Category: Africa
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Nigeria: Govt Mulls Relaxing Forex Restrictions On 41 Items
The Federal Government may get the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to relax the ban imposed on 41 items from official foreign exchange window. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who disclosed this in an email obtained by Bloomberg, said the government would consider “policy-driven restrictions” to promote local manufacturing of 41 items, such as rice and…
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Kenya:Barclays Bank offers currency conversion
Barclays Bank of Kenya has introduced the Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) for its cardholders. This allows the conversion of the purchase price for goods or services into a currency the customer is more familiar with. Trading in a currency best understood by the buyer is meant to ease transactions for international customers so as to…
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East Africa: EY ranks Kenya Africa’s 2nd best for investments
Consultancy EY has named Kenya as the second most attractive investment destination in Africa after Morocco in 2017 despite last year’s poor performance, where FDI dropped by 57.9 per cent. EY’s Africa Attractiveness Index 2017 (AAI 2017) showed Kenya scored highly in the long-term outlook in governance and human development (16 out of 20), economic…
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S.A rand expected to trade 5% weaker towards ANC conference in December
South Africa’s rand will remain resilient in the short term in the absence of policy surprises and further downgrades, but the currency will weaken towards a December conference of the ruling African National Congress, a Reuters poll showed. The poll of up to 40 strategists suggested the rand would trade five percent weaker at 13.99…
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Kenya:Costly breakfast as prices of sugar, milk hit new high
Sugar prices have reached a new high with the two-kilogramme packet now retailing at Sh330, which together with expensive milk is set to make breakfast costly especially for low-income people. This comes amid a severe shortage of sugar on the shelves with nearly all supermarkets only stocking the Kabras brand. The commodity has been retailing…
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East Africa:UN report shows Kenya’s jobs crisis the worst in region
East Africa’s largest economy, Kenya, holds the dubious distinction of having the region’s highest unemployment rate, the United Nations says in its latest assessment of human development that throws a huge policy-making challenge at Nairobi. The 2017 Human Development Index (HDI) shows that Kenya’s rate of unemployment is now equal to those of neighbouring Ethiopia…
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S.A’s Financial Services Board probes trades around Gordhan recall
South Africa’s Financial Services Board (FSB) is probing certain trades made in the hours before former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was recalled from an investor roadshow and then dismissed, an official said on Tuesday. The Johannesburg bourse said in April it was probing the trades involving currency futures and would forward its findings to the…
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Nigerian central bank trying to make FX rates converge
Nigeria’s central bank has been working to make the exchange rates for its currency converge on the official and black markets, its spokesman said, and plans to offer $100 million on the forward market on Tuesday to boost liquidity. Nigeria runs a system of multiple exchange rates, and the central bank has sold more than…
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Kenya:Banks warned on inaccurate borrowers data
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has put on notice commercial banks and credit reference bureaus (CRB) over inaccurate data on borrowers. CBK chairman Mohammed Nyaoga said complaints about inaccurate listings by customers if not well handled by the banks and the credit reference bureaus pose significant reputational risks to the firms. “Customer complaints arising…
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East Africa:World Bank says coffee, tea prices to fall this year
Coffee, tea and cocoa prices could fall by more than six per cent this year due to greater supply, a report says. The World Bank report, however, also projects that agricultural raw materials production is expected to rise by four per cent. According to the World Bank’s Commodity Markets Outlook, returns from the three beverages…