Top news items in major Zambian media outlets

The following are the highlights of Zambia's major media outlets on Friday.

-- Zambia's telecommunications and information technology regulator said there has been an increase in Internet connectivity in the country.

Mofya Chisala, the regulator's director for support services said the country now has 11.6 million subscribers on its three mobile phone operators out of a population of 15 million.

He added that the 11.6 million subscribers represented a penetration rate of 74.3 percent in terms of phone usage. (THE POST)

-- Zambian President Edgar Lungu has urged voters not to vote for any leaders promoting tribalism in this year's general elections.

Lungu said Zambians would choose their own president based on their choice and not on a tribal tag and that all those campaigning on tribal lines should be denounced and not voted into office. Zambia will hold general elections on August 11. (TIMES OF ZAMBIA)

-- The Zambian currency, the Kwacha, has continued to slide against major convertible currencies after posting some gains in recent weeks.

According to Cavmont Bank Zambia daily market report, the local currency has continued depreciating against the US dollar following the waning of the greenback supply from exporters and sellers.

The analysis however said the local currency was likely to rebound as corporates convert their dollars to kwacha to meet month end obligations.

The Zambian currency has appreciated significantly in recent weeks, moving from the world's third-worst performer in 2015. It has appreciated by 20 percent against the US dollar in 2016 after slumping 42 percent in 2015.

However, analysts had argued that the appreciation was artificial as there were no fundamental economic indicators on the ground. (DAILY NATION)

-- A Chinese motor company, Foton, has expressed interest to enter partnership with local companies in Zambia in order to increase its presence in the southern African nation.

Sun Qingzhong, the company's southern Africa region vice director said the company considers Zambia amongst the top four southern African markets for its vehicles.

While revealing that the company has a permanent representative in Zambia, he said the company wanted to establish more service centers and will soon start building local capacity to increase its dealership. (ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL) Endit