South Africa avoids a second Fitch cut as rating affirmed

Businessam StaffJune 1, 2017

South Africa avoided a second downgrade in two months from Fitch Ratings Ltd. as the company left its assessment of the nation’s debt at the highest non-investment grade. The local- and foreign-currency ratings were affirmed at BB+, Fitch said in an emailed statement Thursday. The outlook on both assessments was kept at stable. Fitch and […]

Revised South Africa mining charter due in next few weeks- Zuma

Businessam StaffMay 31, 2017

South Africa’s Mining Charter, which sets industry targets for black ownership and participation in the sector, will be published and become law in the next few weeks, President Jacob Zuma said on Wednesday. The mining industry has complained that it has not been consulted enough about the revisions and that South Africa’s mining industry is […]

Kenyatta opens Chinese-built Mombasa-Nairobi railway

Businessam StaffMay 31, 2017

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday inaugurated a Chinese-built railway, linking the capital Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa. It is Kenya’s  biggest infrastructure project since independence. The boxy red-and-white diesel train, Madaraka Express, left from a gleaming new terminal in the port city,  carrying Kenyatta, Chinese dignitaries and citizens from around the country on its […]

Ailing African Presidents leave nations in leadership limbo

Businessam StaffMay 31, 2017

*Leaders of Nigeria, Angola, Zimbabwe seek treatment abroad *Incapacity offsets experience benefit: Renaissance’s Robertson Nigeria, Angola and Zimbabwe are being left in leadership limbo as their ailing rulers spend weeks abroad seeking medical attention. The presidents of the three African nations all wield considerable power, and their absence has stoked investor uncertainty and stirred talk […]

Africa corn silos overflow in south as food crisis hits east

Businessam StaffMay 30, 2017

Africa’s corn harvest this year is a tale of two extremes as worries about overflowing silos and rotting crops in the south contrast with the east where supermarkets are running short of the staple food. Zambia and South Africa are both predicting record output of the grain, while Zimbabwe may meet its domestic needs for […]

Mauritian banks becomes haven as politics and oil roil peers

Businessam StaffMay 30, 2017

Mauritian banks are becoming beacons of growth and stability in sub-Saharan Africa. Unscathed by the vagaries of the oil price and unhindered by the political battles that have roiled some of their continental peers, the Indian Ocean island’s lenders have been bolstered by an economy growing faster than many of the mainland countries. The central […]

Malawi’s hopes aid embargo to be lifted after World Bank support resumed

Businessam StaffMay 29, 2017

Malawi hopes global lenders will release funds frozen over a government graft scandal three years ago now that the World Bank has resumed its budget support programme, Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe said on Monday. The World Bank decision early this month to restore budget support signals a return of donor confidence in Malawi, he told […]

Uganda, Tanzania partner on world’s longest heated pipeline

Businessam StaffMay 26, 2017

Uganda and Tanzania signed a framework agreement on their proposed $3.55 billion crude export pipeline on Friday, a key milestone for the project, which is expected to start pumping Ugandan oil to international markets in three years. An official at Uganda’s Ministry of Energy told Reuters the agreement covered terms on tax incentives for the […]

South Africa inflation at 17-month low shows end to rate hikes

Businessam StaffMay 25, 2017

South Africa’s inflation rate fell within the central bank’s target band in April for the first time in eight months, reinforcing chances that the rate-increase cycle may have come to an end. Consumer-price inflation eased to 5.3 percent from 6.1 percent in March, Statistics South Africa said in a report released Wednesday in the capital, […]