Togo and Ghana could instigate a legal battle over oil exploration in the East Keta ultra-deep block. This situation worries the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), one of Ghana’s oil regulatory authorities, which published July 16 its 2017 annual report. Let’s recall that a few months ago, the Ghanaian government awarded the operation of an oil block in East keta to a joint...

Egypt’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSME) engaged negotiations with foreign financial institutions to secure between €200 million and €300 million in order to support local banks that provide funds to micro-enterprises. According to local media which relayed the news, Niven Gamea (photo), the agency’s MD, revealed that talks are well advanced with...

Canal+ will kick off next July 28, the 3rd edition of film festival in Benin. In this framework, the travelling film caravan will tour some of the country's major cities to show films for free until August 25. Targeted cities include Natitingou, Parakou, Comè, Dassa and Cotonou and films to be broadcasted include productions from Benin and neighboring countries including Nigeria. For the...

In Côte d’Ivoire, the united party known as Rassemblement des Houphouetistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix (RHDP) was officially created, following a constituent general meeting held July 16 at Hôtel Ivoire d’Abidjan.     The long-awaited party announced to be the leading political force, resulting from the union of several major parties including the Democratic Party of...

Congolese mobile operator Congo Telecom will benefit from technical support from Spanish firm Applus specializing in testing, inspection and certification, to launch its 5G service. Matt Stead, Applus’ Africa Business and Development Director, while meeting on July 16 the Congolese Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Léon Juste Ibombo, expressed the firm’s desire to collaborate with...

Egypt’s local banks are at risk of government over-indebtedness, data from the Institute for international Finance showed. Last year, Egypt was the world’s second-largest borrower from local banks, after China. Public debt interests to be paid in 2018 and 2019 are an average of 8% of GDP. Meanwhile, budget deficit stood at 6% of GDP.  The debt level worsened in Q1 2018. At the end...

Following a definitive feasibility study (DFS) of its Achmmach tin deposit (Morocco), published July 16, Kasbah Resources plans to launch the project’s construction work in 2019 and start production the following year. To this end, the company engaged negotiations with partners to secure funding and offtake agreements, as well as identify a suitable contractor capable of conducting underground...

Citi is pleased to announce the appointment of Gordon Acha as Citi Country Officer (CCO) for Cameroon. Gordon will report to Citi Cameroon Board of Directors chaired by Khady Dior Ndiaye, Citi Country Officer for Côte d’Ivoire and Citi Business Head for French West & Central Africa. Gordon has over 23 years of Institutional Banking experience covering the United States, Cameroon, Côte...

In the H1 2018 revenue performance report, Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) announced that it raised more than N2.5 trillion (about $7 billion) in tax revenue from January to June 2018. This represents a strong success as the tax administration already realized 75% of its total target for 2018 in just six months. In addition, the figure reflects an increase by 42%...

African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) will approve $500 million in financing to Angola, Samuel Loum head of the bank’s credit and analysis division said. According to information relayed by Macauhub, the resource will mainly be used to develop civil aviation sectors and support the finance sector. Authorities hope the move will boost both sectors’ takeoff in a context where the...