Reservoir Capital Corp, which has energy assets in emerging markets, completed the acquisition of Olocorp Nigeria Ltd, a Nigeria-based company whose business is to acquire shares in North-South Power. Under the terms of the agreement, the Canadian firm Reservoir Capital, through its subsidiary Kainji Power Holding Limited, purchased the 40% stake held by the Olo family (Eric and Clara) in...

Angola is expected to maintain its Luanda International Fair (FILDA) 2020, despite the current coronavirus pandemic. The announcement was made by Bruno Albernaz (pictured), chairman of the board of directors of Eventos Arena group, the company organizing the event. Scheduled to be held from 14 to 18 July 2020 in the premises of the Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEELB), FILDA 2020 is...

Kenya plans to leverage local tourism to recover from the economic crisis caused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, Tourism secretary Najib Balala (pictured) reported. The new strategy, which aims to promote national and regional travel, is expected to last two years. Its objective is to accelerate the recovery of the tourism sector, after the covid-19 crisis which led to the suspension of...

Mobile operators MTN, Vodacom and Telkom win additional temporary spectrum following a tender launched by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa). The strategy is part of the efforts deployed by the government to fight the coronavirus pandemic. In the 700/800 MHz frequency band, MTN, Vodacom and Telkom each received a frequency of 40 MHz. In the 2300 MHz band, only...

The Bank of Central African States turned down last week a license request by state-owned Cameroon Postal Services (Campost) to operate an e-payment clearing and settlement system in Cameroon. In an official April 15 letter signed by Governor Abbas Mahamat Tolli (pictured), Beac rejected the request because Campost wrote it in English instead of in French, which is the working language of the...

JSE-listed Ascendis Health, which specializes in the distribution of healthcare and pharmaceutical products, sold its subsidiary Scitec International at a lower price than the purchase price. Acquired in 2016 for €170 million ($184.6 million), this product distribution unit was sold four years later at €5 million ($5.4 million); this represents a capital loss of about $179.2...

Ethiopian Airlines has secured a World Food Program contract to transport essential supplies and medicines across Africa to fight the current coronavirus pandemic. This will mitigate the losses currently being suffered by Ethiopian Airlines. The UN agency has selected Addis Ababa as one of eight global centers set up to facilitate the supply chain in the fight against the pandemic. According to...

In a recent analysis, the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF) indicated that countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa, and Algeria will not benefit from the debt moratorium granted by the G20 to poor countries. As a reminder, South Africa itself is a member of the G20 and could not benefit from the moratorium, despite the obvious strains on its economy. Also,...

The African Development Bank Group on 14 April 2020, announced the debarment of China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, a civil engineering company registered in Nigeria, for 18 months, for fraudulent practices. An investigation conducted by the Bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, as a member of a joint venture with Oceanic Construction and...

In a recent report, the International Monetary Fund said GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to fall at 1.6% this year, down 5.2 pts compared to the initial forecast. This will be the worst result ever, IMF said. This decline is largely due to the impact of the covid-19 and the sharp decline in commodity prices. Also, specific factors such as permanent structural constraints observed in some...