South African Inflation Rate Falls to Six-Month Low in March

South African Inflation Rate Falls to Six-Month Low in March

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Market in Africa) – South Africa’s inflation rate fell to a six-month low in March after food prices climbed at the slowest rate in 13 months. Consumer inflation eased to 6.1 percent from 6.3 percent in February, Statistics South Africa said in a report released Wednesday in the capital, Pretoria. The median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 6.3 percent. Prices climbed 0.6 percent in the month. The central bank’s Monetary Policy…

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Nigerian finance minister says country needs to tap its non-oil revenues

Nigerian finance minister says country needs to tap its non-oil revenues

ABUJA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria plans to get out of recession by boosting government revenues and cracking down on corruption, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said on Thursday, and will also issue more international debt to pay for infrasturcture projects. The country is in its second year of recession, brought on by lower oil prices, which have slashed government revenues, weakened the currency and caused dollar shortages frustrating business and households. World Bank chief…

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Ivory Coast slashes budget on low cocoa prices, President Says

Ivory Coast slashes budget on low cocoa prices, President Says

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast has cut planned spending for 2017 by 10 percent due to a sharp drop in world prices of cocoa, its leading export, President Alassane Ouattara said, according to Thursday’s edition of national newspaper Le Patriote. The move is a major concession by a government that has prided itself on its stewardship of the West African country – the world’s biggest cocoa exporter – during its recovery from…

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Nigeria’s Buhari Suspends Top Aides Over Graft Allegations

Nigeria’s Buhari Suspends Top Aides Over Graft Allegations

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari suspended two senior administration officials linked to graft allegations and ordered an investigation, the presidency said. David Lawal, secretary to the government, is being probed for alleged violations of “law and due process” in the award of contracts, presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said Wednesday in an emailed statement. Ayo Oke, head of the National Intelligence Agency, is facing investigation over the discovery of $38 million and other currencies in…

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Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa Rebounds to a Projected 2.6% in 2017

Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa Rebounds to a Projected 2.6% in 2017

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sub-Saharan Africa experienced a slowdown in investment growth from nearly 8% in 2014 to 0.6% in 2015, according to the new Africa’s Pulse, a biannual analysis of the state of African economies conducted by the World Bank. This sluggish investment has coincided with a sharp deceleration in economic growth in Africa, the World Bank said in a report on Wednesday. In this issue of the Africa’s Pulse, a special…

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Kenyan Economy Expands at Fastest Pace in Five Years in 2016

Kenyan Economy Expands at Fastest Pace in Five Years in 2016

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s economy, East Africa’s largest, expanded at the fastest pace in five years in 2016, boosted by more construction and tourism. Gross domestic product increased 5.8 percent last year, the most since 2011, from a revised 5.7 percent in 2015, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Director General Zachary Mwangi told reporters Wednesday in Nairobi, the capital. Expansion could have been more robust had it not been for a sluggish…

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Complexities in Financing Energy Projects in Africa

Complexities in Financing Energy Projects in Africa

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Understanding the need for financing of projects in the African Energy Sector: The power sector is a fundamental building block for economic advancement in any country. Abundant, affordable and reliable energy is the cornerstone of growth in today’s world. The great efforts undertaken by the African States to supply sustainable energy to its people have been well documented in the last number of years, along with a shift from conventional fuels…

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