BRVM*
Economic News
- Ivory Coast mining sector turnover rose 11.5 percent in 2017: Ivory Coast’s mining sector turnover rose by 11.5 percent in 2017, an increase achieved mainly via exports of gold, manganese, and nickel, the government spokesman said on last week. Reuters
- Rare dry-season showers promising for Ivory Coast cocoa mid-crop: Light, patchy showers in a number of Ivory Coast’s main cocoa growing regions last week are expected to aid the development of the upcoming April-to-September mid-crop. Precipitation is rare during the annual dry season running from mid-November to March, and farmers said the sporadic showers had been exceptional. Reuters
Corporate News
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Egypt
Economic News
- Egypt’s trade deficit narrows by 25 percent in 2017-ministry: Egypt’s trade deficit narrowed by 25 percent in 2017 from the year before due to a decline in imports and raise in exports. Non-oil exports rose to about $22.4 billion in 2017 from about $20.4 billion the previous year, a 10 percent increase, Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said in a statement. Reuters
- IMF raises Egypt’s GDP outlook, says on right track in latest review: The International Monetary Fund hailed Egypt’s progress on economic reforms in its second major review of the country’s loan programme, revising up its growth outlook but warning against the risks of not pushing forward with austerity. Reuters
- Moody’s says Egypt’s new bankruptcy law is credit positive for banks: Egypt’s bankruptcy law credit positive for banks as it will provide more options to deal with viable troubled cos, make loan workouts more flexible, faster. Reuters
Corporate News
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Ghana
Economic News
- Ghana Dec producer price inflation rises to 8.9 percent: Ghana’s producer price inflation rose to 8.9 percent year-on-year in December from 7.1 percent a month before, the statistics office said last week. The major commodity exporter is seeking to cut spending and restructure debt and aims to narrow consumer inflation to 8 percent, plus or minus 2 percentage points in the first half of 2018 under a credit deal with the International Monetary Fund. Reuters
Corporate News
- JPMorgan plans expansion into Ghana and Kenya: JPMorgan Chase & Co plans to expand its African presence into countries including Ghana and Kenya, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in an interview last week. Reuters
Kenya
Economic News
- Kenya central bank holds main lending rate at 10.0 percent: Kenya’s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 10.0 percent last week, saying
inflation was within its preferred range and there was increased optimism about the outlook for economic growth. Reuters - Kenya central bank governor forecasts 2018 GDP growth of 6.2 percent: Kenya’s central bank governor forecast last week that the East African
nation’s economy would grow by 6.2 percent in 2018. Reuters
Corporate News
- Total to buy shares in Kenyan oil blocks from A.P. Moeller-Maersk: Total SA is to buy shares in three Kenyan oil blocks from A.P. Moeller-Maersk, the office of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said last week. Reuters
- JPMorgan plans expansion into Ghana and Kenya: JPMorgan Chase & Co plans to expand its African presence into countries including Ghana and Kenya, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in an interview last week. Reuters
Mauritius
Economic News
- Mauritius business confidence jumps to its highest in Q4 2017: Business confidence on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius rose to a record high in the last quarter of 2017, a survey of leading private companies showed last week. The Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s quarterly confidence index climbed 8.5 percent to 123 points. The index increased 26.2 percent last year. “These successive increases (in the index) indicate a positive optimism of entrepreneurs, who consider that globally the economic situation is improving since the last quarter of 2016,” the Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. Reuters
Corporate News
No Corporate News
Nigeria
Economic News
- Nigeria eyes $2.5bn Eurobond sale in Q1 to refinance local debt: Nigeria will consider raising $2.5 billion through Eurobonds in the first quarter to refinance a portion of its domestic treasury bill portfolio at lower cost, the head of the Debt Management Office told Reuters last week. Patience Oniha said the country will also try to get back into the JP Morgan Government Bond Index (GBI-EM), with improving liquidity in the local currency market. Reuters
- Nigeria’s external reserves hit a 4-year high of $40.3bn: Data from the CBN’s website showed that external reserves rose to $40.33 billion last week
from $38.765 billion in December 2017. Thus, the reserves have risen by $1.56 billion this year. The $40.33 billion reserves represent the highest since January 2014 when the reserves dropped to $40.6 billion from $42.84 billion in December 2013. Vanguard
Corporate news
- KBR Awarded Contract By Indorama For Ammonia Plant In Nigeria: KBR-won contract from Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemicals, Toyo engineering for train 2 ammonia plant at Indorama‘s Port Harcourt site in Nigeria. Reuters
South Africa
Economic News
- IMF cuts South Africa’s growth forecast for next two years: The International Monetary Fund cut South Africa’s economic growth forecast for the next two years on Monday, citing rising political uncertainty that has dented investor confidence. The IMF said in its World Economic Outlook that more subdued growth prospects were projected in South Africa, “where growth is now expected to remain below 1 percent in 2018–19, as increased political uncertainty weighs on confidence and investment.” Reuters
- South Africa’s CPI quickens to 4.7 percent year/year in December: South Africa’s headline consumer inflation quickened to 4.7 percent year-on-year in December from 4.6 percent in November, data from Statistics South Africa showed last week. Reuters
- South Africa’s December producer inflation rises to 5.2 percent year/year: South Africa’s producer price inflation (PPI) quickened to 5.2 percent year-on-year in December compared with 5. percent in November, the statistics agency said last week. Reuters
Corporate news
- S.Africa’s Eskom looks to borrow $1.7bn to ease financial crisis: South Africa’s Eskom will ask local banks to reopen lending facilities that were suspended last year, its spokesman said last week, as the state utility seeks to drag itself out of a crisis that poses a risk to the country’s financial stability. Reuters
- IFC extends $62 million loans to South Africa’s Mercantile Bank: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) said on Monday it would extend a seven-year loan of 740 million rand ($62 million) to Mercantile Bank to boost lending to small and medium businesses (SMEs), with a focus on women-owned firms. Reuters
Tunisia
Economic News
- Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves fall to a 15-year low: A worsening trade deficit has further eroded Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves, which are now worth just 89 days of imports, the lowest level in 15 years, central bank figures showed last week. Reuters
- Tunisia to sell bonds worth $1bn the second half of March: Tunisia’s parliament approved a plan by the central bank to sell bonds worth $1 billion to help finance the 2018 budget, the state news agency said. The finance ministry directed the central bank after the approval by parliament’s financial committee to issue the bonds in the second half of March, the agency said. The North African country previously said it needed $3 billion in loans next year to finance its budget of 36 billion dinar ($14.7 billion) in 2018. Reuters
Corporate News
- Opel to export cars to Tunisia, Morocco – CEO in FAZ: PSA Group’s Opel plans to start exporting cars to Tunisia and Morocco from its European plants, its chief executive told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) in an interview. Reuters
*The Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières SA or BRVM is a regional stock exchange serving the following West African countries: Benin Burkina Faso Guinea Bissau Côte d’Ivoire Mali-Niger Senegal Togo.
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