September 8, 2023/United Capital

Anglophone West Africa
Nigeria

• Nigeria Q2-2023 Trade Surplus at N1.289tn

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s trade surplus was N1.289tn in Q2-2023.
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• USAID facilitates $205.0mn investments for Nigerian Agric firms.

The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, has facilitated $205.0m in debt and equity investments for Nigerian agribusinesses in the past five years.
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• Debt-for-climate swaps may reduce Nigeria’s debt by $3.7b yearly.

Debt-for-climate swaps can wipe off at least $22.2bn from Nigeria’s debt in the next six years, stakeholders said in Abuja. The Debt Management Office (DMO) had put Nigeria’s total debt at about $108.0bn, at a time when Nigeria is battling with low revenue generation, high inflation, poverty, and low-capacity utilization.
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• CBN repays banks next week, naira may rebound.

The Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Folashodun Shonubi, has said the apex bank will repay banks all outstanding forward contract debts in the next one to two weeks.
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• Government rakes in N1.53tr from company income tax in three months.

The Federal Government realised N1.53tn from company income tax (CIT) in the second quarter (Q2-2023), indicating a growth rate of 226.4% from N469.01bn it realised in the first quarter.
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• National Assembly to get 2024 budget in October.

The Budget Office of the Federation has begun the move to digitally address bottlenecks in the budgetary processes as well as enhance accountability in the management of public funds. This comes as the Office revealed that the 2024 budget would be presented to the National Assembly next month.
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Ghana

• Ghana Mulls 63.0% Hike in Cocoa Farm-Gate Price to Curb Smuggling.

Ghana’s cocoa industry regulator called for boosting the rate farmers get for their crop by more than 60% to discourage them from smuggling beans to the neighboring Ivory Coast where returns for the commodity are better.
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• Ghana Aug. Private Sector PMI 51.9 vs 50.5 in July

S&P Global released its purchasing managers’ 3index for Ghana’s private sector in August. The index rose to 51.9 from 50.5 in July; Year ago 45.9, its highest reading since Sept-2021. Output rose to 53.8 vs 51.7 in July, its highest reading since April-2021. It is the seventh consecutive month of expansion.
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Francophone West Africa (WAEMU)
Senegal

• Senegal Negotiating With India to Secure Rice Supply: Government

Senegal is negotiating with India’s government over the possibility of securing a rice-import quota, Cheikh Bamba Ndao, director of interior commerce at Senegal’s Ministry of Trade, says by phone.
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Ivory Coast

• Ivory Coast Seeks to Make EU Buyers Bear Cost of Ethical Cocoa

Ivory Coast wants rich consumers to bear the cost of making cocoa sustainable, and it’s threatening to hold off signing new sales contracts until it gets its way.
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• Saudi Advisor Qattan Meets with Foreign Minister of Cote d’Ivoire

Saudi Advisor at the Royal Court Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Qattan met today with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Kandia Kamissoko Camara.
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East Africa
Kenya

• Kenya private sector activity expands in August

Private sector activity in Kenya expanded in August, helped by greater political stability that boosted both services and manufacturing. The Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 50.6 in August from 45.5 a month earlier, breaking a six-month streak below the 50 reading that separates growth from contraction.
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• Kenya inflation slows in August, food prices help

Kenya’s inflation slowed in August, helped by a month-on-month fall in food prices. Inflation was 6.7% year-on-year in August from 7.3% a month earlier, while on a monthly basis, inflation was -0.1% from 0.1% a month earlier, the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. Kenya’s government has a preferred inflation band of 2.5%-7.5% in the medium term.
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• Kenya signs three green investment trade deals

Kenya has entered into three environment-friendly trade investment deals with Sweden, South Africa and Hong Kong, aimed at revolutionising food security and air travel.
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• KCB to inject Sh14.5bn to shore up capital in Kenyan unit after DRC buyout

KCB Group plans to inject $100 million, about Sh14.5 billion, into KCB Bank Kenya as it looks to recapitalise the subsidiary whose compliance with prudential requirements regarding capital adequacy has come under pressure in the recent past. In the half year that ended June 2023, KCB Kenya’s core capital to total deposits stood at 10 percent against the statutory minimum of eight percent.
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• Inside the multi-billion dollar deals at Nairobi climate summit

Kenya and other African countries struck climate-related financing deals worth $23 billion (Sh3.36 trillion) at the just-ended inaugural climate summit held in Nairobi, giving the continent’s green investments plans a shot in the arm.
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• Kenya’s Safaricom signs $103 million loan for sustainable projects

Kenyan telecoms firm Safaricom has signed a loan deal worth 15 billion shillings ($102.95 million) with domestic banks, the proceeds of which will go towards funding environmentally sustainable projects. The loan, signed with a consortium comprising Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, Stanbic Bank, ABSA Bank Kenya and KCB Bank, has the option of being increased to 20 billion shillings.
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Rwanda

• Rwanda Launches Facility to Combat Cross-Border Tax Evasion

The Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) has taken a step to curb tax evasion and avoidance by inaugurating an information exchange office dedicated to enhancing collaboration with tax authorities in other nations. This initiative seeks to fortify efforts against illicit financial flows while promoting transparency in taxation.
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Tanzania

