Zambia Inflation Accelerates to 12-Year High As Kwacha Weakens …

Lusaka, Zambia, Capital Markets in Africa — Zambian consumer prices accelerated for a sixth consecutive month to a fresh 12-year high amid a power crisis and currency weakness. Prices rose by 21.8 percent year-on-year in January from 21.1 percent a month earlier, the Central Statistical Office said in a statement handed to reporters on Thursday in Lusaka, the capital. Prices rose 1.3 percent in January from the previous month, it said. Inflation has in Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer,…

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Nigeria’s President Buhari says naira devaluation would kill naira

Nigeria’s President Buhari says naira devaluation would kill naira

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari yet to be convinced that country will benefit from any official devaluation of naira, his spokesman Garba Shehu says in Facebook post, citing comments made in Nairobi on Wednesday.   While export-driven economies may benefit from devaluation of currencies, weakening exchange rate “will only result in further inflation and hardship for the poor and middle classes in Nigeria’s import-dependent economy”.   Devaluing naira will…

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Nigeria aims to raise US$1 Billion Eurobond to fund budget deficits

Nigeria aims to raise US$1 Billion Eurobond to fund budget deficits

Lagos, Nigeria, Capital Markets ion Africa — Nigeria plans to sell as much as US$1 billion of Eurobonds to help fund a record budget deficit, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun stated on Friday in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Finance Minister explained that the country is planning to hold non-deal roadshows to meet investors and explain the government’s fiscal policies and monetary policies to resuscitate growth. She said:   “We’re looking at a maximum of…

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Nigeria’s 2016 Budget Deficit Widen As Oil Price Slump

Nigeria’s 2016 Budget Deficit Widen As Oil Price Slump

Lagos, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — The Nigeria’s 2016 budget deficit is estimated at 36 percent after oil prices dropped below the $38 per barrel benchmark estimate set by Africa’s largest economy.    The gap will increase to NGN 3 trillion  (US$15.1 billion) from NGN 2.2 trillion, or 3 percent of gross domestic product, and will remain within the “comfort zone for the international credit rating agencies,” Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun stated in an e-mailed statement on Thursday.   The…

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Scrapping of fuel subsidies to save Nigeria US$5 billion

Scrapping of fuel subsidies to save Nigeria US$5 billion

Lagos, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Nigeria’s government, which relies on oil for about two-thirds of its revenue, sees a silver lining to the plunge in crude prices because it will no longer have to subsidize fuel, Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo stated. “Lower oil prices also mean there is some advantage,” Osinbajo said in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday. The decline “means that we are not paying any subsidies, which…

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IMF Cuts South Africa’s and Nigeria’s Economic Growth Forecast for 2016

IMF Cuts South Africa’s and Nigeria’s Economic Growth Forecast for 2016

LONDON, Capital Markets in Africa — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently published the latest update to its world economic outlook. The document is tagged “Subdued Demand, Diminished Prospects”. In the January publication, the global economic prospects is  downgraded to projected at 3.4 percent in 2016 (compare to 3.6 percent in October 2015 forecast) and 3.6 percent in 2017 (3.8 percent in October 2015 release). The pickup in global activity is projected to be more…

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ICD supports Ivory Coast to successfully Issue the largest West African Sovereign Sukuk

ICD supports Ivory Coast to successfully Issue the largest West African Sovereign Sukuk

Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Capital Markets in Africa — On 21st December 2015 the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, acting through the Ministry of Economy and Finance, closed an inaugural local currency, CFA 150 Billion (USD 244 million) Sukuk al-Ijara (“Sukuk”). The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (“ICD”), an arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, acted as the Lead Arranger. The sukuk with a five‐year maturity, was subscribed by regional…

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