Algeria plans bank privatisations as oil money dries up

ALGIERS, Capital Markets in Africa: Algeria plans to allow its dominant state banks to list on the local stock exchange to help develop its financial markets and diversify sources of funding after the oil price slide, a senior financial official said. The plan will open the door for foreign investors to acquire controlling stakes in banks, reversing a rule requiring Algerian firms to keep a majority shareholding in any partnership with foreigners, the official told…

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Algeria and ENI sign solar plant deal for south – APS agency

Algeria and ENI sign solar plant deal for south – APS agency

ALGIERS, Capital Markets in Africa: Algerian state energy company Sonatrach has signed a deal with Italian firm ENI for a solar power plant, state news agency APS said on Friday, as the North African state looks to decrease domestic consumption of gas for power and export more. The 10 MW photovoltaic plant to be launched before the end of 2016 in Ouargla in southern Algeria will supply the company’s Bir Rebaa field with electricity, allowing…

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African Union Says EU Funds Secured for Its Mission in Somalia

African Union Says EU Funds Secured for Its Mission in Somalia

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: The African Union said it secured 178 million euros ($199.6 million) of financial support from the European Union for its peacekeeping mission in Somalia, as the war-torn nation prepares for elections next month. The contract signed Wednesday covers the period from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2016, with funds to be used for the allowances of mission troops and police, international and local civilian staff salaries and operational costs, the…

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Nigerian Lawmakers to Probe Claim $17 Billion of Oil Stolen

Nigerian Lawmakers to Probe Claim $17 Billion of Oil Stolen

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: Nigeria’s lower house of parliament ordered an investigation into whether $17 billion of fuel exports were stolen. Most of the oil and liquefied natural gas ended up in the U.S. and some went to China and Norway between 2011 and 2014, Johnson Agbonayinma, a lawmaker, told the House of Representatives in the capital, Abuja, on Thursday. The missing products include about 58 million barrels of oil and 727,000 metric tons…

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Libyan oil port takeover gives edge to eastern commander

Libyan oil port takeover gives edge to eastern commander

TRIPOLI, Capital Markets in Africa: Less than a fortnight after forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar swept into four of Libya’s oil ports, tankers are loading, production has jumped, and momentum has shifted firmly in the divisive former general’s favour. For Haftar’s opponents, and for Western powers, the move on the ports was alarming. Haftar and his backers in eastern Libya have been in a stand-off for months with a unity government in Tripoli, blocking any…

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Egypt | To loosen its currency peg Egypt needs sustainable dollar inflows

Egypt | To loosen its currency peg Egypt needs sustainable dollar inflows

CAIRO, Capital Markets in Africa: Egypt is rebuilding its foreign reserves with the help of loans and aid, easing a shortage of dollars and preparing the way for a loosening of its fixed exchange rate. But economists and bankers say that unless it finds a sustainable inflow of dollars the import-dependent country could soon find itself back at square one. Egypt has struggled to earn dollars since a 2011 revolt drove away tourists and foreign…

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Former OPEC President Optimistic There Will Be Deal in Algiers

Former OPEC President Optimistic There Will Be Deal in Algiers

ALGIERS, Capital Markets in Africa: Chakib Khelil, the former Algerian energy minister who steered OPEC the last time it decided to cut supply, said he’s confident the group will reach an accord next week as low oil prices force members to act. With most of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries now producing near full capacity, it should be straightforward to promise no further increases, said Khelil, who was the group’s president in 2008 when it agreed…

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