Category: Africa
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Nigeria: Niger Delta Indigenes to Get Oil Blocks to Douse Tension
To douse tension in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the Federal Government plans to award to indigenes of the region marginal fields’ oil blocks abandoned by the oil majors as being not commercially viable. The plan is in line with the government’s larger objective of reducing major incidents of restiveness to about 90 per cent by…
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South African: Fitch downgrades big-five banks to junk
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of five South African banks to ‘BB+’ from ‘BBB-‘. The banks affected are Absa Bank Limited, FirstRand Bank Limited (FRB), Investec Bank Limited (IBL), Nedbank Limited (Nedbank) and Standard Bank of South Africa (SBSA). Fitch has also downgraded the Long-Term IDRs of four bank holding…
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Kenya:World Bank slashes 2017 growth projection to 5.5pc
The World Bank (WB) has once again downgraded Kenya’s projected economic growth rate to 5.5 per cent citing heavy headwinds for the country. In its latest economic update released Wednesday, the global lender said drought, weak credit growth, and higher oil prices will drag down growth in 2017 to below the earlier projection of 5.9…
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Kenya:Car dealer Marshalls moves to delist from NSE
Marshalls East Africa is set to delist from the Nairobi Securities Exchange #ticker:NSE (NSE) following years of recording losses as Global Limited, which owns 13.9 per cent of the auto dealer, offers to buy out fellow minority shareholders at a premium. The loss-making car dealer, which once held an exclusive dealership contract for iconic French…
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Morocco: Rwanda Eyes Over U.S.$100 Million Investments From Morocco
Rwanda is expecting more than $100 million in investments from Morocco. Acting head of investment promotion at the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) Winifred Ngangure Kabega said at a press conference Monday that the money would be invested in different sectors of the economy including tourism, energy, and infrastructure. Kigali hosted more than 100 Moroccan investors…
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Zimbabwe: Penhalonga Diamonds Find Worries Locals
Residents here say they were worried following reports that there could be deposits of kimberlite diamonds in the community and surrounding areas. Villagers fear that the experiences at Marange could be repeated in their community. The government unleashed the army in a bloody campaign on Marange after thousands of panners swooped on the district following…
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S.A:Treasury Refuses to Release More Bond Notes Amid Cash Shortages
Zimbabwean Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has refused to add more bond notes into the southern African country’s struggling market, insisting that the country’s only solution was to increase exports, said a report on Monday. According to Newsday, Chinamasa told the country’s national assembly last week that he was against a further release of the bond…
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North Africa:169 Gambians Repatriated From Libya
International Organization for Migration (IOM), in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Aboard and the Ministry of Interior, has repatriated 169 Gambians from Libya. This is the second batch of returnees following the repatriation of 140 Gambians sometime last month. The deputy permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,…
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East Africa:BAT Kenya says regulations threaten its Nairobi factory
British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya says unfavourable regulations could see it scale down its local cigarette manufacturing in what will lead to job losses. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm’s Nairobi factory produces cigarettes and semi-processed tobacco for the local market and exports to 13 countries in the region. BAT says increased regulatory uncertainty in the…
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Rwanda to Lift Double Taxation for Moroccan Investors
Rwanda’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved a law removing double taxation for Moroccan investors while mitigating against tax evasion on income accrued by their businesses. Moroccan investors have shown great interest in Rwanda ever since King Mohammed VI visited the country in October last year. “Investments from Morocco are coming in at a high speed; therefore,…