Good afternooon. Here’s what you need to know.
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Zambia urges official creditors to advance debt restructuring at next meeting
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Africa’s debt sustainability in jeopardy – World Bank
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Standard Chartered Bank Zambia has pumped in K500,000 towards 2023 Africa Must Think Conference
Story of the Day
The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Zambia’s position remains unchanged from the position it issued in 2012 when the proposed mining project in Lower Zambezi National Park started. WWF Zambia congratulates the Governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe for signing a Memorandum of Understanding on the development of the Lower Zambezi-Mana Pools Trans- Frontier Conservation Area on 26th May 2023 by Tourism Minister Hon Rodney Sikumba and the Zimbabwean Minister of Environment, Climate Tourism, Hospitality industry Comrade Nqobizita Mangaliso Ndlobvu. This MOU is anchored on a shared vision and direction on the sustainable natural resource management and development of this shared ecosystem for the benefit of all peoples and wildlife with a focus on tourism and related industries. The TFCA agreement seeks to make the Lower Zambezi and Mana Pools National Parks into a world-class tourism and conservation destination, attracting visitors from around the world. Mana Pools is a World Heritage Site, and the UN has suggested that Zambia consider requesting the World Heritage Commission to provide the same status for the Lower Zambezi National Park. Read more
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Zambia’s minister of finance urged its official creditors to make progress on restructuring its debt at their next meeting, as the southern African country struggles to complete its long-delayed debt rework process after defaulting in 2020. Zambia’s hopes of restructuring about $12.8 billion of external debt have been hampered by the concerns of its main creditors, including its largest official bilateral creditor China and international bondholders, about the scale of relief required. “We now appeal to our Official Creditor Committee in their next meeting to make substantial progress in their deliberations… so that we may swiftly resolve our debt overhang and access our next tranche of IMF financing,” Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said in a statement released by the ministry. “Delays to debt restructuring are having a significant impact on the economy and the livelihoods of our people,” he added. The International Monetary Fund said in early April that the next $188 million payout from a $1.3 billion support loan to Zambia is contingent on the government reaching an agreement with its creditors. Read more: Reuters
An agreement to promote orderly trade by ensuring businesses are conducted in a regulatory manner has been signed between the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) and Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZiCA). The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on Monday is also meant to deal with bottlenecks faced by businesses. PACRA acting Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Wilson Banda, said the MoU would promote mutual assistance and exchange of information to enable the two regulatory authorities perform their respective functions. “This MoU will address a number of issues, among them is promoting orderly trade. We are talking about business operating in a legal and regulatory manner and not disadvantaged. “One of the areas of concern is the fact that some business is registered and go out there speak differently. It is important for PACRA that we have such relationships to ensure compliance,” Banda said at the signing ceremony. Read more: Zambia Monitor
Government says the mining sector is facing challenges today because of certain policies that negatively affect productivity in the industry. Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe says mining is critical to the economy and when the sector is depressed, the economy suffers. He says the government understands the challenges affecting the mining sector and is working at quickly resuscitating productivity. Mr. Kabuswe says the three million tons copper production in the next 8 years being projected by the government can only be achieved when there is predictability in the policies in the mining industry. The minister who was speaking at a cocktail hosted for exhibitors at this year’s Copperbelt Mining, Agriculture and Industrial Trade Enterprise (CAMINEX) in Kitwe last night said over taxing the sector is retrogressive to the growth of the industry. Read more: ZNBC
The European Union- EU- has urged the Zambia Export Development Fund to come up with strict measures that will help beneficiaries repay money they borrowed from the fund. EU Zambia Head of Cooperation, Claudio Bacigalup says the EU is committed to supporting Zambia by providing financial tools to the private sector . And, Commerce and Trade Industry Minister, Chipoka Mulenga said the nontraditional exports should be prioritized so that the country can raise revenue from the sector. Mr Chipoka said this through Permanent Secretary Lillian Bwalya during the launch of the Zambia Export Development Fund strategic plan. And Zambia Export Development Fund Board Chairperson, Biemba Maliti said the strategy seeks to positively impact the economic development in Zambia through providing finance. Read more: ZNBC
President Hakainde Hichilema has launched the National Decentralization Policy and commissioned the Zambia Devolution Support Program (ZDSP), signaling the government’s commitment to bringing government services closer to the people and promoting accountability and transparency among local authorities. During the launch and commissioning of these two programs in Chongwe, President Hichilema emphasized the importance of decentralization in improving service delivery. He highlighted that his administration has been proactive in expediting the decentralization policy, as evidenced by the progress made within a short period since taking office. President Hichilema further highlighted the positive changes brought about by the decentralization efforts. He noted that resources are now disbursed on the same day across all constituencies, a significant improvement compared to the previous system. He also emphasized the potential of empowerment funds under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to create numerous job opportunities if properly supported. Read more: Lusaka Times
