IMF says expects new debt limits for poor countries in 2015

 

The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it hopes to launch a new debt limits policy next year that would give poorer countries more flexibility to spend money on development priorities without undermining debt sustainability.

The IMF sets rules for how much money poorer countries can borrow to avoid burdening them with unsustainable debt, and it revises its rules every few years.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said reforms to the Fund’s debt limits policy is one of several issues that have been delayed as “building a consensus among the membership proved more challenging than anticipated.”

Liberia’s Finance Minister Amara Konneh said on Wednesday that he was talking with the IMF about relaxing lending restrictions that have capped the amount Liberia can borrow.

Sayeh said countries like Liberia that face external shocks, like the recent outbreak of Ebola, should first focus on getting grant financing from donors, as those would not affect their debt sustainability.

The IMF only provides loans to countries, though its lending currently has a zero interest rate through the end of this year.

Bearish Trend persists as NSE ASI sheds -1.60%

The Nigerian Stock Exchnage equities market closed on a negative note on Friday, as the All Share Index depreciated by -0.32% to close at 40,444.39 basis points, compared with the -1.03% depreciation recorded previously. Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at -2.14%.

See Index Performance Trend on Proshare.

Market breadth closed negative with IKEJAHOTEL leading the pack of 15 gainers against 30 losers topped by AGLEVENT at the end of the session.

Market turnover closes negative as volume trended downwards by -65.23% against +70.91% uptick recorded in the previous session. IKEJAHOTEL, STERLNBANK and TRANSCORP were the most active to boost market turnover. ZENITHBANK and OANDO top market value list.

S

Nigeria Faces Oil Challenge as Naira Slumps Seventh Week

Slumping oil prices may curb Nigeria’s ability to keep supporting the naira, which fell for a seventh week in the longest stretch in three years, according to Standard Chartered Plc.

The currency of Africa’s biggest oil producer weakened as much as 0.5 percent today and traded less than 0.1 percent lower at 164.62 per dollar by 3:06 p.m. in Lagos, taking the decline since Oct. 3 to 0.2 percent. Prices for Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate slid.

Since mid-September, the Central Bank of Nigeria has been selling dollars outside of its twice-weekly auctions as the country heads toward an election in February, said Samir Gadio, Standard Chartered’s chief African strategist.

Nigeria’s reserves retreated 9.5 percent this year to $39.5 billion by Oct. 2 as the central bank sold dollars to shore up the naira, which weakened 2.7 percent against the U.S. currency in 2014. President Goodluck Jonathan hasn’t said whether he would seek a second term in office in an election set for February.

Capital Market: Q3 Ends Negative On Nigerian Stock Exchange

Contrary to the bright outlook projected by analysts for 2014, the market ended the Q3 of 2014 on negative note, on the back of reduced foreign participation and weakened demand by domestic investors due to developments in the financial, political and global environments negative to growth of the market.

The impact of the hike in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) on public sector funds and the increase in capital requirement of Bureau de Change (BDC) operators from N10m to N35m and the increase in their mandatory caution fee from USD10,000 to N35m, The Street Journal gathered, impacted liquidity squeeze on the economy and affected the performance of the market negatively.

The market also suffered from the increase in political risk as indicated by the various security challenges facing the country. The insecurity in Nigeria, especially the boko haram insurgency in the northern part of the country is impacting on the market negatively as both Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country dwindles.

Nigeria’s fiscal situation has equally not inspired confidence in investors, which is highlighted by Standard & Poor’s revision of the country’s credit outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’.


However, Sell Pressure intensified today as market closed with 0.32% loss.
Trading activities on the Nigerian stock exchange decreased by 65.23% as investors bought 242.96 million shares worth N2.68 billion, in 5,169.00 deals, compared to 698.84 million shares worth N6.07 billion, in 4,833.00 deals exchanged on Thursday. Ikeja Hotel Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and Transcorp Plc were the most actively traded stocks on the exchange today in terms of volume, while Zenith Bank Plc and Oando Plc, topped in terms of value. More on The Wall Street Journal

Rwanda inflation falls to 0.2 pct in year to September

 

Rwanda's urban inflation rate was 0.2 percent in the year to September compared with 0.9 percent in the year to August, the statistics office said on Friday.



Prices rose 0.5 percent over the previous month, the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda reported.

Rwanda focuses on the urban inflation rate for monetary policy purposes.

World Bank Calls for Emergency Fund for Disease Outbreaks

 

The World Bank Group has faulted the pace of the global response to the Ebola outbreak and called for an international fund to distribute money quickly to affected countries.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Friday at a Washington gathering of global finance officials, that the institutional toolbox is empty when it comes to health emergencies.

