Algeria’s President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, has fired the governor of the central bank Mohamed Laksaci who for months now was criticized for its management of Algeria’s public finances amid falling oil price. Laksaci’s dismissal was announced by official Algerian sources after a council of ministers held on May 31. Heading the Central Bank since 2001, the former governor was replaced by...

Dubai-based firm Jetex Flight Support and Swissport Executive Aviation, both specialized in airport services, have won the bid to tender launched by Morocco’s Airports National Office (ONDA) to manage business terminals in five airports. The two firms will thus launch the first Fixed-base operator product in Moroccan airports. This product includes the management of reception infrastructures...

Around one billion naira. That is, according to the Arewa Consultative Forum’s former president, how much rice Nigeria imports every day. Adressing shareholders of Jamaiyar Matan Arewa during a meeting, Alhaji Aliko Muhamed said spending so much in rice imports was needless given Nigeria’s assets. Comparing to China, he said: “China has a population of around 1.3 billion people but they...

In a statement released on May 31, 2016 and signed by Mohamed Moussa, adviser to the prime minister in charge of public-private partnerships, Niger’s authorities reaffirmed their strategic commitment with the French group Bolloré, for the Niamey-Cotonou railway project. According to Bloomberg citing Mr. Moussa, awarding this concession to Bolloré, which is currently managing various sea and...

South African group Naspers has achieved a record market capitalization of R1 trillion, or $US63.7 billion. A first for the group. On May 31, 2016 at 10:05 AM the group’s share was at R2,314.98 on the Johannesburg stock exchange where Naspers is listed. Naspers keeps enjoying its 34% stake in Tencent, China’s biggest Internet firm. A week ago, Tencent said it revenues for Q1 2016...

In South Africa, Anheuser-Busch InBev is a step closer to merging with SABMiller. In fact, South Africa’s Competition Commission (SACC) just gave conditional approval for the deal. While only approval by competition court is left for the merger, observers indicate that this step is more of a formality since this court generally approves all recommendations made by the commission. Among the...

Niger Delta Avengers, has again claimed responsibility for the destruction of more oil wells in the Niger Delta region. The group on Wednesday announced that it blew up Chevron’s RMP 23 and RMP 24 oil wells in spite of the heavy presence of the military in the region. Niger Delta Avengers has taken responsibility for various attacks on oil and gas infrastructure since February 2016, demanding...

Shell and Apache have signed an agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum as regards the price of gas at the Apollonia field in the Western Desert. Under this new agreement the price of 1m thermal units will cost $4.6 instead of the initial $2.9. The gas proven reserves in the limestone layers in Apollonia field are estimated at about 700bcf. Following 19 days of work, Apache...

A delegation from the China-Africa Development Fund (CAD Fund) is presently in Cape Verde to study opportunities for investment in the country, Xinhua reports. The delegation which should stay in Cape Verde till June 3 is meeting local entrepreneurs to discuss with them funding opportunities that the fund has to offer. However, attention will be centered on tourism projects. “Entrepreneurs...

In a statement published on May 23, the Indian hotel management firm Sarovar Hotels said it planned to operate ten hotels in Africa in the next five years. Sarovar Hotels Pvt ED Ajay K Bakaya said: “This is a major step in our growth and expansion strategy and we are looking to operate 10 hotels in Africa in the next five years.” The Mumbai-based group also announced its entry in South...