Category: Africa
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Both these economies are in recession but Nigeria’s will grow faster than SA’s in 2018
The Vanguard reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Nigeria’s economy will grow at a faster pace than South Africa’s in 2018, see table 1. According to its World Economic Outlook, WEO, for July 2017, the IMF said Nigeria will grow at 1.9% in 2018, while South Africa will only climb by…
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Zimbabwe central bank warms up ‘bond note’ printing presses
Zimbabwe is more than doubling its issuance of “bond notes”, a domestic quasi-currency, to $500 million, its central bank governor said on Wednesday, stoking fears of a slide towards the rampant money-printing and hyperinflation of a decade ago. Harare has used U.S. dollars and South African rand since 2009, after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe…
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Gupta brother says South Africa influence peddling emails are fake
One of South Africa’s Gupta brothers said leaked emails suggesting his family used links to President Jacob Zuma to win contracts and influence decisions were fake, a rare intervention in a scandal that has rocked the government. Atul Gupta – whose family business empire spans media, mining and technology – told the BBC he had…
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Nigeria: Dangote sells $236M stake in cement firm to foreign buyers
Nigeria’s Dangote Industries Limited has sold a 2.3 percent stake in Dangote Cement to foreign buyers in a stock market deal valued at 86.1 billion naira ($236 million). The stock exchange confirmed the Tuesday’s sale, adding that a total of 416 million shares of Dangote Cement were traded at 210 naira in six off-market deals…
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South Africa’s stock market defies recession, scales record highs
South Africa’s main stock index scaled a record high on Monday, underscoring the market’s disconnect from an economy mired in recession, hobbled by damaging ratings downgrades, and still largely defined by apartheid’s income inequalities. Skewed ownership patterns have made the Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE), which has been mostly lifted by the offshore earnings of a…
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Virtual lender Branch Kenya loans hit Sh3.6 billion
Mobile-based lender Branch has disbursed a cumulative Sh3.63 billion ($35 million) loans in Kenya where virtual lending is growing in popularity. Branch, founded in 2015, says its customer base has grown to 350,000 individuals who have made over 1.5 million loan transactions. “We have seen fantastic growth at Branch because we know what our borrowers…
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South Africa’s rate cut signals political pressure on central bank: Moody’s
The first interest rate cut in five years by South Africa’s central bank will likely boost the country’s economic growth potential, ratings firm Moody’s said, but warned that the policy decision also signalled growing political pressure on the bank. South Africa’s main anti-graft watchdog recommended last month that the central bank mandate be changed to…
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Nigeria’s new $1.5BN fertiliser plant boosts agriculture sector
Nigeria’s acting president will open a $1.5 billion fertiliser plant in the southeastern city of Port Harcourt on Thursday, highlighting efforts by Africa’s largest economy to boost its agriculture industry. Nigeria has for decades been dependent on exports of oil to support its economy, but as global crude prices have dropped and production has been…
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Kenya: Forex reserves hit new low as CBK shores up the shilling
Foreign exchange reserves have fallen to the lowest level since March 16 when it was at $6.973 billion (Sh724.56 billion), underlining increased activity by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to stabilise the shilling and debt payment. The CBK says in the latest weekly bulletin that the country’s forex reserves, largely in US dollars, dropped by…
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Kenya: Release City Hall’s Sh1bn, KRA ordered
City Hall has been allowed to pursue punishment of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) boss John Njiraini for attaching Sh1 billion to recover disputed taxes despite a court order barring the same. Justice George Odunga has allowed City Hall to file a contempt of court application against the KRA after the taxman attached the sum…