Economy | - Part 56

Somalia’s GDP growth seen slowing to 2.5 pct in 2017 – IMF

KHARTOUM (Capital Markets in Africa) – Somalia’s economy is expected to slow sharply this year as a drought knocks production in farming, although the impact will be partially offset by a boost from construction and telecommunications, the International Monetary Fund said. In a statement late on Wednesday, the IMF projected the Horn of Africa nation’s gross domestic product would expand 2.5 percent this year down from estimated 3.4 percent in 2016. “The Somali economy is…

Kenya Election May Pose Risk to Economy, Raise Tension, IMF Says

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan elections may hamper the government’s plans to reduce spending in line with requirements under an International Monetary Fund program, the Washington-based lender said. The vote in East Africa’s biggest economy that’s slated for Aug. 8 could “erode program ownership, delay fiscal consolidation plans, and potentially lead to heightened political instability,” the Washington-based lender said in a statement in its first review of the economy under a $1.5 billion precautionary loan arrangement….

Ghana Budget Gap May Double Forecast as $1.6 Billion Hole Found

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s fiscal shortfall could be close to double the forecast for last year, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said a day after the government said it discovered a 7 billion-cedi ($1.6 billion) hole in the budget. The budget deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product could be close to “double digits” for 2016, he said Wednesday in an interview in Accra, the capital. “We’re still in the process of gathering information,”…

South Africa Posts Its Biggest Trade Surplus in Seven Months

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa recorded its biggest trade surplus in seven months in December, narrowing the shortfall for the year and supporting the rand. The 12 billion-rand ($890 million) surplus compares with a revised 1.7 billion-rand shortfall in November, after imports of chemicals and base metals dropped, the Pretoria-based South African Revenue Service said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday. The cumulative deficit for last year was 2.9 billion rand compared with 52.2 billion…

Zambia IMF Talks Seen Shielding Country Amid Trump Risks

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia is asking the International Monetary Fund for March talks over a program that could help buffer it from uncertainties relating to U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and rising rates in that country that will lift borrowing costs for frontier markets, NKC African Economics said. Formal agreement to a technical and financial support package would also help Zambia rein in a ballooning budget deficit that’s pushed up debt, said Irmgard…

Economic Recovery in Nigeria Hobbled by Oil, Currency Policy

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) Nigeria’s economy may struggle to rebound from its worst slump in 25 years unless President Muhammadu Buhari can end an armed conflict in the nation’s oil-producing region and fix a currency policy that’s blocked investment. Pipeline attacks in the Niger River delta cut oil production by a third last year, slashing government revenue, while central bank intervention and trading restrictions that prop up the value of the naira have stymied trade and…

Fitch Revises Nigeria’s Outlook to Negative; Affirms at ‘B+’

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fitch Ratings has revised the Outlook on Nigeria’s Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to Negative from Stable and affirmed the IDRs at ‘B+’. The issue ratings on Nigeria’s senior unsecured foreign currency bonds have also been affirmed at ‘B+’. The Country Ceiling has been affirmed at ‘B+’ and the Short-Term Foreign and Local Currency IDRs have been affirmed at ‘B’. Key Rating Drivers The revision…

« 1 … 54 55 56 57 58 … 89 »