• Tanzania Mortgage Market Up by +6% in Q2 2023 and Up by +15% YOY

The mortgage market in Tanzania registered a 6% growth in the value of residential mortgages compared to the 3.6% growth recorded in Q1 2023. This was indicated in the Tanzania Mortgage Market Update – 30 June 2023 recently released by the Bank of Tanzania (BOT). The market registered a 15% year-on-year growth from TZS 509.99 billion in Q2 2022 to TZS 584.59 billion in Q2 2023.
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• Surge in Private Sector Credit Fuels Economic Growth in Tanzania

The Bank of Tanzania (BOT) has released a statement following its 227th Ordinary Meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The statement provides insights into the nation’s economic trajectory and the effectiveness of its monetary policies. The document highlights a significant increase in credit to the private sector, which has been a driving force behind Tanzania’s robust economic growth this year.
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• Tanzania Financial System Remains Stable Amid Global Uncertainties and GDP to Grow by 5.2% in 2023

The Tanzania Financial Stability Report 2022 recently released by the central bank (BOT) indicates that the country’s financial system remains resilient despite facing risks from the global economy. According to the report, Tanzania’s GDP growth is estimated at 4.7% for 2022 and is projected to reach 5.2% in 2023 for Mainland Tanzania. The growth forecast reflects increased infrastructure investment by the government and recovery in private sector activity.
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Uganda

• Uganda’s inflation rate eases to 3.5% in August

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for August 2023 reveals that Uganda’s annual inflation rate has shown a slowdown, with the index registering a rate of 3.5%. This is in contrast to the 3.9% inflation rate recorded in July 2023, marking a noticeable deceleration in the country’s price growth. The primary factor contributing to this deceleration in inflation is the moderation of the annual core inflation rate.
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• Growth in business activity slowed in August, Stanbic PMI shows

Activity in Uganda’s private sector receded for the third straight month in August as rising financial pressures stifled demand. The Stanbic Bank Uganda purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.6 in August – the lowest level since February – from 53.9 in July, the monthly survey compiled by S&P Global showed.
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Southern Africa
South Africa

• Dollar soars; pressuring commodity prices in SA.

The rand is currently trading slightly firmer at 19.16, This flight to the dollar is reflected in the DXY index nearing a six-month high of 104.75, accompanied by the euro and pound’s decline against it. The euro is down at 1.0735 and the pound down at 1.2578.
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• Sluggish yet resilient economy posts growth despite market volatility: SA.

Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke says while SA sluggish but resilient economy is showing some positive signs of GDP growth, there’s still a lot of market volatility. The economy grew by 2.6% in the second quarter of the year, beating power cuts, high interest rates and a strained rail network to make solid gains for a second consecutive period.
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• South Africa’s consumer confidence recovers in third quarter- Survey.

The consumer confidence index, sponsored by the First National Bank (FNB) and compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research, fell to a reading of minus 16 points, from minus 25 points in the second quarter of 2023.
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Zimbabwe

• Crypto market making profit margins sink 30pc.

Market making in digital tokens used to be a font of outsized profitability, the picture today is very different as cost jumps and investors avoid a crypto sector scarred by a US$ 2 trillion rout.
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• Zimbabwe economy in deflation: CZI.

The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) says the economy is now in deflation — a general decline in prices for goods and services — following measures implemented by the government to tame inflation.
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Angola

• IMF predicts less growth for the country due to the fragility of the oil sector.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) pointed out this Wednesday, 06th, that it is essential that Angola resolves the problems in the banking sector, particularly in terms of supervision and its solidity, at the same time that it now points to lower growth than in the last assessment.
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Central Africa
Cameroon

• Cameroon’s Processed Cocoa Rises Year-on-year

Cameroon’s processed cocoa beans rose slightly in the 2022-23 season, according to figures released Thursday by the National Cocoa and Coffee Board. The country processed 89,205 metric tons of cocoa beans in the season, up 2.7% compared with the 2021-22 season, the NCCB reported. Cameroon’s cocoa season.
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• French Chocolate Group to Pay 11.5% More for Cameroon’s Cocoa

The Confederation des Chocolatiers et Confiseurs de France is slated to buy cocoa beans from Cameroon’s six authorized cocoa so-called centers of excellence at 1,940 CFA per kilogram, according to Yves Abissi, communication officer for the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Council.
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• Cameroon’s 2022-23 Cocoa Harvest Plunged On Year

Cocoa production in Cameroon during the just-ended 2022-23 crop season plummeted by 11.2% compared with the prior season, according to figures released Thursday by the country’s National Cocoa and Coffee Board. The country’s total cocoa bean output for the season stood at 262,112 metric tons, down 11.2% from 295,163 tons the prior season, the NCCB data showed.
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Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

• CMOC Group’s 2024 Copper Output In The DRC Is Expected To Reach 600,000 Mt.

On the evening of September 5, a reporter from the cls.cn learned from Zhou Jun, Vice President of CMOC Group in charge of African business, that since the export restrictions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were lifted in May, logistics returned to normal, and logistics plans and routes are being optimized to accelerate the digestion of local inventories.
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