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Ghana presidency appoints Issahaku as new central bank governor

5 April 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana’s presidency appointed Abdul Issahaku as governor of the central bank on Monday, promoting the deputy governor to replace Henry Kofi Wampah, who is ending his four-year term early, a statement said.

The bank has worked to reduce inflation that has been persistently above government targets, just one of the problems facing a country following an International Monetary Fund aid programme to stabilise its economy.

 

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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South Africa considering emergency steel tariffs: WTO

4 April 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

GENEVA/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa is considering imposing emergency tariffs on some iron and steel imports, it said in a filing to the World Trade Organization published on Monday.

South Africa’s steel industry body requested the temporary trade barrier because a surge in import volumes had caused the industry “serious injury” in the form of lower sales, output, market share and capacity utilisation, the filing said.

It blamed a global steel glut and measures by other countries to protect their steelmakers, as well as new investments by current steel importers, which meant South Africa could expect further increases of imports, the filing said.

The analysis was based on data from ArcelorMittal South Africa, which accounts for 70 percent of local production of the affected goods.

South Africa’s steel sector is facing catastrophe and ArcelorMittal may have to close down if the government does not act soon, labour union Solidarity said.

“If there are no concrete plans on the table to assist the struggling steel industry by the end of April, the primary steel industry in South Africa will perish,” said Solidarity’s steel spokesman Marius Croucamp. Another steelmaker, Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium, shut its doors in February, shedding around 2,200 jobs in the process. South African trade authorities indicated earlier that they would decide in June whether to aggressively protect steel manufacturers, Solidarity said, but this would be much too late according to the union. ArcelorMittal last month said it would raise steel prices from April as it tries to stabilise its business after heavy losses due to competition from cheap imports. South Africa last year slapped a 10 percent tariff on imported steel, but the emergency tariff, which would not apply to imports of stainless steel or silicon electrical steel, would provide much greater protection.

 

(Reporting by Tom Miles and TJ Strydom; editing by John Stonestreet)

 

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South Africa’s March new vehicle sales down 14 % year/year

1 April 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s new vehicle sales fell by 14 percent year-on-year to 47,631 units in March, data from the trade and industry department showed on Friday.

Exports slipped 18.5 percent to 27,714 units compared with the same month last year, the department said.

 

(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng)

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African Super Sunday: 5 votes in 5 countries

1 April 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Featured, Politics

March 20th marked a large shift in African politics, as 5 countries on the continent voted on key issues.

Citizens of Benin, Niger, Cape Verde, Zanzibar, Senegal, and The Republic of Congo all had the chance to head to the polls last weekend. While some results were as expected, some showed progress towards improved electoral processes.

In Benin, a presidential run-off took place between Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou, and businessman Patrice Talon. Both were seeking to replace the incumbent President Yayi Boni, whose second term in office ends on April 6th. Events progressed well from the first round of the campaign in which there were 33 candidates. Benin has shown great progress in electoral process, and was the first country in sub-Saharan African to transition to a multi-party democracy. After the polls, Lionel Zinsou conceded defeat to Patrice Talon. The victory of the businessman shows a push for change in how the people of Benin wish to be governed.

Denis Sassou Nguesso was elected to his third term in office

In the Republic of Congo, Presidential elections were held under the new constitution which removed both age and term limits for those serving as President. Before the polls, opposition parties had denounced the lack of transparency in the electoral process. Adding to the irregularity, the country experienced a government-initiated communications blackout during the voting. The official statement was in order to avoid illegal leaking of election results. As predicted, the incumbent President Denis Sassou Nguesso was elected to his third term in office. President Nguesso has already served in office for over 30 years.

In Niger, a Presidential run-off took place between the incumbent President Mahamadou Issoufou, and Hama Amadou. Tensions were high before the run-off with the opposition party rejecting the results before the election was even held, and the COPA withdrawing from the campaign stating a lack of transparency in the process. Hama Amadou was arrested earlier in the year on charges of baby trafficking, and had been flown to France recently for medical treatment as it was stated that his health rapidly deteriorated while in prison. President Mahamadou took more than 92 percent of the vote.