World Bank officials are looking at several ways of structuring an emergency facility, including setting up a system that would prepackage contingent funding agreements that could be activated when a global health emergency is declared.

Mr. Kim’s remarks follow those of President Barack Obama, who in September at a United Nations gathering criticized institutions like the U.N. for not moving fast enough. The U.N.’s health agency, the World Health Organization, has seen sharp budget cuts and has faced criticism from health groups about its Ebola response.

Gazprom considers shelving Vladivostok LNG project

Gazprom says it could shelve its Vladivostok liquefied natural gas project as the Russian state-controlled energy giant focuses on supplying more gas to China by pipeline.

The project, which had been scheduled to start production in 2018 with capacity of 10m tonnes a year of LNG, would be the first major Russian energy project to be publicly scrapped since the US and Europe targeted the country’s energy industry with sanctions.

Bloomberg reports that analysts predict the plant may appear less attractive given expectations of a glut of LNG as projects in Australia and Indonesia start production and US exports of shale gas ramp up.

Western sanctions have so far not touched the Russian gas industry, with politicians fearing that Moscow could retaliate by cutting off European countries’ gas supplies.

However, Gazprom’s oil subsidiary, Gazprom Neft, is subject to US sanctions on the supply of equipment and technology for certain types of oil production as well as European financial sanctions. Like other Russian companies, Gazprom has been affected by the reluctance of western investors and banks to lend them money.

The Vladivostok LNG project is one of several LNG plants planned over the next five to 10 years that had been intended to make Russia a major player in the global LNG markets.

Zambia sees lower 2015 budget deficit due to higher royalties

 

Zambia plans to narrow its budget deficit in 2015, helped by changes to the mining tax regime which should boost revenue.

Presenting a 46.7 billion kwacha ($7.4 billion) to parliament on Friday, Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda forecast higher economic growth next year, citing a good farm harvest, as well as increased power generation and manufacturing output.

According to Reuters, the budget shortfall in Africa's second largest copper producer would edge lower to 4.6 percent of GDP in 2015 from a projected 5.5 percent this year, while the economy would grow by 7 percent, up from 6.5 percent.

Revenue would rise to 18.5 percent of gross domestic product from an expected 17.2 percent for 2014, Chikwanda said.

Domestic revenue would finance 75.2 percent of the budget, which changes to the mining tax seen adding 1.7 billion Zambian kwacha ($269 million) to the collection.

London court blocks Shell from paying ‘peanuts’ to Nigerian community

A High Court in London, has blocked an agreement between oil giant, Shell, and a UK law firm, CW Law, in relation to over 7,000 claims of Nigerians, which the Marble Arch-based law firm claimed it represented on a dispute over oil spills in Nigeria.

Justice Akenhead, the President of the Technological and Construction Court, blocked the deal and upheld an injunction against CW Law which prevented them, or anyone representing them, from making contact with the people of Bodo in furtherance of the settlement agreement.

According to Premium Time , the judge made it clear that Leigh Day, a London-based law firm, was proceeding with the case to trial in the High Court in 2015 and that many thousands of claimants were entitled to damages under the Oil Pipelines Act which could be substantial.

Shell is accused of two leaks from its pipelines between 2008 and 2009, which devastated the environment in Bodo, a community in Rivers State.

Majority of the community people were subsistence fishermen and farmers, until 2008 when the spills occurred.

The spills destroyed the community’s fishing industry, according to Leigh Day.

Over 1,000 hectares of mangrove have been destroyed, with an additional 5,000 hectares impacted since the spill, experts say.

NUPENG shelves nationwide strike on bad roads

The Nigeria’s National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) said on Friday that there were no plans for a nationwide strike over the poor state of roads across the country.

Abia and Rivers Branches of the union are currently on strike over the poor state of the roads, which they said were hampering their operations.

According to the news , President of NUPENG, Mr Igwe Atuche, said the national body had not considered declaring a nationwide strike over the issue.

The truck that crashed on Federally owned Eleme-Ogoni road, that sparked the NUPENG strike in Rivers state

The truck that crashed on Federally owned Eleme-Ogoni road, that sparked the NUPENG strike in Rivers state

It would be recalled that NUPENG members were protesting the failure of the Federal Government to repair parts of the East-West Road, especially in Eleme, where the Port Harcourt Refinery is located.

The Umuahia-Okigwe and and Jebba-Ilorin roads are also some of the link roads in very bad conditions that NUPENG is also asking the government to fix.

The Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) Branch of NUPENG had on Thursday threatened to go on nationwide strike if its demand for the repair of the roads was not met.

The Chairman of PTD, Mr Salimon Olatidi, had issued a 90-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to fix the bad roads across Nigeria or the union would withdraw the services of its members

Asian shares, oil prices tumble on growth worries

 

Asian shares shuddered and Brent crude oil prices tumbled to their lowest since 2010 on Friday after weak German export data raised fears that Europe's economic woes could drag down the global economy.

A bleak market day dawned in Europe, where futures for the Euro STOXX 50, the UK's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC were all down more than 1 percent, indicating that opening losses were likely.

According to reuters, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan shed 1.5 percent in late afternoon trade, leaving it down 0.8 percent for the week.

Japan's Nikkei share average ended down 1.2 percent as the yen strengthened on safe-haven bids, and skidded 2.6 percent this week. Japanese markets are closed on Monday for a holiday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.8 percent, undermined by global growth fears as well as concern about a possible flare-up in pro-democracy protests there after students said they would maintain their campaign after the city government cancelled talks.

Orange weighs IPO of Africa, Mideast units

French telecom operator Orange is studying whether to float its African and Middle Eastern units as a way to raise money to cut debt and reinvest in Europe.

Orange, which has 91.8 million customers in about two dozen African and Middle Eastern countries, said in a statement the fast-growing regions remained a "key part" of its strategy.

The company said on Friday that No decision has been taken regarding the exact details of any such project and no calendar has been defined.

According to Reuters revenues in Africa and the Middle East climbed 7.4 percent to 2.1 billion euros ($2.65 billion) in the first half of this year, compared with a decline of 4.6 percent to 9.6 billion euros in France.

Sales also fell in Poland and Spain, Orange's second and third-largest markets in Europe.

In addition to a source of growth, Orange has used Africa as a launch pad for a successful mobile money service, which allows people without bank accounts or credit cards make payments or transfers with their phones. It has some 10.8 million users.

Nigeria to raise 73.61 bln naira in bonds

Nigeria plans to auction 73.61 billion naira ($446.80 mln) in bonds with maturities ranging between 3 years and 20 years at an auction next Wednesday, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said on yesterday.

The DMO said it will sell 18.61 billion naira in 3-year bonds, 30 billion in 10-year paper and 25 billion in 20-year debt.

The securities are a reopening of previously issued bonds.

Okonjo-Iweala Bags New Award

Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has bagged the African Finance Minister of the year award for her outstanding performance as a finance minister.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the award was presented to Okonjo-Iweala on Friday, 10 October, 2014, by the African Investor Magazine at the ongoing annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC.

It was gathered that while receiving the award, the minister thanked the organisers for the award and described it as an absolute honour and auspicious.

She also implored all investors in Africa to join the fight against the deadly Ebola virus disease that is ravaging some countries in West Africa.

Alfa Belgore appointed as the Chairman of Airtel Nigeria

Bharti AirtelBSE -2.96 % Friday appointed Alfa Belgore as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Airtel Nigeria.

Christian de Faria, CEO - Airtel Africa, said in a statement that Alfa's wealth of experience will add immense value to the Board and provide strategic guidance to its operations in Nigeria.

Alfa Belgore is a former Chief Justice of the Republic of Nigeria. He served from 1986 as a key member in the Technical Committee on Law, Justice and Development in Africa and also sat at the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and National Archives.

in Africa and also sat at the Governing Council of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and National Archives, the company said.

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Kenya Sells Bonds to Meet $4 Billion Transport, Power Needs

Kenya is selling infrastructure bonds for the first time in a year to cover spending needs that are among the highest in Africa for expanding transportation networks and electricity supplies.

The East African nation is offering 12-year bonds worth 15 billion shillings ($168 million) at a fixed rate of 11 percent, according to the Nairobi-based Central Bank of Kenya, adding that the sale closes on Oct. 21; while the proceeds will finance road, energy, water and irrigation programs.

The government needs money to build roads, a railway and port and lay down a pipeline to ensure oil reserves that are being developed in the remote north can be exported, even as it struggles to narrow its budget deficit.

 Kenya’s investment needs of $4 billion a year to deliver on its infrastructure pledges is one of the largest on the continent, according to the Tunis-based African Development Bank.

Skye Bank of Nigeria Signs Agreement to Buy Mainstreet Bank

Skye Bank Plc signed an agreement with state-owned Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria to acquire Mainstreet Bank after it emerged as the preferred buyer for the nationalized lender.

