Category: Africa
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African Finance Ministers call for $100 billion stimulus, debt holiday
African finance ministers have called for a $100 billion stimulus package, including a suspension of debt service payments, to help the continent combat coronavirus. According to Reuters, some $44 billion would come from not servicing debt and they would also tap existing facilities in the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), African Development Bank (AfDB)…
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Ghana ranked 6th in RMB’s ‘Where to Invest in Africa’ 2020 report
Ghana has been ranked the sixth-best country in Africa for investors in the latest RMB Investment Attractiveness 2020 rankings. The country climbed three places from the previous year’s report – edging closer to the coveted top 5 countries for investments in the whole of the continent. The report released earlier this week said the country’s…
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Dangote Fertiliser begins pre-testing of US$2bn world’s biggest plant ahead of opening
Dangote Fertiliser Limited has begun the countdown to the inauguration of its US$2 billion Granulated Urea Fertiliser complex located in the Dangote Free Zone. With a capacity of 3 million tonnes per annum, the plant has been classified as the biggest project in the entire fertiliser industry history in the World. Siapem of Italy is…
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AfDB refutes World Bank President’s comments on Africa’s debt profile
In several news reports, World Bank President David Malpass was recently quoted as saying some Multilateral Development Banks, including the African Development Bank, have a tendency to lend too quickly and in the process, add to the continent’s debt problems. According to AfDB, the statement made Mr. Malpass is inaccurate and not fact-based. “It impugns…
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AngloGold Ashanti exits SA, sells mines for US$297 million
AngloGold Ashanti is selling its Mponeng mine and Mine Waste Solutions tailings recycling business to Harmony Gold for $300m (about R4.4bn), marking the end of its exposure to SA mining. Harmony will pay $200m in cash and $260/oz of gold from Mponeng and other underground assets included in the transaction based on production above 250,000oz/year.…
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121 candidates apply for the Secretary-General of AfCFTA post
One hundred and twenty-five candidates, all African citizens, applied for the Secretary-General position of the African Continental Free Trade Area which is located in Accra, a source close to the African Union Commission has said. Two prominent Ghanaians, including a former Minister of State under the previous administration, made it to the shortlist of 30…
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Growth in sub-Saharan Africa to rise to 2.9 percent — World Bank
Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to rise to 2.9 percent in 2020, the World Bank said Tuesday in its January 2020 Global Economic Prospect report. The bank cited improved investor confidence in some large economies, easing of energy hurdles, a rise in oil production, which led to a recovery in oil exporters, as indicators.…
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Renaming CFA as Eco was a unilateral decision — ECOWAS’ Finance Ministers, central bank governors declare
The Finance and Economy Ministers, as well as Governors of central banks in West Africa, have denounced the recent decision by the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, to rename the CFA franc as the ECO — the name of the single currency planned for the sub-region. A communique issued after an extraordinary meeting of the group…
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South African rand weakens amid fresh power cuts
Monday was a gloomy day for South Africa’s currency as the country resumed power cuts over the weekend. The rand was trading at 14.35 to the U.S. dollar when markets opened. This represents a depreciation of 0.35% as at close of markets in New York on Friday. The reaction of the South African currency comes…
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Remittances surpass FDI flows into sub-Saharan Africa
Remittance flows into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) increased by 10.3% to US$46.2bn in 2018, and provisionally rose again in 2019, according to updated World Bank figures released in October. The sum comfortably surpassed foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows of US$31.6bn in 2018—based on the latest World Investment Report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development…