue while accelerating structural reforms to reduce bureaucracy and fight corruption. From February 8 to February 23, 2023, a staff team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Charalambos Tsangarides met in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam to discuss the state of reforms and the government’s top policy priorities in the context of the first review of Tanzania’s forty-month program under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF)-supported program. Read more: Business Insider
ZANACO chief executive officer (CEO) Mukwandi Chibesakunda is among the top CEOs on the 2023 Definitive List of Women CEOs in Africa. The bank’s acting head of communications, Kalonde Nyati, said Ms Chibesakunda’s inclusion on the list of best-performing CEOs in companies listed on Africa’s 24 stock exchanges follows two years of consistent revenue growth for the bank, which is Zambia’s largest commercial bank. Ms Nyati said companies having sales of US$100 million or more, or a market cap of US$150 million or more were screened out of the 2,020 companies listed on the 24 African stock markets, yielding a list of 787 companies. “The public websites of these 787 companies were analysed to identify female C-suite executives, with researchers evaluating the list of women to determine those who hold the titles of CEO, managing director, or president and are responsible for bottom-line profit and loss,” Ms Nyati said. Read more: The Definitive List
In 44 trades recorded yesterday, 23,753 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K89,050.55. A share price gain of K0.02 was recorded in Zambeef and a share price gain of K0.03 was recorded in Zanaco. Trading activity was also recorded in CEC Zambia, Zambia Reinsurance and Standard Chartered Bank Limited. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 8,031.20 points, 0.14% points higher than its previous close at 8,019.86 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K75,890,012,621.70 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,107,327,181.70 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
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