According to Bloomberg, the Lagos-based Skye Bank paid 20 percent of the agreed price today. A spokeman for AMCON Kayode Lambo, said the accord covers details of “how the parties will go about the transaction.

Amcon was set up in 2010 to buy bad loans and stabilize Nigeria’s banking industry after a debt crisis threatened the industry with collapse. It is selling three lenders it nationalized in 2011 after regulators said they were unfit for business.

Mainstreet is the second of the nationalized banks that needs a buyer. Amcon named HBC Investment Services, a unit of Nigerian Heritage Banking Co., as preferred bidder for Enterprise Bank (FENB) on Sept. 12.

Skye Bank was picked as the preferred bidder for Mainstreet after the asset attracted interest from 25 local and foreign investors, Amcon said. Cedar One Investment Partners Ltd. is the first-reserve bidder and Fidelity Bank Plc (FIDELITY) the second.

Investors’ apathy grows as bears double efforts…NSEASI dips by -0.26%

 

 The Nigerian equities market closed Thursday on a negative note, as the ASI depreciated by -0.26% to close at 40,995.02 basis points

It market breadth closed negative as CHAMPION led 20 gainers against 26 losers topped by STANBIC  at the end of today’s session- an unimproved performance when compared with previous outlook.

Market turnover closes negative as volume ticked southwards by -27.02% against -16.86% decline recorded in the previous session. GUARANTY, INTENEGINS and SKYEBANK were the most active to boost market turnover. GUARANTY and NESTLE top market value list.

Ethiopia year-on-year inflation rate at 5.6 pct in September

 

Ethiopia's Central Statistics Agency's says the country's year-on-year inflation rate fell to 5.6 percent in September from 7.2 percent in August, due to a slower rise in food and other prices.

Official data showed on Thursday, that  inflation for non-food items, such as khat - a leafy plant chewed as a stimulant - and clothing, slowed to 7.8 percent from 9.4 percent the previous month. Food inflation also dropped to 3.6 percent from 5.2 percent.

Nigeria's PZ Cussons 1st quarter profit falls 31 pct

 

PZ Cussons, the Nigerian unit of British household products maker, said its first-half pretax profit fell to 872.29 million naira ($5.31 mln), down 30.8 percent compared with a year ago.

According to Reuters turnover dipped to 15.01 billion naira during the period to August 30, compared with 15.06 billion naira in the same period of last year, it said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Oil slips back below $91 on economic worries and supply glut

Brent oil fell below $91 a barrel on Thursday, heading back to more than two-year lows as a supply glut and concerns about global economic growth have sent the price down 20 per cent since its June peak.

Brent for November delivery was down 41 cents at $90.97 by 1200 GMT, having fallen to $90.83 earlier. The front-month contract fell as low as $90.57 on Wednesday, the lowest since June 2012, before recovering to close at $91.38 - still down 73 cents.

US November crude lost 12 cents to $87.19 after closing $1.54 down in the previous session, during which it hit its lowest level since April 2013 at $86.83.

Southern Africa cuts power deficit, to add 27,000 MW by 2018

 

Southern Africa has cut its power deficit to 3,000 MW in the last year and will add another 27,000 MW by 2018 as countries ramp up electricity generation to meet growing demand, an official with a regional power pool said on Thursday.

The region currently has a peak demand of 54,000 MW against generation capacity of 51,000 MW, narrowing the shortfall from 7,000 MW a year ago as new power comes on stream and more people use energy saving bulbs, said Musara Beta, an analyst at Southern Africa Power Pool.

Most of the new electricity would come from South Africa, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia, Beta said, adding that power generation would surpass demand by the end of 2016.

Zimbabwe is one of the countries in the region hardest hit by electricity shortages, forcing home owners and industries to endure long hours of power cuts, known locally as load shedding.

Reuters repors that work started last month to expand its Kariba hydro power plant by 300 MW, but several other projects which could generate up to 2,000 MW in new electricity remain on the back burner due to lack of funds.

Nigeria's Access Bank 9-month profit rises 20 pct

 

Nigeria's Access Bank said on Thursday its nine month pretax profit rose to 42.15 billion naira ($256.54 million), up 20 percent from a year ago.

Gross earnings climbed to 161.79 billion naira in the period to Sept. 30, compared with 155.02 billion naira in the same period last year, the top-tier lender said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

CBN Sells Dollars to Support Naira

Nigeria's central bank has been selling dollars at twice-weekly auctions to help the naira, which recently traded at three-year lows.

On Sept. 29, the bank increased the amount of dollars it offered to sell to $500 million, up from $350 million it has offered in the past quarter.

