Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Tunisia sovereign rating to B1 from Ba3, putting the country’s debt in the “Highly speculative” category. The agency said the country lack strong tax reforms and delayed in implementing recommendations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), amid persistent external imbalances. Moody’s also said the downgrade could be extended further if the country...

Upon the completion of construction works for the 275MW Soubré hydropower dam next October, the Chinese firm Sinohydro could build three other similar dams, in the country. The infrastructures should be located in Gribo Popoli, Louga, Boutoubre, (all across the Sassandra River) and produce respectively 112MW, 280MW and 156MW of electricity. According to Bloomberg which reported the information...

President of the Cameroon’s business owners association (ECAM), the former insurer talks here of the change that ICT’s increasing use by firms could bring about in his country, and Africa as well. You recently organized in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, a workshop baptized “Assurtech”. What do you aim to achieve through this event? The main goal of Assurtech is to stimulate...

From March 21 to July 22 this year, trade volume between Nigeria and Iran recorded a 69% growth, Mahmood Haji Yousefipoor, the Head of Nigeria department at the Trade Promotion Organization, revealed on Monday. According to him, the volume of exports from Iran to Nigeria in those four months stood at $3 million, an increase of $1.2 million compared to the same period last year. “The...

A Nigerian Businessman, Pat Utomi, is currently developing the first $135 million agricultural commodities exchange in the country. The exchange called Integrated Produce City Ltd. will be located near the southern city of Benin. The project will have storage facilities, including refrigerated warehouses, and host processing plants, once completed by the end of 2018. Among products to be...

In an open letter sent to the president of Madagascar on August 17, the Tany group exposed its concerns about land grabbing by foreign investors in the country. For the civil society group, whose objective “is to support the development of Malagasy farmers and citizens and defend their lands and natural resources”, it is urgent to boost land tenure and establish a stricter framework for land...

The Pakistani government has revealed plans to enter into a multi-billion dollars supply deal for the importation of Liquefied natural gas from Nigeria. According to a Pakistani newspaper, the Tribune Express, a draft agreement will be presented by the government to the cabinet for approval before signing the deal with Nigeria to import LNG. This will be followed by the signing of commercial...

Delta Air Lines has introduced a new service to Lagos, Nigeria from its New York-JFK hub. Planned to operate thrice a week, the service is expected to start from March 24, 2018, and will complement the existing one to Lagos from Atlanta. Current flights from Atlanta ply four times a week. According to the company, flights will operate three times weekly, complementing the existing...

Backed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) has approved the release of a $975,000 (FCFA543.43 million) subsidy for the CIZO scheme, which aims to distribute PayGo solar kits to the people of Togo. The first stage of the off-grid electrification programme aims to improve living conditions of rural populations in the country. Under it, 300,000...

Two days ago, Morocco’s leader, King Mohammed VI (photo), gave a speech during which he emphasized on the importance of the relation between his country and the rest of Africa, saying it is not just economic. A statement which comes a while after Morocco, it should be recalled, reintegrated the African Union and wishes to be part of the Economic Community of West African States...