LUSAKA BOURSE RECORDS DOWNWARD TREND

The Lusaka Stock Exchange - LuSE - index has continued on a downward trend this year falling 1.1 per cent from the previous week to close at 3,896.2 points.

With little activity from foreign and local institutions the market turnover has been relatively low at only 782 million kwacha.

According to the LuSE bulletin for the week ending 13^th January 2012, some stocks however recorded high turnovers, among them SHOPRITE, ZAMBEEF and STANCHART shares.

Stock Analysts have noted this picture for the local bourse amid the planned doubling of the mining sector’s contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product – GDP.

The Zambian government has projected to double earnings from the sector by at least 20 per cent in order to enable increased benefits from its main natural resource.

The mining sector currently contributes between 9 and 10 per cent to Zambia’s GDP, while in terms of taxation, the mines contribute only 3 per cent against exports of 60 to 70 per cent.