At the end of April 2019, the market capitalisation of financial companies listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange was GHS13.7 billion ($2.6 billion), according to figures published by the Bank of Ghana. This represents a 6.2% drop compared with the market capitalisation of these companies at end January 2019 (GHS14.3 billion). The central bank provided no direct explanation for that decrease. In...

Egypt Central Bank is planning to increase commercial banks’ minimum capital base from EGP500 million to EGP5 billion. This was disclosed in a draft bill on banking and financial institutions’ activities. The capital base of foreign banks’ subsidiaries in the country should increase from $50 million to $150 million, according to the same draft bill. The concerned banks will have...

The Debt Management Office (DMO) of Nigeria just announced the future issuance of up to NGN15 billion ($41.6 million) in green bonds to fund environmental projects. “These eligible green projects can be classified under three (3) themes within the green bond framework, namely: renewable energy, afforestation, and transportation,”  the office said in a statement.  It further...

Angola will privatise some of its airports by end of this year, transport minister Ricardo de Abreu (photo) indicated last week. According to the official, this is to ensure better management and help boost the flow of passengers, estimated at 3.6 million passengers, in local airports. For the time being, there is no detail about the airports to be privatised but an international call for...

American firm Rise Capital has invested $5.3 million in the capital of Gokada, a Nigerian motorbike hailing company.   At the same time, Ayodeji Adewunmi, former CEO of Jobberman, a Nigerian job listing website, is joining Gokada as co-founder. "It is an incredible time to be joining Gokada on this journey to transform transportation in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. I am truly...

In a statement published on May 25, 2019, MTN Nigeria indicated that its recent listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). “We wish to reiterate that we received all regulatory approvals required to list our shares on the NSE, as publicly confirmed by NSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission. MTN Nigeria has...

In South Africa, the carbon tax law has been signed after years of delays. In its first phase (June 1, 2019, to December 2022) the tax will be ZAR120 ($8.34) per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. According to the treasury, which announced the signing, allowable tax breaks could reduce the rate to between ZAR6 to ZAR48 per tonne. “A review of the impact of the tax will be conducted before the...

Uganda’s economy should grow by 6.3% during the 2019-2020 fiscal year, Daily Monitor announced citing the 2019-2020 finance act draft. This should be due to growth in the manufacturing, trade, infrastructures and agriculture sectors. The government intensified its infrastructure investments in preparation for oil production that should start in the country by 2022. These investments led to an...

On May 24, 2019, JSE-listed Old Mutual, the second largest insurance company in South Africa, announced the suspension with immediate effect of Peter Moyo (photo), the managing director. According to the announcement, this suspension is due to a substancial disagreement with the administrative board. According to Manuel Trevor, president of the administrative board, more details will be...

In Burkina Faso, the parliament has approved an $8 million funding project to boost the country’s climate resilience. This funding was donated by the International Development Association (IDA). The project is aimed at providing real-time weather forecasts to help small farmers, communities and women’s groups face flood threats. It will be implemented by the national meteorology agency...