Economy | - Part 36

Budget Delays Cast Doubt on Nigeria Economic Growth Promises

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s promise of a pickup in growth, investment and jobs ahead of next year’s election is getting trickier to achieve because of a political stalemate over its record budget. Government forecasts of 3.5 percent economic expansion this year are partly premised on a yet-to-be-signed accord worth 9.1 trillion naira ($25.2 billion) that will increase spending on power, roads and ports. Budgets in Muhammadu Buhari’s first democratic term have been delayed for…

Moody’s downgrades Gabon’s ratings to Caa1, changes outlook to stable

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LIBREVILLE (Capital Markets in Africa )- Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded the Government of Gabon’s issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to Caa1 from B3 and changed the outlook to stable from negative. The rating downgrade is underpinned by continuing government arrears to creditors and suppliers which point to heightened government liquidity pressures and denote institutional weaknesses. Persistent arrears also risk delaying critical financial support from the official sector, in turn exacerbating existing liquidity…

Africa Debt Servicing Costs Surge and Changes in Government Financing

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – S&P Global Ratings indicated that the debt-servicing costs of 11 out of 17 rated Sub-Saharan African (SSA) sovereigns that are under the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative have increased significantly since 2011. The HIPC, which is an initiative of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund mainly, is a debt-relief program for countries that are unable to service their debt. The agency said that the initiative reduced…

Moody’s Changes Cameroon’s Outlook To Negative, Affirms B2 Rating

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YAOUNDE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has changed the outlook on the Government of Cameroon’s issuer local and foreign currency ratings to negative from stable and affirmed the B2 ratings. The decision to change the outlook to negative reflects a rising likelihood that Cameroon’s fiscal strength will continue to weaken due to persistent spending pressures to fund its infrastructure investment program to support growth. Recent fiscal overruns and weak financial health…

Algerian Economy Facing Significant Challenges – IMF Says

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ALGIERS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The International Monetary Fund indicated that Algeria continues to face significant challenges because of the sharp decrease in global oil prices since 2014. It noted that Algerian authorities are facing wide fiscal and current account deficits, declining foreign currency reserves and a slowdown in economic activity, despite the considerable fiscal consolidation measures implemented in 2017. It projected real GDP growth to accelerate from 1.6% in 2017 to 3% in 2018…

Tunisian Risks to Macroeconomic Stability Increase – IMF says

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TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The International Monetary Fund considered that Tunisian authorities remain committed to the implementation of urgent economic reforms to reduce the country’s macroeconomic and fiscal imbalances. It indicated that the economy showed signs of recovery, with real GDP growing by 2.5% in the first quarter of 2018, its highest level since 2014, supported by strong agricultural production and exports. Also, it noted that the current account deficit narrowed because of a…

South Africa’s Nene Sees Faster Growth and Smaller Budget Gap

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s economy will expand faster and the fiscal deficit may be smaller than the estimates set out in the February budget, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said. Gross domestic product will grow more quickly this year than the 1.5 percent predicted in the budget, Nene told lawmakers in Cape Town on Tuesday, without giving a new forecast. The fiscal shortfall for the year to March 2018 could be “marginally lower” than…

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