Zambia’s Stock Market Tops the World in August on Copper Boom

📈 The Lusaka Securities Exchange All Share Index (LASI) jumped 14.3% in August, making it the world’s best-performing market for the month.

🏆 Year-to-date, LASI has risen nearly 56% in local currency and 84% in USD, second only to Ghana among dollar-based gains.

The rally is led by Copperbelt Energy Company (CEC), which supplies electricity to Zambia’s mines. CEC’s stock has surged over 75% this year, becoming the first Zambian company to surpass $1 billion market cap. First-half earnings per share are expected to rise 42%.

Zambia’s fundamentals also boost optimism: copper output rose 18% year-on-year in H1 2025, with a government target of 1 million tonnes this year. Copper prices remain around $9,818/tonne. Meanwhile, the kwacha has strengthened 19% against the dollar, aided by sovereign debt progress.

🔎 Global August performance:

🪙 Lusaka All Share Index (Zambia): +14.3%

🪙 S&P 500 (US): +2.75%

🪙 NYSE Composite Index (US): +1.88%

🪙 London Stock Exchange All Share Index (UK): +1.23%

🪙 STOXX Europe 600 (Europe): +0.74%

👉 Zambia’s stock market has not only outpaced developed market benchmarks by a wide margin but also cemented its place as the standout performer in 2025 so far.