Morocco signs gas pipeline deal with Nigeria
Experts see the partnership between Morocco and Nigeria as a model for opening the path to South-South cooperation in Africa.
How the Middle East’s Top Investment Firm Unraveled: A Timeline
It took Pakistani financier Arif Naqvi about 15 years to build Abraaj into one of the developing world’s most influential investors. It’s taken less than five months for the Dubai-based buyout firm to reach the brink of collapse. Abraaj Holdings, which once managed almost $14 billion, has filed an application for a court-supervised restructuring in…
Congo to Start $13.9 Billion Hydropower Project This Year
The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to start work this year on the frequently delayed Inga 3 hydropower project, after receiving a joint bid from two previously competing consortia of investors. One group led by China Three Gorges Corp. and another including Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA of Spain submitted a joint bid on June 6 for the…
Barclays Africa Said to Halve Top Retail-Banking Executives
Barclays Africa Group Ltd. may halve the number of top jobs at its South African retail and business bank as it reorganizes after its British parent cut its stake, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Johannesburg-based lender started talks to consult executives on a plan that may result in the reduction of top…
Kenyan Economy Grows Most Since 2016 as Good Weather Boosts Crop
Kenya’s economy grew at the fastest pace since 2016 in the first quarter as the country reaps the benefits of a calmer political climate and resurging agricultural output. Gross domestic product in East Africa’s largest economy expanded 5.7 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, compared with a revised 5.3 percent…
African nations are carrying the torch of free trade
Free trade is increasingly coming under fire by populist leaders. President Donald Trumphas been accused of starting a global trade war after imposing higher tariffs on steel and aluminum products, a move that prompted some of America’s biggest trading partners and longest allies to increase their own tariffs. And, in Italy, the election of an anti-establishment,…
International lenders warn on capacity constraints in Africa but remain bullish on pro-investor and trade trends
Global and African financial heads identified country risk as the biggest challenge to their ability to lend more to African countries. Speaking in Abidjan during a one-day forum on investment risks in Africa hosted by the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) (www.ATI-aca.org), experts acknowledged that the abundance of current liquidity in the market did nothing…
World Bank grants $2.1bn loan for seven projects in Nigeria
The World Bank has approved of $2.1bn loan for seven projects to be executed in Nigeria. The loan was announced in a statement issued by World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Rachid Benmessaoud in Abuja on Thursday. According to the statement, the loans were approved in Washington on Wednesday and are for seven projects to…
BRICS setting up its own credit rating agency
Experts on regional strategic policy have urged BRICS member countries to step up efforts towards setting up its own credit rating agency as an effective mechanism to consolidate the bloc’s new multifaceted spheres of cooperation. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is currently working on a set of new proposals including the establishment…
Congo’s Miners Face Harsh New Reality as Mining Law Finalized
The options for mining companies battling new legislation in the Democratic Republic of Congo — Africa’s biggest copper producer and the source of two-thirds of the world’s cobalt — have just about run out. After six months of lobbying, companies including Glencore Plc and Randgold Resources Ltd. have got nowhere in their battle to push back against the mining…