Story of the Day
First Quantum Minerals has called for enhanced sustainable agricultural production to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and income for local farmers in North-Western Province. The mining firm has identified transport and lack of storage facilities as some of the challenges hindering local farmers’ participation in the agriculture sector. FQM believes the true economic growth of a country is reflected in the state of health, education, agriculture, and quality of life that its citizens live. And through its Kansanshi Mine conservation farming team, the company has continued to assist local farmers with training, monitoring, and mentorship for maize, soya, groundnut, and vegetable production. Read more
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The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) has recorded export deals worth 24.5 million dollars from the just ended Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Trade Mission in Lubumbashi. ZDA Acting Director General Albert Halwampa says export deals worth 10.82 million dollars are confirmed orders while 13.7 million dollars are export leads. Mr. Halwampa further disclosed that some companies are still in discussion with their potential clients on possible export deals. Read more: ZNBC
Government says it remains committed to lowering taxes.Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary in charge of budget and Economic Affairs Mukuli Chikuba says unification of company income tax is among the steps government is taking to lower the tax burden. Mr. Chikuba says a lower tax regime will result in stable fiscal environment on which businesses will thrive. Read more: ZNBC
Minister of Technology and Science, Felix Mutati, has urged the new ZICTA board to make entry fees into Information Communication Technology (ICT) as low as possible to create employment and investments in the sector. Mr. Mutati said high fees are a hindrance to investment in the ICT sector. Speaking when he unveiled the seven-member ZICTA board in Lusaka today, the minister said ZICTA should therefore target to create resources from investment as opposed to fees for players trying to penetrate the sector. Mr. Mutati said low fees will attract a significant amount of investment in the sector. Read more: Lusaka Times
Minister of Mines and Minerals Development Paul Kabuswe says Government will soon give an update on the status of both Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) and Mopani Copper Mines (MCM). Mr Kabuswe says the two mining firms are important players in the economic transformation of Copperbelt towns and the nation in general. He said it is for this reason that he wants to update the nation on how far the ministry has gone with negotiations for both mining firms. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
International Business and Finance
Google parent company Alphabet on Tuesday reported earnings results for the third quarter that fell short of Wall Street analysts’ estimates for both sales and profits, due in large part to a sharp slowdown in the growth of its core advertising business. It reported revenue of nearly $69.1 billion, up just 6% from the same period in the prior year. Google’s advertising revenues grew just 2.5% year-over-year, compared to the 43% growth it posted a year ago. YouTube’s ad business, which competes with TikTok, was especially hard hit, with revenue declining nearly 2% from the year-ago quarter. Google’s net income, meanwhile, came in at $13.9 billion, down more than 26% from the year prior and well below the $16.6 billion analysts had projected. Read more: CNN
Microsoft posted a double-digit profit decline in the three-month period ending in September as the company confronted a slowdown in the personal computing industry and a broader economic downturn. The tech giant on Tuesday reported net income of $17.6 billion for the quarter, a decrease of 14% from the year prior. Microsoft revenue, meanwhile, grew a modest 11% to $50.1 billion. Both results were better than analysts had expected. Microsoft’s Azure cloud services unit saw revenue increase by 35% from the prior year, but the growth was slower than some analysts had hoped for a division that has been one of the company’s biggest bright spots in recent years. Read more: CNN
While the European Central Bank is largely expected to announce another rate hike Thursday, market players are seemingly more concentrated on two other policy tools as the region edges toward a recession. The central bank has been contemplating inflation being at record highs but an economy that is slowing, with many economists predicting a recession before the end of the year. If the ECB takes a very aggressive stance in increasing rates to deal with inflation, there are risks that it tips the economy into further trouble. Amid this context, the ECB is widely seen raising rates by 75 basis points later this week. This would be the second consecutive jumbo hike and the third increase this year. Read more: CNBC
Barclays on Wednesday reported an unexpected rise in third-quarter earnings on the back of strong trading revenues, despite a continued drag from a costly U.S. trading error. The British lender posted a net profit attributable to shareholders of £1.512 billion ($1.73 billion), above consensus analyst expectations of £1.152 billion and marking an increase from a restated £1.374 billion for the same period last year. “We delivered another quarter of strong returns, and achieved income growth in each of our three businesses, with a 17% increase in Group income to £6.4 billion,” Barclays CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan said in a statement. Read more: CNBC
Capital Markets Report
In 116 trades recorded yesterday, 15, 736 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K4, 3503. Trading activity was recorded in AECI, Bata, Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Investrust, Chilanga Cement, Madison Financial Services, National Breweries, PUMA, Standard Chartered Zambia, Zambeef and Zanaco as well as CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 7,233.72 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K72,418,746,522 including Shoprite Holdings and K37,636,061,082 excluding Shoprite Holdings.