Auteur/autrice : Rédaction Financial Afrik

Addis Ababa, 17 April 2014 (ECA) — As a result of rebasing and re-benchmarking of the national accounts series of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Nigeria’s nominal GDP has been nearly doubled, becoming Africa’s largest economy and the 26th  largest economy in the world. 

Nigeria, the USD500bn economy. According to preliminary figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s GDP post-rebasing is estimated at NGN80.2tr (USD500.4bn) at YE 2013. This compares to NGN42.4tr (USD264.5bn) under the old time series for the same period, implying an 89% increase in nominal output.

The Conseil Deontologique des Valeurs Mobilières of Morocco  (CDVM)  informs the public that it has approved, on the 4 th of April 2014, a  prospectus relating to the share buyback program launched by ITISSALAT  AL-MAGHRIB in order to regulate its stock market.The main characteristics of the program are as follows: 

  Global law firm Eversheds has signed an agreement with CWA Morocco to partner in the country, establishing two new offices for the firm in Casablanca and Tangier under the name of Eversheds CWA Morocco.

UAP Holdings Limited reported a profit before tax of KeS 2.2bn for the year to 31st December, 2013. This reflects a 27% increase from KeS 1.7bn achieved in 2012.

Lagos, Nigeria, 31 March 2014 – On Friday 28 March 2014, Lamudi, founded by Africa Internet Holding (AIH) and Nigeria’s leading online real estate platform surpassed 10,000 listings. The platform now provides Nigerians with a wider selection of properties in popular urban areas including: Abuja, Lagos and Ibadan.

European Commissioners Andris Piebalgs, for Development policy, and Karel De Gucht, for Trade policy, welcomed today’s Foreign Affairs Council conclusions confirming new EU support of at least €6.5 billion for the Economic Partnership Agreement Development Program (PAPED) for West Africa during the period 2015-2020.

Inflation falls to 7.7% y/y in Feb. Inflation in Nigeria dropped to 7.7% y/y in Feb 2014, from 8.0% y/y in Jan and Dec, which represents a low since at least late 2007. The CPI figure for Feb was also close to our forecast of 7.9% y/y, and remained broadly in line with the projected medium term inflation path. In m/m terms, consumer prices increased 0.5% – below the average monthly inflation levels typically recorded in Feb in recent years – and extended the benign 0.3.-0.8% m/m range that has prevailed since early 2013.

The economic weight of Southern actors at the global level over the last two decades has been unprecedented in speed and scale. Whilst growth levels of western economies plummeted following the 2008-2009 financial crisis, developing economies continued to grow at high rates, largely driven by a variety of factors, including sound industrial policies and investments in human, physical and technological capacities. By Carlos Lopes

On a eve of an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders which have, on this monday 3th march,  to discuss and establish  a new gouvernancy  rules in Ecobank, the south african fund, Public Investment Corporation, the biggest shareholder of the panafrican  bank, has  revealed  clearly that he will no longer support the current chief executive. 

ddis Ababa, 12 February 2014: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma, is deeply concerned by the violence perpetrated these days in Bangui and other places in the Central African Republic (CAR). She notes, in particular, criminal attacks committed in recent days by armed groups against innocent civilians belonging to the Central African muslim community members, as well as against Chadian nationals. She stresses that such acts will only contribute to the worsening of community and religious divisions in the country, thereby undermining stabilization efforts undertaken by the Central African authorities with the…

Yaounde, 12 Feb 2014 (ECA) – Sustained growth is important but the transformation the structure of economies in Central Africa is indispensable for countries of the sub-region to effectively tackle poverty, remarked ECA’s Executive Secretary, Mr Carlos Lopes on his first call on Cameroon’s government officials in the context of his firs his first working visit to Central Africa. Mr Lopes was received mid-morning by to Cameroon’s Minister Delegate in the Ministry of External Relations in Charge of Commonwealth Affairs, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, who expressed the country’s gratitude to the initiatives of the Commission in fostering the development of…

The AFRAA Fuel Committee concluded the tender process for the Jan – Dec 2014 Fuel Tender. The tender process ran from October to December 2013.

Donné partant depuis plusieurs semaines, Mohamed Jouahri a été remplacé par Mohammed Haitami, jusque-là  Directeur des services financiers spécialisés d’Attijariwafa bank.

