September 13, 2024/United Capital Research

Anglophone West Africa
Nigeria

• Nigeria’s Company Income Tax (CIT) collection rises by 150% in Q2, 2024

Company Income Tax (CIT) collection in the second quarter of 2024 rose by 150.83% to N2.47tn. In the first three months of the year, CIT collection stood at N984.61bn. According to the report, local payments in the period under review amounted to N1.35tn, while foreign CIT payments contributed stood at N1.12tn.
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• USAID gives $6.5m grant for flood relief in Nigeria

The US Agency for International Development has announced a $6.5mn grant to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to address the humanitarian needs caused by recent flooding across Nigeria. According to the agency, of the total grant, $3mn will be allocated by IOM specifically to address the immediate needs arising from the floods, which have impacted over 619,000 people across 29 states since mid-August.
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• FBN Holdings sells FBNQuest to EverQuest

FBN Holdings Plc has announced the sale of its 100% equity stake in FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited to EverQuest Acquisition LLP.
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• FG’s revenue in first half of 2024 increased to N9.1 trillion- Minister

FG’s revenue for Q1-2024 rose to N9.1tn, more than doubling the amount recorded same period in 2023. This was attributed to government’s revenue collection policies and the effective use of technology.
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• Oil production rose to 1.35mbpd in August – OPEC

Nigeria’s crude oil production increased from 1.307mn barrels per day in July to 1.352mbpd in August, according to OPEC’s September Monthly Oil Market Report. The report showed that the average daily crude production rose marginally by 45,000 barrels per day.
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• FG’s dollar bond attracted $900m subscription

Nigeria’s first-ever foreign-currency domestic bond secured $900mn in subscriptions. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, noted that the oversubscription reflects investor confidence in Nigeria’s economic stability and potential for growth.
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• Crude oil contributed N14.56tn to Nigeria’s exports in Q2

Crude oil exports contributed N14.56tn to the country’s total exports in Q2-24, making up 74.98% of the total export value. The Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics (Q2-2024) report stated that, the country’s total merchandise trade for the period stood at N31.89tn, reflecting a decline of 3.76% from the previous quarter but a 150.39% increase compared to the N12.74tn recorded in Q2-23.
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Ghana

• Government commits GHC8.2billion to cushion private sector enterprises

The government has committed GH¢8.2 billion to cushion the private sector, Mr Andrew Cudjo Ameckson, the Head, Banking and Non-Banking Unit, Financial Sector Division of the Ministry of Finance has announced. He said the fund was under the implementation of the Small and Medium Enterprises Growth and Opportunity (SMEs GO) programme to provide technical and financial support to the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Ghana EXIM BANK and the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), the implementers.
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• Banking sector records mixed performance in first half of 2024

The Bank of Ghana has disclosed that the banking sector has recorded a mixed performances in terms of commission, gross income, operating expenses and financial assets. The BOG said net fees and commissions recorded a slower growth of 16.8 percent in June 2024, from 30.6 percent the previous year while other income recorded a sharp contraction of 16.2 percent to GH¢2.4 billion in June 2024, from GH¢2.8 billion in June 2023.
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• Banks begin charging up $20 as fees on foreign currency accounts

Some commercial banks have begun reintroducing charges on foreign exchange accounts after they suspended these fees under regulatory pressure. A few banks have already communicated the decision via text message and email informing clients that the new charges have been effected. The fees will vary based on currency type and account balance with some charges reaching up to $20.
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• Ghana’s inflation rate falls to 20.4% in August

Ghana’s annual inflation rate fell to a 29-month low in August 2024, raising the likelihood of an interest rate cut when the country’s central bank policymakers meet on September 30. The inflation rate slowed by 2.39% to 20.4%, down from 20.9% recorded in July.
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Francophone West Africa
Senegal

• Senegal’s president sets parliament election on Nov. 17

Senegal President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved the opposition-led national assembly, clearing the way for early legislative elections on Nov. 17. In an evening address, Faye, who came to power in April, said working with the assembly had grown difficult after members refused to start discussions on the budget law and rejected efforts to dissolve wasteful state institutions.
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• Senegal’s US-funded power grid hit by nationwide outage

Senegal was hit by a nationwide electricity outage on Thursday following an accident at a power station in the capital, Senegal’s power utility Senelec said in a statement. The U.S. has committed over half a billion dollars in recent years to upgrade Senegal’s electricity grid as part of a 2018 deal to improve access to reliable power. The accident at the 90,000-volt Hann station triggered a wider outage on an interconnection grid, disrupting electricity distribution across the country, Senelec said.
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East Africa
Kenya

• Kenyan court halts proposed Adani lease of country’s main airport

Kenya’s high court has temporarily blocked a proposed deal for India’s Adani Group to lease the country’s main airport for 30 years in exchange for expanding it, court documents showed. In a joint application, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the country’s main bar association, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) told the court that the country could independently raise the $1.85 billion required to upgrade the airport in the capital Nairobi.
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• Kenya asks public for help with economic fix laws after protests

