Namibia cuts lending rate to 6.75% to support growth
Businessam Staff
August 16, 2017
Namibia’s central bank cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 6.75 percent Wednesday, citing the need to support economic growth and maintain the one-to-one link between the Namibian dollar and the South Africa rand. Namibia’s economy slipped into recession in the first quarter of 2017, shrinking by 2.7 percent in the quarter […]
Egypt tourism revenue bounces back after crippling dollar shortage
Businessam StaffAugust 15, 2017
Egypt tourism receipts almost tripled and worker remittances rose in the last three months of its fiscal year, marking another step in the country’s economic recovery from a crippling dollar shortage. Tourism revenue rose to $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter that ended June 30, from $510 million in the same period a year ago, […]
Mozambique cuts key lending rate to 22.5%
Businessam StaffAugust 11, 2017
Mozambique’s Central Bank reduced its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 22.5 per cent, the regulator’s website showed Friday. The Bank of Mozambique said falling consumer price inflation and a firmer currency against the dollar had prompted the decision to reduce rates.
Swift decline in Rand as Zuma wins vote
Businessam StaffAugust 9, 2017
The South African rand fell for a second day against the dollar after President Jacob Zuma survived a no-confidence vote that could have brought an end to his administration. According to report from Bloomberg, the decline marks a swift turnaround for the rand, which was the best-performing major currency on Monday as the secret ballot […]
World Trade Centre expert decries declining non-oil imports under AGOA
Businessam StaffAugust 8, 2017
The World Trade Centre in Miami, Florida, has decried the declining trend of non-oil imports from sub-Saharan Africa to the U.S. under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA). Kemi Arosanyin, the Director for African Trade Expansion Programme in Lagos, said in a statement Tuesday that the AGOA opportunity had been grossly underutilised in the last […]
Sri Lankan companies eye Africa as next investment destination, says Stax
Businessam StaffAugust 1, 2017
STAX Inc, a strategy consultancy, says as African economies continue to grow, more opportunities will open up for Sri Lankan firms in areas such as tourism, hospitality education, and green energy. “Service industries such as retail, banking, and healthcare can also expand into to Africa to take advantage of the growth in the services sector,” […]
British American Tobacco faces Africa fraud probe
Businessam StaffAugust 1, 2017
Britain’s Serious Fraud Office has opened a formal investigation into possible historic misconduct by British American Tobacco (BAT) in Africa, the company said Tuesday. The maker of tobacco brands including Dunhill and Lucky Strike said it has been investigating a number of allegations of misconduct, that were originally made towards the end of 2015, through […]
Moody says South Africa’s central bank under increasing political pressure
Businessam StaffJuly 31, 2017
South Africa’s central bank is under increasing political pressure to maintain “expansionary” monetary policy, Moody’s Investors Service said as the regulator prepares to challenge an instruction to change its mandate. The High Court in Pretoria will on Tuesday hear the Reserve Bank’s application to review an the Public Protector’s order that lawmakers must change the […]
Africa wants greater representation in IMO’s Council, says AAMA’s Dakuku
Businessam StaffJuly 31, 2017
Dakuku Peterside, Chairman, Association of African Maritime Administration (AAMA), has called for increased representation of the continent in the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Council and its Secretariat. Dakuku who made the appeal when he led a delegation of some members of AAMA Executive Committee to meet with Kitack Lim, IMO’s Secretary General, at the Organization’s […]
China’s connection to Africa’s rising technology industry grows stronger
Businessam StaffJuly 30, 2017
It’s a match made in business heaven: Chinese technology companies hungry for expansion are diving into the less-developed African continent, where several countries are targeting double-digit economic growth. Iginio Gagliardone, a lecturer in media studies at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, told CNBC via telephone that the Middle Kingdom’s expansion into Africa has […]