Category: Africa
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Egypt: Sisi Approves Amended Law Jailing Black Market Foreign Currency Traders
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi approved on Sunday the amendments of a central bank law that imposes harsher punishments on illegal foreign currency traders, amid wider efforts to crackdown on the black market. The House of Representative approved earlier in August. The House has set prison sentences between three to 10 years and fines up…
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Kenya:M-Pesa agents commissions rise 19pc on strong customer growth
M-Pesa agents’ commissions rose by nearly a fifth last year to Sh14.6 billion, driven by an increase in the money transfer subscribers. The agents contracted by Safaricom earned 19.6 per cent more commissions compared to 2015 when they chalked up Sh12.2 billion. The commissions earned by Safaricom M-Pesa agents are just about equivalent to what…
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Kenya:Three-year bank audit plan masks underlying issues
The three-year term limits proposed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) for auditors of banks is a clear response to corporate governance concerns and as an auditor, I support the objective of improving the quality and independence of their reports. However, I do not think that mandatory auditor rotation on a three-year basis for…
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Egypt Closes 53 Forex Bureaus Since Beginning of Year – Cbe
A total of 53 foreign exchange bureaus have been closed since the start of the year, deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Gamal Negm said on Friday. The CBE has accelerated a crackdown against black market traders, closing a large number of the countries’ foreign exchange offices, which it blames for growing…
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Kenya:Equity’s half-year profit up by 18pc to Sh10bn amid cuts in lending
Equity Group on Monday reported an 18 per cent growth in after-tax profit in the half-year ended June as it cut ordinary lending in favour of buying government securities. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm’s net profit in the period stood at Sh10.1 billion compared to Sh8.6 billion the year before. The lender’s loan book shrunk…
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Nigeria’s Buhari seeks emergency powers to revive economy
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will ask parliament for extra powers for one year allowing him to take “emergency” decisions to revive the flagging economy, a government source said on Monday. Africa’s biggest economy contracted in the first quarter and government officials have said recession is likely as vital oil revenues have crashed due to low…
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Zimbabwe stops hiring public workers as it struggles to pay
Zimbabwe has stopped hiring new state workers after failing to pay its soldiers and teachers on time, according to an official notice, as President Robert Mugabe’s government struggles with a big financial squeeze. The southern African nation dumped its hyperinflation-hit currency in 2009 and adopted the U.S. dollar, but it is facing biting dollar shortages…
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How Nigeria is making it easier for small businesses to get funding
n Nigeria, there are an estimated 37 million micro, small, and MSMEs and their contribution to economic growth and job creation is significant. However, many of these smaller businesses struggle to gain access to the capital they need to grow and prosper since they lack traditional collateral such as land and buildings. In May 2016,…
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South Africa’s MTN to sell 9.9 bln rand in shares to black investors
South African mobile phone company MTN Group will sell shares worth 9.9 billion rand ($729 million), a 4 percent stake, to black investors to meet government quotas on black ownership. Africa’s biggest telecoms firm said the new black economic empowerment deal would be launched via a public offer next month to replace an existing scheme…
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Kenya:Growth of mobile banking boosts Co-op Bank’s earnings
Increased mobile and internet banking helped Co-operative Bank of Kenya increase its pretax profit in the first half of 2016 by 19 percent to 10.45 billion shillings ($103.08 million), the lender said on Wednesday. The bank, which has its roots in the country’s vibrant co-operative movement and also operates in South Sudan, said 87 percent…