Kenya’s finance ministry will seek suggestions from the public on new legislation to boost revenue and tackle other challenges, Finance Minister John Mbadi said on Monday, after protesters forced the government to withdraw its financing law. President William Ruto discarded tax hikes worth more than 346 billion shillings ($2.7 bln) in June after protests that killed more than 50 people. The move left the heavily indebted government with a bigger budget deficit for this financial year, mounting pending bills, and a delay in funding from the International Monetary Fund.
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• IMF staff in Kenya for fact-finding mission after protests

A team of staff from the International Monetary Fund is visiting Kenya on a fact-finding trip, the IMF said late on Thursday, part of efforts to craft a way forward in the wake of deadly protests that scuppered the government’s planned tax hikes. President William Ruto abandoned this year’s finance bill in June, leaving the heavily indebted government with a bigger budget deficit for this financial year, mounting unpaid bills, and a delay in disbursement of IMF funding.
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• Kenya imports from China rebound to Sh258bn on SGR orders

The value of goods ordered from China into Kenya rebounded in the six months that ened June 2024 to grow at the fastest pace in three years, official data shows, partly reflecting hgher orers of machinery and transportation equipment, including railway locomotives. Spending on imports from China jumped 25.56 percent in the review period to Sh257.70 billion, according to provisional imports data from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
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Rwanda

• Rwanda’s Inflation Eases as Urban Consumer Prices Rise by 5% in August 2024

The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) has released its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, revealing a 5% annual increase in urban consumer prices for August 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. On a monthly basis, urban prices also rose by 0.9% from July 2024. The report highlights that Rwanda’s overall CPI rose by 1.7% year-on-year, with a 1.4% increase between July and August 2024. Rural CPI saw a slight annual decrease of 0.3% but experienced a notable 1.7% increase compared to July 2024.
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Uganda

• Crude oil production to thrust Uganda’s economic growth into double digits – IMF

The start of commercial crude oil production in Uganda is expected to propel economic growth into double digits in the next financial year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. Uganda’s economy would race to 10.8% growth in the 2025/2026 fiscal year, which starts in July, up from a projection of 6.2% in the previous period, the IMF said in a report published late. “Growth is expected to strengthen, boosted by the start of oil production, which will make (a) lasting improvement (to) the fiscal and current account balances,” the IMF said in the report.
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• Uganda say it will offer new oil exploration licences next fiscal year

Uganda plans to issue new oil and gas exploration licences in the 2025/2026 (July-June) fiscal year to help boost investments in the sector and overall economic growth, the finance minister said on Wednesday. The east African country’s last licensing round, launched in 2019 concluded early last year. It handed out the last two of five blocks on offer.
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Tanzania

• Tanzania GDP Growth Reaches 5.6% in Q1 2024, BOT Projects 5.4% for 2024

National accounts data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in August 2024 indicate the economy to have grown at 5.6% in the first quarter of 2024 compared with 5% in the corresponding period of 2023. Construction, agriculture, and financial and insurance activities contributed the most to the growth outturn. The BOT’s assessment of the economy’s performance based on high-frequency indicators for the second quarter of 2024 also shows continued strong growth. Therefore, there is a high likelihood of attaining a growth projection of 5.4% for 2024.
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• Tanzania Inflation Rate Edges Up to 3.1%

The annual inflation rate in Tanzania ticked up to 3.1% in August 2024, from 3% in the previous month. Upward pressure came from prices of some CPI items, including miscellaneous goods & services, housing & utilities, transportation, education, restaurants & hotels and food & non-alcoholic beverages.
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• Analysts weigh in as earnings from tourism cross $3.5 billion

Tanzania is comfortably gaining from tourism as the sector shows signs of complete recovery from the negative effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Official figures now put the number of tourist arrivals at a record 2.026 million. The figures, published by the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) show that these tourist brought in a record $3.534 billion during the year ended July 2024.
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• Tanzania moves to safeguard access to EU coffee market

The Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) has embarked on an initiative that seeks to protect its access to the European Union (EU) coffee market by launching a comprehensive registration of all coffee farmers across the country. The initiative comes in response to new EU regulations requiring that coffee imported into Europe must be produced without contributing to environmental degradation.
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South Africa
South Africa

• Germany ready to help fund South Africa’s €22 billion electrical grid overhaul despite massive corruption

Germany is reading to help fund South Africa’s energy project worth 390 billion rand ($22 billion) and designed to connect more solar and wind power projects to the national grid. The cost may be enormous, but Western leaders want to meet climate change goals and fix South Africa’s disastrous energy situation, which has led to rolling blackouts in the “rainbow nation” for well over a decade.
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• China, South Africa elevate ties, to further strengthen development of Global South

China and South Africa, whose top leaders met in Beijing, announced the elevation of bilateral ties to an all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era, underpinned by strong political ties and focused on a prosperous future with balanced trade, and accelerated transformative economic growth, according to a joint statement released on the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
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• Economic optimism grows: BETI shows highest levels since March 2022

The BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index (BETI), which tracks the value of electronic transactions at seasonally adjusted real prices, recorded a slight uptick in August 2024. With expected changes in interest rates and moderating consumer inflation, economic activity is set to gain momentum in the coming months, contributing to a stronger second half of the year.
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• Tourism drives economic growth in SA with inclusive initiatives

Tourism Deputy Minister Maggie Sotyu has highlighted the sector’s crucial role in South Africa’s economy. At the recent Tourism Women’s Stakeholder Engagement, she emphasised that the Department of Tourism’s programs are designed to promote inclusive economic growth and support the expansion of the tourism industry.
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Angola

• Kwanza in Freefall, Angola’s Troubled Economy and Political Turmoil

Angola’s currency, the kwanza, has plummeted to a 25-year low, hitting 939.24 per US dollar. This sharp decline mirrors deeper issues plaguing the nation’s economy and political landscape. Since January, the kwanza has lost 11% of its value against the dollar. Several factors contribute to this decline.
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• Angola’s innovative approach to managing debt distress

Angola is proactively seeking new and unique ways to manage the country’s current debt portfolio. Angola is always concerned with changes in the price of oil because the country’s heavy reliance on oil production makes it especially susceptible to shocks. Access to cheap funding is the simple answer to addressing funding gaps. The more difficult one is addressing the internal institutional issues many African countries face.
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Zambia

• President Hichilema Seeks World Bank support To Avoid Economic Shutdown

President Hakainde Hichilema has urged the World Bank Group to take necessary decisions and steps to help countries like Zambia avoid going into economic shutdown. President Hichilema said there is need for the World Bank Group to make a decision on the Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (Cat DDO) so as to help Zambia avoid an economic shutdown.
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• Zambia Signs Key Energy Agreements to Address Energy Deficit Amid Severe Drought

A series of pivotal agreements were signed between ZESCO, Zambia’s state-owned power utility, and Power China, aimed at addressing the country’s ongoing energy crisis, which has been exacerbated by one of the worst droughts in recent history. The agreements are seen as a critical step in diversifying Zambia’s energy sources and mitigating the impact of climate change-induced energy shortages.
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Zimbabwe

• ZiG sabotage

The introduction of the Zimbabwe Gold currency (ZiG) nearly five months ago has contributed to noticeable stability and low inflation, largely due to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s (RBZ) rigorous measures and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration. Efforts to stabilize the currency have included controlling the money supply, building gold and foreign reserves, and channeling foreign currency for approved imports. The RBZ has also cracked down on those undermining the ZiG by freezing accounts and imposing fines.
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• Rwodzi summons business tourism stakeholders over Zim MICE value

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Barbara Rwodzi has courted several stakeholders to consider the potentials which Zimbabwe Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (Zim MICE) business tourism sector have in determining the country’s economic leap through visitors influx and related leverages.
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• Zimbabwe Bans Riverbed Mining to Protect Water Sources

Zimbabwe has banned riverbed alluvial mining with immediate effect to protect the environment, a move that could impact many of the country’s gold miners. Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka made the announcement after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, adding that enforcement measures will be put in place to ensure compliance.
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• Zimbabwe must be bold in FDI drive

Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion Permanent Secretary George Guvamatanga has disclosed that the government has been inundated with demands from prospective investors seeking Zimbabwe as a favorable investment destination. Among these demands are requests for exemptions from worker taxes and other fiscal incentives.
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Central Africa
Cameroon

• Cameroon’s Trade Deficit Persists in Q1 2024 Despite Import Slowdown

Between January and March 2024, Cameroon’s trade balance remained in deficit, continuing a trend seen in its global trade. This is according to the National Accounts report published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). During this quarter, the sharper drop in imports (-9%) compared to exports (-1.8%) did not reverse the structural trade deficit, which, although improved, still represents 2.9% of quarterly GDP.
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• BEAC Cuts Liquidity Injection to Banks to CFA200bn Despite High Demand

The Central Bank of Central African States (BEAC) announced yesterday a new liquidity injection for banks, amounting to CFA200 billion. This comes just a week after a similar operation for CFA250 billion, which saw a subscription rate of almost 170%. Banks had expressed a total demand of CFA423 billion.
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• Cameroon Sees 19% Boost in Investments for 2023, But Production Equipment Still Declines

Businesses in Cameroon increased their investments by 19% in 2023, according to a report released on September 10 by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). However, despite this rise, the deterioration of production equipment continues, increasing from 59.6% in 2022 to 60.1% in 2023, the document noted.
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• Cameroon Seeks More Chinese Funding for Major Road Projects

During the 4th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya made a strong call for increased Chinese investments in the country’s road infrastructure. His request is aimed at boosting the development of roads and other large-scale projects in Cameroon.
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Democratic Republic of Congo

• Democratic Republic of Congo will start mpox vaccination campaign early

Democratic Republic of Congo will start its mpox vaccination campaign on Oct. 2, nearly a week earlier than previously planned, the head of its outbreak response said. Congo is the epicentre of the ongoing mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization declared to be a global public health emergency last month, but a lack of vaccines has until now hampered efforts to curb the spread of the sometimes deadly virus.
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