Finance

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – African countries should focus on green investments in energy for a green recovery in the aftermath of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, William Lugemwa, Director of the Private Sector Development and Finance Division at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said Sunday, adding placing investments in sustainable energy among the central recovery goals was critical. In remarks during a side event at the 53rd Session of the Commission and 2021…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — There are few easier ways to make a quick buck in America today than flipping houses. The real-estate market is red hot, profits on flips are at a record high — some $66,000 on average per home — and throngs of HGTV-inspired wannabes have been piling into the business for months. And now, America’s financiers are too. There are more than 60 banks and other firms financing flippers…

“Without flexibility, Nigeria will face difficulties integrating large amounts of renewable energy into the grid” As the largest economy in Africa, with huge gas reserves and high solar energy potential, Nigeria has all the natural resources necessary to meet the growing demand for electricity. However, the inadequate energy infrastructure still leaves a significant part of the population without power or relying on oil-fired back-up generators. If Nigeria can improve its energy infrastructure and unlock its…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) — Kenya’s National Treasury moved to allay fears that the nation could lose ownership of its busiest seaport in case of failure to repay a loan from China to build a railway. “There is absolutely no risk of China or any other country taking over the Port of Mombasa,” Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani said in a statement Monday. The government “cannot and has not pledged public assets as security for…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Unemployment in Africa’s largest economy surged to the second-highest on a global list of countries monitored by Bloomberg. The jobless rate in Nigeria rose to 33.3% in the three months through December, according to a report published by the National Bureau of Statistics on its website Monday. That’s up from 27.1% in the second quarter of 2020, the last period for which the agency released labor-force statistics. A third…