Category: INTERNATIONAL
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South Africa’s July retail sales growth slows to 0.8 percent y/y
South African retail sales grew by 0.8 percent year-on-year in July, after expanding by a revised 1.4 percent in June, data from the statistics office showed on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 2 percent year-on-year increase in July. On a month-on-month basis, sales fell by 0.4 percent, and were up 2 percent…
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Tanzania on track to hit 7.2 pct growth in 2016: central bank
Tanzania’s economy is on track to expand by 7.2 percent in 2016, up from 7 percent in 2015, boosted by construction, an anti-corruption drive and better management of public resources, the central bank governor said on Wednesday. President John Magufuli, elected last year, has launched a campaign against corruption and government waste, and promised to…
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Kenya:US fast food chain Burger King to open Nairobi outlet
American fast food chain Burger King is set to open a Nairobi outlet at The Hub Mall in Karen. The firm is making final touches on the store. Burger King’s arrival in the Kenyan market comes more than three years after opening its first Africa joint in South Africa in 2013. The chain also has…
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Kenya:Imperial Bank auditor paid Sh1.5bn
The Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) management has by-passed its board and paid Sh1.5 billion to FTI Consulting, the American firm that was contracted to conduct a forensic audit at collapsed Imperial Bank, it has emerged. The payment, which has been made using the collapsed bank’s funds, is not only illegal but also raises questions…
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Nigeria’s largest airline temporarily suspends operations
Arik Air, Nigeria’s largest airline, cancelled all of its flights on Tuesday in what it called a temporary disruption related to insurance renewal, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The company warned the disruption was likely to continue for the next few days as it awaited approve from national insurance commission NAICOM to renew…
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SA is not in recession – Gordhan
South Africa’s current account deficit narrowed more than expected in the second quarter, data showed on Tuesday, supporting Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s view that Africa’s most industrialised economy was not in “recession territory”. He warned, however, that surprising economic growth of 3.3 percent in the second quarter could not be sustained and pledged continued fiscal…
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Treasury gets an upper hand in fight with banks over cost of loans
The Central Bank of Kenya yesterday identified the Central Bank Rate (CBR) as the tool that commercial banks must use in their pricing of loans, effectively shielding the government’s rising appetite for local borrowing from determining the cost of credit in the new dispensation of interest rate controls. CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge confounded industry players…
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Zimbabwe: Govt to Knock Down Mining Fees
Treasury will soon engage the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development for a further downward review of mining fees. Presenting the Mid-Term Fiscal Policy last week, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the move was aimed at attracting new investment into the sector. “In order to encourage prospecting activities, as well as reducing…
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Nigeria: Petrol Price Hike – Ex-NNPC GMDs’ Position Generates More Controversy
A civil society organisation, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has accused the body of former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, of pursuing a selfish agenda in calling for a hike in price of petrol. They claimed the call was capable of ruining the country. In an…
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Egypt Expects to Sign Agreements With European Investment Bank Worth Euro 575M
Egypt is expecting to sign agreements with the European Investment Bank worth EUR575 million in the second half of October, Ministry of International Cooperation said on Sunday. The bank’s deputy head is set to visit Egypt in the second half of October, according to a statement by the ministry citing the EIB’s Director of Operations…