Once Bitter Foes, Ethiopia, Eritrea Promise `Bridge of Love’

Once Bitter Foes, Ethiopia, Eritrea Promise `Bridge of Love’

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a declaration of peace and agreed to re-establish key economic links after an unprecedented summit between the Horn of Africa nations’ leaders that marked the end of almost two decades of strife. The announcements by an Eritrean official and the Ethiopian state-owned broadcaster Fana followed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit to the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Sunday for talks with President Isaias Afwerki and their decision to…

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Ethiopian Ruling Party Picks Leader From Protest-Hit Region

Ethiopian Ruling Party Picks Leader From Protest-Hit Region

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ethiopia’s ruling coalition appointed a top official from the protest-hit Oromia region as leader, as the government tries to quell unrest that’s posed the biggest challenge to its rule in a quarter-century. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front chose Abiy Ahmed, 42, a retired lieutenant general and recently appointed chairman of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization, to succeed Hailemariam Desalegn. Abiy is now expected to be voted in by…

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Tillerson Heads to Africa With Security, Not Aid, as Focus

Tillerson Heads to Africa With Security, Not Aid, as Focus

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson begins his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa with a pledge to help shore up trade, civic freedom and good governance in countries that President Donald Trump has harshly criticized. Tillerson arrived on the continent Wednesday with the Trump administration advocating cuts of more than a third in aid to African countries and programs, along with deep reductions to global health initiatives. With several U.S. allies struggling to…

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Strikes Spread in Restive Ethiopia Region Before Tillerson Visit

Strikes Spread in Restive Ethiopia Region Before Tillerson Visit

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Strikes protesting Ethiopia’s state of emergency spread across the restive Oromia region ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’sarrival for talks with the Horn of Africa nation’s embattled government. The closing of shops and roads by members of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group is the latest sign of discontent in Oromia state, where unrest has prompted the country’s second state of emergency in two years. Tillerson is due in…

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ETHIOPIA: Ratings affirmed on strong growth prospects

ETHIOPIA: Ratings affirmed on strong growth prospects

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Moody’s Investors Service affirmed Ethiopia’s long-term issuer rating and senior unsecured rating at ‘B1’ with a ‘stable’ outlook. It said that the ratings are supported by the country’s very strong growth potential, and expectations of narrow fiscal deficits and low public debt levels. In contrast, it noted that the ratings are constrained by contingent liabilities from state-owned enterprises (SOEs), structural shortages of US dollars and elevated political risks….

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Opposition Party Sees Opening as Ethiopia Government Vows Reform

Opposition Party Sees Opening as Ethiopia Government Vows Reform

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – An Ethiopian opposition party whose chairman was freed after more than a year in prison plans to step up its political activity as the Horn of Africa nation’s government pledges greater openness in the wake of mass protests. The Oromo Federalist Congress will open an initial 20 offices in the Oromia region and “start to organize our people,” Chairman Merera Gudina said in an interview in the capital,…

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Selected Capital Markets, Economic and Political News Around Africa

Selected Capital Markets, Economic and Political News Around Africa

Ethiopia Devalues Birr by 15%, Increases Interest Rate: Ethiopia devalues birr by 15% from Oct. 11, Fana Broadcasting Corp. reports, citing National Bank of Ethiopia Deputy Governor Yohannes Ayalew. Dollar will exchange for 26.9303 birr. Drop in global commodity prices has hurt nation’s export earnings from coffee, oil seeds, leather, gold. Interest rate will increase to 7% from 5% Mozambique’s Zandamela Says FX Reserves, Exchange Rate Stable: The exchange rate of the Mozambican currency, the…

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