BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Jun

09

2024

Africa Development Bank calls for $25 bln and better terms to avoid ‘lost decade’

BUSINESS

AFRICA needs quicker debt restructurings, more favourable lending terms and some $25 billion for the Africa Development Fund to avoid a lost decade, the head of its development bank said. The continent was suffering from "long fiscal COVID" and the world was not doing enough to help it move past the punishing years of the pandemic and global interest rate hikes, which had tipped several countries into default, said Akin Adesina. "The G20 Common Framework, which is the bilateral and multilateral path to do (debt restructuring), must work faster for Africa," Adesina said in a speech on Friday at London's Chatham House,…

Jun

09

2024

By AHMED ELJECHTIMI

Gotion High Tech Morocco gigafactory to start production in 2026

BUSINESS

CHINA'S Gotion High Tech (002074.SZ) will start production at a gigafactory it plans to build in Morocco in the third quarter of 2026, Hicham Chaoudri, director at the investment department said. Gotion High Tech signed an investment deal with the Moroccan government on Thursday to set up a $1.3 billion battery production plant in Kenitra, north of Rabat. "This is a historic investment marking the first gigafactory in Africa," Chaoudri told Reuters, noting that construction will start within weeks. In addition to batteries, the plant will also produce key ingredients cathodes and anodes, with the bulk of production geared toward exports, Chaoudri…

Jun

08

2024

By The African Mirror

Opening of new mines boosts Ivory Coast 2023 gold output

BUSINESS

IVORY Coast's gold output hit a record high in 2023, helped by the opening of new mines, and will continue to grow further, mines minister Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly said. Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, is seeking to develop its long-neglected mining sector to diversify its sources of income. Gold output has been climbing steadily for several years and is expected to reach 56 metric tons this year, Coulibaly told reporters at a press conference. Last year, it rose to 51 tons, up over 6% from 48 tons in 2022. Mining companies operating in Ivory Coast include Barrick Gold (ABX.TO), Endeavour (EDV.AX), and…

Jun

07

2024

By CHIJIOKE OHUOCHA

Nigeria’s Fidelity Bank to sell shares to meet new capital requirement

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S Fidelity Bank (FIDELIT.LG) said that it would raise up to 127.1 billion naira ($88 million) via a rights issue and a public share offering to comply with a new minimum capital requirement for local lenders introduced by the central bank in March. The central bank on Tuesday said local lenders have started submitting plans to meet its new minimum capital requirements which will strengthen the financial system and support economic growth. Commercial banks with international authorization must have at least 500 billion naira ($345 million) in capital under the new rule. More than 20 lenders in Nigeria need to raise extra capital within…

Jun

07

2024

By The African Mirror

South African rand edges higher with focus on ANC talks

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa's rand made a slight recovery early, having slipped the day before when the African National Congress (ANC) said it would try to form a government of national unity following last week's election. At 0715 GMT, the rand traded at 18.90 against the dollar, 0.2% stronger than its previous close. The ANC lost its majority in the May 29 election for the first time since coming to power 30 years ago. It said on Wednesday that it had met with all interested parties keen to contribute ideas to form a government. The party's National Executive Committee will hold high-stakes internal talks…

Jun

07

2024

By BRETT SILBERG

Elections: Who will the ANC form a coalition with? DA, EFF or MK?

BUSINESS

EON Investment Management chief investment officer Asief Mohamed believes that the ANC will have to form a coalition with one of the three larger parties: the DA, the EFF or the MK Party. ‘They will most likely have to form a coalition, and it will take time before they agree on one. I doubt that the smaller parties will be enough for them to form a coalition,’ he told Citywire SA during an interview. Citywire + rated Mohamed said the ANC would probably end up with around 45% because of the higher voter turnout in the major metropolitan areas. ‘The…

Jun

06

2024

By MARC JONES

Mexico, South Africa and India deliver political punch to markets

BUSINESS

A clobbering for South Africa's, Mexico's and even India's heavyweight markets in recent days has proved without doubt that politics can still deliver an unexpected uppercut in big emerging economies. Mexico's peso and South Africa's rand were both still sliding on Tuesday following their respective election surprises, while the likelihood that Narendra Modi hadn't scored a landslide win in India's marathon elections sent its equity markets sprawling. The peso fell 1.5% to just shy of 18 to the U.S. dollar at one point as traders continued to fret about the ramifications of the resounding win for the Claudia Sheinbaum-led MORENA party and its allies in Sunday's…

Jun

06

2024

By FELIX ONUAH

Nigerian lenders submitting recapitalisation plans, central bank says

BUSINESS

NIGERIAN lenders have started submitting plans to meet new minimum capital requirements to strengthen the financial system and support economic growth, the central bank said, after setting the standard in March. Commercial banks with international authorization must have at least 500 billion naira ($344.83 million) in capital under the new rule by the Central Bank of Nigeria. More than 20 lenders in Nigeria need to raise extra capital within two years to meet the new threshold. "Our banks have begun submitting implementation plans for the banking sector recapitalisation programme in compliance with the CBN Circular reviewing the minimum capital requirements…

Jun

05

2024

By MARC JONES, LIBBY GEORGE and KARIN STROHECKER

Zambia’s debt restructuring limps over line as painful test case

BUSINESS

MORE than three-and-a-half years, or 1,300 days, after resource-rich Zambia formally declared itself bankrupt it is about to drag itself out of default, leaving some hard lessons for richer nations about how their much-vaunted debt relief plan performed. Tuesday will see its international bondholders vote through their part of a $13.4 billion debt restructuring and make Zambia the first to complete a full-blown rework under the G20-led 'Common Framework' architecture. Hakainde Hichilema, Zambia's president, has described it as a historic moment and the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has hailed it as an important sign of…

Jun

05

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Africa’s green bond market is booming – report

BUSINESS

GREEN bonds are experiencing robust growth in Africa as governments, corporations, and financial institutions recognize their potential to fund sustainable projects. A new report shows green bond issuances in Africa jumped 125% last year, hitting US$1.4 billion from US$600 million in 2022. The report, ‘Emerging Market Green Bonds’ by the International Finance Corporation and Amundi, a European asset manager firm, sheds light on Africa's promising path towards sustainable finance leveraging green bonds. The report was released on May 22. “In spite of the market’s growth, the region remains the least established regional green bond market among developing economies,” the report…