Zanzibar was set for a re-run of its elections which were held in October 2015. At the time the Civic United Front claimed victory even before the results had come out, however the election was invalidated by Jecha Salim Jecha (the president of the local Electoral Commission) due to what was claimed as massive fraud. The Civic United Front however, claimed that this was a ploy by Chama Cha Mapinduzi to deny it victory. For these reasons, the main opposition party decided to boycott the elections only 2 days before the polls were held. The incumbent President Ali Mohamed Shein of Chama Cha Mapinduzi was re-elected.

Senegal: Yes or No referendum

In Senegal, voters were called to vote on a yes or no referendum. Among the issues the referendum addressed was reducing the term limit for presidential office from seven years to five years. This was seen as a bold move by President Macky Sall, as other African leaders seek to find ways to extend their term limits. The referendum would also afford official recognition to the opposition leader in the constitution, local councils would be give more power, and new rights would be afforded to citizens regarding the environment and land ownership.

Meanwhile on Cape Verde, parliamentary elections were held which saw the Movement for Democracy win an absolute majority. They will replace the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde which had been in the majority for over 15 years.

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Buhari to check Nigeria budget “ministry by ministry” before signing

1 April 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Latest Updates from Reuters, Politics

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari will check the 2016 budget bill passed last week “ministry by ministry” before signing it, he said on Thursday, signaling further delays before the legislation takes effect.

The budget for Africa’s top oil producer has been held up for months as Buhari had to withdraw his original bill, which set spending at a record $30 billion, in January, due to an unrealistic oil price assumption and flaws in the draft.

Lawmakers approved an amended bill last week that Buhari has yet to sign as parliament has so far only sent highlights of the new document to his office, a government official told Reuters on Tuesday.

“Some bureaucrats removed what we put in the proposal and replaced it with what they wanted,” Buhari said, according to a statement from his office.

“I have to look at the bill that has been passed … ministry by ministry, to be sure that what has been brought back for me to sign is in line with our original submission.”

On Thursday, the information minister said there was no rift between the executive and legislature on details of the budget. A day earlier, a senior lawmaker said parliament might need another week to work out details of the budget.

Buhari hopes the bill will revive the economy but officials have left open how it would be funded. The government has said it might sell Eurobonds or sign a loan deal with China and the World Bank but no deal has emerged.

Oil revenues, which make up about 70 percent of Nigeria’s income, have slumped, hammering the naira currency, halting development projects and leaving budget funding uncertain.

Nigeria has been trying to restart outdated refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna to end its dependency on costly fuel imports for around 80 percent of its energy needs.

Three of its four state-owned refineries were closed for five months in 2015 due to maintenance issues and vandalism.

On Thursday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation

(NNPC) said it was committed to boosting refining capacity as it opened the technical bid for the location of new refineries within the nation’s existing refineries.

Anibo Kragha, NNPC chief operating officer for refineries, said the open bidding exercise demonstrated the determination of the government and state oil company to increase the country’s refining capacity from 445,000 barrels per day to 650,000.

“The aim is to leverage on the existing facilities to fast track the take-off of the refineries as soon as possible,” he said. NNPC said nine companies submitted bids.

 

($1 = 198.8000 naira)

 

(Reporting by Felix Onuah and Camillus Eboh; Writing by Ulf Laessing and Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

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World Bank sees faster Kenyan economic growth this year and next

31 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s economic growth is expected to accelerate both this year and next, helped by low oil prices, improved agricultural output, a supportive monetary policy and infrastructure investments, the World Bank said on Thursday.

However, the bank also warned of possible risks, stemming partly from uncertainty over Kenya’s presidential, parliamentary and regional government elections scheduled for August 2017.

“These (risks) include the possibility that investors could defer investment decisions until after the elections, that election-related expenditure could result in a cutback in infrastructure spending and that security remains a threat, not just in Kenya, but globally,” it said in a report on Kenya.

Other risks to the outlook include subdued prices of coffee and tea, key hard currency earners, the World Bank added.

Kenya’s gross domestic product will increase by 5.9 percent in 2016 and by 6 percent in 2017, above an estimated 5.6 percent expansion last year, the bank said.

The east African nation’s government expects the economy to grow by 6.0 to 6.5 percent in 2016.

The World Bank cited the benefits of cheaper oil, good weather that is supporting farming, an appropriate monetary policy stance and sustained investments in roads and railways.

