Category: INTERNATIONAL
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CBK signals end to licensing freeze with nod for Dubai bank
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) yesterday signalled its intention to lift the moratorium it had imposed on the licensing of new banks, saying it had started processing one local and one foreign application to set up operations. The CBK said it would finalise its approval of DIB Bank Kenya owned by UAE’s largest Islamic…
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Op-Ed: S.A’s telecoms policy will stunt economic growth and stagnate technological development
Who benefits from South Africa’s proposed ICT Policy? Is it “radical economic transformation” or something that will benefit “white Capital”? The introduction to the National Integrated ICT Policy White Paper refers to The National Development Plan: 2030: “By 2030, ICT will underpin the development of a dynamic and connected information society and a vibrant knowledge…
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Zimbabwe wants to continue importing power from South Africa
Zimbabwe is negotiating a new deal to continue importing power from South African utility Eskom to make up for shortfalls in generating capacity at its Kariba hydropower station, the energy minister said on Monday. In January last year, Eskom agreed a one-year deal to sell up to 300 megawatts of capacity to Zimbabwe, which was…
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Uganda: Libyans Pull Out of UTL, Uganda Govt Takes Over
Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) that has been limping for years, will be rescued by government, that will take over its full management immediately. Minister for Finance Matia Kasaija confirmed that Libyan company UCOM, a subsidiary of majority shareholders Libyan Post, Telecommunication and Information Technology Holding Company (LPTIC), would no longer be able to finance UTL.…
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Nigeria:Goldfields CEO predicts drop in Q1 output at South Deep mine
Nigeria’s telecoms regulator and central bank governor intervened on Thursday to try and help Etisalat Nigeria resolve debt restructuring talks with its lenders after the company missed a payment on a $1.2 billion loan. A banking source told Reuters on Wednesday that the Nigerian affiliate of Abu Dhabi-listed telecoms company Etisalat had given notice to…
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Nigeria central bank governor defends policy of limiting imports
Hard currency curbs imposed by Nigeria’s central bank have helped boost local food production, central bank governor Godwin Emefiele was quoted as saying by two newspapers on Sunday. Entrepreneurs have criticized a halt to hard currency allocations by the central bank for the import of almost 700 goods to prop up the naira hammered by…
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Kenya sinks Sh2 billion into New York consulate
Kenya has acquired a Sh2 billion office space in New York as part of a plan that will see taxpayers shoulder a Sh6.9 billion burden over the next three years to buy properties for the country’s diplomats and embassies in different world capitals. The Foreign Affairs ministry made the purchase public through documents tabled in…
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Nigeria stocks at 1-month high after Buhari return from UK medical leave
Nigerian equities hit a one-month high shortly after the stock market opened for trade on Friday following President Muhammadu Buhari’s return home from an extended medical leave in Britain. Stocks rose 1.29 percent at 0936 GMT to levels last seen in February, according to Thomson Reuters data. Stocks, which are down 6.3 percent on the…
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Kenya:Sh384 million for swearing in President not in Budget
The cash for swearing in the President after the August 8 General Election is missing in the national budget for the year starting July, State House has revealed. State House reckons that the Treasury has not factored in Sh384.25 million for the occasion and is lobbying Parliament for the millions to be included in its…
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Oil looms large over Saudi king’s Asia tour
King Salman’s massive entourage has been stealing the show on his tour of Asia, but oil, money and geopolitics are driving the Saudi leader’s month-long journey. Asia’s growing economies are a big deal for Saudi Arabia, which is trying to wean itself off a dependence on oil. “As Saudi looks to the future, Asia of…