The Editorial Team |

Nigeria Food-to-Logistics Company UAC Joins Naira Complaints

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: UAC of Nigeria Plc, an investor in foods, logistics and real-estate services in Africa’s largest economy, said the central bank’s delays in announcing details of a more flexible foreign-exchange system are holding back business decisions because of confusion over future costs. “They should have done it yesterday, rather than tomorrow,” Larry Ettah, UAC’s chief executive officer, said in an interview Wednesday in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. “We are hopeful that…

Informal Sector on Tax Radar as East Africa Boosts Spending

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa: Governments in East Africa will levy more tax on their informal sectors as they seek to accelerate growth through increased spending, while economies slow in other parts of the continent. Kenya will reintroduce a new tool to collect revenue from hard-to-tax parts of the economy, Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich announced in his budget speech on Wednesday. His counterpart in Uganda also set out plans to improve compliance in the informal sector….

Egypt Approves Tougher Penalties on Black Market Dollar Traders

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa: Egypt approved tougher measures against illegal foreign currency traders as authorities seek to ease dollar shortages that are contributing to economic weakness. The government increased jail time for black market trading to as long as 10 years and raised fines, the cabinet said in an e-mailed statement. Other amendments to the central bank law give the governor the authority to suspend currency bureaus’ licenses and impose fines for violations. The…

Investment | Glencore Sells Agri Stake to Canadian Fund for $625 Million

Posted on by The Editorial Team

South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Glencore Plc agreed to sell just-under a 10 percent stake in its agriculture unit to Canada’s British Columbia Investment Management Corp. for $624.9 million in cash as it continues to cut debt. The commodities trader and miner, which sold a 40 percent stake in the business to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $2.5 billion in April, will retain a majority 50.01 percent stake, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The agreement takes the value…

Selling Dollars Instead of Lanterns Highlights Egypt Crunch

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa: Above the counter at Manal’s electrical store in Cairo are the lanterns and string lights that will illuminate homes during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan that began this week. Below it are dollar bills destined for the black market. The businesswoman is the kind of opportunist currency dealer authorities targeted in March when they devalued the pound and raised interest rates to draw dollars into a formal economy starved…

World’s Top Energy Exporter Isn’t Counting on Oil Rally to Hold

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Russia isn’t buying into the optimism that a rally in oil has legs. Supply disruptions including Canadian wildfires and militant attacks in OPEC member Nigeria have driven prices higher, with the improving outlook for crude not grounded in fundamentals, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a government meeting in Moscow on Thursday. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at the same event that the situation was reminiscent of a rebound in the second quarter of last…

World Bank Slashes Nigeria and South Africa 2016 Growth Forecast

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: The World Bank cut Nigeria’s economic growth forecast for this year, citing weakness from oil-output disruptions and low prices. The lender, in its semi-annual Global Economic Prospects report, said Africa’s biggest economy is expected to grow 0.8 percent, down from an estimate of 4.6 percent in January. Growth is projected to pick up to 3.5 percent in 2017, it said. Furthermore, forecast South Africa’s economy to expand 1.1% in 2017,…

« 1 … 889 890 891 892 893 … 1,077 »