Ghana Business News
“We know from the experience of countries as diverse as South Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa the pivotal role investment plays in driving long-term growth. In less than a generation, global investment will be dominated by the …

Business Standard
KPRL last week, reportedly warned that it may soon be unable to refine petroleum products owing to severe financial constraints. Kenya’s Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has said that operations of the refinery are hurting the ordinary consumer.

The Punch
International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria have said the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill has completely slowed down their N17.2tn ($109bn) proposed investment in the oil industry. The bill, subjected to stakeholders’ debates …

BusinessGhana
She said investment in the potential of the youth was very important in building a strong economic and social structures to secure the foundation of the country. Mrs Tenkorang made this known to Ghana News Agency at an IT Seminar for students and …

WorldStage
WorldStage Newsonline– UAC Nigeria Plc has notified the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) that Imperial Holdings Ltd, South Africa acquired 49 per cent equity in MDS Logistics Plc. The statement said that UAC of Nigeria Plc and Imperial Holdings Ltd, South …

Ghana
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive Index 2012/2013 has ranked Ghana as the 4th investment destinations in sub-Saharan Africa and 3rd among the five top recipient of Foreign Direct Investment into Africa. Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe …

Reuters
LAGOS May 17 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s FBN Holdings Plc aims to grow loans 10 percent this year for its banking unit, down from 23 percent growth in 2012, as it tries to balance its capital needs with creating risk assets, the head of the banking unit said …

Bloomberg
National Bank was the only publicly traded lender in Kenya to report a drop in profit in 2012. Net income dropped 53 percent to 729.8 million shillings as earnings from interest on loans dipped 6 percent to 4.77 billion shillings. Results in the first …

The Standard Digital News
Outgoing World Bank lead economist, Wolfgang Fengler observed that expansion of the labour force would be achieved on the basis of increased budgetary allocation to infrastructure development. He said more jobs would be created in the country in the …

AllAfrica.com
Uchumi t will be the eighth Kenyan company to cross list in other East Africa countries. The others cross-listed ones are Kenya Airways, Kenya Commercial Bank, Nation Media Group, Diamond Trust Bank, East Africa Breweries, Jubilee Insurance and Centum …

AllAfrica.com
The finance minister explained that Nigeria’s current foreign debt was insignificant and could not create problems for the country as it is just 12 per cent, with the remaining 88 per cent as domestic debt. “We had four options. One option is to …

Bloomberg
United Bank for Africa Plc, Nigeria’s fifth-largest lender by market value, plans to increase loans by as much as 40 percent this year to fund oil, power and manufacturing projects. “We have some deals in the power sector,” besides investments in “oil …

The Africa Report
With high overheads and poor access to loans, SMEs are suffering. The central bank has launched several risk-sharing schemes to try to boost the sector. Nigeria’s banking sector has turned a corner. Lenders are boasting about bumper profits, continuing …

NASDAQ
In September, Moody’s cut its rating of South Africa’s debt one notch to Baa1 from A3 and kept its outlook negative. Standard & Poor’s also cut South Africa’s debt by one notch in October, and Fitch Ratings became the last of the major rating agencies …

Business Daily
BOA Kenya’s core capital to total deposits ratio was just 0.4 percentage points above the statutory minimum of eight per cent as at end of last year. The ratio requires that shareholders put a shilling of capital for every Sh12.5 customer deposits held …

AllAfrica.com
“The full year results demonstrate our continued strong commercial and financial performance across our service portfolio, we are committed to our ‘Best Network in Kenya’ initiative through continued investment in our network and services “Safaricom …

AllAfrica.com
Poor operations at the port of Mombasa remains one of the main hurdles to Kenya’s growth, the World Bank’s lead economist in the region, Wolfgang Fengler has said. He said the port needs a major policy transformation as it holds the key to growth of …

Reuters
Safaricom closes higher on strong full year results * Main share index down, Kenya Commercial Bank weighs * Shilling steady (Recasts with markets close) By George Obulutsa NAIROBI, May 14 (Reuters) – Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) shares fell for the …

