BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Feb

13

2024

Ethiopia’s first stock exchange on horizon as it begins licensing investment banks

BUSINESS

ETHIOPIA has entered the final stage of its first stock exchange launch, as the country’s Capital Market Authority begins to on-board foreign investment banks from the second week of February. The regulator announced that it will start issuing investment bank licenses from February 12th 2024- the first time in the country’s history and after six ‘rigorous’ months of developing guidelines to govern the financial sector players. Ethiopia Capital Market Authority (ECMA) Director-General Brook Taye told reporters during a press briefing at the authority's headquarters in Addis Ababa on February 7 that several private companies, including banks, had expressed interest in…

Feb

13

2024

By NYASHA CHINGONO

Zimbabwe to link exchange rate to hard assets, create currency board

BUSINESS

ZIMBABWE is working on new measures to stabilise its local currency including linking the exchange rate to hard assets such as gold and creating a currency board, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. The Zimbabwean dollar has fallen about 40% since the start of the year, hurt by increased foreign-currency demand from civil servants being paid December bonuses and weaker commodity prices denting inflows. Last week President Emmerson Mnangagwa said authorities were looking to introduce a "structured currency", without explaining how that would work, and the central bank governor said that work was ongoing. "The idea going forward is to make sure that…

Feb

13

2024

By FELIX NJINI

Congo’s Sofibanque weighs equity partners as it eyes regional growth

BUSINESS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo's fourth-largest lender, Sofibanque SA, is considering bringing in strategic equity partners including other banks as it looks to expand in new markets in the sub-region, its managing director said. The family-held Sofibanque, which has grown its asset base to about $1.2 billion over the past decade, could consider selling an equity stake to help finance its plans to expand into markets including Guinea, and the neighbouring Republic of Congo and Zambia, Henry Wazne, told Reuters. Sofibanque could consider a strategic investor or partner with other banks that have a similar growth ambition and vision, Wazne said.…

Feb

10

2024

By The African Mirror

Liberia orders central bank audit as part of anti-graft drive

BUSINESS

LIBERIA'S President Joseph Boakai has commissioned an audit of three key government institutions, including the central bank, as part of efforts to tackle graft, the presidency said. Boakai, who defeated his predecessor George Weah in the November elections, won on the promise to tackle corruption and improve livelihoods in the West African nation. The anti-corruption push included an audit of the former government. In a statement on Thursday, the presidency said Boakai had asked Liberia's General Auditing Commission to carry out an audit of the central bank, the national security agency and the executive protection service. The inspection will focus…

Feb

09

2024

By SARAH EL SAFTY and FARAH SAAFAN

‘Silver is the new gold’ as Egyptians try to protect savings

BUSINESS

EGYPTIAN women traditionally receive a gold jewellery set, or "shabka", on their engagement. But as surging prices and a weakening currency have driven up demand for the precious metal, some are getting silver instead. The trend is a measure of an economic crisis in which inflation has been running at more than 30% and the central bank has allowed the currency to weaken 50% against the dollar, with more devaluation expected. "Silver is the new gold," said a salesman at a Cairo silver store who only gave his first name, Abanob. In the year to Jan. 30, the price of a gram…

Feb

08

2024

By The African Mirror

Zambian businessman loses London lawsuit against Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara

BUSINESS

A Zambian businessman lost a London lawsuit against Atlas Mara, the African investment vehicle set up by former Barclays boss Bob Diamond, over the acquisition of a Zambian bank. Rajan Mahtani sued Atlas Mara over the sale of Finance Bank Zambia, alleging he received less than a quarter of the $215 million said to have been offered in 2015. But Judge Christopher Butcher dismissed Mahtani's case in a written ruling on Wednesday, following a trial at London's High Court last year. Mahtani, who founded Finance Bank Zambia in 1986, had accused Atlas Mara of breaching the terms of the takeover…

Feb

08

2024

By FELIX NJINI and VERONICA BROWN

Zambia set to negotiate bigger stakes in new mining projects

BUSINESS

ZAMBIA is keen to negotiate larger holdings in new mining projects to raise its revenue and boost spending by investors on social projects, mines minister Paul Kabuswe said. The push by Lusaka through state-owned ZCCM-IH would apply to future agreements, but does not include existing mines and should not unnerve investors, Kabuswe told Reuters. Zambia is Africa's second-largest copper producer after the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. ZCCM has interests of 10% to 20% in mines including those owned by Barrick Gold, Vedanta Resources and First Quantum Minerals. ZCCM sold a 51% stake in Mopani Copper Mines to a unit of…

Feb

06

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Google and Oracle ramp up cloud in Africa to tap $180bn e-Conomy

BUSINESS

CLOUD-NATIVE startups in Africa are luring big tech firms to ramp up spending on cloud facilities as demand for cloud services that comply with data protection laws grows. McKinsey forecasts a global cloud value of $3 trillion in 2025, with $797 billion of this value sitting in Africa and Europe. In the same period, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) statistics forecast the continent’s e-Conomy to hit $180 billion, 5.2% of its GDP. Google’s Cloud director, Niral Patel cited the IFC figures, highlighting the burgeoning opportunities for cloud services in Africa. On Friday, February 2, Google Cloud announced that it has…

Feb

07

2024

By BRIAN BENZA

Botswana forecasts economic rebound, budget focus on infrastructure

BUSINESS

BOTSWANA sees a recovery in economic growth this year and plans to increase spending on infrastructure development in a "stimulus" budget, its finance minister said. The southern African country's economy was hit by a decline in demand for diamonds last year. The gems generate about 30% of its revenue and 70% of its foreign exchange earnings. Finance Minister Peggy Serame said in a budget speech that growth was estimated at 3.2% in 2023, lower than a previous forecast of 3.8%, picking up to 4.2% this year and 5.4% in 2025 premised on the world economy recovering. Serame said the 2024/25 fiscal…

Feb

06

2024

By ISAAC ANYAOGU

Shell agrees to develop Nigeria gas field for Dangote fertiliser

BUSINESS

SHELL Plc has made a final investment decision to build a gas supply facility in Nigeria to feed a fertiliser plant owned by Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote, the company said in a statement. The new facility will supply 100 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from the Iseni field to the Dangote Fertiliser and Petrochemical plant for 10 years, according to the deal agreed by Shell and its joint venture partners TotalEnergies, Eni and the state oil firm NNPC Ltd. The $2.5 billion plant, Africa's largest urea complex with a 3-million-tonne output per year, accounts for 65% of Nigeria's…