Economy

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya has resumed servicing loans owed to China after Beijing’s six-month debt-repayment suspension expired in June, piling pressure on the exchequer. The government began 2021-22 remittances, with the first batch to the Export–Import Bank of China amounting to 82.7 billion shillings ($761 million), according to Kenya’s Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o. Repayments are for debt taken for projects, including a railroad between Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and the port city of Mombasa,…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigeria’s current trend of spending more money on running the government than on building new infrastructure is unsustainable, the country’s top budget oversight official said. Low revenue collection and high recurrent costs have resulted in actual capital expenditure below two trillion naira ($4.88 billion) a year for a decade, Ben Akabueze, director-general of the Budget Office, said Tuesday in a virtual presentation. “Hence, the investments required to bridge the infrastructure…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Stable Outlook but Risks to Public Finances Fitch Ratings expects that Ghana’s general government debt will continue to rise in 2021 and 2022 due to high pandemic-related spending and the realisation of energy sector liabilities. In our base case, we expect debt to plateau at about 75% of GDP from 2024. Fitch affirmed Ghana’s sovereign rating (B/Stable) in October 2020, on an expectation of a gradual recovery, both in…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The International Monetary Fund upgraded its global economic growth forecast for the second time in three months, while warning about widening inequality and a divergence between advanced and lesser-developed economies. The global economy will expand 6% this year, up from the 5.5% pace estimated in January, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday. That would be the most in four decades of data, coming after…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigeria has managed to get the virus under control, for now at least, enabling the government to lift most lockdown restrictions. This, together with easing OPEC production cuts, has supported a gradual pick-up in output. The recovery, however, remains fragile, with uncertainty around the vaccine rollout and ongoing foreign exchange restrictions posing downside risks. We now expect the economy to rebound 2.4% this year, with GDP growth expanding by…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Oil rebounded, following a sell-off on Tuesday, as investors assessed the impact of a blockage in the Suez Canal and European manufacturing data beat expectations. Futures in New York added as much as 3.4% after a ship ran aground, giving the market a reprieve after prices sank to the lowest level since early February. Despite efforts to move the vessel, it could block the route for days, according to people…