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves fell further to US$39,472,895,554.8 by Oct. 2, from $39.56 billion by Sept. 26

Jonathan unveils N33bn port facilities at Onne Port

 The multi-billion naira facilities constructed by Integrated Logistics Services Nigeria Limited (INTELS) have been unveiled  by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The facilities, which comprise three 15-metre depth berths, 800 hectares reclaimed quay area and road networks were among the projects under the Phase 4 of Onne Port Complex in the oil and gas Free Trade Zone (FTZ), Onne Rivers State.

INTELS said the facilities were executed at a cost $204 million (about N33 billion).

Jonathan, represented by Vice President Nnamdi Sambo, also performed the ground breaking of other projects under the Onne Port Projects Phase 4B.

The projects under phase 4B were awarded to Deep Offshore Limited at a cost of $2.8 billion (about N488 billion) and include development of eight berths, beginning from 12 to 19, reclamation of 600 hectares of swampy land, 15.5km port roads and other port facilities with a span of six years.

FG to buy two locomotives for N1.1bn

Nigeria's governmnet on Wednesday approved 1.1billion Naira for the purchase of two standard gauge locomotives.

They are meant for the new standard gauge rail lines being constructed across the country.

This was one of the resolutions reached at the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

Minister Information, Mr. Labaran Maku; told State House correspondents that the contract included the design, manufacture and commissioning of the two diesel locomotives with built in power packs with standard gauge 1,435mm for the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

He said the contract was awarded to Messrs CNR Darling Locomotives and Rolling Stock Limited, and CCECC Nigeria Limited with a delivery period of 10 months.

Porsche announces all-new 911 Carrera GTS

Porsche’s family of 911 models just keep growing.

The latest addition is the new GTS variant, which means the 911 family tree now includes 19 models. Announced Tuesday, the GTS gets subtle power and chassis upgrades and will come in four flavors: a rear-wheel-drive coupe and convertible and an all-wheel-drive coupe and convertible.

Like the GTS upgrades on other Porsche models in its lineup, this package on the 911 is more of a collection of popular options grouped together to save buyers a little money.

Porsche's 911 GTS will come in rear- and all-wheel-drive, and coupe or convertible variants. It goes on sale at the end of 2014.

Konga Emerges Africa’s Biggest Online Retailer

 

Nigeria’s leading online retailer, Konga is set to become Africa’s biggest internet company as an investment of about $60 million is set to be injected into the company.

Reports from Ventures Africa has it that Konga’s value will rise to about $190 million post the capital injection.

But while the new investment speaks volume of investors’ confidence in Konga, founded by Sim Shagaya who also owns DealDey, and online shopping and daily deals,major rival in the online retail space in Nigeria, Jumia may not be having the best of times.

Its mother company, Rocket Internet had its IPO held last week, but the company’s shares had already fallen 13 percent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

The fall regardless, Rocket’s IPO remains the largest German tech IPO in the past decade, with the company now valued at €6.7 billion ($8.5 billion).

Tunisia’s Banking Sector Boosted By Positive Rating

Tunisia has joined the league of Georgia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Lebanon who have all been given a Group 8 rating by Standard&Poor’s (S&P) Rating Services; this rating places Tunisia’s banking sector on the 80th percentile of perfection, the lowest being Group 1, as measured by S&P’s Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA).

However, the rating agency has indicated that that banking regulation in Tunisia is weaker than international standards even though the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) continues to invest efforts in reversing the situation.

Because the country’s banks do not use complex products and therefore show a moderate risk appetite, stable customer deposits are the primary source of funding for Tunisian banks. This creates insufficiencies in funding the system’s loan portfolio given that the banks have a relatively high loan-to-deposit ratio.

S&P recommends the establishment of an Asset Management Company to further enhance asset quality indicators and promote the banking sector.

IMF warns of low interest rates 'risk' to economy

The International Monetary Fund has warned of new risks to global financial stability.

Low interest rates could lead investors to buy riskier assets as they seek better returns, the IMF says.

In a new report, it says there is a danger that this behaviour could derail the economic recovery, which the IMF has already described as "weak and uneven".

The report says the risks require "increased vigilance".

The IMF has already given its assessment of the wider economic recovery and is concerned about its lack of vigour.

Air France puts cost of pilots strike at €500m

Air France has estimated that last month's strike will cost it about €500m (£393m) in lost revenue.

The struggling French flag carrier was in dispute with pilots over plans to expand its budget subsidiary Transavia.

