Category: INTERNATIONAL
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DRC’s Gecamines to increase copper output by over 40 pct
Democratic Republic of Congo’s state miner Gecamines expects to increase copper production by over 40 percent this year as new machinery comes online, the company said on Friday. Gecamines plans to produce 24,000 tonnes of copper this year and 50,000 tonnes next year, interim director-general Jacques Kamenga told Reuters. This is up from about 17,000…
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Mali:13,000 ‘ghost’ workers costing Mali $50 mln
Mali, one of the world’s poorest countries, has identified 13,000 fictitious workers on the state payroll who had cost a total of 30 billion CFA francs ($50 million), according to the information minister. A source in the West African state’s finance ministry told Reuters on Saturday these were mostly workers who had either died or…
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Zimbabwe draft bill says to only issue mining rights to listed companies
Zimbabwe will only issue mining rights to companies listed on the local stock exchange and will not allow the export of raw minerals without ministerial approval, according to a draft mining bill published on Friday. The bill, which has been in the works for more than a decade, will now be sent for debate in…
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Nigeria:Power firms to shut off if bills are not paid
Nigeria’s largest electricity companies will shut down power supplies unless the government pays longstanding bills it owes them and improves gas supplies, a joint statement said on Wednesday. In 2013, Nigeria — famous for blackouts — started selling parts of its moribund state electricity firm, in a privatization that was meant to improve power supplies…
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Kenya:Eurobond yield fall signals confidence in economy
The secondary market yield on Kenya’s 10-year Eurobond has fallen to within 0.4 percentage points of coupon value since the beginning of the year, indicating improved investor confidence in the economy. Data compiled by UK-based investment bank Exotix Partners shows that the yield on the debt currently stands at 7.2 per cent, falling from 8.9…
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Kenya:MPs vow to quash Uhuru veto on interest rates Bill
Members of Parliament yesterday rejected bank executives’ counter-proposals to borrowers meant to stop a law capping interest rates and vowed to marshal the required two thirds majority needed to quash a presidential veto. Led by Jude Njomo, the sponsor of the Bill that seeks to cap interest on loans at not more than four per…
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Banks and tech firms apply blockchain to trade finance
An HSBC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch venture and financial technology firm R3 said separately on Wednesday that they had created ways of using blockchain technology to simplify trade finance processes. The two banks said they had joined with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to emulate a letter of credit (LOC) transaction. Letters…
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HSBC, StanChart help UK banking index recoup post-Brexit losses
Britain’s leading banking index .FTNMX8350 inched higher on Tuesday and recovered, in sterling terms, all of the losses it suffered in the aftermath of June’s landmark vote in which the UK vote to leave the European Union. The FTSE 350 Banks index .FTNMX8350 was up 0.3 percent higher at 3,412.48 points by 0705 GMT (3:05…
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Algeria’s Doors Are Open to American Investors
Algerian ambassador to Washington Madjid Bouguerra said that Algeria’s doors are open to American companies, who should seize the economic opportunities offered by the country. “What we ask from the United States is to ensure that the American business community and American companies have their share of opportunities offered by Algeria,” said the ambassador in…
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Nigerian protesters demand jobs, block entrance to Chevron facility
Protesters blocked the entrance to a Chevron oil facility in Nigeria’s restive Niger Delta on Wednesday, demanding jobs and housing, a protest leader said. “Chevron has not fulfilled many of its promises,” said Collins Edema, a youth and protest leader in the Ugborodo Itsekiri community in Delta state, home to Chevron’s Escravos oil depot. Edema…