Tanzania Leader Appoints Tax Specialist Central Bank Chief

Tanzania Leader Appoints Tax Specialist Central Bank Chief

DAR ES SALAAM (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tanzanian President John Magufuli named Florens Luoga, a tax-law expert, as the new head of the central bank as the East African nation’s leader seeks to overhaul the country’s natural-resources industry. In July, Magufuli appointed Luoga as chairman of the Tanzania Revenue Authority board. He’s been a deputy vice chancellor at the University of Dar es Salaam since 2014, according to the academic institution’s website. “We had a…

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Global Central Banks Can’t Ignore the Bitcoin Boom, BIS Says

Global Central Banks Can’t Ignore the Bitcoin Boom, BIS Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s central banks can’t ignore the growth in cryptocurrencies and may at some point have to consider whether it makes sense for them to issue their own digital currencies, according to the Bank for International Settlements. “Whether or not a central bank should provide a digital alternative to cash is most pressing in countries, such as Sweden, where cash usage is rapidly declining,” the BIS said in its quarterly review….

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Ghana to cut interest rates May 22, Nigeria, S/Africa, Kenya to hold

Ghana to cut interest rates May 22, Nigeria, S/Africa, Kenya to hold

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Bank of Ghana will extend its interest rate-easing cycle on Monday to give its economy a boost but other major African central banks will keep rates stable after a commodity price slump, a Reuters poll found. Ghana’s central bank cut its high prime rate by 200 basis points to 23.5 percent in March and is expected to chop another 100 basis points on Monday, according to the median…

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South Africa to Stick to Low Inflation Plan, Central Bank Says

South Africa to Stick to Low Inflation Plan, Central Bank Says

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African inflation is under control and the central bank will maintain a policy to keep it low to protect the poor and ease inequality, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. Pursuing other priorities, such as reducing unemployment, has been shown in other countries to cause “widespread economic damage,” Kganyago said in a speech at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the coastal city of Durban on Tuesday. The central bank expects price…

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Tunisia central bank to steadily weaken dinar, finance minister says

Tunisia central bank to steadily weaken dinar, finance minister says

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s central bank will reduce its interventions so the value of the dinar steadily declines, but it will prevent a dramatic slide in the currency, the finance minister said on Tuesday. The strategy is part of Tunisia’s talks on reforms with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF is pushing Tunisia to overhaul its finances and reduce public spending, especially public-sector wages, where spending is among the highest in the…

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Central Banks in Africa Keep Rates Amidst Fed Rate Hike in March

Central Banks in Africa Keep Rates Amidst Fed Rate Hike in March

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) –  Tanzania’s central bank cut its discount rate to 12percent from 16 percent on Monday 6th March 2017, to help spur lending and boost economic growth, the first time it has lowered borrowing costs since 2013. The cut, which the central bank said in a circular to commercial banks becomes effective on Monday, follows a steep drop in private sector credit growth last year. “The discount rate which is applicable…

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Too Soon to Call South Africa Rate-Hike Cycle End, Kganyago Says

Too Soon to Call South Africa Rate-Hike Cycle End, Kganyago Says

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank can’t yet call the end of its interest rate-increase cycle, even as the risks to inflation have eased since the Monetary Policy Committee’s January meeting, Governor Lesetja Kganyagosaid. “It’s too early for me to make the call as to whether we are still on the tightening cycle or not,” Kganyago said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Jonathan Ferro. “We can’t say that” the increased cycle is…

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