Category: Africa
-
Kenya:CBK says foreign banks targeting local market despite new rate cap
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has disclosed that banks from eight countries are looking to enter the Kenyan market even after capping interest rates and at a time the regulator’s suspension of new lenders still stands. CBK said banks were being lured to the country by relatively high returns and the country’s geographical location,…
-
Kenya:Low petroleum prices cut import bill by Sh50 billion
Low global petroleum prices helped Kenya save nearly Sh50 billion in petroleum import bills during the first half of the year despite the steep rise in consumption, the latest industry data indicates. Kenya imported Sh92.7 billion worth of fuel and lubricants in the year to June, down from Sh140 billion in the same period last…
-
Uganda to spend $2 bn on power in next five years
Uganda plans to spend at least $2 billion in the next five years to connect more people to its electricity grid and raise connection rates, a senior executive at sole power distributor Umeme Ltd said on Thursday. Ugandan officials say they want to boost electricity supply rapidly to power an industrialisation drive. In recent years…
-
Gold refinery to open in Uganda by end of 2016
A Ugandan company backed by a Belgian investor is due to open the East African country’s first gold refinery by the end of this year to process raw gold produced mainly from the region, a senior company official told Reuters. Uganda’s mineral reserves are generally viewed as under exploited. Although there are gold deposits, it…
-
S.A launches BRICS Business Council Portal
In an effort to connect and promote regular dialogue between South African individuals and entities with an interest in doing business within the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) trade bloc, the South African chapter of the BRICS Business Council today launched the SA BRICS Business Council Portal. Following the BRICS Business Council’s agenda…
-
State invites bids for expansion of Nairobi-Mombasa highway
Planned expansion of the Nairobi-Mombasa road into a six-lane super-highway is expected to begin in the next couple of months with the invitation of bids for the project. Transport and Infrastructure secretary James Macharia said the government planned to build the road through a Public Private Partnership (PPP), but fell short of indicating whether it…
-
South Africa:Dip in consumer inflation makes rate hike unlikely
South Africa’s headline consumer inflation dipped below the top end of the central bank’s target in August to its lowest in nine months, data showed on Wednesday, suggesting interest rates would remain unchanged at this week’s monetary policy meeting. Inflation has been trending lower since peaking at 7 percent in February, partly helped by a…
-
Nigeria sues ENI, Chevron, other oil companies: firms, official
Nigeria has filed a lawsuit against Italian energy firm ENI, U.S. major Chevron and other international oil firms over some crude exports, ENI, Chevron and a government official said on Tuesday. “The claim dates back to last March and refers to a request to our subsidiary in Nigeria for a payment of about $160 million,”…
-
South Africa:Impact of a ratings downgrade on investors
South Africans have been arguably living with a sword over their heads since the beginning of 2016: the imminent downgrade of the country’s sovereign credit rating to non-investment grade levels by global ratings agencies. Andrew Morton, Head of Advice at FNB Financial Advisory says most local investors and prudent advisors have already factored the potential…