Serinus Energy is looking to increase its output at the Sabria field in Tunisia, where the company is considering further drilling operations, if the current oil prices are sustainable. The company is looking to reduce its expenses wherever possible and at the same time maintain current production in the country.Serinus sees new drilling in the current mid-40 price mark per barrel as...

Attijari Bank, subsidiary of the Moroccan banking group Attijariwafa Bank, has passed 5 billion Tunisian dinars record for customer deposits, according to recently released results for first half of 2016. The deposits which were 5.22 billion dinar on June 30, up 10.21% compared to 2015 (4.7 billion). In comparison to 2005, this amount soared by 202%. In detail, term deposits grew by 22.1% to...

Barclays has initiated procedure to sell its Egyptian unit in which two banks operating in the Middle East & North Africa region have already manifested their interest, Reuters reported on July 19, citing sources close to the case. The AIM-listed British group wishes to reduce its stake in its African branch, Barclays Africa, up to exiting the market. With subsidiaries in 12 African nations...

Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) began on July 19, a four-day work visit in Morocco. This is the executive’s first official visit to the kingdom since coming into exercise in September 2015, a statement from the Pan African institution reveals. This visit is in the framework of the second general assembly of Africa50, a Pan African fund which is dedicated to...

Nigerian banking group Sterling Bank has ended talks to buy local bank Keystone Bank, Reuters reported on July 19 citing one the institution’s executive. Keystone Bank is the last bank that Asset Management Corp of Nigeria (AMCON), state-backed bad bank established to clear assets of ten lenders hit by the 2009 financial crisis, is seeking to sell. Sterling’s chief finance director,...

African banks had their capital Tier 1 fall by 12.77% in 2015, The Banker (Financial Times group) revealed in its latest world’s top 1000 banks. The same performance is reflected in the growth of global volume for assets and returns. “Commodity price fall and fluctuations of national currencies against the dollar, participated to this overall slump in performances of the continent’s major...

The National Bank of Egypt and the Commercial International Bank (CIB) are arranging a syndicated loan of EGP5 billion ($561 million) for Telecom Egypt. The loan should serve to acquire 4G licence. However, before proceeding to the acquisition, the firm is requested to pay 50% of licence cost upfront, in U.S dollars. Though Telecom Egypt (TE) did not officially confirm the 4G deal,...

In Cote d’Ivoire, lenders, from the Arabic Gulf mainly, are meeting with the government in the framework of a roundtable which began on July 19, 2016, and aims to mobilize $468 million required to protect and valorize the Cocody Bay located in Abidjan. The roundtable benefits from Morocco’s support in respect to Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) signed in June 2013 between Ivorian and...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has significantly downgraded on July 19, its growth forecasts for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2016, mainly as a result of deceiving performances of its two principal economies : Nigeria and South Africa. In its global outlook on economy, the fund said Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy should grow 1.6% this year or 1.4pt less than forecast released in April...

VAALCO Energy has announced that it has reached an agreement with Transocean on the outstanding contract term for the Constellation II rig, which was hired for a recent drilling program offshore Gabon. The agreement is subject to the payment of $5.1 million net to VAALCO’s interest for the days the rig was idle. This money which includes demobilization charges, is to be paid within seven...