Reuters
ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana plans a Eurobond worth up to $1 billion to refinance debt and fund infrastructure projects, its vice president said, adding to the list of developing countries tapping yield-hungry investors to bolster their economies. “We are …

BusinessGhana
He said Tullow Ghana had also contributed $5 million towards the establishment and the running of the Youth Enterprise Centre, which has been established by Government at Takoradi to train unemployed youth. Mr Heavey said oil production from the …

BusinessGhana
She said growth was particularly strong in oil-exporting and low-income countries and added that middle-income countries including Ghana with closer ties to the Euro-area saw a significant deceleration, while the smaller fragile states lagging behind …

Financial Times
Many Nigerians do not have bank cards and people are wary of online fraud and scams. So customers pay cash when their goods arrive. And because the postal service is unreliable, vendors have had to build their own courier fleets, of motorbikes, vans …

AllAfrica.com
Last week in the presence of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy in Nigeria, MasterCard announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa, that it will roll-out 13 million MasterCard-branded National …

BusinessGhana
The facility is expected to help the Bank to establish partnerships with a large number of major international and regional confirming banks under the Global Trade Finance Programme (GTFP), to broaden access to finance in Ghana and growing the economy.

Ghana Business News
Arch Canada has hinted of its pursuit to sign a new trade and investment agreement with Ghana, a top official said May 13, 2013. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has signalled his country’s intent to deepen trade and investment with Ghana …

African Manager
‘Electronic transactions in Nigeria hit 80b naira daily’. The total value of daily electronic funds transfer in Nigeria has risen to 80 billion naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said, hailing the introduction of its cash-less policy for the rise …

Independent Online
Global banking rules such as Basel 3 were making it difficult for banks in Africa to provide services to the public and were consequently restricting the continent’s potential to develop, delegates attending the World Economic Forum on Africa were told …

Huffington Post
It’s a chapter that begins with Nigeria’s announcement that it will be rolling out 13 million National Identity Cards — the largest formal electronic payment solution in Nigeria and the broadest financial inclusion initiative of its kind on the …

Reuters
NAIROBI May 10 (Reuters) – Kenya will auction a reopened 20-year Treasury bond worth up to 10 billion shillings ($119.55 million) in May, the Central Bank of Kenya said on Friday. The 20-year bond will carry a coupon rate of 12.00 percent and will be …

Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), continental Europe’s biggest bank, plans to open a sales office in Ghana as part of its African expansion. “Deutsche Bank is now looking at its African strategy and questions around how to include countries like Kenya,” Charles …

Business Recorder (blog)
image NAIROBI: Central Bank of Kenya said on Monday it was in the market to mop up 17 billion shillings ($202.86 million) in excess liquidity using repurchase agreements (repo) and term auction deposits. The bank said it had received bids worth a total …

AllAfrica.com
Kenya Power will seek the help of development partners to finance its expansion plans after the government vetoed its plan to review electricity tariffs. Managing director Joseph Njoroge said this yesterday at the Komarock substation while …

Ghana Business News
Jean-Akuffo The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has provided Ghana’s HFC Bank a trade facility of $10 million. This was after the two officially signed an agreement in Accra today May 13, 2013. The credit, under the IFC’s Global Trade Finance …

Private Equity News
CDC Group, the emerging markets investor backed by the U.K. Government, has appointed a new director to lead its Africa fund of funds team as the firm looks to maintain its investor arm while building a global direct investment team. To view our …

AllAfrica.com
Reactions has continued to trail the new economic rating of Nigeria by the World Bank, which moved the country from a low income nation to a medium income one. The bank had hinged Nigeria’s new rating on the reduction of poverty rate per capita in the …

AllAfrica.com
Inadequate infrastructure has been severally identified as the biggest challenge to Nigeria’s economic development. Addressing this challenge requires billions of naira, which is beyond what the budget of the three tiers of government can provide …

Independent Online
With the exception of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, bond markets in Africa were shallow and governments in the region had an important role to play in developing them, Naveed Riaz, the chief executive of Citigroup’s Africa division, told the delegates.

