Friday Weekly Recap -2nd Edition

Highlights of the week :?

? Diversification needed to reduce IMF, World Bank dependence: Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane emphasized the need to diversify away from IMF reliance, citing efforts to revive the mining sector.?

? SME Sector to Receive Boost: $50 million is set to be allocated to the Zambia Industrial Commercial Bank (ZICB) for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in green initiatives.

? Red light for subsidies: Chief Government spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa says some conditionalities tied to attainment of debt restructuring can't allow government to subsidize fuel and mealie meal.?

? ZRA hits tax milestone: Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) reported a historic K100.6 billion in tax revenue for the year.

? Chinese investment surges: Two Chinese companies committed to establishing a Special Economic Zone with a $5 billion investment and $10,000 job creation potential.

? Toll gate fees raised: Toll gate fees for heavy goods and abnormal load vehicles were increased from K150 to K250 and K500 to K800, respectively. The government says this move will aid in the maintenance of road infrastructure across Zambia.

? CDF Payments completed: All 156 constituencies received their full 2023 Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation.

? Green Light for Borrowing: Parliament authorised the government to borrow K33.3 billion domestically and externally.

? Q3 in 2.4% economic slowdown: Zambia's GDP growth rate dropped from 7.5% in Q3 2022 to 5.1% in Q3 2023.

? K30 Billion Application Flood: The Citizens Economic Empowerment Commission (CEEC) received K30 billion loan applications against K490 million for 2024. Ministry of SMEs Development PS Subeta Mutelo says there will be no new loan applications this year to enable CEEC to pay pending applicants, as there is a backlog of loan applicants who were not paid between 2021 and 2023.

? CEC's Bond Soars 178%: Copperbelt Energy Corporation's (CEC) green bond received a 178% oversubscription for its first tranche, indicating strong investor interest in renewable energy projects.

This week saw a blend of positive and negative economic developments in Zambia. While record tax collection and green investment are encouraging, government borrowing and the economic slowdown are cause for concern. The full payment of CDF and increased infrastructure spending could have positive social and economic impacts.

Sources:

Zambia Daily Mail

~Diggers of News?

~Zambia Development Agency

~Money FM

~Financial?Insights?Zambia

Written by David Sikapizye

Edited by 瑞赛德 .