Category: INTERNATIONAL
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Nigeria:Oil firms sack 3,000 workers, union asks government to step in
Oil firms operating in Nigeria have sacked about 3,000 workers, a labour union official said on Wednesday, calling on the government to file a protest with foreign oil operators. “The government should call the multinationals to order. They are sacking and closing shop,” Igwe Achese, president of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas,…
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Congo govt supports Freeport sale of Tenke copper mine
Congo’s mines minister said on Thursday that the government “salutes and supports” China Molybdenum Co’s bid to buy Freeport McMoRan’s majority stake in the giant Tenke copper project despite objections from state miner Gecamines. The statement by Martin Kabwelulu appeared to be an effort to smooth passage of the transaction after Gecamines said last week…
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S.A’s Amplats offers unions 7 percent wage hike
Anglo American Platinum has tentatively agreed with South African unions to wage increases of at least 7 percent over the next three years to avert a strike, according to a draft agreement seen by Reuters on Thursday. The draft agreement contains a “peace obligation”, which says no members of the unions “shall be entitled to…
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S.A:PPI inflation falls, 2017 should see subsidence of food price inflation
PPI inflation fell to 6.6% y/y in September from 7.2% y/y in August. The diesel price fell by 48c/litre in September, but in October a 23c/litre hike occurred. For November a 63c/litre hike is currently building on the higher oil price. We continue to expect the oil price to average around US$45/bbl this year. The…
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S.A’s MTBPS seeks to contain budget deficit, slow debt accumulation, will it be good enough to avoid a ratings downgrade?
South Africa’s Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who was fine-tuning his toughest Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) up until the last minute, called on South Africans in a press conference to “tighten whatever needs tightening and work like hell to achieve a common purpose” to grow the economy and create political stability to attract investments.…
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Kenya:KenGen eyes non-power revenue to boost earnings
Power producer Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is looking to further diversify its non-electricity revenue by offering consultancy services, increasing steam sales and leasing out drilling equipment. KenGen finance director John Mudany on Wednesday said the firm was looking to have non-electricity revenue build up over time from the current 23 per cent of total…
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Home Money Markets Money Markets IMF forecasts Kenya savings to hit 16.1pc of national output
Kenya’s national savings will rise to 16.1 per cent of GDP by the end of this year, surpassing the average for middle-income countries in Africa after years of lagging behind, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a newly released regional economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa, the IMF says that Kenya will be one…
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Nigeria can borrow a maximum of $22.08 bn in 2017 – DMO
The maximum amount that Nigeria can borrow in 2017 from both local and foreign sources is $22.08 billion without it violating its debt threshold, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said. Nigeria has a borrowing space of 5.89 percent of its GDP of $374.95 billion which will take its debt limit to a country-specific threshold of…
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Nigeria’s Buhari asks parliament to approve $30 bn of borrowing
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has asked parliament to approve plans to borrow $30 billion abroad to fund infrastructure plans until 2018, according to a letter read out on Tuesday in the assembly. Nigeria, an OPEC member, slipped into recession for the first time in more than 20 years in the second quarter largely due to…
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S.A: Free education for all a far cry as Gov debt exceeds $500 bn
Government debt has escalated over R2 trillion with rising debt service costs crowding out expenditure on priorities such as infrastructure and education. This is one of the concerns highlighted in South Africa’s mid-term budget policy statement on Wednesday which was tabled by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. The statement noted that government spending per capita has…