But while Kenya’s economy is faring better than others on the continent, it is still struggling to create enough jobs, which means a large section of the population is not enjoying the benefits of the economic expansion, the bank said.

Most of the jobs being created are of low productivity in the informal services sector, the World Bank said.

In the next decade, nine million young people are expected to join the labour market, with most of them getting work in small businesses due to a scarcity of formal sector jobs, it added.

“Formal firms will not create jobs for all young Kenyans,” the bank said in its twice-yearly Kenya Economic Update.

The World Bank said in another report in early March that while Kenya’s economic growth in the past decade may be remarkable by Kenyan standards, it was not even close to stellar when viewed from a broader perspective.

 

(By George Obulutsa. Editing by Duncan Miriri and Gareth Jones)

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Development bank: ‘High 5’s’ will drive African economic growth

31 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

Powering and industrializing the economy of Africa are among key priorities outlined in March by the new head of the African Development Bank.

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the bank since September, told about 500 business leaders from 43 countries at the fourth Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan that the continent will rely on private investment as it seeks to advance on “the value chain” from being a source of raw materials to becoming a manufacturing economy.

Adesina said the African Development Bank will focus on five key priorities as it seeks to improve the business climate and quality of life on the continent.

The priorities, which Adesina dubbed the “High 5’s,” are:

  1. Light up and power Africa

This priority is critical to the development of a manufacturing economy, the bank president said.

He noted that more than 645 million Africans do not electricity while energy bottlenecks power shortages cost Africa about two to four percent of gross national product each year, undermining economic growth and job creation.

He said the African Development Bank has launched a program New Deal on Energy for Africa that has investment commitments of $12 billion over the next five years, in addition to public and private partnerships worth about $50 billion.

  1. Feed Africa

With two-thirds of the world’s uncultivated arable land and more than 60 percent of its population involved in agriculture, Africa could become a powerhouse in providing food to the world, Adesina said.

Nevertheless, many on the continent suffer from malnutrition and African nations are forced to import food at a high cost, some $35 billion annually.

Adesina said African leaders must change their strategy from thinking about agriculture as a way of managing poverty to treating it like a business to generate wealth and diversify economies.

  1. Industrialize Africa

In sub-Saharan Africa, manufacturing accounts for only 11 percent of economic output on the continent and less than two percent of global output.

However, without infrastructure, power, and a supportive business environment, Africa will continue to import manufactured goods that might otherwise be made in Africa, Adesina said.

  1. Integrate Africa

Adesina said the fragmentation of African economies is holding back progress and integration will be critical to driving industrialization.

He called on African governments to implement regional and inter-regional agreements that would remove barriers to integration.

He said the African Development Bank would continue to invest in regional infrastructure and work with regional partners to facilitate integration of trade and transport.

  1. Improve the quality of life for Africans

Adesina said the bank will accelerate its investments in vocational training and education to help drive economic development.

The centerpiece of this effort is the “Jobs for Africa’s Youth Initiative,” a partnership of the development bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Union.

Adesina said the goal of the initiative goal is to reach 50 million young people and create 25 million jobs in the coming decade, to enable young Africans to “realize their economic potential through business incubation and financing.”

Private sector critical to growth

He said the private sector, which accounts for 90 percent of African jobs, must play a major role in the youth education initiative and in the overall development of the economy.

The private sector, he said, accounts for 90 percent of employment on the continent, 80 percent of production and two-third of investments.

He said the bank’s effort to support private enterprise includes investment in private projects. In 2015, the development bank approved private sector projects at a cost of $2.4 million out of a total of $9 billion.

Adesina said the continent is poised for growth in spite of challenges to the global economy and, in Africa, declines in commodity prices and in demand from China.

He said economic growth on the continent will outpace global growth. The global economy is projected to grow by three percent in 2016 while the predicted growth rate for Africa is 4.4 percent this year and five percent in 2017, he said.

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Namibia’s GDP growth slows to 5.7 pct in 2015

31 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

WINDHOEK (Reuters) – Namibia’s economy grew by 5.7 percent in 2015 compared with a revised 6.3 percent expansion in 2014, data on the statistics agency’s website showed on Thursday.

