BUSINESS - The African Mirror

Oct

15

2022

Stellantis signs framework deal for Fiat vehicle production in Algeria

BUSINESS

CARMAKER Stellantis said it had signed a framework agreement with Algeria to develop activities of its Fiat brand in the county, including for local production of vehicles. The deal covers a project for the development in Algeria of industrial, after-sales and spare parts activities for Fiat, as well as the development of the automotive sector in the country, Stellantis said in a statement, after signing the agreement with the director of cooperation of Algeria's industry ministry. The world's fourth-largest carmaker, which houses brands including Peugeot, Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Opel, did not provide further details about the activities it…

Oct

15

2022

By The African Mirror

Diageo seeks to raise its stake in Kenyan brewer EABL, to keep listing

BUSINESS

DIAGEO Plc, the world's largest spirits maker, has offered to buy additional shares in Kenya's East African Breweries to boost its stake by a third to 65%, it said. Diageo is offering to buy 118.39 million shares at 192 shillings ($1.59) each, the multinational drinks group said in a statement, amounting to a 40% premium over the market price. The offer closes on March 10, next year, Diageo said, adding that it will not seek to take over the entire company should it attain its desired level of ownership, and it will keep the company listed. Diageo has been seeking to…

Nov

02

2022

By The African Mirror

Prosus and Naspers deny report they are in talks to sell Tencent stake

BUSINESS

TECHNOLOGY investment firm Prosus NV and its South African parent Naspers rejected as "untrue" a report that they are in talks to sell their large stake in Chinese software and gaming giant Tencent. In a pre-market statement, Amsterdam-based Prosus said an article in Asian Tech Press citing unnamed sources saying that Naspers was in talks with a group of investors led by state-backed CITIC of China to sell its entire Tencent stake was "speculative and untrue". Prosus holds a 28% stake in Tencent worth $70 billion at current prices. It has said it intends to sell the stake down gradually to…

Oct

21

2022

By The African Mirror

South Africa moves to regulate crypto assets

BUSINESS

SOUTH Africa's financial watchdog has classified cryptocurrency assets as financial products, a notice in the government gazette said on Wednesday, enabling them to be regulated. In the brief notice, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said a crypto asset, which it referred to as "a digital representation of value", must be regulated in South Africa from the date of publication. Regulations that the authorities have said they planned to introduce include applying foreign exchange controls and licensing crypto trading companies. Financial watchdogs across the globe have been grappling with how to regulate new digital currencies and tokens, the prices of…

Oct

22

2022

By The African Mirror

Walmart doubles down on Africa despite a decade of frustration

BUSINESS

NQOBILE DLUDLA IN 2011, U.S. retail giant Walmart Inc made a bet on Africa, buying a majority stake in South African retailer Massmart in what many investors saw as a step toward dominating the continent's vast untapped market. It didn't go according to plan. More than a decade later, Massmart's balance sheet is burdened with debt, its books are deep in losses and it's drowning in lease obligations on commercial properties. From its late entry into e-commerce to an ill-fated foray into fresh foods, Walmart's African journey over the last decade has been a string of missteps, compounded by economic headwinds and…

Oct

24

2022

By The African Mirror

Analysis: Poor nations face peril over elusive G-20 debt relief push

BUSINESS

KARIN STROHECKER and ANDREA SHALAL A failure to secure meaningful progress on debt relief for the world's poorest nations at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meeting in Washington has left policymakers, campaigners and investors frustrated. Two years ago the Group of 20 launched the Common Framework - a mechanism designed to provide a swift and comprehensive debt overhaul to nations buckling under debt burdens after the COVID-19 shock that would reach beyond temporary debt payment moratoriums. But results have proven elusive, hampered by a combination of a lack of progress in bringing key creditors around the table…

Oct

25

2022

By The African Mirror

Ethiopia-Tigray peace talks to start in South Africa

BUSINESS

NEGOTIATORS for the Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray were due to meet in the South African capital Pretoria for the first formal peace talks since war broke out two years ago. The talks come after the Ethiopian military and their allies, who include troops from neighbouring Eritrea, captured several large towns in Tigray, a region in northern Ethiopia, over the past week. The situation on the ground appeared to put the government in a stronger position than its opponents going into the talks, though it was under pressure from foreign powers, including the United States and European Union,…

Oct

25

2022

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s 2023 budget is a plan of despair and won’t change the tempo of the economy

BUSINESS

NIGERIA’S 2023 budget, recently presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly, has generated a furore. There are concerns about the impact on the country’s rising deficits and debt, as well as its failure to address some of the structural deficiencies behind declining revenues and rising inflation. The 2023 budget expenditure of 20.51 trillion naira (US$43.7 billion) is the highest ever. More than half of this is money the government doesn’t have and has to be financed with new debt. This will mean that the country exceeds the 3% of GDP threshold stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of…

Jul

06

2022

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s Suez Canal revenue hits $7 billion record peak

BUSINESS

EGYPT'S Suez Canal revenue hit a record high of $7 billion in the financial year to June 30, up 20.7% from the previous year, Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabea said on Monday. A statement from the authority attributed the rise to an increase in vessel numbers and cargoes, with total cargoes reaching a record high of 1.32 million tonnes, up 10.9% from 2020/21. The number of vessels transiting the canal rose 15.7% to 22,032. The canal is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and one of the Egyptian government's main sources of foreign currency. A 2015 expansion of…

Jul

06

2022

By The African Mirror

West Africa’s startup funding hegemony

BUSINESS

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY STARTUP tracker, Africa: The Big Deal's figures show that since 2019, West African startups have hauled in 4.2 billion US dollars, representing 41 per cent of the total funds logged in Africa in that period. "Start-ups in the region have attracted more funding than in Northern and Eastern Africa combined during the period," its weekly analysis read in part. This is in part thanks to Nigeria which gobbled up over 86 per cent of the funds raised in West Africa, during the period, making the populous nation the continent's most vibrant VC market. According to…