Reuters Africa Business Archives - Page 704 of 921

Nigeria’s Buhari opens emergency power plant in troubled northeast

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigeria’s outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari opened an emergency gas-fired power plant in the northeastern city of Maiduguri on Thursday, where Islamist insurgents have wreaked havoc with attacks on the electricity network. The 50-megawatt plant is meant to bring temporary relief to the Borno state capital, the locus of Nigeria’s 12-year battle …

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South African rand weakens against stronger dollar

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -South Africa’s rand weakened on Thursday, as the dollar firmed on strong U.S. labour data, which suggested the Federal Reserve will likely keep rates higher for longer. At 1611 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1650 to the dollar, 0.28% weaker than its previous close but still an improvement on the levels it had …

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Implats says kingmaker set to decide on RBPlat purchase

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

By Nelson Banya (Reuters) -South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) will soon announce whether it will back one of the two companies that have vied for over a year to acquire platinum group metals (PGM) producer Royal Bafokeng Platinum, Implats CEO said on Thursday. PIC, a state-run asset manager, is the biggest shareholder in both …

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Malawi budget deficit seen at 8.7%/GDP next fiscal year

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

(Corrects figures in headline and first paragraph to show deficit is expected to decrease to 8.7%, not increase to 8.8%) BLANTYRE (Reuters) -Malawi’s government sees the budget deficit for the fiscal year that starts in April at 1.32 trillion kwacha ($1.30 billion), or 8.7% of GDP, down slightly from 8.8% in the fiscal year that …

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S.Africa’s FirstRand bank warns of local issues, govt’s Russia ties

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

By Promit Mukherjee JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Africa’s biggest bank by market capitalisation FirstRand Ltd said on Thursday that local issues such as frequent blackouts, clogged ports and South Africa’s close ties with Russia could hurt local lenders. South African banks, some of the biggest on the continent, had a good run last year on the back …

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Egypt raises gasoline prices in quarterly review

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt raised domestic gasoline prices early on Thursday, bringing them more in line with global levels but risking further public discontent after a year of rising inflation, a weakening currency and a series of austerity measures. The North African nation reaffirmed its commitment to push through fuel price increases to receive a …

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Morgan Stanley turns ‘bullish’ on Nigeria bonds after election

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

LONDON (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley said it had turned “bullish” on Nigeria’s government bonds on Thursday on hopes the declared victor in the country’s presidential elections, Bola Tinubu, will soon press on with key fiscal and financial market improvements. “In the short-to-medium term we think that there are potential positive triggers,” the Wall Street bank’s …

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Ghana’s finance ministry: debt talks with China ‘cordial and fruitful’

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

ACCRA (Reuters) -Ghana’s finance ministry said on Thursday that a Chinese delegation had ended a three-day visit to discuss Ghana’s request for the restructuring of the $1.9 billion debt it owes China. The ministry said in a statement that the Chinese delegation came to Accra ahead of an upcoming Ghanaian mission to China and that …

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China says its official bilateral loans are less than 5% of Ghana debt

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

(Reuters) – China’s official bilateral loans involving Ghana account for less than 5% of the West African country’s total debt, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday. Multilateral and commercial debt account for the vast majority of Ghana’s external debt, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing. Germany’s finance minister recently singled …

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S.Africa’s MultiChoice and Comcast to create Africa-wide streaming service

2 Mar 2023 2 Mar 2023

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Africa’s biggest pay TV company, MultiChoice Group, said on Thursday it had entered into an agreement with U.S.-based media conglomerate Comcast to create a pan-Africa video streaming platform. The new streaming service, which will be built on MultiChoice’s streaming platform Showmax, will be 70% owned by the company, it said. The remaining 30% …

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