Category: Africa
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Kenya: HF Group profit drops 73pc as bad debts rise
Mortgage financier HF Group recorded a 73 per cent net profit drop in the first quarter ended March in the wake of surging defaults. The lender’s net earnings in the period stood at Sh88.3 million compared to Sh327.4 million in the year before. HF’s interest income declined 19.5 per cent to Sh1.8 billion as it…
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Kenya:Central bank says drop in SME loans risks jobs, growth
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has warned that the decline in lending to small enterprises since the introduction of the legal cap on loan rates threatens jobs and economic growth. Latest CBK data shows bank lending to micro, small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs) fell by 5.7 per cent between August and April, even…
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Nigeria’s central bank to sell $100 mln at forward, spot forex auction
Nigeria’s central bank said on Tuesday it will sell $100 million at a special wholesale spot and forwards auction to improve dollar liquidity in the foreign exchange market and curb pressure on the local currency. The bank, in a notice to commercial lenders, said the dollar auction would be both for spot and forward settlements…
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Nigeria: I Will Resign If Nigeria Continues to Import Petrol By 2019 – Kachikwu
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, on Monday vowed to resign if Nigeria continues to import fuel by 2019. Mr. Kachikwu stated this during an interview on BBC World Service programme, HardTalk, anchored by Stephen Sackur. In the interview, which lasted 23 minutes, Mr. Kachikwu promised to deliver on the completion of…
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Kenya: NSE up Sh289bn in three months on dividend chase
Dividend-chasing investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) have lifted the stock market valuation by Sh289 billion in three months, signalling an end to a free fall that had seen the bourse touch an eight-year low in January. The steady growth in paper wealth for NSE investors has come on the back of elevated demand…
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East Africa: Why informal financial markets are here to stay
It is argued that African financial markets are highly fragmented, creating both formal and informal structures. While formal financial markets are largely controlled by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), informal financial markets (IFMs) are outside the CMA’s regulatory and supervisory control. IFMs include Shylocks, merry-go- rounds (chamas), pawn brokers, credit societies, and traders. IFM lenders…
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Nigeria: NCAA Asks Ethiopian Airlines to Stop U.S.$150 Deportation Charge
Facts have emerged of how Ethiopian Airlines compelled passengers traveling to South Africa to pay ‘unauthorized’ Deportation charges. The charge estimated at between $75 to $150 (N35,000- N70,000) is tagged, “Refundable Deportation Fee” which all South African bound passengers are compelled to pay before boarding. It was learnt that the fee was introduced by the…
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Niger: Loans for Storing Crops Help Niger’s Farmers Absorb Climate Shocks
Lack of storage forces farmers to sell their harvest at low prices – but changing that can help them get ahead Surveying his village’s stocks of rice, sesame, millet and other food in a storehouse piled high with bags, Amadou Hassane is satisfied – but still a little anxious about the oversupply of baobab leaves.…
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South Africa’s Power Utility Is Hoping for a Tariff Hike. It May Not Get It
South Africa’s National Energy Regulator (NERSA) is soon to decide if the country’s power utility, Eskom, should be granted an exemption from a long list of regulatory reporting requirements when it submits a new tariff application next month. The reporting requirements centre around thousands of detailed cost and sales items making up Eskom’s financial and…
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Zimbabwe: Minister Orders Harare to Recover Looted $280,000
Local government minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, has directed the Harare City Council to recover and return to council coffers some $282,000 which was looted by top officials. A recent government audit at Town House revealed that four council officials unlawfully transferred $282 000 from the local authority’s beer levy to their personal accounts in 2014. According…