BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Nov

26

2023

Zambia debt rework delaying impede key investments, hitting the ‘most vulnerable’ – FinMin

BUSINESS

LONG delays in Zambia's debt restructuring have hamstrung much-needed investments, curtailed economic growth, weighed on local financial markets and added to living costs for its people, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane told Reuters. Zambia defaulted three years ago and is trying to rework its debt under the G20 Common Framework, a programme designed to ensure swift and smooth debt overhauls for low-income nations. But the process has been beset by delays, with Zambia suffering a major setback on Monday when official creditors rejected a preliminary deal agreed between the country and its bondholders to rework $3 billion over objections on whether it offered…

Nov

26

2023

By The African Mirror

Uganda October coffee exports up 3% on bumper crop in southwest

BUSINESS

UGANDA'S coffee exports in October were up 3.4% year on year, helped by a bumper crop in the southwest of the country, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) said in a report. Uganda is Africa's largest exporter of coffee beans and earnings from the shipments are one of the country's main sources of foreign exchange. The East African country shipped 470,080 60kg bags in October, the UCDA report said. Though volumes were up only 3.4%, the October shipments fetched $79 million for an 18% jump on the same month last year. "The monthly coffee exports performance was higher than the…

Nov

25

2023

By ALEX LAWLER, AHMAD GHADDAR and MAHA EL DAHAN

Angola, Nigeria target higher oil output amid OPEC+ talks

BUSINESS

AFRICAN members of OPEC+ producer group Angola and Nigeria are aiming for higher oil output, officials told Reuters, a day after the group was forced to postpone talks on next year's production policy. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia, known as OPEC+, on Wednesday, delayed a ministerial meeting expected to discuss output cuts, a surprise move which sent oil prices sliding. "We are happy, we are waiting for the meeting," Angolan OPEC governor Estevao Pedro told Reuters. "We are fighting to increase our production," he said, adding that investment was being made to make…

Nov

24

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenyan lender KCB Group’s nine-month pretax profit falls 6%

BUSINESS

KENYA'S KCB Group, a top two commercial bank, recorded a 6% fall in profit before tax for the first nine months of this year to 40.6 billion shillings ($266.51 million), it said. KCB, which also operates in Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, attributed the drop to a tough economic environment in its home market. "We have had a rather difficult nine months due to a tough operating environment that has negatively affected our customers," Paul Russo, KCB's CEO, said in a statement. The pressure on the Kenyan market was, however, offset by…

Nov

24

2023

By NQOBILE DLUDLA

South Africa’s Mr Price jumps on better than expected profit

BUSINESS

MR PRICE shares jumped 11% after the South African budget fashion retailer posted a smaller-than-expected drop in first-half profit and forecasted an improved performance in the second half, which includes holiday trade. Shares in the group, which also sells homewares and sports clothing and equipment, hit a 9-1/2 month high of 164 rand. Mr Price said its first-half performance was hit by power cuts, a highly promotional retail environment and the impact of double-digit inflation in food and transport on its value-focussed customers. Casparus Treurnicht, portfolio manager at Gryphon Asset Management, said the market had expected far worse news after…

Nov

24

2023

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Crypto: The next big adoption challenge for African banks?

BUSINESS

THE transition has been swift. Just two decades ago, most banking in Africa was performed offline, due to limited internet reach. Now, African banks are on the verge of adopting fintech's big disruptor, cryptocurrencies. The latest indicator of the speed of this change was a vote of confidence in Yellow Card, a Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange platform, at this year’s Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS 2023). During the summit, which brought together over 1,000 financial industry leaders, regulators, bankers, and fintech entrepreneurs, the exchange was recognised with the award of ‘Disrupter of the Year’. “The award speaks to the power of…

Nov

24

2023

By DUNCAN MIRIRI

Kenya to sell 35 state companies as Africa seeks to jumpstart IPOs

BUSINESS

KENYA'S President William Ruto said the government was poised to privatise 35 state companies after enacting a law last month to guide the process. Kenya last privatised a state-owned company in 2008 with an initial public offering (IPO) for 25% of the shares in telecommunications firm Safaricom. "We have identified the first 35 companies that we are going to offer to the private sector. We have another close to 100 we are working with financial advisers on what to do," Ruto said in remarks at the opening ceremony of the African Stock Exchanges Association's annual meeting in Nairobi. Finance Minister…

Nov

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s stock market has suffered steepest losses in the world: an expert view on why and how to reverse it

BUSINESS

KENYA’S stock market recently suffered steep losses, making it the worst-performing globally. The weak performance has persisted: the Nairobi Securities Exchange 20-share index stood at about 1420 on 10 November 2023, having fallen from 1509 on 29 September 2023, a drop of 6% over the six-week period. In better days, the index has risen above the psychological 5000 mark: for example, it was 5491 on 23 February 2015. ODONGO KODONGO, Associate professor, Finance, University of the Witwatersrand The stock market matters for the Kenyan public for several reasons. First, up to 70% of the retirement savings of Kenyans may be…

Nov

23

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria lawmakers pass 2024-2026 budget framework with naira at 700 to dollar next year

BUSINESS

NIGERIA'S lower house of parliament passed the medium-term expenditure framework for 2024-2026, a set of assumptions that will be used to prepare the country's budget over the next three years. The document, which was agreed by President Bola Tinubu's cabinet before going to the House of Representatives for approval, expects the naira currency to be around 700 naira per dollar next year before firming slightly in 2025 and 2026. The naira last week briefly slumped to a record low of 1,105 against the dollar on the official market, bringing the official exchange rate within touching distance of the parallel market rate. The…

Nov

22

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s Telkom in exclusive talks on sale of towers business

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa's third-biggest telecom company, Telkom, said that it is in exclusive negotiations with a preferred bidder on the possible sale of its masts and towers business, Swiftnet. Telkom, also a fixed-line phone company, said the preferred bidder is a consortium of equity investors, including a Black Economic Empowerment partner, led and managed by a reputable private equity firm. Telkom, which spun off its telecom towers and masts into a separate unit, has been exploring options to unlock value in the business, which it sees as undervalued because it is trapped in the group structure. At the same time, the…