The African Development Bank, rated Aaa/AAA/AAA by Moody’s/S&P/Fitch, has successfully priced a EUR 1 billion 10-year Global Benchmark, due 21 March 2029, its first benchmark transaction of the year. This transaction, priced Thursday 14 March 2019, marks the Bank’s s positioning in the EUR market, in line with its strategy of building a reference curve. After its inaugural EUR benchmark...

This year, Ugandan nationals’ shares in MTN Uganda could rise to 20%. This was revealed by Rob Shuter (photo), CEO of MTN group, on NTV Uganda. The executive indicated that this year, the operator would increase the percentage of MTN Uganda’s equity owned by nationals from 4% to 20%.   “What we now need to do is really engage in the market and with the authorities as to what is the...

On March 14, 2019, Moroccan group Maroc Telecom signed an acquisition agreement with Millicom International Cellular (MIC) for full acquisition of Tigo Chad, which is currently the leader of the local market. This acquisition, subjected to the approval of Chadian authorities, falls within the framework of the Moroccan group’s expansion plan. The agreement is signed 23 days after the visit of...

Ghana will set ten new measures to improve its business environment, Mahamudu Bawumia (photo), the country’s vice-president announced this week. These new measures should come into effect around March-June 2019. They include measures for the obtention of building permits, the energy sector, trans-border trades, company creation and insolvency resolution process. In the framework of those...

Egypt has affirmed its strong support for the African Development Bank as a development partner and is committed to strengthening regional integration, the country’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly said during a meeting in Cairo with a Bank delegation. Madbouly affirmed Egypt‘s readiness to work with the African Development Bank. “We are working hard to strengthen our relationships with...

MTN Nigeria’s IPO will be organized in two phases, the operator’s CEO Ferdinand Moolman indicated during a press meeting in Lagos on March 13, 2019.   According to the executive, this is to guarantee the successful listing of MTN Nigeria on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) because investors’ appetite for this operation has been cooled down by a lengthy wait. Indeed, the operator...

Ethiopian Airlines initiated discussion with Airbus for new planes, sources close to the French presidency indicate according to various European media. The discussions are about the acquisition of Airbus A350 and A320 planes. According to Reuters, this new acquisition comes to add to another existing order of about ten Airbus A350 planes. For the time being, there is no indication either of...

BNP Paribas’ 50% stake in Tunisian banking group Union Bancaire pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (UBCI). For the time being, there are no financial details about the operation but, if successful it will boost Arab Bank’s presence in Tunisia since it already has 64.24% stake in Arab Tunisian Bank, another Tunisian group. The sale of BNP Paribas’ stake in UBCI was announced during the...

The International Finance Corporation and Côte d’Ivoire’s committee for the coordination of public/private partnership (Comité de concertation Etat/secteur privé- CCESP) recently organized a workshop to connect local suppliers to local leaders in the tourism sector. According to Mariam Fofana Fadiga (photo), CCESP’ executive secretary,  "this initiative is aimed at facilitating...

South African life insurer MMI Holdings will give a 36 zar cents per share to its investors following a profitable H1 for its six months which ended on December 31, 2018.  “The R1.6 billion of normalised headline earnings is in line with the Reset and Grow targets, and we believe this was a pleasing result in the current operating environment,” the life insurer indicated in the summary...