 Morocco to sell new EUR Eurobond. On 22 Nov, Economy and Finance Minister Mohamed Boussaid announced that Morocco (rated BBB- by S&P and Fitch, and Ba1 by Moody’s) would issue a EUR1bn Eurobond in late 2013 or early 2014. The tenor has yet to be disclosed, but we suspect this is likely to be a 10-y instrument based on previous experience.

At the occasion of KING MOHAMMED VI’s visit to Washington, Ms. Claudia Slacik, Chief Banking Officer and Senior Vice- President of Export Finance of US Ex-Im Bank, and Mr. Mohamed El Kettani, Chairman and CEO of Attijariwafa bank have signed on Tuesday November 21st 2013, a Memorandum Of Understanding between the two institutions.

Addis Ababa, 22 November 2013: The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, today, appointed the leadership team of the African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (AFISM-CAR), following consultations with the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). In this regard, Major General (Rtd) Jean Marie Michel Mokoko, of the Republic of Congo, has been appointed Special Representative in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Head of AFISM-CAR. General Mokoko has a long and rich experience in the field of peace and security.

La loi de programmation militaire pour la période 2014-2019, qui sera étudiée à l’Assemblée Nationale à partir du 26 novembre, réaffirme dangereusement les visées néocoloniales de la politique étrangère française, qui s’exercera prioritairement, selon le Livre Blanc, à l’encontre des pays d’Afrique subsaharienne.  L’association Survie tire la sonnette d’alarme. 

A l’issue de la rencontre entre  le gouverneur de la Banque centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO), Thiémoko Meyliet Koné, et les présidents des APBEF, mercredi à Dakar, les deux parties ont convenu de la nécessité d’arrêter une liste de services bancaires dits de base.

DHL Express (http://www.dhl.com), the world’s leading international express services provider and Engen, Africa’s leading multinational fuel retailer and provider of convenience services, have signed a retail partnership, in a bid to provide customers with better access to global express services.

Warsaw, Poland 14 November 2013 (ECA) – As negotiators and experts prepare to enter the high level segment of the 19th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP19), which opened in Warsaw this week, the mood among African delegates here is one of confidence and determination to defend the continent’s interest at all costs. 

The Seventh ECOWAS Trade Fair ended in Accra recently November 11, 2013, with a call on African  leaders to remove artificial bottlenecks that hinder trade among their respective countries. From Seth Addi, Accra-Ghana

Five countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are to embark on a West Coast High Speed Rail Project to help bring development to the sub-region. Seth Addi, Accra

Increased use of information and communication technologies could soon boost growth in agriculture and lead to poverty reduction in many countries around the world, according to experts attending the ICT4Ag international conference, which was held 8th november in Kigali, Rwanda.

On the final day of The Atlantic Dialogues, Adama Dieng, the UN special adviser to the secretary-general on the prevention of genocide, said that while the conflict in Syria has gone beyond a point that the international community could tolerate, direct intervention was not the answer in this case. “It is clear that the red line was reached in the case of Syria with the use of chemical weapons,” he said. “However, we have to realize that the use of force should not be used until after you have exhausted all peaceful means, and you have to make sure that…

Mthuli Ncube, chief economist of the AFDB,  is confident in the African EconomyPerspectives. Despite the stressing trends in the  Arab Spring countries,  the continent will maintiend  it’s 5% GDP growth this year. The Libya is very recovering with 1,7 millions barrels per day.

This year Africa celebrates fifty years since the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU); never before has the continent been so poised to reap the benefit of its enormous resources. Sweeping political and economic changes over half a century have reformed global power structures, reconfigured international relations and led to serious rethinking of development paradigms.

This year Africa celebrates fifty years since the founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU); never before has the continent been so poised to reap the benefit of its enormous resources. Sweeping political and economic changes over half a century have reformed global power structures, reconfigured international relations and led to serious rethinking of development paradigms.

Addis Ababa, 18 October 2013 (ECA) – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) will from 4-8 November this year host the world Geospatial Data Infrastructure Conference and AfricaGIS conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  The theme of the combined conference, which the Commission is hosting in collaboration with Addis Ababa University, the Ethiopian Mapping Agency (EMA) and the GIS Society of Ethiopia (GISSE), is  Spatial Enablement in Support of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction. 

