NAIROBI (Reuters) – The Monetary Policy Committee of Kenya’s central bank will meet to set lending rates on May 29, the bank said on Wednesday.

The policymakers held the bank’s benchmark lending rate at 10.0 percent at the last meeting in March.

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri)

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CAIRO, May 3 (Reuters) – Egyptian private-sector activity shrank at the slowest pace in nine months in April as output and new orders continued to decline, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The Emirates NBD Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the non-oil private sector stood at 47.4 points, up from 45.9 in March but remaining below the 50 point mark separating growth from contraction for the 19th month in a row.

New orders continued to decline but at a slower pace, with the related subindex reaching 46.3 points in April compared with 43.8 points the previous month.

New export orders grew for the first time in almost two years, at 51 points in April from 48.9 points in the previous month.

Egypt has struggled to revive its economy since a popular uprising in 2011 drove away investors and tourists, hitting inflows of foreign currency it needs to import raw materials and jumpstart its domestic industries.

It allowed its currency to float freely on exchange markets on Nov. 3, in a bid to unlock foreign currency inflows and encourage exports of Egyptian products.

“The slower pace of deterioration in the headline Egypt PMI… reinforces the perception that after bottoming in Q4 2016 the economic situation in Egypt is beginning to stabilize,” said

Tim Fox, Head of Research and Chief Economist at Emirates NBD.

“As well as being the strongest overall reading in nine months, particular comfort can be taken from the fact that the new export orders index grew for the first time in nearly two years, which is likely to reflect the positive impact of a weaker exchange rate,” he added.

Output levels reached 46.2 points in April, up from 44 points in March.

“The rate of decrease (in output) eased to the slowest in nine months, but was marked overall. A number of monitored firms attributed the fall in activity to weak underlying demand and unfavourable economic conditions,” said Markit, which compiled the data.

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By Tom Miles

GENEVA (Reuters) – South Africa is proposing to put emergency “safeguard” tariffs on imports of certain flat hot-rolled steel products from July, it said in a filing published by the World Trade Organization on Thursday.

The tariff would be in place for three years, and fall from 12 percent in the first year to 10 percent in the second year and 8 percent in the third, it said.

South Africa said the proposal was based on a final determination by its International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) that domestic production had suffered serious damage from an unforeseen surge in imports.

The analysis of damage to the domestic industry was based on information from AcelorMittal South Africa Limited, which constituted more than 70 percent of total domestic production of the affected products, it said.

ITAC began investigating the case for safeguard tariffs in March 2016.

South Africa offered to consult with other WTO members on the proposed tariff. Many developing countries are exempt from the tariff, but imports from major producers such as China and India would be covered by it.

In a separate case, South Africa had also been considering putting a 10 percent safeguard tariff on cold-rolled steel.

Last November, South Africa said ITAC had made a preliminary determination that safeguard tariffs would be justified.

But earlier this week South Africa told a WTO committee meeting that ITAC had recommended ending the investigation into cold-rolled steel, according to a trade official who attended the meeting.

South Africa’s representative told the WTO meeting that ITAC’s decision was not final and the government still needed to consider comments from all parties, the trade official said.

Emergency tariffs are used against an unforeseen surge of imports that threatens domestic producers. They are allowed under WTO rules but have to be notified to the WTO and justified by data, and can be challenged by other WTO members.

(Reporting by Tom Miles, editing by David Evans and Jane Merriman)

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Russia’s Norilsk Nickel said on Friday it had filed a lawsuit against the government of Botswana to try to recoup $271 million plus damages it says it is owed from the aborted sale of a 50 percent stake in the Nkomati mine in South Africa.

Botswana’s state-run BCL Mine pulled out of a 3 billion pula ($281 million) deal in October last year to buy a 50 percent stake in Nkomati Nickel Mine from Norilsk due to lack of funds.

Norilsk said in a statement it had served a notice of proceedings on the attorney general of Botswana, the minister of mineral resources and the minister of finance.

The mining company said that funding for the deal would come from or be guaranteed by the government but the state had made no effort to complete the deal.

“The government has displayed a complete disregard for the fair, frank and reasonable dealing with outsiders which BCL’s insolvent circumstances demanded,” Norilsk Nickel Africa CEO Michael Marriott said in a statement.

Norilsk had previously also filed a lawsuit in December 2016 against the BCL Group, saying it had failed to honour its obligations under the sale agreement.

Botswana officials were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Ed Stoddard and Adrian Croft)

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NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s central bank said on Friday it had issued a licence to DIB Bank Kenya Ltd, a unit of United Arab Emirates-based Dubai Islamic Bank, to operate in the east African nation.

“DIB intends to exclusively offer shariah-compliant banking services in Kenya,” the Central Bank of Kenya said in a statement. “DIB’s entry will expand the offerings in the market, particularly in the nascent shariah-compliant banking niche.”

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)

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HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe has met all conditions to clear arrears to the World Bank and African Development Bank, paving the way for possible future funding from the International Monetary Fund, its finance minister said on Thursday.

The southern African nation in October last year cleared its 15-year-old financial arrears with the IMF, in a major step towards its first loan programme with the Fund since 1999.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in a statement that facilities negotiated by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to repay the $1.75 billion arrears had been “scrutinised and scrutinised” by the World Bank and AfDB, who were satisfied.

“Clearance of debt arrears is expected to open the door to foreign finance inflows and possible debt treatment by the Paris Club and non-Paris Club Bilateral Creditors through an IMF financing programme,” Chinamasa said.

He did not give details on where cash-strapped Zimbabwe had obtained the money to clear the arrears.

President Robert Mugabe’s government is struggling with dwindling foreign exchange inflows and acute shortages of cash that meant that banks have been limiting withdrawals.

Without foreign funding, the government has relied on tax inflows to support its budget, 90 percent of which goes towards paying its civil service.

(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

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