BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Sep

02

2021

Nigerian cocoa output to fall in 2021/22 due to weather risk – association

BUSINESS

CHIJIOKE OHUOCHA NIGERIA’S cocoa output is likely to fall by at least 12.5% next season as late and heavy rains threaten to damage the main crop and raise the risk of disease, the president of the country's cocoa industry association said. Mufutau Abolarinwa told Reuters that output for October 2021 to September 2022 season is expected to decline to 280,000 tonnes, well below the 320,000 tonnes it estimates Nigeria, the world's fifth-biggest cocoa grower, will produce this season. The late rain will delay the October to February main crop, which could extend further into next year. "The main crop will…

Feb

03

2021

By The African Mirror

Bowing to the baobab

BUSINESS

LISA WITEPSKI AN accent on the phenomenal bounty of the baobab tree – in terms of both nutrition and medicinal uses – has helped Vida Pharmaceuticals carve a distinct niche in a highly competitive industry. The world of ancient healing may seem aeons away from modern medicinal advances, but Patricia Mathivha, founder of Vida Pharmaceuticals, has successfully merged both. Patricia explains that she always knew she would be involved in healing but, since the University of Limpopo, where she studied, did not offer degrees in medicine, pharmacy was her next choice. Having experienced several areas of the industry – from…

Feb

03

2021

By The African Mirror

How to live sensibly financially in 2021

BUSINESS

TO borrow from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, 2020 is not a year many of us will look back upon with undiluted pleasure. A year which started promisingly, indeed, turned into an annus horribilis. The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the lives of individuals, businesses, economies and countries is well documented. The global roll-out of the vaccine provided a silver lining to the end of 2020 and offers a promise of hope and improved health in 2021, despite the winds of a second wave blowing across many nations. But what about the financial impact on individuals who faced tremendous personal…

Feb

02

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s Denel reports delayed results showing $130 mln loss

BUSINESS

SOUTH African state-owned defence company Denel made a 1.96 billion rand ($130 million) loss in the year to the end of March 2020, it said on Monday, releasing delayed financial results. The Johannesburg bourse had threatened to suspend the listing of Denel’s bonds if the arms manufacturer did not publish its results by the end of January. Interim CEO Talib Sadik The latest loss compares to a revised loss of 1.47 billion rand in the 2018/19 financial year, underlining its continued fragility. Interim CEO Talib Sadik attributed the larger loss in 2019/20 to “a delay in sales, an inefficient cost…

Feb

10

2021

By The African Mirror

State oil firms risk wasting $400 bln as energy shift speeds up

BUSINESS

JULIA PAYNE STATE-OWNED oil companies could squander about $400 billion on investments in the next decade on new oil projects that will struggle to turn a profit as the world shifts away from fossil fuels, a non-governmental organisation said yesterday. The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) estimated national oil companies, or NOCs, would invest $1.9 trillion in the next 10 years with about a fifth of those investments only breaking even if oil prices stay above $40 a barrel. Oil prices have climbed to around $60 this week, after plunging below $20 last year when demand plummeted due to the…

Feb

09

2021

By The African Mirror

Pandemic derails trade for Congo’s disabled border couriers

BUSINESS

DJAFFAR AL KATANTY PERCHED on a super-sized tricycle laden with sacks of mangoes, disabled courier Claude Kalwira scooted over the short stretch of no-man's-land between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Due to his disability, Kalwira has a permit to shuttle some goods in and out of Congo tax-free, but an eight-month border closure last year caused by the coronavirus meant he and 200 fellow couriers saw business dry up. While borders reopened on November 5, a new testing requirement means the 30-year-old's cart, a hodgepodge of steel tubing and butchered motorcycle parts, is now one of only a…

Feb

07

2021

By The African Mirror

IMF chief warns of “lost generation” if low-income countries don’t get more help

BUSINESS

ANDREA SHALAL The head of the IMF has urged advanced economies to provide more resources to low-income countries, warning of an emerging "Great Divergence" in global growth that could risk stability and trigger social unrest for years to come. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told reporters that 50% of developing countries were at risk of falling further behind, which raised concerns about stability and social unrest. To avert bigger problems, she said rich countries and international institutions should chip in more. She also urged heavily indebted countries to seek debt restructuring sooner rather than later, and to boost…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Nigerian set for WTO top job

BUSINESS

THE path has cleared for powerful Nigerian Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become the first African and the first woman to head the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Yesterday her rival South Korean Yoo Myung-hee withdrew from the race. Okonjo-Iweala said she was looking forward to the conclusion of the selection process following the withdrawal of Myung-hee. "Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala congratulates Yoo Myung-hee on her long campaign and welcomes South Korea's commitment to rebuilding and enhancing multilateralism," she said via a spokeswoman. "There is vital work ahead to do together."

Feb

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Cash injection urged to help poor fight COVID-19 during vaccine wait

BUSINESS

EMMA BATHA MORE than 80% of people in some developing countries have lost income due to COVID-19, economists said, warning that soaring poverty could hamper efforts to control the disease in nations where mass inoculation may be a long way off. Without emergency assistance, people desperate to feed their families may flout social distancing measures to look for work, fuelling the spread of the coronavirus, they said in a major study spanning three continents. "Economic help is part and parcel of fighting the virus," co-author of the study Shana Warren told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "If you want people to…

Feb

12

2021

By The African Mirror

‘South Africa remains an attractive investment destination’

BUSINESS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER DESPITE the devastation inflicted by COVID-19 on its economy, South Africa remains an attractive destination and has over R773-billion in investments to prove this. This was the strong message from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation address delivered last night. Ramaphosa said the country’s third South Africa Investment Conference, held in November last year, raised R108 billion in additional investment commitments. “Together with investment confirmed from the two previous investment conferences, we have now received R773-billion in investment commitments towards our five-year target of R1.2-trillion. Firms have reported that some R183-billion of…