Par Sanae Laqzadri  Directrice éditoriale,  Paris Et si la démocratie était la clé? Pour les citoyens, elle est un voeu fantasmé, acclamé. Elle est souvent inachevée, en cours de construction, contestée, ou déchue. Pour la realpolitik, elle est une option à composer avec. L’enjeu demeure l’intérêt national. Henri  kissinger la résume bien:  « politique étrangère fondée sur le calcul des forces et l’intérêt national ». Autant dire que la clé est ailleurs. Ne huez pas encore! Pour le jet de pierre, comptez 5 minutes encore!

Lafarge Wapco Cement Nigeria Plc. has announced plans to increase its cement production capacity in Nigeria in a bid to satisfy growing demand of the product in Africa’s second largest economy.   According to the company’s MD/CEO Joseph Hudson, with rising demand for cement in the country, an increase in disposable income and government spending on infrastructure, it became important to boost output so as to meet the country’s cement demand.

Ethiopian eco friendly footwear company, SoleRebels has won an arbitration proceeding in a domain name dispute against Tal Dehtiar, the owner of Oliberte shoe company.  SoleRebels filed a lawsuit through U.S.based attorneys (Alex P. Garens of Grossman, Tucker, Perreault & Pfleger PLLC of New Hampshire) on August 27, 2013 with the allegation that Toronto-based Dehtiar hijacked his African competition (SoleRebel’s) e-commerce address.

The world’s No.2 brewer, SABMiller, says it attained a robust feat in African markets where it has operations in the last six months ended September this year. “We achieved a strong performance across our African businesses…Despite current prevailing uncertainties about developing market economies, we remain confident in the long term growth prospects for the group,” Alan Clark, SABMiller CEO, said in a statement.

Old Mutual Investment Group SA (Omigsa) on Thursday said it is set to raise R10 billion ($101 million) to invest in private equity, infrastructure and agriculture funds throughout Africa. Diane Radley, the CEO at Omigsa, said domestic pension funds will be used as sources for the investment money that will generate long-term yields.

The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to raise its free stake in new mining projects to 15 percent from 5 percent, said Chantal Bashizi, the vice president of the commission revising the mining code.

Angola, Africa’s largest oil producer after Nigeria, is imposing a consumption tax on petroleum companies that will raise some costs by as much as 10 percent, according to government documents.

Five years after the dramatic increase in food prices, our African Governments seem to have woken up to the dangers of dependence. Sadly, little has changed on the ground. Whose interests are being served by the business as usual scenario of rice imports in Senegal and West Africa?   By Adama Wade*

 Johannesburg, October 11, 2013 – Senior media gatekeepers have been called upon to partner with development institutions such as the NEPAD Agency, to ensure that the citizens of Africa are well informed about the positive transformation of the continent.

Africa’s political economy is deeply ingrained with its history of the exploitation and (mis)management of its mineral and natural resources. More than 500 years after commercial exploitation of Africa’s resources, Africa continues to host many of the large and unexploited deposits of minerals globally. For example, Africa accounts for three-quarters of the world’s platinum supply, and half of its diamonds and chromium. It has up to one-fifth of gold and uranium supplies and it is increasingly home to oil and gas production with over thirty countries now in this category. By  Carlos Lopes,

Addis Ababa, 04 October 2013 (ECA) – The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Carlos Lopes, today in Addis Ababa praised delegates at the African Regional Conference on Population and Development for their commitment to making progress on issues discussed at the forum. 

It’s like, you know, the world has decided, for Congo, you ask Rwanda. Why? I don’t understand, » Kagame told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York.

Ecobank Signs Portfolio Guarantee Agreement to Support SME Businesses with the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) Lagos, September 24, 2013: Today saw the official signing ceremony for a co-operation agreement between Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“Ecobank”), the leading pan-African banking group, and the African Guarantee Fund (“AGF”) to promote and support small business across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Royal Air Maroc plans to  establish Rabat as its second  local base after its main hub  in Casablanca.  According to the Royal Air Maroc, the  decision to establish a base in Rabat is  part of its drive to better position itself  strategically as well as to complement its  existing Casablanca operations.