Finance director Pierre-Francois Riolacci said there would be an immediate impact of about 320-350m euros, plus loss of future business. Shares in Europe's second-biggest airline fell 2%, at one point touching the lowest level in a year.

The company has already cut its profit target for 2014. Air France said that total passenger traffic fell 15.9% in September, adding that bookings for the next three months were also down.

The airline put the expansion of its Transavia budget carrier on hold after the two sides agreed to talks. Pilots objected that the move of staff to Transavia would erode existing contracts.

Air France wanted to expand its budget division to compete with the likes of Ryanair and easyjet.

Leaked: iPad Air 2 images from every angle possible

Following leaks yesterday of all sorts of possible hardware details about the iPad Air 2 ahead of its expected October 16 debut, images of the latest in the line of Apple's tablet offerings have emerged online showing the device from all possible angles.

The images were released by Vietnamese blog Tinhte.vn and highlight the thinness of the iPad Air 2. One reason behind this is the unified screen module seen also on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The tablet is expected to be just 7 millimeters thick. A feather shy of the iPhone 6 itself which is 6.9mm thick and thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus which rests at 7.1mm.

It was reported that the iPad Air 2 will forgo the mute button and instead provide a thinner, smoother edge with the new design concept.

Since the iPad Air 2 has already hit the production line according to reports there aren't chances that the final product looks otherwise. This pretty much is what the new iPad Air 2 will look like once it comes out officially.

The hardware in the iPad Air 2 is expected to feature a 9.7 inch Retina Display, A8 processor, 2GB RAM, a bump to 8Mp on the rear camera and FaceTime HD on the front camera, Touch ID fingerprint sensor that brings Apple Pay and memory ranges of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

MTN Sets Up Data And Switch Centers In Ghana

 

 As part of its moves to bolster its presence on the continent by explioting strategic African markets, Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) Ghana has established three switch and data centres aimed at improving the user experience of its customer base by improving voice and data services.

One of the new stores, located at the Osu Mall in Accra, is the first of its kind in Ghana and it is primed to deliver provide experiential data services, high-end handsets, laptops, phone accessories, modems and other electronic gadgets.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, Serame Taukobong, while launching the Data Store, said; “Leading the delivery of a bold new digital world includes giving people the opportunity to truly experience the benefits of digitization and this event here today is in line with that vision.

He added that the store was the first of about 20 data stores the company intends to open in the country by 2015.

Beyond setting up the data center, MTN has recently committed $90 million into the 14,000 km West African Cable System (WACS) and rolled out more than 11,000 3G sites across the country.

Massive Rural Fibre Deployment Begins in Lagos

MTN, Airtel, Etisalat and Globacom have commenced a heated race to deploy broadband fibre infrastructure in unserved and underserved parts of Lagos, in order to improve broadband internet and IT quality.

BusinessDay reported that  MTN, Airtel, Etisalat and Globacom have all begun massive fibre infrastructure deployments across the length and breadth of the state with a view to improving the quality of broadband internet and telecommunications services and garnering more revenue.

 Experts say Lagos is a huge lure for the operators because it has a population of 17.5 million, of the nation’s total of 160 million, according to 2006 census figures. With the nation’s teledensity standing at 93.41 percent as at June 2014, Lagos poses a big carrot for telcos.

Nokia's Here app comes to Android but only for Samsung devices

Nokia announced the expansion Wednesday, saying that, for now, the app is in beta and exclusively for Samsung devices -- not all Android-based device. It can be found in Samsung's application marketplace.

Nokia Here was once part of the broader Nokia. However, when Microsoft acquired Nokia's devices and services operation earlier this year, Here was not included in the deal and stayed with the part of Nokia that lives on as an independent company.

While Nokia Here was previously only available to Windows Phone, it's now being rolled out across other platforms. Earlier this year, Nokia said that it would be launching its Here mapping app on iOS and the entire Android world before the year is up.

For now, Nokia Here has expanded only to Samsung devices and through the Samsung app store. The app will allow people to get directions to location, get voice guidance, and find their own location. In addition, users can download parts of the Here maps, including entire countries, at no charge for offline use.

The app is slowly but surely making its way to Samsung's app marketplace around the world, Nokia said. If users don't see it available yet, it should pop up over the next couple of days.

Facebook 'developing app to post anonymously', sources claim

Facebook is reportedly developing an app that provides its users with anonymity, a source has revealed.

The standalone service, which is expected to be released in the coming weeks, was unveiled to the New York Times by an insider who spoke, coincidentally, on the condition of anonymity.

The social networking site recently came under fire from drag acts and other performers after it rolled out a new ‘real name’ policy that prevented users from operating under pseudonyms.

