BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Apr

07

2021

New IMF reserves could fund vaccinations for low and middle-income countries – report

BUSINESS

ANDREA SHALAL MOVES to bolster the IMF's emergency reserves could provide the $44 billion needed to vaccinate 70% of the population in lower- and middle-income countries by the end of 2022, at no added cost to rich countries, a new Rockefeller Foundation report finds. Finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies are expected to back a $650 billion new allocation of the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) this week to help countries cope with the pandemic and its economic fallout. Vaccination rates and economic development are diverging widely across the globe, according to the IMF and…

Jul

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast to audit dozens of state-owned firms to tackle graft

BUSINESS

ANGE ABOA IVORY Coast has launched audits of around 40 state-owned enterprises to crackdown on corruption and improve efficiency, Prime Minister Patrick Achi said. The government also wants the companies to reduce their reliance on state funds, which could instead be spent helping the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Achi told reporters. The audits come just weeks after the director-general of the Land Management Agency was arrested for alleged embezzlement and money laundering. He has not commented publicly on the allegations. "The fight against corruption and the improvement of good governance is a major focus for Ivory Coast for…

Jul

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia’s parliament approves $12.9 billion budget for 2021/22 fiscal year

BUSINESS

ETHIOPIA’S parliament approved a 561.7 billion birr ($12.9 billion) budget for the 2021/22 fiscal year, an 18% rise in spending from a year ago, as the prime minister said he was focused on boosting prosperity. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told lawmakers that his government's priorities include finishing mega projects such as a giant dam on the Blue Nile and strengthening the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The parliamentary approval comes amid international attention on Africa's second-most populous nation due to the eight-month-old conflict in the northern Tigray region. Abiy's government has been battling the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) after…

Jul

06

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Why we need capable female mentors in executives positions’

BUSINESS

IN the 21st the world has witnessed a shift within the society of a rapid rise in women obtaining leadership positions that were conserved for men only in the past. However, women are still battling to have influence in the positions because they still need to prove themselves more than males. For others, the situation has presented an opportunity for them to recognise what they need; competent mentorship from experienced women leaders. This is because women understand the struggles they have been subjected to over the years better than men and therefore would be better mentors to young women leaders…

Apr

13

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa extends COVID-19 loan scheme deadline by three months

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa has extended by a further three months the deadline of a loan scheme that is central to efforts to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Treasury. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the bank loan scheme for businesses, worth up to 200 billion rand ($13.72 billion) in total and partly guaranteed by the government, in April 2020. The availability of the loans in the scheme has been extended to July 11, from an earlier deadline of April 11, the Treasury said in a statement issued jointly with the South African Reserve Bank and the country's…

Jul

05

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s January-June tourism revenues were $3.5-4 bln – deputy minister

BUSINESS

EGYPT’S tourism revenues were between $3.5 billion to $4 billion during the first half of 2021 and the country received about 3.5 million tourists from January to June, Ghada Shalaby, deputy minister of tourism, told Reuters. The country's revenues from the vital sector were about $4 billion in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, down by 70% from $13.03 billion in 2019. "We are expecting that numbers of tourists will increase by 45% to 60% during the next period compared with last year," Shalaby said. The average spending of a tourist per night is about $95, she added. Tourism revenue is…

Apr

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Uganda, Tanzania, oil firms sign accords to build $3.5 bln pipeline

BUSINESS

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA UGANDA, Tanzania and oil firms Total and CNOOC on Sunday signed agreements that will kickstart the construction of a $3.5 billion crude pipeline to help ship crude from fields in western Uganda to international markets. France's Total and China's CNOOC own Uganda's oilfields after Britain's Tullow exited the country last year. The signatories have now agreed to "to start investment in the construction of infrastructure that will produce and transport the crude oil," said Robert Kasande, permanent secretary at Uganda's ministry of energy. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Tanzania's new leader Samia Suluhu Hassan, on her first official…

Apr

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s hotels run at half capacity

BUSINESS

THE occupancy rate of Egypt's hotels, which are running at half capacity due to COVID-19 regulations, was between 40% and 45% in the first quarter, an official from the tourism ministry told Reuters yesterday. This amounts to an occupancy rate of nearly 25% if hotels were running at full capacity, according to Reuters calculations. Tourism accounts for up to 15% of Egypt's national output, and is a key source of foreign currency. The industry revenues plunged 70% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, with numbers of visitors sinking to 3.5 million from 13.1 million in 2019. Egypt received 500,000…

Apr

20

2021

By The African Mirror

European soccer club shares jump after Super League announcement

BUSINESS

GIANCARLO NAVACH and DANILO MASONI SHARES in English soccer team Manchester United and Italy's Juventus jumped on yesterday after they and 10 other top European clubs announced the formation of a breakaway Super League that could significantly boost revenue for the clubs' wealthy owners. Juventus' share price surged nearly 19% as shareholders cheered the move to set up a rival to UEFA's established Champions League, Europe's most prestigious club competition. Shares in Manchester United rose 9% after opening on the New York Stock Exchange. The Super League, financed by U.S. bank JP Morgan, heralds the prospect of bigger and more…

Jul

01

2021

By The African Mirror

EXCLUSIVE-Angola’s oilfield debts to energy majors hit $1 billion – sources

BUSINESS

NOAH BROWNING and RON BOUSSO ANGOLA has accumulated around $1 billion in debt to western oil companies operating its oilfields, with the bill prompting the African country's recently launched sale of stakes in its flagship offshore blocs, three industry sources told Reuters. The magnitude of the debt, built up over several years, is a sign of deepening financial woes at state oil giant Sonangol, one of Africa's largest companies, due to underinvestment in declining offshore fields which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. It comes as global companies rethink their presence in high-cost ventures worldwide in order to meet their climate…