Economic Growth |

IMF says rising debt, political risk dim sub-Saharan Africa’s economic outlook

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economic growth is expected to rise to 3.4 percent in sub-Saharan Africa next year from 2.6 percent in 2017, the IMF said in a report on Monday, but warned that rising debt and political risks in larger economies would weigh down future growth. Nigeria and South Africa are the biggest economies in Africa south of the Sahara, but both nations have been clouded by political uncertainty linked to the…

Drawn-Out Vote in Kenya Increased Risks for Investors, IMF Says

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s election rerun is raising the country’s risk profile among investors and weighing down already sluggish economic growth, theInternational Monetary Fund said. “The prolonged election period has increased risks for investors and traders,” Jan Mikkelsen, the Washington-based lender’s new resident representative in Kenya, said in an emailed response to questions. “This in turn has led to a slowdown in economic activity.” The IMF has lowered its 2017 economic growth forecast for…

World Bank Says Africa GDP Rebound Inadequate to Tackle Poverty

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rebound in sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth is insufficient to meaningfully reduce poverty, the World Bank said. Gross domestic product in the region will probably expand by 2.4 percent in 2017, the Washington-based lender said in an emailed copy of its Africa Pulse report on Wednesday. While that’s down from the World Bank’s April forecast of 2.6 percent, it’s an improvement on the two-decade low growth rate of 1.3…

Weak South Africa Growth May Allow for Lower Rate, Bank Says

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s weak economic growth may provide some scope for lower interest rates, the central bank said. “With near-zero growth and a negative output gap, there is some limited scope for lower interest rates to have positive counter-cyclical effects,” the South African Reserve Bank said in its Monetary Policy Review Wednesday. The central bank left its key rate unchanged at 6.75 percent on Sept. 22 as it assessed risks to the rand…

South Africa Budget Gap May Grow to 4.5% on Less Tax, Bank Says

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s budget deficit could swell to more than what the government forecast in February as tax revenue falls short of expectations, the central bank said. Tax revenue in the fiscal first quarter that ended June 30 was 13 billion rand ($956 million) behind target, the South African Revenue Service said last month. Should collection continue to fall short of estimates, it would be more than 40 billion rand, or…

Kenyan Growth Slows as Farming Shrinks for First Time Since 2009

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economic growth in Kenya slowed in the first quarter, crimped by the first contraction in agricultural output in eight years and a slowdown in bank lending. Gross domestic product in East Africa’s largest economy grew 4.7 percent from a year earlier in the three months through March, compared with 5.8 percent reported in the previous quarter, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on its website. Kenya’s rain-fed…

Kenya to Lower Growth Forecast as Drought Cuts Food Output

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya will cut its growth forecast to reflect the impact of a drought that slashed agricultural output in East Africa’s biggest economy and left the country short of its staple food, Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich said. Economic growth will probably be 5.7 percent this year, compared with an earlier estimate of 5.9 percent to 6 percent, Rotich, 48, said in an interview Wednesday at his office in the capital, Nairobi. The…

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