It was an unexpected fall-out from efforts by the firm to help stem the slew of trolling and online bullying perpetrated by those hiding behind anonymous accounts.

Asia shares stumble, oil skids to 27-mth lows

 

Asian share markets were mostly in the red on Wednesday as worries about waning global growth lifted safe-haven bonds, while shoving oil prices to their lowest in more than two years.

Extending a three-month-long decline, Brent oil sank $1.18 to $90.93 a barrel while U.S. crude tumbled $1.07 to $87.78. The protracted slide should be a windfall for consumer spending power, but is also a powerful force for disinflation in much of the developed world.

That has been a boon for sovereign bonds as investors wager the outlook for slowing inflation could put off the day when U.S. interest rates might rise.

In Asia, Japan's Topix shed 1.1 percent while the Nikkei dropped 1.0 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1 percent, while Australia's main index lost 0.9 percent.

China's markets bucked the trend as they returned from a week-long break, with Shanghai up 0.5 percent, though Hong Kong shed 0.7 percent.

            Ivory Coast to issue 5-year 40 bln CFA franc bond

Ivory Coast will issue a 40 billion CFA franc ($77 million) five-year bond with a 5.80 percent coupon on Oct. 15, a statement from the Treasury said on Wednesday.

The bond will be sold in units of 10,000 CFA francs to investors across the region's CFA franc currency zone via an auction organised by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).

Reuters reports that Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer and French-speaking West Africa's largest economy, launched a $750 million dollar Eurobond in July.

Safaricom, Airtel bid for Essar's Kenya assets seen finalised soon

Kenya's regulator said on Wednesday that it had given preliminary approval to a joint bid by Safaricom and Airtel for the mobile assets of Essar Kenya and the final nod could be given next month.

The two firms lodged a joint bid valued at $100 million to buy the assets of Essar Kenya, which operates under the "Yu" brand in the east African nation, in February this year.

The director general of the regulator, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), Francis Wangusi, told a news conference that the whole project is at an advanced stage.

He said CAK and the competition authority approved the deal but needed to wait until the end of the month for other parties to raise any objections, in line with legal requirements, to give their final agreement, adding that it could happen next month.

Safaricom, which has a 68 percent share of Kenya's 31 million mobile phone users, will get Yu's network infrastructure and spectrum. Airtel will take Yu's 2.6 million subscribers.

World Bank sees financial impact of Ebola at as much as $32.6 bln in Africa

The World Bank says regional impact of West Africa's Ebola epidemic could reach $32.6 billion by the end of 2015 if it spreads significantly beyond the worst-hit countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim stated this in a statement on Wednesday.

Kim added that the enormous economic cost of the current outbreak to the affected countries and the world could have been avoided by prudent ongoing investment in health systems-strengthening.

Tanzania inflation eases on slowing food price rises

Tanzania's inflation rate edged down to 6.6 percent in the year to September, helped by slower rises in food prices.

The country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday that the Year-on-year inflation stood at 6.7 percent in August.

As in other east African countries, food prices are a major driver of inflation in Tanzania.

Food and non alcoholic beverages inflation fell to 8.5 percent year-on-year in September from 8.8 percent in August.

The consumer price index rose 0.4 percent in the month of September, up from 0.1 percent in August.

World Bank Predicts over 5% GDP Growth for Nigeria, Others in 2015/16

The World Bank has declared that despite weaker than expected global growth and stable or declining commodity prices, African economies, including Nigeria’s, have continued to expand at a moderately rapid pace, with regional gross domestic product (GDP) projected to strengthen to 5.2 per cent yearly between 2015 and 2016 from 4.6 per cent in 2014.

According to the bank’s ‘New Africa’s Pulse’—a twice yearly analysis of the issues shaping Africa’s economic prospects - significant investment in infrastructure, increased agricultural production and expanding services in African retail , telecoms, and others.

Nigeria: LCCI Decries Delay in Registration of Businesses By CAC

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI has expressed concern over the frustrations faced by investors in the course of business incorporation.

The Chamber in its communiqué after its meeting held last week and signed by its Director General, Muda Yusuff stated "Rather than live up to the high expectations of better service delivery promised few months ago, the quality of service at the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC has deteriorated.

Rather than take the promised 24 hours, business incorporation now takes well over one week in most cases. A major component of the Ease of Doing Business Report of the World Bank is the ease of business registration.

The performance on this score is not satisfactory. Council urged the management of the CAC to urgently fix these shortcomings to realise the dream of making the country a leading investment destination in Africa.

