Our website use cookies to improve and personalize your experience and to display advertisements (if any). Our website may also include cookies from third parties like Google Adsense, Google Analytics, and Youtube. By using the website, you consent to the use of cookies.

World Bank chief says $12 bln in vaccine funds available, need to speed supplies

World Bank chief says $12 bln in vaccine funds available, need to speed supplies

THE World Bank now has $12 billion in COVID-19 vaccine financing available and will have approved vaccination financing operations in over 50 countries by the end of June, the development lender's president, David Malpass, said on Tuesday. Malpass told a joint news conference with the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization that it was "vital that we speed up the supply chain for vaccine distribution," including shortening the manufacturing time, approvals and allocations of doses that have already been produced.
Read More
Congo earthquake disrupts tin ore exports

Congo earthquake disrupts tin ore exports

PRATIMA DESAI and HELEN REID AN earthquake in Goma, a city in Democratic Republic of Congo near the border with Rwanda, is delaying exports of tin ore from mineral-rich North Kivu province, two sources with direct knowledge have told Reuters. This is likely to exacerbate shortages of the soldering metal, prices of which last week touched 10-year highs at $30,650 a tonne. The sources said tin ore producers have been unable to obtain the permits they need to export the material because government offices in Goma, North Kivu's capital city, are shut due to the earthquake, which destroyed several buildings…
Read More
IMF to approve $1.6-billion for Egypt

IMF to approve $1.6-billion for Egypt

THE International Monetary Fund expects to provide an additional $1.6 billion in financing to Egypt after its executive board approves the funding in coming weeks. The IMF said its staff reached an agreement with Egyptian authorities about the additional funding after a second and final review of Egypt's economic program and a $5.2 billion 12-month stand-by arrangement. "Egypt's economy has shown resilience, with the impact of the COVID-19 crisis mitigated by the authorities' swift, and balanced policy response," the IMF said in a statement. It said Egypt's fiscal and monetary policies should continue to support the economic recovery, and called…
Read More
COVID-hit Namibia makes second bid to auction off fisheries quota

COVID-hit Namibia makes second bid to auction off fisheries quota

NAMIBIA’S government will have a second go at auctioning off part of its horse mackerel fish quota to raise money for its coronavirus-hit coffers after the first sale flopped, a prospectus showed yesterday. The ministries of finance and fisheries were inviting bids for a June 18 auction of the 87,500 metric tonne quota of the country's horse mackerel fisheries normally reserved for state-owned Fishcor, the paper said. "The purpose of the auction is to raise revenue for government expenditure," finance ministry spokesman Tonateni Shidhudhu said. Namibia's first auction staged in August last year was a disappointment after bidders stumped up…
Read More
France, African leaders push to redirect $100 bln in IMF SDR reserves by October

France, African leaders push to redirect $100 bln in IMF SDR reserves by October

JOHN IRISH FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron said a summit in Paris on Africa financing had agreed to work towards persuading rich nations by October to reallocate $100 billion in IMF special drawing rights monetary reserves to African states. Impoverished African economies must not be left behind in the post-pandemic economic recovery and a substantial financial package is needed to provide much-needed economic stimulus, African and European leaders concluded at a summit in Paris. In the immediate term, that meant accelerating the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and creating the fiscal breathing room for African nations, which will face a spending shortfall of…
Read More
La Liga teams up with Microsoft to lift revenues as TV rights market cools

La Liga teams up with Microsoft to lift revenues as TV rights market cools

RICHARD MARTIN and CLARA-LAEILA LAUDETTE SPAIN’S La Liga is expanding its partnership with Microsoft as it looks to boost revenue for its pandemic-hit soccer clubs and re-energise a fanbase that is consuming ever more digital products. The Spanish league, which announced its closer ties with Microsoft, sees the fast-growing world of sports technology as a way of offsetting a cooling television rights market and helping clubs develop on and off the pitch. "We want to launch a new company... to generate revenue so we are able to redistribute and have better clubs, better stadiums and better players," Oscar Mayo, La…
Read More
South Africa’s weak growth could fuel socioeconomic tensions – Moody’s

South Africa’s weak growth could fuel socioeconomic tensions – Moody’s

SOUTH Africa's low economic growth and rising debt burden could see socioeconomic tension intensify and impede policy reforms, rating firm Moody's said in a research note on Tuesday. The note, an extract from the credit firm's annual report published on Monday, said South Africa's credit profile was balanced, with its low level of foreign currency debt and a strong core of institutions counting in its favour. "Credit challenges include structurally very weak growth and a high government debt burden that will continue to rise without comprehensive economic and fiscal reforms," Moody's said. "Socioeconomic inequalities also intensify tensions that drive political…
Read More
IMF mission says Ghana economy rebounding

IMF mission says Ghana economy rebounding

RODRIGO CAMPOS A country mission of the International Monetary Fund says Ghana has managed its COVID-19 outbreak very effectively and its economy is rebounding with the support of strong policies. "Policy interventions in 2020 were also critical to safeguard livelihoods and paved the way for a faster rebound of economic activity," said Carlo Sdralevich, the mission head, in a statement following virtual meetings ended on May 12. He said last year's government actions to contain the pandemic also exacerbated pre-existing budget constraints and public debt vulnerabilities. "The 2021 budget's recent policy pivot towards fiscal consolidation is an important step in…
Read More
Burundi’s parliament passes $870 mln budget for 2021/22

Burundi’s parliament passes $870 mln budget for 2021/22

BURUNDI’S parliament passed the government's planned budget of 1.7 trillion francs ($869.7 million) for the financial year starting July, up 8% from the expenditure for the current fiscal year. Friday's measure puts priority on areas such as "good governance, public health, agriculture and livestock (and) youth development," in the next fiscal year, the government said in a budget document presented in parliament by Finance Minister Domicien Ndihokubwayo. Ndihokubwayo said 76.4% of the budget would be funded from tax revenues while the rest would be from aid. The economy of the central African nation, which relies on exports of coffee and…
Read More