BUSINESS - The African Mirror

May

01

2021

AstraZeneca Q1 COVID-19 vaccine revenue $275 mln

BUSINESS

ASTRAZENECA has revealed that its COVID-19 vaccine contributed $275 million in sales and shaved off three cents per share from its first-quarter earnings, as the drugmaker reported better-than-expected results and forecast sales growth. This is the first time the drugmaker has given financial details from the distribution and sales of its vaccine. It has said it will not make a profit from the shot during the pandemic. Vaccine revenue included delivery of about 68 million doses worldwide, it said. Sales in Europe were $224 million, emerging market sales were $43 million, and $8 million in the rest of the world,…

Jun

12

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenya gets $750 mln World Bank loan to help recovery from COVID-19 effects

BUSINESS

DUNCAN MIRIRI KENYA has received a $750 million loan from the World Bank to support its budget and help the East African economy recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the multilateral lender has announced. The Kenyan government has been pushing hard to secure foreign funding to fill a wide budget deficit before its financial year closes at the end of this month. The $750 million disbursement is part of World Bank's Development Policy Operations (DPO), which lends cash for budget support instead of financing specific projects. The bank said some of the funds would go towards setting up…

Jun

11

2021

By The African Mirror

Tanzania seeks IMF loan to address COVID-19 pandemic challenges

BUSINESS

TANZANIA is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to secure a loan to tackle the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fund's resident representative said on Thursday. Tanzania, which has not been publishing data on infections since May last year, will be required to provide that information before the loan is approved, Jens Reinke told Reuters. The East African nation is seeking to borrow its entire entitlement from the IMF, amounting to about $570 million. "COVID data is not some weird prior benchmark. When applying for pandemic-related emergency financing, evidence of the pandemic has to be available to…

Jun

11

2021

By The African Mirror

IMF says board approves $772 million disbursement to Angola

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund's executive board has approved a disbursement to Angola of about $772 million after completing a fifth review of the African oil exporter's loan program. In a statement late on Wednesday, the Fund said even though the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic was still being felt in the Angolan economy, authorities have supported the recovery through sound policies. "The authorities are continuing to strengthen public finances and debt dynamics. They achieved a strong fiscal adjustment in 2020 and are on track to do the same in 2021," IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Sayeh said in a statement.…

Jun

10

2021

By The African Mirror

Egyptian firms plot return to Libya

BUSINESS

AHMED ISMAIL EGYPTIAN firms are eyeing a revival of business in Libya where a new government is starting work to rebuild the nation on Egypt's doorstep that was shattered by a decade of fighting and chaos. Before 2011, when Libya slid into conflict, the oil-producing nation was a lucrative market for Egyptian exporters, contracting companies and workers. It was particularly attractive for businesses involved in food and construction. With a new U.N.-backed unity government in place, Egyptian firms are looking at reconstruction opportunities to make a return, although executives say security and logistical issues, alongside a fragile economy, still present…

Apr

23

2021

By The African Mirror

S.A’s Imperial Logistics selected to import COVID-19 vaccines

BUSINESS

NQOBILE DLUDLA SOUTH Africa's largest logistics company Imperial Logistics has been awarded the tender to import COVID-19 vaccines for the second and subsequent phases of the country's vaccination programme, it told Reuters yesterday. Imperial Logistics was among a slew of bidders who had shown interest in importing, storing and distributing vaccines in the country under a tender floated by the government in February for its phase 2 vaccination drive. The government is yet to announce the names of the selected bidders, a health ministry spokesman said, but Imperial Logistics confirmed in an emailed response it had won the contract for…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

IMF approves $650 million in aid for Senegal’s COVID-19 recovery

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $650 million in aid to Senegal to support the West African country's COVID-19 recovery, it said in a statement late on Monday. The announcement follows an earlier payment of $442 million to Senegal in April 2020, also to mitigate the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the IMF said. The pandemic has hit the Senegalese economy hard and caused growth to contract to an estimated 1.5% in 2020 from 5.3% in 2019, the IMF said. The Fund expects a modest recovery in 2021 with growth reaching 3.7% and forecast to reach 5.5% in…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

South African rand slips ahead of GDP

BUSINESS

SUSAN MATHEW FRAYED nerves ahead of U.S. inflation data later this week cast a shadow over emerging markets on Tuesday, with South Africa's rand leading losses ahead of domestic economic growth data. Against a stronger dollar, the rand fell 0.6%, pulling further away from 28-month highs. GDP numbers later in the morning are expected to show the South African economy slowed in the first quarter. But the rand is still by far the best performing EM currency this year, up more than 8%, helped in part by rising commodity prices. Turkey's lira – the year's worst performing EM currency so…

Jun

09

2021

By The African Mirror

World Bank opposes vaccine intellectual property waiver as WTO talks resume

BUSINESS

DAVID LAWDER WORLD Bank President David Malpass has revealed that the bank does not support waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines at the World Trade Organization out of concern that it would hamper innovation in the pharmaceuticals sector. His comments on the subject, made during a call with reporters on World Bank economic forecasts, came as WTO negotiations over the proposed waiver resumed in Geneva. Asked whether he backs a WTO vaccine IP waiver, which India, South Africa and other emerging market countries argue is needed to expand vaccine access, Malpass said: "We don't support that, for the reason…

May

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Gertler mining deals could cost Congo $1.76 bln in royalties: activists

BUSINESS

CONGO could lose out on $1.76 billion in potential royalty payments from its copper and cobalt mining deals with Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler, an anti-corruption group said yesterday, calling on the government to open an investigation. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Gertler and more than 30 of his businesses in December 2017 and June 2018, accusing him of leveraging his friendship with former Congo President Joseph Kabila to secure lucrative mining deals. Gertler has denied any wrongdoing. Using data including recently published contracts on the mining ministry website, the campaign group Congo is Not for Sale (CNPAV) estimated that deals…