Proflight Zambia, the leading airline in Zambia, is celebrating the arrival of its first 126-seat Boeing 737-500, marking a significant milestone in the company’s history and reaffirming its commitment to delivering exceptional air travel experiences. The introduction of the Boeing 737 represents a major advancement for Proflight, enhancing its ability to cater to its expanding customer base with increased comfort, reliability, and efficiency. The aircraft has six abreast seating and large overhead baggage stowage that will offer a superior journey to passengers with an improved level of comfort. The Boeing 737 will be the third Jet added to Proflight’s fleet since emerging from the COVID pandemic in 2022. Proflight’s fleet with the addition of the Boeing 737 will now consist of eight aircrafts. Read more: Lusaka Times
Bank of Zambia Exchange Rates
| Currency | Buying | Selling |
|---|---|---|
| USD | 19.4229 | 19.4713 |
| GBP | 24.1407 | 24.2086 |
| EUR | 20.8388 | 20.8985 |
| ZAR | 0.9846 | 0.9873 |
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According to the chief economist for Africa at the World Bank, the future of Africa’s capacity to sustain its debt is still “cloudy” because of the challenges posed by poor growth and high inflation to the stability of many of the continent’s economies. A sort of stagflation gaining root, according to Andrew Dabalen, is one of the main worries. According to the bank, growth will reach 3.1% in 2023, despite double-digit inflation in several regions of the continent. The World Bank reports that over half of the nations in Sub-Saharan Africa are either in serious debt trouble or are very likely to experience it soon. “We don’t expect the number to grow beyond what we have now,” Dabalen said in an interview with the American news agency Reuters, although he cautioned that changing global economic conditions continued to present risks to that outlook. Read more: Business Insider
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has provided information regarding how Ghana’s four collateralized loans from China have put the government at risk of losing future energy sales as well as a portion of the earnings from its mineral resources. Since the year 2000, Ghana has relied on Chinese loans as a consistent source of finance for large-scale projects. Accra has accumulated close to $5 billion from at least 41 Chinese loans over the course of two decades. With a current external debt portfolio surpassing $30 billion, Ghana is presently debt-trapped and enduring its most significant economic crisis in a generation due to many years of almost unrestrained borrowing. China looks to be the most significant participant at the negotiating table in many debt talks taking place in developing countries. Despite being the biggest bilateral lender in the world, it remains secretive when it comes to its lending practices and how it renegotiates with troubled clients. Read more: Business Insider
Factory activity in China has slumped to its weakest level since the country ended its zero-Covid policy in December, as its economic recovery continues to lose steam. Asian markets tumbled following the release of the May data, even as a tentative agreement brokered by US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise the US debt ceiling cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday evening. Hong Kong’s stock index dropped the most among regional markets Wednesday and is poised to enter bear market territory, which is defined as a decline of at least 20% from a recent peak. China’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 48.8 this month, down from 49.2 in April, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. It was the second contraction in as many months. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while anything below that level shows contraction. Read more: CNN
US oil prices dropped below $70 a barrel Tuesday on concerns about whether the debt ceiling deal will make it through Congress and on reports of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Russia ahead of a key OPEC+ meeting. Crude slumped 4.4% to close at $69.46 a barrel, the lowest settlement price in nearly four weeks. The selloff marks one of the worst days of the year for the oil market and could help keep a lid on pump prices. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is down by about $1 from a year ago. Read more: CNN
Artificial intelligence may lead to human extinction and reducing the risks associated with the technology should be a global priority, industry experts and tech leaders stated in an open letter. “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” the statement on Tuesday read. Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, as well as executives from Google’s AI arm DeepMind and Microsoft were among those who supported and signed the short statement from the Center for AI Safety. Read more: CNBC
Standard Chartered Bank Zambia has pumped in K500,000 towards 2023 Africa Must Think Conference, aimed at promoting a culture of entrepreneurships among Zambians. Bank Chief Executive Officer, Sonny Zulu, said at media briefing in Lusaka on Monday that they were proud of the programme because it encourages youths not only to strive for employment, but to become entrepreneurs, thereby creating employment. “This is why we are very proud to announce that we will be the platinum sponsor for the 2023 ‘Africa Must Think’ conference. This conference has grown momentum over the years and aligns with our youth empowerment vision,” Zulu said. Addressing journalists in Lusaka on Monday, Zulu said they were supporting various youth empowerment programmes under the umbrella of its Future makers programme. Read more
In 83 trades recorded yesterday, 20,268 shares were transacted resulting in a turnover of K68,542.15. A share price gain of K0.01 and K0.10 was recorded in CEC Zambia and Standard Chartered Bank Limited respectively. Trading activity was also recorded in AECI, Madison Financial Services, PUMA, Zambeef and Zanaco. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 8,189.09 points. 0.52% up from its previous close of 8,147.06 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K76,577,296,978.90 including Shoprite Holdings and K41,794,611,538.90 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Picture of the Day
