Zambia Financial News

copper demand is expected to surge globally amid electrification, renewable energy and grid expansion, even as supply remains constrained. Global benchmark copper prices are currently around $11,000-12,000 per tonne, jumping a little over 30% over the last one year.Drawing a parallel between operating a mine in Gadchiroli and in Congo is not entirely fair, said Suman Kumar, assistant vice-president for metals and mining at brokerage Philip Capital.In India, companies understand regulatory and political ecosystem, but in foreign jurisdictions, especially parts of Africa, execution risks are far higher, said the sell-side analyst.He pointed to examples of Indian companies that struggled to scale overseas mining projects, including Jindal Steel and Power Ltd in Mozambique and Vedanta Ltd's challenges at Konkola Copper Mines in Zambia.“Even companies with significantly deeper financial muscle have struggled.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Toby Rice made his fortune unlocking a gusher of natural gas in Appalachia. He has a bold new ambition: bringing energy to millions of people in impoverished nations.

Saina Nehwal and PR Sreejesh, have written a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidential candidates, urging them to make climate action their top priority. As IOC members gather in Costa Navarino, Greece, to vote on the seven candidates next week (March 18-21), the Olympians called for stronger commitments from the IOC to cut carbon emissions, promote sustainability in host cities, set clear guidelines on polluting sponsors and use its platform to advocate for climate action. Climate impacts are «no longer a distant threat, but a current and growing harm to the sports we love and to the countries that make up our Olympic family», the letter said. The signatories include 57 Olympic champions and over 100 Olympic flag bearers. They represent some of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, including Argentina, Aruba, the Bahamas, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Eswatini, Fiji, Ghana, India, Kenya, Laos, the Marshall Islands, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Sierra Leone and Zambia. Recognizing that extreme weather events are already disrupting the Summer and Winter Olympics and affecting athlete performance and safety, the letter urges decisive action to ensure the games remain accessible and safe for future generations. Earlier this year, massive wildfires burned large areas of Los Angeles, the host city of the 2028 Olympic Games. The fires killed about 30 people, destroyed thousands of buildings, and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

Vedanta Resources VDAN.NS> is trying to raise around $1 billion in debt financing to fund development of its Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia, Chris Griffith, head of the company's base metals unit, said.

VA Tech WABAG has bagged a European Investment Bank and Germany-based Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) Development Bank funded design, build order for establishing two waste water treatment plants valued at Euro 78 million (about Rs 700 crore) in Zambia. The order has been secured from the Lusaka Water Supply and Sanitation Company, Zambia which also marks the entry of VA Tech WABAG into African country.

Lobito Corridor Trans-Africa Summit in Angola. The summit, held with leaders from Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania’s vice-president Philip Mpango, saw Biden closing his eyes and resting his hand on his face during Mpango’s speech. Though wearing an earpiece for translations, all speeches were in English.

President Joe Biden is finding ways to celebrate trains in the waning days of his presidency thousands of miles from home

President Joe Biden on Tuesday toured a slavery museum in Angola and inspected shackles and a whip, and he spoke of “our nation’s original sin."

Biden is finally making his long-promised visit to Africa this week, attempting to showcase a US-backed railway project in three countries that he has pushed as a new approach in countering some of China's global influence. Biden's first visit to the continent as president — which he left to the very end — will highlight the Lobito Corridor railway redevelopment in Zambia, Congo and Angola. It aims to advance US presence in a region rich in the critical minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices and clean energy technologies. That's a key field for US-China competition and China has a stranglehold on Africa's critical minerals.

President Joe Biden will make his long-awaited visit to Africa this week to showcase a U.S.-backed railway project that goes across three countries

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. “The concept of risk is completely invented to ensure that investment doesn’t come to Africa," Gagan Gupta told an audience of investors and entrepreneurs earlier this year, to resounding applause. Mr Gupta, whose firm works on logistics and utilities across Africa, is optimistic about the continent and scathing about outsiders’ ability to assess it.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It has been the highlight of most African leaders’ diplomatic calendar for nearly a quarter of a century. Ever since the inaugural Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) in Beijing in 2000, the triennial shindig has been treated as a barometer by analysts seeking clues about the evolving state of relations between Africa and its biggest trading partner.

sovereign defaults has finally crested, with the likes of Ghana, Sri Lanka and Zambia concluding years of painful debt reworks. But the International Monetary Fund and others worry that a dangerous liquidity shortfall could take its place in many emerging economies — setting back development, stunting climate change mitigation and fuelling distrust in governments and Western institutions. The issue, and what to do about it when western countries are increasingly loath to send money overseas, is a key topic at the IMF World Bank autumn meetings taking place in Washington, D.C. this week.

The United Nations' food agency says months of drought in southern Africa triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon have had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region’s worst hunger crisis in decades

Zambia’s worst electricity blackouts in memory have been caused by a severe drought in the region that has left the critical Kariba dam with insufficient water to run its hydroelectric turbines

Zimbabwe, facing the worst drought in four decades, is set to cull 200 elephants to help feed its people, according to wildlife authorities. This decision follows a similar plan by neighbouring Namibia, which announced earlier this month that it would cull 160 wildlife animals, including 83 elephants, due to the severe drought affecting its population. The El Niño-induced drought has devastated southern Africa, leading both Zimbabwe and Namibia to declare states of emergency. The drought has directly impacted 68 million people in the region, resulting in severe food shortages and dire conditions. Tinashe Farawo, spokesperson for the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Authority (Zimparks), told Reuters, “We can confirm that we are planning to cull about 200 elephants across the country. We are working on the details of how this will be carried out.” Farawo also confirmed that the elephant meat will be distributed to communities in Zimbabwe affected by the drought.

Philippines' Nesthy Petecio knocked India boxer Jasmine Lamboria out of the women's 57 kg round of 32 match in the ongoing Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

Varun Beverages reported a 26% year-on-year (YoY) increase in its Q2 CY24 profit after tax (PAT), reaching Rs 1,262 crore. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 7,197 crore, up 28% YoY. In the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the company's revenue was Rs 5,611.4 crore. For the half-year ending June 2024, revenue showed a 21% YoY growth.

Varun Beverages (VBL), PepsiCo's bottling franchise partner, will set up manufacturing units in Zimbabwe and Zambia with an investment of $7 million (close to ₹60 crore), the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday. VBL said two of its subsidiaries plan to enter into an agreement with PepsiCo to manufacture, distribute and sell snacks brand Simba Munchiez in Zimbabwe and Zambia. These subsidiaries are VFZ Varun Foods (Zimbabwe) (VFZ) and Varun Beverages (Zambia) (VBZ).

Varun Beverages Ltd, a franchise partner of PepsiCo, on Monday said its two subsidiaries plan to enter into an agreement with the multinational food and beverages major to manufacture, distribute and sell the snacks brand 'Simba Munchiez' in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The company plans to set up manufacturing units in Zimbabwe and Zambia entailing an investment of USD 7 million (around Rs 60 crore), according to a regulatory filing by Varun Beverages Ltd (VBL). Through its subsidiaries — VFZ Varun Foods (Zimbabwe) Pvt Ltd (VFZ) and Varun Beverages (Zambia) Ltd (VBZ), VBL has discussed with PepsiCo to further strengthen and expand the latter's footprint in the snacks portfolio. It has discussed with PepsiCo to enter into an exclusive snacks franchising appointment with Premier Nutrition Trading LLC, Dubai (a PepsiCo Inc. subsidiary) to manufacture, distribute and sell 'Simba Munchiez' in the territory of Zimbabwe and Zambia, the filing added.