Amidst rising price pressures, Africa’s second largest copper hotpot Zambia will adjust its petroleum prices 14% higher as its local currency slides while geopolitical tensions heighten. The Energy Regulation Board announced a fuel price hike citing rising crude prices on account of supply constraints from geopolitical anxiety while the copper currency has extended its losing streak by 9.8% in the period amidst weak dollar supply. This will be the first petroleum price hike in the last 5 months. Effective midnight of 31 January 2024, petrol prices will trade for K34.19 (K29.98), diesel – K32.15 (K29.96) and Kerosene – K24.04 (K0.00)…
Author: The Editor
Markets in Africa’s second largest copper producer Zambia recorded a rally across the spectrum of assets ranging from bonds to alternative assets. According to ZATU Financial Consultants Zambia’ bonds, stocks, and alternative assets rallied revealing a multifaceted ‘Everything Rally’ amidst endogenous and exogenous economic shifts. The asset market in 2023 continue to exude resilience despite the foreign exchange fluctuations fueled by kwacha depreciation, driven by specific stocks, a historic gold surge, and revived cryptocurrency momentum. This offered a plethora of opportunities amidst volatility. Zambia continues to bask in optimism for bullish copper prices and hopes of leaps in private external…
Africa’s second largest copper producer Zambia grew 5.1% in the third quarter of 2023. This was according to the Zambia Statistics Agency in its December inflation review report. This compares to 5.7% and 4.4% in the second and first quarters respectively. Earlier in the third quarter the ministry of finance in its medium term expenditure framework had projected a 2.7% overall FY23 growth due to forecast headwinds namely a plummet in mining production set to hit a 14 year low this year and climate risk concerns poised to affect hydro power generation and agriculture output. This was then followed by…
Caught up in a Eurobond debt restructure labyrinth, Africa’s second largest copper hotspot Zambia is posting strong growth but in a rising inflationary environment. This is mainly being driven by a currency weakening quagmire that is breeding cost push effects wider in addition to rising food prices. Investors still found kwacha bonds attractive despite premiums above inflation narrowing. According to the Zambia Stats Agency December 2023 consumer price index rose tow a two year high of 13.1% from 12.9% in the previous month while the central bank recorded an oversubscription in its last Friday bond auction with significant interest in…
Africa’s second-largest copper producer, Zambia is on a mining sector revival path as it seeks to reclaim its continental position from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through strategic partnerships. Despite mining exports hovering below 70,000 metric tons monthly with an expectation of a 14 year low of production in 2023, this period is recognized as an investment phase for most mining entities that are gearing up for the post 2025 mining boom fueled by a surge in global decarbonization to counter climate risks through usage of renewable energy and the electric car battery. READ ALSO: Zambia’s Mining Investment Vehicle…
Africa’s second largest copper producer Zambia will descend into the festivities with a positive outcome of the recently held International Monetary Fund (IMF) board meeting convened on December 21. The lenders board approved disbursement of the third tranche of the extended credit facility of $187 million bringing the total disbursements to $561 million since the facility was approved on 31 August 2022. This release of funds comes after a successful ECF review following the Southern Africans nations attainment of key structural benchmarks of the 38 month program. The third tranche gives a Zambia a positive cue in many respects namely,…
The largest global development institution the International Finance Corporation, a wing of the Washington based lender, World Bank on December 19, issued a $10 million kwacha equivalent fixed income asset in Africa’s second largest copper producer. The K234 million bond has been issued to support and deepen domestic capital markets in an exchange rate volatile and liquidity constrained environment. This is the third issuance after the K193.2million bond sale in August 2022 (circa. $10 million) and a debut K150 million in September of 2013 (circa. $28.4 million). This brings the total issuances to K577.2 million in the last decade. According to…
Africa’s second largest copper producer is making relentless strides to effect stronger growth through giving its private sector a more conducive environment to thrive. One key hurdle that entrepreneurs across the continent have bemoaned is high cost of capital which has been as result of fiscal posture shaping yields curves that are used as benchmarks for credit pricing. Head of state and chief investment officer Hakainde Hichilema in a keynote address at the second private sector day of the Private Public Dialogue called for fairly priced credit from the banking sector. “Affordable capital we have already touched on it. The…
The head of state in Africa’s second largest copper hotspot Zambia has debt restructure on high priority as he seeks to attract capital flows into the Southern African nation. President Hakainde Hichilema in his keynote speech at the second private sector day of the Private Public Dialogue in Lusaka, echoed the importance of expediting the debt restructure process in attracting capital whose flows have slowed in the last quarter as investors remain on the fence despite increased goodwill. “Yesterday, I was flying from Chingola with the minister of finance and I said to him, you and I should not be…
In the pen ultimate fixed income sale of the 2023, held on Friday 24th November, 3 year kwacha bond yields rose 100 basis points to 22% amidst monetary tightening and debt restructure standoff risks. The central bank in Africa’s second largest copper producer Zambia raised its benchmark interest rate by 100 bps to 11% on Wednesday 22nd November, a day after announcing a 250 bps upward adjustment to the cash reserve ratio to 17%. This was a move aimed at reigning in on a weakening currency that has proved inflationary keeping the consumer price index outside the target band of…