Algeria will cap its car imports to 400,000 units per year, announced the minister of Trade, Amara Benyounès, on 1st July 2015.  "We will establish, in coordination with the ministry of Industry and Mines, vehicle import licences which should not exceed 400,000 units per year", declared the minister during the debates on the bill on foreign trade presented to the Nation Council...

In an interview given to the Swiss television, Tidjane Thiam, the new CEO of Credit Suisse describes his amazing career and his views on the banking world. Full interview (25 minutes) here He discusses changes in the finance sector, the risks brought about by the excessive speculation, “caution”, "reserves” and “human judgement” which must come back to the forefront of priorities in...

After the Abidjan and Lomé courts, it is now the turn of the London court to rule in favour of Ecobank’s ex-CEO, Thierry Tanoh. Judge Robin Knowles lifted this Friday morning the injunction temporarily preventing the enforcement of court orders from Abidjan and Lomé. We recall that the Pan African bank group, dissatisfied with the verdicts of the African courts, of which the group expressed...

Surely, this would be one of the most significant highlights of the joint press conference held in Cameroon on the 3rd of July 2015 by France’s and Cameroon’s Presidents. This conference happened during Francois Hollande’s short official visit to Cameroon after visiting Benin and Angola. Paul Biya had then been interviewed by a Journalist from France 2 in regards to the duration of his stay...

Ivory Coast, the West African country with a new oil and gas agenda, is predicted to face a shortage of natural gas of about 6,000 billion cubic feet over the period covering 2014-2030 which has been substituted since 2004 by resorting to the very expensive liquid fuel HVO, relates the newspaper Le Patriote on its website. The situation could have serious consequences on the schedule for the...

French group AccorHotels announced, in a press release dated 3rd July, having signed an exclusive partnership with Angolan group AAA Activos Lda for the management of 50 hotels, till 2017, representing over 6200 rooms, from the budget segment to luxury class. This contract was signed during the French president visit to Angola. "This historic and unprecedented establishment of a hotel group in...

The problem of unpaid licence fees is reopened in Senegal, following the release of the 2013 report of the Court of Auditors. The institution names and shames the media who owe the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority (ARTP). We learn that at this time, the debt of the Senegal Broadcasting corporation (RTS) has reached FCfa2.2 billion. In addition to the public company, there are...

On 30th June 2015, the general meeting of Societe Tunisienne des Entreprises de Telecommunications (Sotetel) shareholders agreed to extend the company's presence in Africa in a bid to renew with growth, which was severely affected in 2014. It was thus decided to get a permanent office in Algeria. The process has already begun. In this new market, Sotetel hopes to benefit from its positioning to...

The subsea optic fibre cable consortium Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), formed by the Orange group and its subsidiaries, as well as numerous other partners, announced Benin's connection to the system. The facility, commissioned in Cotonou on 2nd July 2015, is the second phase of the cable placement, which should end in South Africa, following stops in Cameroon, which recently signed the agreement...

The French telecommunications company Orange has just launched an international developer contest. 13 countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East will be represented. The goal is to support technology startups in the creation of added value services and to promote innovation. Developers from France, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Congo, Guinea Bissau, Guinea,...