• Assets under Management grew by 28.13%
• 21.83 percent reduction in corporate bonds
• Collective Investment Schemes Assets under Management grew 18.3%

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has disclosed that an analysis of the Capital Markets as of 30th December 2022 against 31st December 2021 Shows that total savings in the Capital markets increased by 8.05 %.

Speaking during a Media Brief on performance of the Market for the year ended 2022, SEC Chief Executive Office Philip Chitalu says the Zambian Capital markets remained relatively resilient during 2022 supported by positive macro-economic and financial fundamentals.

Mr. Chitalu explained that Market Capitalization from the 8.05% increase in total savings grew by 8.12% to K72.64 billion Kwacha from K67.183 billion, Assets under Management grew by 28.13% from K1.16 billion to K1.49 billion.

He said 21.83 percent reduction in corporate bonds is attributed to redemption of notes, maturities and foreign exchange effects on dollar denominated notes.

Mr. Chitalu noted that there were no new issuers of corporate bonds during the year.

He added that Assets under Management (foreign) recorded a decline of 25.51% and corporate bonds a decline of 21.83%.

Mr. Chitalu further revealed that total market capitalization increased by 8.12% to K72.641 billion during the period under review relative to the same period in 2021 indicating market capitalization as a percentage of GDP at 17.18 percent mainly due to share price increases in listed companies.

He added that Collective Investment Schemes Assets under Management grew 18.3% from 1.429 Billion in 2021 to K1.690 Billion at December 2022 with the Total number of Investors as at December 2022 being 271,651, an increase of 9.93% from 141, 538.

Further, Mr. Chitalu said the Lusaka All Share Index was up 22 percent as at 30th December 2022, relative to the same period in 2021.

“Over the first six Months of 2022, the most significant month-on-month increase was from January to February where it went up by 7.65 percent owing mainly to increases in stock prices for Copperbelt Energy Corporation (30%), Lafarge (16%), Standard Chartered (13%), Puma Energy (9%), REIZ (4%) and Zanaco (4%),” he said.

The SEC CEO further noted that at the End of Quarter 2, 2022 the LASI was at 6,854 points and increased steadily to 7,342 point at the end of Q3 2022.

“As of 30th December 2022, the LASI closed at 7,337.79 points representing a (-0.06) drop from the Q3 figure” Mr. Chitalu explained.

He added that Trading Volumes on the equity markets generally fell over the first and second quarters of 2022 due to reduced activity signaling a reduction in number of share4s traded between the daily open and close.

According to him, the volumes reduced by an average of 6 percent between January and May 2022 and went up by an impressive 372 percent June 2022 from the previous month.

Mr. Phillip Chitalu however noted this quickly declined gain and by august 2022, was 84 percent lower than the June levels indicating that “there was a magical spike of 958 percent at close of year in December 2022 compared to the figure in November 2022.

He further stated that on the primary market, yield rates on all GRZ bond tenures, excluding the 2 year bond, increased in Q4 2022 relative to Q1 2022.

“The tenor with the largest increase in yields was on the 10-year bond which increased by 9% from 25.26% at the beginning of Q1 2022 to 27.64% at the end of Q4 of 2022,” Mr. Chitalu noted.