 Nigerian Banks’ Profits to Drop in 2015, Says Fitch

Rating agency Fitch, in its latest reports say Nigerian banks’ asset growth and earnings will fall in the next 18 months because of the central bank’s moves to protect the economy and banking customers.

Fitch said in the report published today in London, that the moves led to weaker profitability and stemmed credit growth in the first half of 2014, adding that it is likely to continue into 2015.

It would be recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria has increased cash reserve requirements on public sector deposits to 75 percent from 12 percent since July last year to curb inflation and limited how much banks can charge account holders when they withdraw money.

The Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria, a state company created to buy bad debt from lenders after the country’s 2009 financial crisis, also last year raised its annual levy on banks from to 0.5 percent of their assets from 0.3 percent.

Labour Kicks against Sale of Mainstreet Bank

The organised labour in the banking industry has kicked against the sale of Mainstreet Bank Limited by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), stating that the unions were not carried along in the transaction process.

AMCON had recently announced  Skye Bank Plc  as the preferred bidder for Mainstreet Bank following the approval by its board of directors.

However, the major union in the industry is demanding a reversal in the sale on the grounds that  the unions in the sector were not consulted before the deal was finalised.

Speaking under the umbrella of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), it called on the federal government to immediately reverse the sale in the interest of industrial peace and harmony in the industry.

ASSBIFI National President, Mr. Sunday Salako, who made the call in Lagos at a forum to mark the ‘2014 World Day for Decent Work,’ said it had become fashionable for AMCON to sell banks to private investors without recourse to labour law.

Seychelles year-on-year inflation rate at 0.6 pct in Sept

 

Seychelles inflation rate was 0.6 percent in the year to September, compared with 0.8 percent in the year to August.

Official data showed on Tuesday that on a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate on the Indian Ocean archipelago was 0.0 percent..

Chad to double oil output by 2016, develop minerals: Minister

 

Chad Finance minister says, the country expects to double its oil production by the end of 2015 as new fields come on stream and has appointed firms to inventory potential mineral deposits in an effort to diversify the economy.

The former French colony, one of the poorest nations in the world, has been rocked by humanitarian crises over the past decade including conflicts in the east and south, drought in the arid Sahel region and flooding.

That has been compounded since 2012 by instability on its borders with Libya, Nigeria and Central African Republic, forcing Chad to increase its security budget to handle thousands of new refugees and counter a growing cross-border threat.

Kordje Bedoumra, told Reuters that the country expected a rebound in the growth rate this year to 11-13 percent and double digits again in 2015 as oil production ramps up.

              Angola reserves fall to $27.03 billion in August

 

Angolan Central bank says it reserves fell to $27.03 billion in August from $28.63 billion in July.


Angola is Africa's second-largest producer of oil and depends on crude exports for over 95 percent of its foreign exchange earnings.

In recent times there have been interest of foreign investors in Angola's oil rich sector.

Standard Chartered to hire 1,000 more staff in Africa

 

Standard Chartered plans to hire at least 1,000 more staff in Africa in the next couple of years, an increase of more than 10 percent, even as its expansion elsewhere has slowed.

Diana Layfield, Standard Chartered's chief executive for Africa, declined to specify where the extra staff would go, but picked out Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana as three of the most attractive markets.

Nigeria overtook South Africa as the continent's biggest economy this year after a rebasing of its gross domestic product (GDP).

After a decade of expansion that took it to 89,000 staff globally, Standard Chartered has put the brakes on hiring in the last two years after suffering an embarrassing fine for breaching U.S. sanctions, big losses in South Korea and a slowdown in its investment bank.

It has about 8,100 staff in Africa and has a significant presence in 15 countries there.

Standard Chartered, Barclays and Citigroup are the biggest international banks in Africa, but they are facing increasing competition from Asian banks, including Chinese ones.

House to probe N700bn Shell gas project

After the Sallah break, the House of Representatives will commence investigations of a Shell-operated N700 billion gas project over which allegations of tax evasion of N7 billion have been made by a former employee of the oil multinational.

Following a petition by Chidi David Adebanya, a former Interface Manager of Shell Production Development Company (SPDC), the House Committee on Public Petitions chaired by Hon. Peter Edeh (Ezzah North/Ishielu Federal Constituency, Ebonyi State), said it will conduct a probe into the allegation.

Adebanya further complained that officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allegedly demanded for N120 million as bribe from him to quash the case.

According to him, Shell allegedly failed to pay various taxes amounting to N7 billion to the Bayelsa State Government as building permit fees on the Gbaran Ubie integrated oil and gas project in Gbarantoro Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.