Nigeria cabinet approves $1.3 billion loan for Development Bank of Nigeria

Nigeria cabinet approves $1.3 billion loan for Development Bank of Nigeria

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s cabinet has approved $1.3 billion of loans from international lenders to fund the newly licensed Development Bank of Nigeria, the finance minister said on Wednesday. The money is made up of $500 million from the World Bank, $450 million from the African Development Bank, $200 million from German state bank KfW and $130 million from France’s state development agency, said Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s finance minister. The loan facility is…

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IMF says Nigeria economy needs urgent reform, no FX curbs

IMF says Nigeria economy needs urgent reform, no FX curbs

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Nigeria its economy needs urgent reform in a report published on Wednesday that highlighted the risks to growth for the recession-hit country and the dangers of a volatile foreign exchange market. The document, a report from IMF staff which Reuters saw an earlier version of last month, outlines a raft of failings in Nigeria’s handling of Africa’s largest economy and could affect talks over…

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Fitch: Redenomination Risk and Sovereign Rating Implications

Fitch: Redenomination Risk and Sovereign Rating Implications

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fitch Ratings says that it is not always possible to say categorically that a sovereign debt redenomination into a different currency would be a default, under Fitch’s sovereign rating criteria. The agency would assess such an event on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant information at the time. In response to recent investor enquiries, in a new report Fitch sets out some potential scenarios involving redenomination of…

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IMF Sees Ugandan Growth Rebound in 2017-18 on Infrastructure

IMF Sees Ugandan Growth Rebound in 2017-18 on Infrastructure

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economic growth in Uganda may accelerate in the coming fiscal year, underpinned by government spending on infrastructure and an anticipated recovery in lending to the private sector, according to the International Monetary Fund. The growth rate may increase to 5.5 percent in the 12 months through June 2018, compared with an estimated 4.5 percent this year and 4.8 percent in the prior 12-month period, Clara Mira, IMF’s resident representative…

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South African Treasury Boss Says He Has Requested Early Exit

South African Treasury Boss Says He Has Requested Early Exit

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The head of South Africa’s Treasury, Lungisa Fuzile, said on Wednesday he has asked to leave government in May, one year before his contract expires, but that his departure was unlikely to trigger an exodus of other top officials. He has discussed his departure with Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and may delay his exit if necessary to ensure a smooth transition and preserve the institutional integrity of the Treasury, Fuzile, who is the…

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President Zuma Survives Calls to Quit With Backing From South Africa’s ANC

President Zuma Survives Calls to Quit With Backing From South Africa’s ANC

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma survived calls to resign by winning the support of the ruling party following his decision to fire the finance minister and stack the cabinet with loyalists. The rand weakened. The African National Congress won’t vote against Zuma in a no-confidence motion in parliament that the main opposition parties have requested, Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe told a briefing Wednesday in Johannesburg after a meeting of the ANC’s National Working Committee….

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Facebook Offers Free Wifi Hotspots to Sustain Nigeria, Kenya Customer Growth

Facebook Offers Free Wifi Hotspots to Sustain Nigeria, Kenya Customer Growth

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Facebook Inc. has increased the number of its African users to 170 million and plans to expand further by adding wifi hotspots and laying fiber-optic cables in a bid to spread its reach outside of developed markets. The figure is 42 percent higher than when the U.S. social network first opened an African office in 2015, Carolyn Everson, vice president of global marketing, said in an interview in Johannesburg on Tuesday….

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