Category: INTERNATIONAL
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South Africa’s Joffe bows out as Bidcorp executive to list new firm
South Africa’s Brian Joffe will step down as executive chairman of foodservice group Bidcorp at the end of June to launch his own investment firm, Bidcorp said on Monday. Bidcorp was spun out of Bidvest in a $5 billion listing, South Africa’s largest in 2016, on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange in May last year. Joffe,…
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Rand weakens on cabinet reshuffle reports, as S.A’s FinMin agrees to return from investor roadshow
Following a directive from the President Jacob Zuma, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and National Treasury Director General Lungisa Fuzile are preparing to return tonight from the UK and are expected to arrive in South Africa tomorrow morning, a Treasury statement revealed. The rand which was at a 2015 high this morning tumbled more than 2…
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Treasury’s Sh20bn KQ loan terms alarm MPs
Kenyan taxpayers are facing the prospect of paying a Sh20 billion ($200 million) debt next year when a government-backed short-term loan advanced to national carrier Kenya Airways matures. Members of Parliament have flagged the loan as a big risk to the stability of public finances as it has to be fully repaid in one lump…
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South Africa suspends some meat imports from Brazil
South Africa has suspended some meat imports from Brazil citing a scandal in the South American country’s meat processing industry, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said on Wednesday. Police in Brazil has launched raids to investigate alleged bribes paid to conceal unsanitary conditions in Brazil’s meatpacking facilities. China and Canada also suspended some…
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Govt planning law to guide counties on revenue collection
The government is developing a national legislation to guide counties on revenue collection. This follows complaints that some devolved units had come up with prohibitive taxes that have scared away investors. The guide is meant to check on the unnecessary levies that are way above what the business community can afford and remain in business.…
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Interest rate caps erode bank valuations in buyouts
The capping of interest rates has hurt bank deals, with more lenders now being acquired at prices lower than their book value to reflect relatively weaker earnings outlook. Habib Bank, which is set to be fully acquired by DTB Bank, is the latest lender to be taken over at a price equivalent to 0.77 times…
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Uganda says seeking $500 mn loan from China for roads
Uganda says it has asked China for a $500 million loan to help build almost 600 km (360 miles) of roads in the country’s oil-rich west, amid criticism over heavy borrowing that has ballooned the country’s debt. Uganda has discovered an estimated 6.5 billion barrels of crude reserves on its Albertine rift basin along the…
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Nigeria naira at six-month high on black market
The Nigerian naira gained 1.1 percent to a six-month high of 430 per dollar on the black market on Wednesday, traders said. The central bank has been intervening on the official market to try to narrow the currency spread with the black market rate, which was 520 to the dollar a month ago. The naira…
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Nigeria: Oil Firm, Oranto Invests $500 Million in South Sudan Oil Block
Nigerian independent, Oranto Petroleum, said it is investing $500 million to develop South Sudan’s Block B3, launching a comprehensive exploration campaign starting immediately. The Ministry of Petroleum and Oranto Petroleum Company, South Sudan signed the exploration and production sharing agreement, EPSA, for the block last week in the capital city of Juba. The B3 area…
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Kenya Power says 1m customers on prepaid meters are not paying
Electricity distributor Kenya Power says 940,668 customers connected to the national grid have not loaded their meters for months. This makes them “zero vend” customers, which refers to prepaid meters installed but have not yet purchased any tokens. Kenya Power acting managing director Ken Tarus on Monday attributed the idle prepaid meters to low consumption…