The civil engineering and telecom revenues of diversified group Servicom respectively recorded year on year decrease of 58% and 50% during Q1, 2019. The group’s civil engineering revenues decreased from TND8.2 million at end-March 2018 to TND3.5 million during the same period in 2019. In the telecom sector, its revenues were TND927,000 at end March 2018 while at end March 2019, they were...

In Cabo Verde, the central bank published a report revising its 2019 economic growth forecast upward to 5.2%. Previously, this forecast was 4.7%. The new estimate takes into account the expected positive impacts of fiscal reforms initiated recently. In the report, the bank explained that the country recorded a 5.5% growth in 2018 against 4% in 2017. According to the report, in the fourth quarter...

United Bank for Africa (UBA) started 2019 with NGN98.5 billion of interest income. This represents a good performance for the NSE listed bank. It is notably due to the better yield on its treasury bonds that generated additional revenue of NGN8 billion, diluting the NGN3 billion decrease on security revenues. In the same wake, the NGN4.4 billion rise of interest expenses was neutralised by the...

China will fund the project for extension and renovation of Sao Tomé &Principe international airport whose cost is evaluated at $31 million. This was announced by Gao Jinbao, economic and commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy in São Tomé, on April 17, 2019.   The project includes the extension of the airport’s runway from 2,170 meters to 2,800 meters. In the framework of...

On April 23, 2019, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority met with the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton) to issue an ultimatum to operators. During the meeting, Muhtar Usman (photo), director of the public institution, warned telecom operators that they had a 30-day deadline to comply with the statutory Aviation Height Clearance (AHC). After this deadline,...

The Communications Authority of Kenya announces the future publication of a report on the quality of telecom, internet and digital services offered by operators in the Kenyan market. In the new report, apart from measuring the quality of voice and data services, the regulator also measures some other segments. According to Francis Wangusi (photo), director of the regulatory agency, the project...

French hotel group AccorHotels plans to open 60 additional hotels in 14 African countries in the next four years, Bloomberg reported on April 24, 2019, citing Mark Willis, the group’s director for MENA region.   "In the next two years, we will open more than half of those Sixty hotels in Egypt which bounced back after a crisis caused by external factors," the executive...

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) announces new financing agreements of more than $880 million with some African countries. These agreements will help provide public-private financing and capacity-building programs for export initiatives and for the development of SMEs. High growth industrial sectors (agriculture products, energy and medical supply) should be...

Asma Invest jointly owned by Morocco and Saudi Arabia plans to increase its capital from MAD800 million to MAD2 billion. Hicham Safir, Asma’s director told Moroccan media  Leboursier that the operation, approved by the administrative board, should be conducted before the end of H1, 2019. In the framework of that capital increase, the capital will be opened to foreign investors. The...

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will provide $81 million support to four African countries, the Emirates News Agency revealed this week. The new support will be provided to Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea and Malawi via the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). It will help develop the infrastructure and agriculture sectors as well as support poverty...