Story of the Day:
The stock of government securities increased by 42.5% in 8 months to K114.3 billion with the capital raised targeted towards FISP, according to a statement from the Minister of Finance during the budget presentation. Read more
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The Minister of Finance in Africa’s red metal hotspot on 29 September revealed Zambia’s total indebtedness inclusive of continent liabilities and debt owed by State Owned Entities -SOE’s as $18.5billion with an average interest of 4.5%. Read more: The Business Telegraph
Zambia, the first African nation to seek debt relief from Eurobond holders since the onset of the pandemic, aims to reach a restructuring deal with creditors by the end of a six-month interest standstill it’s seeking, Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu said. The government also plans to reach an agreement in principle with the IMF over an economic program in the same time frame. Read more: Bloomberg
Copper miners in Zambia have halted $2 billion of planned investments because a royalty tax introduced last year makes the projects unviable. A plan by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. to invest $1 billion extending the life of its Kansanshi operation won’t proceed until the royalty is scrapped. Read more: Bloomberg
Zambia which imports large quantities of its Petroleum to power its expanding transport industry from mostly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – UAE has no preferential trade terms or government to government trade deals with the two countries. As a result, Zambia runs a huge trade deficit with the Saudi and UAE which has been blamed as one of the major contributors to the perpetual depreciation of the Kwacha. Read more: Zambian Business Times
There is need for Zambia and Rwanda to finalise negotiations on various draft agreements on cooperation signed two years ago, President Edgar Lungu has said. The draft agreements touch on double taxation, agriculture, visa exemption, immigration, education and tourism. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is currently working on securing a US$1 billion investment package for Zambia Railways Limited. IDC Chief Executive Officer Mateyo Kaluba said the money, once secured, will go towards the locomotives and development of railway tracks. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
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Africa is losing nearly $89 billion a year in illicit financial flows such as tax evasion and theft, amounting to more than it receives in development aid, a U.N. study showed on Monday. Read more: Reuters
Brexit is now back with a vengeance as talks on a deal to keep trade flowing next year enter the final stretch. A surge in coronavirus cases is piling the pressure on British and European politicians to make concessions and avoid a chaotic rupture on January 1, 2021 that would further blight the recession-scarred economy, force thousands of trucks to line up at the border, and disrupt vital supplies of food and medicine. Read more: CNN
Hundreds of thousands of aviation jobs are at risk without more state aid, a global industry body has warned. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) downgraded its 2020 traffic forecasts, after “a dismal end to the summer travel season”. The association, which represents 290 airlines, says it expects traffic to be 66% below the level it was in 2019. Read more: BBC News
Walt Disney has announced it will lay off 28,000 employees, mostly at its US theme parks. Disney cited the parks’ limited visitor capacity and uncertainty about how long the coronavirus pandemic would last as reasons for the layoffs. Read more: BBC News
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In 5 trades recorded yesterday, 711 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K1,926. Trading activity was recorded in PUMA and Zambia Breweries. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) maintained its close at 3,823.58 points, as there were no share price movements. The market closed on a capitalization of K55,463,674,390 including Shoprite Holdings and K21,224,468,410 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day:
