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Ivory Coast set for GDP growth of 9.8% in 2016

21 January 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast’s economy will grow by 9.8 percent this year, up from 9.5 percent in 2015, Budget Minister Abdourahmane Cisse said during a news conference on Thursday.

The world’s top cocoa grower, and French-speaking West Africa’s largest economy, has averaged growth of around 9 percent over the past four years, according to the government, as its economy has rebounded from a decade of political turmoil and civil war. The International Monetary Fund last year predicted average growth of 8.4 percent in 2015 and 2016.

(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Joe Bavier)

Kenya’s current account deficit to fall: central bank

21 January 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s current account deficit will fall in 2015 and 2016 and the country’s economy will be supported by macroeconomic stability and low oil prices, its central bank governor said on Thursday.

Patrick Njoroge said the current account deficit was forecast to fall to 8.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2015, from 10.4 percent the year before, and narrow further in 2016.

The currency of the East African country is expected to remain stable after losing 11 percent of its value against the dollar in 2015, he told a news conference.

“We are now closer to the fundamentals,” he said, citing the narrowing current account deficit.

The central bank kept its benchmark lending rate at 11.5 percent on Wednesday, saying its current stance was adequate to dampen inflation.

Njoroge said that high commercial bank lending rates, at above 17 percent in December, were “troubling” but that liquidity was now evenly distributed among banks after getting skewed following the collapse of one bank.

Njoroge said he was open to “real” dialogue with shareholders of Imperial Bank – under receivership since October – and reiterated the fate of the bank will be clearer in March.

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Writing by George Obulutsa; editing by Edith Honan and Toby Chopra)

South Africa’s Finmin says new investment law no ‘deal-breaker’

21 January 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan on Thursday defended a controversial investment law, saying investors had nothing to fear.

Pretoria let bilateral treaties agreed with European nations shortly before the end of apartheid lapse in 2013, triggering concern among foreign investors over whether the replacement law will offer the same protections.

President Jacob Zuma signed the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill into law last month. The law would come into force on a date yet to proclaimed by Zuma.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, reappointed last month after a bungled cabinet reshuffle, told 702 Talk Radio investors would be adequately protected.

“I don’t think it should be a deal-breaker because we provide world-class investment protection,” Gordhan is qouted as saying.

The law rolls over existing guarantees against state seizure of assets from a raft of individual, 20-year old treaties but removes the explicit possibility of recourse to international arbitration in the event of a dispute.

European nations affected by the lapse in bilateral treaties include Germany, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland.

Europe accounts for around three-quarters of all foreign direct investment in South Africa, although Pretoria has been pushing hard to attract capital from other big emerging markets such as China.

(Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng; Editing by Kim Coghill)

South Africa’s Kumba Iron Ore tells union to brace for lay-offs

20 January 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Australia, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Kumba Iron Ore has told South Africa’s National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) it will issue lay-off notices this year if low prices persist for the steel-making ingredient, the union’s general secretary said on Wednesday.

“The price has put them in dire straights and there is a prospect of them issuing a Section 189 notice at Sishen mine,” NUM General Secretary David Sipunzi told Reuters.

He was referring to the regulatory process South African employers must follow before they lay off staff.

“They have been trying to sensitise us to this possibility. If the price remains like this for a few months they will have no choice but to issue a Section 189,” he said.

Officials from Kumba were not immediately available for comment.

The group has said it plans to reconfigure its Sishen mine, the largest iron ore operation in Africa, and was targeting 2016 production there of 26 million tonnes, down from a previous guidance of 36 million tonnes.

Lay-offs are a politically thorny issue in South Africa, where the jobless rate is around 25 percent and local elections are expected this year. The NUM is also a key political ally of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

Sipunzi said he expected to see more lay-off notices this year from other sectors but the union wanted to work with companies to find ways to minimise job cuts.

In line with other commodities, prices for iron ore have been sliding due to oversupply and and slowing economic growth in China, the world’s bigest metals consumer.

Mining giant BHP Billiton said on Wednesday that it saw no recovery in iron ore or coal prices in the next few years.

(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)

Anglo American to sell Australian Callide coal mine

20 January 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Global mining firm Anglo American will sell its Callide coal mine in Australia to Batchfire Resources, it said on Wednesday.

“The transaction will be effected via a sale of shares in the subsidiary companies holding Anglo American’s interest in Callide,” the company said in a statement.

Anglo said the terms of the deal were confidential.

The company announced a major restructuring in December, saying it would offload three-fifths of its assets as it attempts to tackle sliding commodities prices.

Callide, an open pit thermal coal mine that produced 5.6 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2015, is one of four Australian coal mines the company plans to sell.

Anglo announced last month it would sell its majority interest in Dartbrook coal mine to Australian Pacific Coal Ltd in a deal worth up to A$50 million ($34 million).

The company is scheduled to give more details on its future global portfolio in February.

The overhaul at Anglo American highlights the scale of the fallout from the commodities slide, which is forcing mining companies across the board to cut jobs, investment and costs.

($1 = 1.4571 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; editing by Susan Thomas)

Zambia’s kwacha weakens on low dollar supply

19 January 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia’s kwacha weakened more than 1 percent on Tuesday on tight dollar supply, sending the currency of Africa’s second-largest copper producer down 1.25 percent to 11.25 per dollar by 1302 GMT.

