Finance

CHAD (Capital Markets in Africa) – A unit of Exxon Mobil Corp. has temporarily shut in production in Chad after its facilities were attacked over ongoing talks to sell the business to London-based Savannah Energy. Workers have been protesting while in negotiation with the leadership of Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc. about their remuneration package ahead of the proposed sale, Tchad Infos reported Wednesday. “For the safety and security of our employees and contractors,…

HARARE (Capital Martkets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s state electricity utility is in talks to invest in hydropower plants in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique, or alternatively buy their output to ease crippling energy shortages. The southern African nation has an installed generation capacity of 2,100 megawatts, but on average generates less than two two-thirds of that. While it already imports electricity from neighboring countries, outages remain commonplace. Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority “is pursuing opportunities…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is yet to receive supplies of 30 million coronavirus vaccines that it ordered and paid for, the country’s finance minister said Friday. “We have paid for vaccines, the supplies are not coming,” Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “The donations that have been pledged to us are trickling in.”  Africa’s most populous country has only been able to give the Covid-19 jabs to 4 million…

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s president swore in a government with loyalists taking up key positions in the finance and the interior ministries, his latest step to reshape the country after suspending parliament more than two months ago. The moves come after President Kais Saied sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament in July, saying he acted to save the country from economic and political mismanagement. Opponents called it a coup. The political crisis has…

JOHANNEBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African business sentiment dropped to a one-year low in September as economic activity continued to be hamstrung by restrictions to curb the coronavirus pandemic and unease persisted following deadly riots in July. A confidence index compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry dropped to 91, from 91.9 in August, the group said Monday in an emailed statement. While that’s the lowest since September 2020, the…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The pound is breaking the time-honored tradition that higher interest rates will mean a stronger currency, as growth and inflation fears take their toll.  U.K. two-year yields climbed this week to the highest since the start of the pandemic, buoyed by traders’ ramped-up expectations for Bank of England rate hikes in 2022. Yet the pound fell to a year-to-date low and suffered the most volatility since March — a sign that…