The Editorial Team

Priciest Food Since 1970s Is a Big Challenge for Governments

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Global food prices were up 33% in August from a year earlier with vegetable oil, grains and meat on the rise, data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization show. And it’s not likely to get better as extreme weather, soaring freight and fertilizer costs, shipping bottlenecks and labor shortages compound the problem. Dwindling foreign currency reserves are also hampering the ability of some nations to import food….

Ghana Economy Expands 3.9% in Second Quarter on Services Growth

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economic growth accelerated in Ghana in the second quarter, helped by the reopening of the nation’s hotels and restaurants that boosted output in the services industry. Gross domestic product expanded 3.9% from a year earlier, compared with 3.1% in the three months through March, Government Statistician Samuel Kobina Annim told reporters Wednesday in the capital, Accra. The economy grew 0.9% from the previous quarter. Growth was “driven mainly by…

Kenya Raises Cost of Gasoline to the Highest in 10 Years

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya increased the cost of gasoline to the highest in a decade after authorities decided not to tap a fund meant to keep prices stable and as the local currency weakened. The price of gasoline jumped 6% to 134.72 shillings ($1.23) per liter in the nation’s capital, Nairobi, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority announced in a statement on Tuesday. The new rates will be effective for a month…

Revived Enron Unit Loses Appeal to Claim Nigerian Yacht Proceeds

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A U.S. court dismissed an appeal by a former unit of Enron Corp. that tried to stake a claim to the proceeds from the sale of a luxury yacht to settle a debt it’s owed by Nigeria’s government. Federal judges upheld a decision made last year that allowed the American government to assume ownership of $37 million generated from the auction of the Galactica Star, according to a ruling…

Shell’s Sale of Nigeria Assets Faces Dollar-Crunch Challenge

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s lenders likely don’t have enough dollars to fund clients seeking to acquire oil assets put on sale by the local unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the country’s biggest lender said. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc doesn’t see the likelihood of any client raising the estimated $2.3 billion needed to purchase the Shell assets, said Segun Agbaje, CEO of the financial group that owns the lender. Such a deal would require a…

New Coal Power Stations Are Cut Off From Funding by FirstRand

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by market value, is ending its funding of new coal-fired power stations immediately and will halt the financing of new projects to mine the fuel over the next five years.The Johannesburg-based lender joins its peer Nedbank Group Ltd. in making such commitments as pressure mounts on banks to shun fossil-fuel lending from investors and activists. While South Africa’s largest banks are reducing their exposure to activities…

Covid Variants Risk Rises in S. Africa With Biggest HIV Epidemic

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa): The world’s biggest number of HIV cases is complicating South Africa’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic, raising the risk of more mutated versions emerging and spreading across the globe.Many of the country’s 8.2 million HIV-infected people are immuno-compromised and scientists say they can harbor the coronavirus for longer, allowing it to mutate as it reproduces. A study of an HIV positive 36-year-old woman showed that Covid-19 stayed in her…

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