2022 January

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary In an extensive interview with the Financial Times, President Hakainde Hichilema has vowed not to favour Chinese creditors in restructuring.  About $6bn of Zambia’s debt is owed to Chinese creditors who help finance a spending splurge that ended in crisis under the previous...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary Headline inflation in Zambia slowed further in January, coming in at 15.1% y/y from 16.4% y/y in the month prior. This was the softest pace of price growth in the economy since March 2020. Meanwhile, prices climbed 2.6% on the month, the highest...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary Today, investors in Zambia will contend with the January CPI print and December trade balance data releases. While Zambia’s inflation rate fell to a 14-month low in December, upside risks exist following the scrapping of fuel subsidies that had kept costs artificially stable...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary Data from the ministry of mines, seen by Bloomberg, suggests that Zambia’s main copper mines produced 800,696 metric tons of copper last year, a 4.5% drop from 2020’s output of 837,996 tons. According to Bloomberg, the ministry of mines declined to comment before...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary While the domestic data card remains quiet today, investors in Zambia will have to contend with the January CPI print and December trade balance data toward the end of the week. While Zambia’s inflation rate fell to a 14-month low in December, upside...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane on Friday said that he expects the country to reach a full agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the middle of this year after reaching a staff-level agreement for a $1.4bn support plan in December. According to...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary Yesterday African Pioneer PLC announced that it had entered into an option agreement with First Quantum Minerals Ltd. In relation to four of its copper exploration licenses in Zambia. As part of the deal, First Quantum has the right to undertake exploration across...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary For the most part, African currencies have shown a degree of resilience at the start of the year. Regional volatility has been broadly stable, while in some instances, volatility for the likes of the South African Rand (ZAR)  and Zambian Kwacha (ZMW) has...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary Copperbelt Energy has revealed that Zambia revoked its common carrier status. The designation, which permitted other energy producers to transport power on Copperbelt Energy’s lines at a fee, was revoked by the government on December 29. Recall the previous administration awarded Copperbelt Energy...

Please click here to access the full Market Watch Local Market Commentary In the base metals complex, copper prices stabilised yesterday however there has been some pressure noted in the Asian session this morning as the metal tracks the performance of the dollar. Underpinning the metal is the low inventories globally however these have been...