Bloomberg
Nigeria plans to sell $1 billion of Eurobonds to finance power projects after meetings with international investors in June, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. The securities will be dollar-denominated, Okonjo-Iweala said in an interview in …

Newstime Africa
The announcement was witnessed by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy in Nigeria, who stressed the importance of the National Identity Smart Card Scheme in moving Nigeria to an electronic platform.

Yahoo! News
Consumer demand is a motor of Africa’s economic and investment surge, and analysts see middle class buyers with swelling disposable income as fuelling this boom from South Africa to Nigeria and Kenya. In its Africa Pulse report last month, the World …

The Guardian Nigeria
But there are enough grounds to insist that China’s business interest in Africa and, indeed, Nigeria, does not, in any way, weigh against the continent, which has recorded some tangible benefits from the Asian Tiger’s huge investment and aid. As one of …

Pakistan Daily Times
Consumer demand is a motor of Africa’s economic and investment surge, and analysts see middle class buyers with swelling disposable income as fuelling this boom from South Africa to Nigeria and Kenya. In its Africa Pulse report last month, the World …

Bloomberg
Nigeria is targeting $10 billion of investment in farming to boost domestic food production by 2015, as Africa’s most-populous nation seeks to reduce a reliance on imports, Agriculture Minister Akinwunmi Adesina said. The government is working with the …

AllAfrica.com
South Africa is a promising investment destination, business executives from companies from around the world said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town this week. “The [African] continent and particularly South Africa is a …

Wall Street Journal
“There is a risk that increased public spending or investment projects financed by bond issuance may be poorly selected or executed and therefore would not render value for money,” the fund said in its outlook for the sub-Saharan African region …

Financial Times
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s finance minister, said at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town that the initiative with MasterCard would help boost financial inclusion by bringing more people without bank accounts into the formal economy where the vast …

BDlive
THE confluence of US and European institutional investors and hedge funds seeking good returns and an African market seeking funds had led to an increasing number of sovereign bond issues, the CEO of Citibank’s Africa arm, Naveed Riaz, said on …

Fox Business
The bill, currently under discussion in Nigeria’s parliament, would make Nigeria one of the harshest investment climates in the world for the oil industry, said Mark Ward, head of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s (XOM) Nigerian unit in a presentation given Tuesday …

CHANNELS
The Canadian High Commissioner, Mr. Chris Cooter has described the recent Canada-Nigeria investment forum as a spring board for bigger economic opportunities for both countries. Energy and health are some of the sectors among others where strong …

Wall Street Journal
CAPE TOWN, South Africa–Nigerian officials will embark on a June road show to investors ahead of issuing $1 billion in international bonds “by late summer,” Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said Thursday. Nigeria has been planning its latest …

AllAfrica.com
Fidelity Bank Plc at the weekend achieved a landmark as one of only three banks in Nigeria to have successfully undertaken a Eurobond issue to raise funds from the international market. A Eurobond issue is a debt instrument issued to raise money in …

Moneyweb.co.za
South Africa’s fastest growing retail bank for individuals, Capitec Bank (JSE:CPI), has overtaken Nedbank (JSE:NED) as South Africa’s fourth largest bank, according to the latest AMPS figures that were released this week. The AMPS results, based on the …

Reuters Africa
Traders said the shilling was supported by dollar flows from agricultural exports and offshore investors bringing in money to buy Kenyan Treasury bonds, enticed by high yields. “The rate cut had been factored in already. There was no significant demand …

AllAfrica.com
The bank operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. During the period, Equity’s net loans and advances grew by 15 per cent to Sh139.5 billion from Sh121.1 billion. Total income grew by 13 per cent to stand at Sh10.20 billion while …

AllAfrica.com
The World Bank and African Development Bank are set to provide 80 percent of the finances needed for the construction of the Ethio-Kenya power transmission line. The 1,070km line, estimated to cost $1.26 billion, will be jointly funded by the World …

