At least US$5 billion is available for the construction of an oil pipeline to connect Angola and Zambia, aiming to make operational the Lobito corridor.,

This information was advanced last Thursday, in Luanda, by the Zambian Ambassador to Angola, Lawrence Chalungumana, who was talking at the celebration ceremony of the 55th anniversary of Zambia’s independence, which was marked on 24 October, highlighting that the works shall start from the refinery of Lobito (Angola’s western end) to Zambia.

According to Mr Chalungumana, this project created by the Angolan and Zambian governments will have five years duration and will be handled by the Zambian company Baseli Balisel Resources (BBLR) with the Angolan company Sonangol.

“The conclusion of these works will facilitate the construction of roads and railways to connect neighbouring countries,” he said.
Mr. Chalungumana also reiterated that besides the project, Unitel is launching in Zambia mobile telecommunications project of over 350 million dollars.

According to the Ambassador, the bilateral relations between Angola and Zambia continue to grow, referring that the Permanent Joint Committee on Defence and Security of both countries met in 2018 and its 32nd session is scheduled for November this year.

He said many high-level meetings involving both government and private sector entrepreneurs have been held with focus on agriculture, oil, finance and economy, trade and Provincial Administration.

He also highlighted that Zambia keeps on playing a decisive role in International Organizations, mentioning that last August it became the host of the Southern Africa Sub-Regional Centre for Sustainable Development Goals, in addition to the international organizations already working in Zambia.

Angola and Zambia share a border of about 1,300 kilometres.

Fitch Ratings says the 2020 national budget has failed to address external financing risks for the country.

In a report, the rating agency says Zambia’s 2020 Budget could increase risks to the sovereign’s external debt sustainability unless new sources of grant funding or concessionary lending are found, Fitch Ratings says.

It says the budget envisages a significant increase in such funding, but does not identify the likely sources.

Finance Minister Bwalya Ng’andu delivered the 2020 Budget in a speech to parliament on 27 September.

The budget seeks to narrow the fiscal deficit to 5.5% of GDP, but also sees an increase in expenditure, to 27.5% of GDP.

Debt amortisation will add a further 4.9% of GDP to the government’s financing needs in 2020.

The budget forecasts a revenue increase to 22% of GDP, driven by expected increases in mining revenue, adjustments to VAT and higher government fees and fines. Zambia’s revenue averaged 19% of GDP in the five years to 2018.

In 2018, revenue outperformed the budget target when copper production exceeded expectations.
Fitch expects a slight increase in revenue, but says it thinks the 2020 deficit target will probably be missed.

Fitch’s current deficit forecast assumes that expenditure falls slightly, to 26% of GDP in 2019 and remains broadly the same in 2020, resulting in a cash deficit of 6.7% of GDP.

The higher spending contained in the 2020 Budget will likely lead us to make an upward adjustment to its 2020 fiscal deficit forecast, but Fitch believes that finding new sources of external financing will be difficult and that the lack of new financing sources will constrain spending.

“New external borrowing is forecast to exceed estimated external amortisation in 2020, which would keep Zambia’s government debt on an increasing trajectory. The budget envisages ZMW30.6 billion in foreign financing and grants, equivalent to nearly 9% of GDP, whereas historically grants have provided no more than 1%-2% of GDP in financing,” it said.

“In the absence of significant new sources of grant funding or concessionary lending, this would increase the risks to Zambia’s external position from already high debt servicing costs.

The 2020 budget envisages total public external debt servicing costs of about USD1.5 billion, up from USD800 million in 2018 and an estimated USD1.1 billion in 2019.”

Fitch downgraded Zambia’s sovereign rating to ‘CCC’ in June in view of the high external financing requirements, the continued fall in foreign exchange reserves, constrained access to financing and a further rise in government debt.

The country has increased its stock of external debt and increased the percentage of commercial and non-concessionary public borrowing to fund an ambitious program of infrastructure development.

The level of capital expenditure increased to an average of 5.9% of GDP in the years 2014 to 2019 compared to 3.9% in the previous five years.
Zambia has been in discussions with the IMF on a programme that would likely provide additional external financing, but has yet to reach staff level agreement.

Fifth says an IMF agreement would offer a stronger signal of Zambia’s commitment to fiscal adjustment and would also mitigate external debt servicing risks as Zambia approaches repayments of a USD750 million Eurobond in 2022 and another USD1.25 billion bond due in 2024.

Barrick Gold Corp. believes its Lumwana Mine is worth more than the $735 million carrying value listed in its latest annual report.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said he’s received interest from potential buyers of the mine but is not in a hurry to sell it.

Mr. Bristow disputed a report that it would start the disposal process in January.

“We believe it’s got substantially higher value,” he said in a phone interview. “That’s the past. We have and we continue to improve the business.”

Lumwana has attracted interest from companies including China Minmetals Corp., Jiangxi Copper Co. and Zijin Mining Group Co., people familiar with matter said earlier this month.

Mr. Bristow declined to comment on the names, only saying “we have had expressions of interest.”

The company, the world’s second-biggest gold producer, has had a tough time with Lumwana.

It bought the operation as part of a $7 billion deal two months after copper prices peaked in 2011.

Two years later, Barrick had written down the asset by $3 billion.

The company has dealt with frequent tax changes and power shortages in Zambia.

Since taking over as Barrick CEO in January, Mr. Bristow has replaced management at Lumwana, where the company plans to produce 210 million pounds to 240 million this year.

The operation produced 224 million pounds last year, making it one of the biggest producers in Zambia.

Another hurdle facing Lumwana is that two copper smelters in Zambia have shut for maintenance, leaving the mine with nowhere to process its material.

Mr. Bristow said it could make sense for the mine to be owned by another company that does have a smelter.

Speculation of an ownership shake-up in the Zambian copper industry has swirled in recent months.

The government has moved to liquidate Vedanta Resources Ltd.’s Konkola Copper Mines Plc unit and wants to bring in a new owner.

Jiangxi Copper bought an indirect stake in First Quantum Minerals Ltd.

Mr. Bristow said, “What the Zambian mining industry needs is a re-arrangement of assets.”

The United Nations and international NGOs have launched a seven-month immediate humanitarian assistance in Zambia.

The UN is seeking US$89.5 million to provide immediate food assistance and early recovery support for 2.3 million people for seven months.
It says the main portion of this plan is for food assistance.

The Humanitarian Response Plan complements the Government’s own Recovery Action Plan, which aims to provide life-saving and early recovery support to 2.3 million people in need over the next 12 months.

The Government has mobilized $36.7 million for food security, nutrition, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, protection and education services against their own plan, but has requested the support of international partners to fill the funding gap.

In support of the Government-led response in Zambia, the UN and humanitarian partners have launched a seven-month Humanitarian Response Plan to address rising humanitarian needs triggered by the poorest rainfall season since 1981 in the southern part of the country, which has sharply reduced cereal crop production.

The decrease in maize production was so severe that the country, normally a net cereal exporter, put a ban on maize exports.

A range of livestock diseases has compounded the crisis.

The decrease in maize production was so severe that the country, normally a net cereal exporter, put a ban on maize exports.

More than 2.4 million people of the total population of some 17 million are expected to be severely food insecure during the lean season from this October to March 2020, with at least 430,000 people in emergency levels.

Acute malnutrition, which leads to wasting in children, stands at nearly 6 per cent across the nine provinces of Zambia.