International Monetary Fund - The African Mirror

Nov

2023

Kenya gets additional $938 mln from IMF, soothing nerves

THE International Monetary Fund has reached a staff-level agreement with Kenya, unlocking immediate access to a $682.3 million tranche and boosting the current lending programme by $938 million, the fund said. The East African nation is grappling with acute liquidity challenges caused by uncertainty over its ability to access funding from financial markets before a $2 billion Eurobond matures next June. Its balance of payments and financial positions have also been strained by the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic and frequent climate change-induced droughts, the fund said after a two-and-a-half-week review mission to Nairobi. "The tightening global financing conditions for…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Rwanda set for new $262 mln IMF stand-by facility

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund said that a mission to Rwanda had agreed on a new 14-month Stand-by Credit Facility worth $262 million to help the East African country deal with balance of payment pressures from climate shocks. IMF staff and Rwanda also reached an agreement on policies needed to complete the second review of an existing Policy Coordination Instrument and a programme under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. IMF board consideration of the agreements is tentatively scheduled for December, the fund said in a statement. "Repeated droughts, the severe floods in May 2023, and tightening global financing conditions are compounding…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Tunisia president sacks the economy minister over statement about IMF

NEWS

TUNISIAN President Kais Saied has sacked Economy Minister Samir Saied after fresh statements that a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would be vital for obtaining other foreign financing. The president strongly opposes what he described as the dictates of the IMF, saying that the IMF is "not sacred" and its conditions will lead to protests. The minister told TAP state news agency on Tuesday that "lenders are wondering about Tunisia's talks with the IMF." adding that "any deal would give a strong signal to the rest of the financiers." Tunisia last year reached a staff-level deal with the…

Oct

2023

By TAREK AMARA

Tunisia to keep fuel, food subsidies in 2024, raise taxes for banks, others

BUSINESS

TUNISIA expects its economy to grow by 2.1% in 2024, up from 0.9% in 2023 and plans almost the same subsidies for fuel, electricity and food while raising taxes for banks, hotels and liquor firms, a bill on its budget showed on Tuesday. The bill included no reference to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Tunisia's President Kais Saied this year rejected what he called IMF 'diktats' saying they could lead to social protests, casting doubt on the IMF deal. Tunisia last year reached a staff-level deal with the IMF for a $1.9 billion loan, but it has…

Oct

2023

By RACHEL SAVAGE

Debt squeeze leaves sub-Saharan Africa’s governments in fiscal bind

BUSINESS

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged sub-Saharan African policymakers last week to cut costly fuel subsidies and raise more in taxes, measures that may be hard to implement as governments grapple with tough spending choices amid high debt. The region has been hit by repeated economic shocks since 2020, from the COVID-19 pandemic to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising U.S. interest rates, putting cash-strapped, debt-laden governments in a political and fiscal bind. However, the IMF's prescriptions, set out at its annual meetings last week, are often painful to administer. Countries from Ghana, which defaulted on its debts last year, to Kenya, which…

Oct

2023

By NYASHA CHINGONO

Zimbabwe wants new IMF staff-monitored programme by April

BUSINESS

ZIMBABWE hopes to agree on a new staff-monitored programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by April next year, with an IMF team due to visit later this month for initial talks, its finance minister said. "Our intention is that by the time we go for the Spring Meetings in April 2024, we should have signed off on a staff-monitored programme," Mthuli Ncube told reporters in Marrakech at the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings. "It will focus on maintaining discipline on the fiscal front and continue fine-tuning our exchange rate system and maintaining a tight monetary policy." An IMF…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Ghana Eurobonds jump after $3 billion IMF bailout moves forward

BUSINESS

GHANA'S international sovereign dollar bonds rose on Friday after the West African country reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on the first review of its $3 billion bailout loan program. Longer-dated maturities jumped the most, with the 2061 bond rising just over 1 cent to 41.504 cents on the dollar at 1204 GMT, according to Tradeweb data. Most of the bonds are still trading at deeply distressed levels of 41-44 cents on the dollar.

Oct

2023

By JORGELINA DO ROSARIO and KARIN STROHECKER

Zambia, bondholders kick off formal talks on $3 billion debt restructuring, sources say

BUSINESS

ZAMBIA'S international bondholders have formally started debt talks with the government this week, according to three sources, a key step to restructure more than $3 billion of overseas bonds. A group of the country's biggest private creditors has entered into a restricted period, which means they temporarily cannot trade the country's notes in exchange for non-public information, the sources added, asking not to be named because the discussions were private. The non-disclosure agreements(NDA) would be still in place next week, one of the sources added when Zambia officials and creditors are set to meet in person during the World Bank…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Rwanda and partners to seek further 300 million euros for climate resilience

NEWS

RWANDA and international development banks plan to raise an extra 300 million euros ($328.86 million) to help the country adapt to a changing climate, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. In April, the IMF said it had allowed for a disbursement of $98.6 million of an initial $319 million. It said on Thursday, the new support would build on that and the Rwandan government's fund-raising efforts would be helped by France's Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Italy's Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The proceeds will help businesses in Rwanda to access…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s new foreign exchange policy is good news – but it can’t work wonders for the economy on its own

BUSINESS

THE Central Bank of Nigeria recently announced changes to the way the country’s foreign exchange market will work. Foreign currencies can now be bought and sold at rates determined by the market – not by the central bank. This signals the intention of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to allow market forces to determine the value of the naira. STEPHEN ONYEIWU, Professor of Economics & Business, Allegheny College In the past, there were multiple exchange rates for the currency. The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly called on Nigeria to end this. The huge gap between the official and unofficial rates…