Reuters
Shilling seen firming on reduced dollar demand * Traders expect central bank to hold key rate * Safaricom shares rally to a near 5-year high (Adds markets close, stocks) By Kevin Mwanza NAIROBI, May 2 (Reuters) – The Kenyan shilling firmed slightly on …

Bloomberg
Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd., the country’s biggest lender by market value and assets, said first- quarter profit climbed 25 percent as income from loans increased and costs were little changed. Net income in the three months through March rose to 3.03 …

South Africa.info
South Africa, rated the most attractive country in Africa for investors, itself invested in more projects in the rest of the continent than any other country in 2012, acccording to Ernst & Young’s third Africa Attractiveness Survey. The report …

Bloomberg
The lender is joining other Nigerian banks in raising funding in dollars to help finance infrastructure projects in Africa’s top oil producer. Fidelity Bank Plc (FIDELITY) sold a $300 million five-year bond on May 2. Diamond Bank Plc (DIAMONDB) is …

BDlive
The cedi was projected to trade at two to the dollar by the end of this year, John Awuah, chief financial officer of the Ghana Commercial Bank, said from Accra, the capital, last week. The cedi dropped 0.2% to 1.9775/$ in afternoon trade in Accra on …

Wall Street Journal- India
LONDON—The budget-airline industry is setting course for Africa, but there are many obstacles on the runway before takeoff can occur. Rapid economic growth, fueled by growing populations and rising individual wealth, is driving demand across the …

Financial Times
After years of false starts and billions of dollars wasted on halfhearted attempts to solve Nigeria’s massive power deficit, privatisation of electricity is well under way. Late last year, in a process that attracted interest from more than 400 …

Financial Times
A total of $5.5bn was invested in renewable energy in the country in 2012, up from a few tens of millions of dollars in 2011, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance research group. That means South Africa had the biggest annual clean energy …

PRWeek
JOHANNESBURG: Edelman is planning to enter the African market through the proposed acquisition of South Africa-based communications consultancy Baird’s Renaissance. Edelman did not disclose the price of the acquisition, which is expected to close in …

Afrique en Ligue
External debt Nigeria – Six years after Nigeria paid off its external debt and obtained a clean bill of health, the country’s external debt has risen to US$6.67 billion, the local media Monday quoted the Debt Management Office (DMO) as saying. The …

Reuters Africa
NAIROBI May 6 (Reuters) – Equity Bank of Kenya posted a 21 percent rise in first quarter pretax profit to 4.5 billion shillings ($53.8 million), boosted by a rise in net interest income and lower operating costs, the bank said on Monday. Equity Bank’s …

Business Daily
Equity’s high growth potential and rapid transformation from a building society seven years ago to Kenya’s most profitable bank has seen investors place a premium on the lender’s stock, making it the most valuable based on market capitalisation at the …

TechCentral
The AccessKenya Group includes the Internet service provider business as well as data carrier network operator Broadband Access, OpenView Business Systems, which was acquired in 2007, and its most recent acquisition, Satori Solutions, bought in 2009.

GhanaWeb
Ghana, which has seen yields on its $750 million of Eurobonds due October 2017 fall 343 basis points to 4.82 percent since their October 2007 issue, plans to sell more than $1 billion in dollar debt this year, according to two people with knowledge of …

BusinessGhana
“The Government of Ghana interprets these kind gestures as illustrations of the strong bond of friendship and mutually beneficial co-operation which so happily exist between Ghana and Japan,” she said. On the upcoming Fifth International Tokyo …

Creamer Media’s Engineering News
South Africa has been at the forefront of growth in intra-African trade and broader emerging market investment during 2012, with intra-African investment showing a 33% compound growth rate, advisory firm Ernst & Young’s latest Africa Attractiveness …

The Standard Digital News
Several Kenyan banks — such as Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Equity Bank and Cooperative Bank — have expanded operations across the region, while retail chains Nakumatt and Uchumi are scouting for more opportunities. Uchumi has a presence in …