The manufacturing sector is estimated to have declined by 7.1 percent during 2015, while mining industry recovered, shrinking by only 0.1 percent compared to 6.2 percent decline in the previous year, Namibia Statistics Agency said.

 

(Writing by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)

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South Africa grants first bourse licence in over 100 years

30 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa has issued its first stock exchange operating licence in more than 100 years, paving the way for a local company to compete with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

ZAR X Stock Exchange said on Wednesday it would start operating in September after securing approval from the Financial Service Board (FSB).

The bourse will be the second exchange after the more than a century old JSE, Africa’s biggest and most liquid stock market.

ZAR X plans to facilitate listings of restricted share schemes, currently trading over-the-counter (OTC), which the FSB ruled were in contravention of capital markets regulations.

 

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing David Evans)

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The African CEO Forum 2016

30 March 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Featured

africa-ceo-forum-2016

The first African CEO Forum Awards held within the continent sees new awards and renewed progress.

The 2016 African CEO Forum and its accompanying award ceremony was a benchmark event in the forum’s 4 year history. Taking place from March 21st to the 22nd, this was the first time the business networking event was held within Africa. The Ivory Coast was chosen to play host to the annual conference of African CEO’s, bankers and developers that aims to continue the continent’s economic growth and innovation.

“We concluded deals worth $30 million”.

Since the inaugural forum of 2012, investors and business figures from across Africa have used the event to form new commercial opportunities, broker deals and establish a stronger network of communication and development among the men and women who are steering African development through the 21st Century.

Official figures indicate that since the first edition of the CEO forum, 70% of all participants have come away having identified new business ventures or actually concluded new deals, with the likes of Felix Bipko of the African Guarantee Fund, finalizing deals worth $30 million in only the first year of the forum’s existence.

The Ivory Coast – progress in the face of adversity

After the third edition of the African CEO Forum broke all attendance records, the 2016 conference aimed to not only break old records but break new ground in bringing the forum to African soil for the first time. The Ivory Coast seemed an obvious choice given that it is seen as the driving force behind the integration of the 15 nations that make up the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), an area that has had the highest economic growth in Africa over the past 5 years.

African CEO Forum founder and President, Amir Ben Yahmed explained the choice of the host nation further:

“[W]e have chosen a country and a region that is showing clear signs of robust economic development. The fact that the African Development Bank is based there …was a further contributing factor.”

However, when terrorist attacks shook the nation on March 14th, the event seemed in jeopardy. But a strong united stance from both the organizers and key political figures within Africa ensured that progress and development continued to triumph over individuals trying to use fear to derail stability.

“We continue our mission.”  – Amir Ben Yahmed

A resolute stance was immediately taken in the wake of the attacks as the organizers made it clear that the event would go ahead and a strong message of solidarity was sent when the respective presidents of The Ivory Coast and Ghana, Alassane Ouattara and Dramani Mahama, confirmed their attendance.

With over 800 participants from across Africa, the forum was a triumph that continues to grow and open up new horizons for African commerce and trade.

The 2016 event added to the existing structure of debates and meetings by introducing new “Deal Rooms” that allow smaller meetings between investors and company owners to forge new links, exchange ideas on fostering growth of their businesses and to put pen to paper on new deals.

“Our future is bright and belongs to us all” – Oba Otudeko.

As always, the forum hosted its annual award ceremony in which a panel of carefully selected figures within African business select the winners of various awards from African CEO of the year to Private Equity Investor of the Year. This year also saw a new award for Young CEO of the year.

Oba Otudeko of the Honeywell Group won CEO of the Year and accepted the award from one of the forum’s major sponsors, Jay Ireland, CEO of General Electric Africa.

Sebastien Kadio-Morokro of Petro-Ivoire was awarded the maiden Young CEO of the Year by Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, President of the African Development Bank.

Dangote Group won the African Company of the Year and was presented with their trophy by African CEO Forum President Amir Ben Yahmed.

BGFI Bank was awarded with the African Bank of the Year accolade by Adama Koné, the Ivorian Minister of Economy and Finance.

Emerging Capital Partners took home the prize for the Private Equity Investor of the Year, and were presented with the title by Cheikh Oumar Seydi, the regional director of the International Finance Corporation.

Heineken were rewarded with the title of International Corporation of the Year.

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