August 11, 2023/United Capital

Anglophone West Africa
Nigeria

• FG-Siemens 11,000MW project for completion 2030.

The completion date of the 11,000 megawatts power project signed between the Federal Government and German-based Siemens has been shifted to 2030, according to reports.
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• Border closure threatens $226m Nigeria-Niger trade.

The Nigerian-Nigerien trade worth about $226.34m is at risk of breaking down following a border closure between the two countries.
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• Nigeria tops global unemployment rating.

Nigeria tops the list of countries with the highest rate of unemployment, according to the latest statistics released by the World of Statistics. Nigeria led with 33.3%, followed by another African country, South Africa 32.9%, and Iran 15.55%.
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• FG spends N7trn on direct interventions in the power sector.

The Federal Government has said that it spent about N7 trillion as direct interventions in the power sector. It stated that the investments were despite privatizing the electricity generation and distribution arms of the industry since November 2013. The Nigeria Market Operator of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Dr Edmund Eje, who made the disclosure, also said the N7 trillion excluded interventions from international donors.
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• FDI inflow to telecoms sector falls by 47%, industry gets $399.9m.

Harsh economic conditions, insecurity and foreign exchange (FX) crisis might have contributed significantly to the drop in foreign direct investment (FDIs) into the telecoms sector in 2022, with capital inflow falling by almost 50.0%
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Ghana

• Ghana Inflation Surges to Four-Month High Putting Rates in Focus.

Ghana’s inflation rate unexpectedly rose to a four-month high in July on food costs, adding pressure on the central bank to continue rate hikes next month. Annual inflation quickened to 43.1% from 42.5% in June, Government Statistician Samuel Kobina Annim told reporters in the capital, Accra on Wednesday.
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• Ghana energy sector debt could exceed $8b in two years – Report

A recent World Bank report on Ghana has warned that in two years, by 2025, if no actions are taken to address the issues, the country’s energy sector arrears could exceed $8 billion. The country is currently overburdened by a public debt profile exceeding 80 per cent of GDP.
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• BoG builds $1bn reserves in 6 months

Ghana’s central bank surprised financial markets by raising borrowing cost to a record high to speed up a deceleration in inflation. The monetary policy committee lifted the rate to 30% from 29.5%.
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• Banks submit re-capitalisation plans — BoG

THE Central Bank says all banks whose capital were affected by the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme have complied with the directive to submit their recapilisation plans ahead of the September deadline set out under the IMF programme.
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Francophone West Africa (WAEMU)
Senegal

• Senegal July Consumer Prices Rise 5.7% y/y

Senegal ‘s consumer prices rose 5.7% y/y in July versus +7.5% in June, according to the National Agency of Statistics and Demography.
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• Africa Finance Corp. Pledges $55 Million for Senegal Oil Field

Africa Finance Corp., which funds the continent’s infrastructure development, said it will invest 50 million euros ($55 million) to support Senegal’s emerging oil and-gas industry.
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• Gambia, Senegal Sign DTA, Air Services Agreement

The Gambian Ministry of Foreign Affairs 02-Aug announced the 01-Aug signing of a DTA and an air services agreement with Senegal.
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East Africa
Kenya

• CBK holds the benchmark lending rate on inflation ease

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 10.5 percent, with inflation having retreated last month. The apex bank noted inflationary pressure had further eased with core inflation — non-food, non-fuel inflation declining.
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• Kenya’s Economy Feels the Heat of Street Protests in July – PMI Index

Kenya’s Private Sector activity recorded a deeper slowdown in July as businesses and consumers cut their spending due largely to political protests, which made a huge dent on demand. This contraction in output was the fastest since August 2022, as new orders fell sharply amid street protests and weak customer demand.
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• Moody’s Comments on Kenya’s Eurobond Buyback Plan ‘Speculative’ – APRM

Moody’s Credit Rating Agency comments on Kenya’s planned buyback of its Eurobond debt as a default, has been dismissed as highly premature, speculative and damaging by the African Credit Rating Research & Advisory, an institution of the African Union. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) said in a statement that Moody’s comments ignore the ‘voluntary’ nature of the proposed bond buyback program, which allows investors the right not to participate.
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• Kenya’s wage bill to rise above Sh1.1 trillion on salaries review

Total compensation for government employees will rise to Sh1.17 trillion in the current financial year after the latest salary review. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) gave a Sh21.7 billion pay raise to State officers after public participation in a review that saw MPs as some of the biggest winners.
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• State lays case for release of Sh17bn edible oil cargo

The government of Kenya has asked the High Court to lift an order blocking the importation of 125,000 tonnes of edible oil, claiming that the freeze will occasion a loss of Sh17 billion, which has already been paid to suppliers.
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• Global supply shocks fuel new food crisis in Kenya

Global supply shocks have increased the prices of Kenya’s critical staples, including rice, wheat, maize, sugar and onions, fomenting a new food crisis in the country.
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Rwanda