“Scant dollar inflows continue being snapped up by interbank and corporate players and is likely to sustain pressure on the kwacha in the near term,” Zambia’s National Commercial Bank said in a note.

(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Writing by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia)

Strong India, Africa demand lifts South Africa 2015 coal exports

19 January 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

RICHARDS BAY, South Africa (Reuters) – Coal exports from South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBTC) rose by 5.7 percent to 75.4 million tonnes in 2015 helped by demand in Africa and India.

Africa’s largest coal export facility, a major supplier to Europe and Asia, RBCT had set a target of 75 million tonnes and aims for similar results in 2016.

“Its going to be hard to beat 75 million tonnes, because of where prices are sitting this year,” Chief Executive Nosipho Siwisa-Damasane told a news conference.

Shipments to Africa and India rose sharply, offsetting a fall in demand from Europe and from China, where RBTC said it did not send a single vessel in 2015.

Coal prices have tumbled in recent years due to a glut of supply and weaker demand growth, pushing some producers to curtail activity, sell or shut coal mines.

RBCT, which moves the commodity on behalf of producers and shareholders such as Exxaro and Anglo American, said it had shelved expansions plans due to weak prices.

RBTC had planned to increase its capacity to 110 million tonnes from 91 million tonnes.

(By Zandi Shabalala. Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; editing by James Macharia and Jason Neely)

Kenya’s new car sales jump 12.86% in 2015:

18 January 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s new car sales increased by 12.86 percent last year to 19,524 units, the Kenya Motor Industry Association said on Monday.

Rita Kavashe, who chairs the association, told Reuters in November that growth was driven by demand for light trucks used to distribute goods and carry construction materials.

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Morocco trade deficit falls 18.7% in 2015

15 January 2016 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters, Middle East Like

RABAT (Reuters) – Morocco’s trade deficit fell 18.7 percent to 152.27 billion dirhams ($15.43 billion) in 2015 compared with a year earlier, thanks to lower import costs and higher exports, the foreign exchange regulator said on Friday.

Energy imports fell by 28 percent from a year earlier to 66.84 billion dirhams, data showed. Wheat imports also fell 32.6 percent as the local harvest hit a record high last year.

Total imports fell 5.6 percent and total exports rose 6.7 percent from a year earlier to 214.27 billion dirhams, led by a 21 percent rise in auto exports and 16.3 percent hike in phosphate sales.

Exports covered 58.5 percent of imports for the first time in 10 years, the regulator said.

Tourism receipts dropped 1.4 percent to 58.51 billion dirhams, while remittances from the 4.5 million Moroccans living abroad rose 3 percent to 61.75 billion dirhams.

Foreign direct investment jumped 6.7 percent to 39 billion dirhams.

Figures are in billions of dirhams:

Jan-Dec Jan-Dec Jan-Nov

2015 2014 2015

EXPORTS 214.27 200.80 195.29

IMPORTS 366.53 388.08 335.32

BALANCE -152.27 -187.27 -140.02

MIGRANT

REMITTANCES 61.75 59.97 56.68

TOURISM

RECEIPTS 58.51 59.31 54.66

FOREIGN DIRECT

INVESTMENT 39.01 36.55 33.96

($1 = 9.8654 Moroccan dirham)

(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Alison Williams)

Crude oil falls as market braces for more Iranian oil

15 January 2016 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters, Middle East Like

TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. crude oil futures fell in Asian trade on Friday, heading lower after posting the first significant gains for 2016 in the previous session, as the prospect of additional Iranian supply looms over the market.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down 48 cents at $30.72 a barrel at 0345 GMT. On Thursday the contract rose 72 cents, or 2.4 percent, to settle at $31.20. It hit a 12-year low of $29.93 earlier this week.

WTI is on track to post a third consecutive weekly loss, down more than 6 percent. The contract is down nearly 18 percent from a 2016 high on January 4.

Brent crude was down 20 cents at $30.68 a barrel. The global benchmark settled up 72 cents, or 2.4 percent, at $31.03 a barrel on Thursday, after falling to $29.73, its weakest since February 2004.

Over the previous eight sessions, Brent had lost about $7 a barrel, almost 20 percent.

Western sanctions on Iran are expected to be lifted within days, potentially paving the way for more crude oil exports from the country, under a landmark agreement on Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.

“This is three or four months ahead of what the market was thinking last year, so it just adds fuel to the fire,” said Tony Nunan, Oil risk Manager, Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.

Iran has removed the sensitive core of its Arak nuclear reactor and U.N. inspectors will visit the site on Thursday to verify the move crucial to the implementation of the atomic agreement with major powers, state television said on Thursday.

Any additional oil from Iran would add to the glut that has pushed oil prices into a deep slump since the middle of 2014.

“It is the wrong time for Iran to be returning to the oil market, both for the market and likely also for Iran,” Phillip Futures said in a note on Friday.

“It would have been so much more ideal for Iran to return to the oil scene if prices were soaring at $100,” it said.

(By Aaron Sheldrick. Reporting by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by Richard Pullin)

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