• Rwanda, Madagascar Sign Private Sector Agreement to Boost Economic Cooperation

Rwanda and Madagascar have signed an agreement forging private sector cooperation between both countries as crucial contributors to economic development. The agreement was signed between Jeanne-Françoise Mubiligi, the acting Chairperson of the Private Sector Federation (PSF), and Guy Foka, the President of the International Commission of Groupement des Entreprises de Madagascar (GEM).
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Tanzania

• Tanzania Inflation Rate Softens to Over 2-Year Low of 3.3%

Tanzania’s annual inflation rate eased for the sixth straight month to an over two-year low of 3.3% in July 2023, down from 3.6% in the prior month. Prices slowed down for food & non-alcoholic beverages (6.1% vs 7.8% in June) and clothing & footwear (3.4% vs 3.5%). On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged down by 0.1% in July, after increasing by the same margin in June.
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• Credit to private sector on upward trend

Private sector credit continued to record strong growth at 21.2 per cent in the year to June, mainly due to improved business conditions. According to the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) monthly economic review for June this year, the increase was due to the policy measures that were instituted by the Bank to stimulate cost-effective credit growth and supportive fiscal policy.
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Uganda

• World Bank Halts New Funding to Uganda Over Anti-LGBTQ Laws

The World Bank halted new loans to Uganda over the East African government’s enactment of anti-LGBTQ laws that include the death penalty in some cases. The announcement by the bank comes three months after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed legislation that includes life imprisonment for sexual acts and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”.
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• Private sector asks govt to prioritise payment of domestic arrears

The Stanbic Bank Uganda PMI declined to 53.9 in July 2023 from 56.4 in the prior month, but remained in the expansionary territory for the 12th straight month and above the series average. Output was robust across the economy, with new export orders posting growth for the first time in seven months.
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Southern Africa
South Africa

• South African manufacturing output rises 5.5% y/y in June.

South Africa’s manufacturing output rose 5.5% year on year in June after rising by a revised 2.4% in May, statistics agency data showed on Thursday. Factory production was up 1.2% month on month in June, after falling by 1.3% in May.
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• South African rand gains over 1% on dollar weakness, strong local data.

The South African rand strengthened more than 1% against the dollar on Thursday, helped by dollar weakness in the run-up to a closely watched U.S. inflation reading and strong local mining and manufacturing figures. At 1200 GMT, the rand traded at 18.7700 against the dollar, up around 1.2% on its previous close but still down almost 5% so far this month. The dollar was last trading around 0.3% weaker against a basket of global currencies.
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Zimbabwe

• SA remittances to Zimbabwe soar as Stanchart are deemed inadequately capitalized.

Expat Zimbabweans in South Africa accounted for 30% of the nearly US$1 billion (R19bn) remitted to the struggling southern African country in the first half of 2023, new central bank data – which also spotlights Standard Chartered and two other banks as inadequately capitalized – shows.
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• Zimbabwe economy to grow by 5.3% this year.

ZIMBABWE’S economy will grow by 5.3% this year, up from an online projection of 3,8 percent, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said.
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Angola

• Municipalities’ revenues increased from US$4,400 to US$22 million in the last five years.

The declared local revenues of the municipalities rose from 3.8 million kwanzas (4,400.92 dollars) in 2017 to 18.5 billion kwanzas (22,053,600 dollars) five years later, the Angolan government said today.
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• Angola’s GDP falls below half of forecast for 2023.

The Government foresees a growth of 1.09% in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2023, against the initially forecast average of 3.6%, said, this Thursday, in Luanda, the National Director for Planning, Álvaro David. The manager, who was referring to the Review of the Macroeconomic Executive Program for the year 2023, underlined that the deficit balance of the Balance of Payments will amount to USD 319 million, with International Reserves standing at USD 13,943.30 million, equivalent to 7.11 months of imports of goods and services.
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• Government suspends projects registered in OGE 2023 with execution below 80%.

The Angolan Government will carry out captivations, in this year’s budget, in projects with execution levels below 80%, leaving out those with internal or external financing 100% guaranteed, the Minister of Finance announced today.
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Zambia

• Israel business forum generates $800m deals – ZDA.

THE Israeli-Zambia Business Forum, which President Hakainde Hichilema attended during his state visit to Israel last week, has generated deals totaling over US$800 million. Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) director-general Albert Halwampa said in a statement yesterday that the key sectors that generated the deals include agriculture, energy, technology and innovation, and financial services. He said US$645 million is for trade credit insurance and project guarantees, US$100 million for the 71-megawatt solar and wind energy plant, US$50 million for a deposit-taking financial institution and US$5 million for a technology incubator in Zambia.
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Central Africa

Democratic Republic of Congo

• Congo Central Bank More Than Doubles Benchmark Interest Rate

The monetary policy committee of Democratic Republic of Congo’s central bank more than doubled its benchmark interest rate from 11% to 25% in a move to halt the weakening of the country’s currency. The Congolese franc has lost about 21% of its value compared to the dollar since the beginning of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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