Sub-Saharan Africa Debt Issuance Down 10% : Africa Business News Roundup

By Soko Directory Team / Published July 20, 2016 | 4:40 am

Debt issuance in sub-Saharan Africa fell by 10 percent in the first half of 2016, data from Thomson Reuters showed on Monday, as sinking currencies and faltering economies forced borrowers to take a breather.

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60 per cent of Kenya Airways revenue comes from Africa

Kenya Airways says a key priority for it is focusing on a leaner business with greater focus on Africa.

Kenya Airways’ chief executive Mbuvi Ngunze in an exclusive interview with CNN Market Place Africa, he speaks of: Reducing losses to get back into profitability and how they will be able to finance their business.

Cashing In on the Digital Revolution

Digital financial services not only contribute to financial development, they also support financial stability. With less need for cash for transactions, more economic agents can send and follow financial market signals, contributing to a more solid and vibrant financial system. The environment for monetary policy improves as a result. This is the Case of Kenya by Njuguna Ndung’u, Armando Morales, and Lydia Ndirangu.

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Tanzanians will not remove VAT on tourism services: president

Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Monday insisted that the government will not remove the 18 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) charges imposed recently on tourism services despite the reported drop in number of tourists visiting the east African nation.

“It is better to have 500,000 tourists who pay taxes than to have 2 million tourists who not pay taxes it doesn’t make sense for the country to have big numbers of tourists who pay nothing. We should benefit from their visit to our country.”

The Bank of Ghana has maintained the policy rate at 26 %

The Monetary Policy Committee of the central bank attributed the decision to the reduction in inflation which currently stands at 18.4%.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana also maintains that inflationary trends for the first half of the year, which he describes as cost push in nature has also largely been influenced by increased the prices of petroleum products, utility prices and foodstuff.

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Africa doesn’t need AGOA – AU

Fatima Haram Acyl, the Commissioner of Trade and Industry at the AUC says Africa does not need AGOA, because the continent can’t compete with Asian countries. Acyl pointed out that while the entire textiles export value of African countries to the US under AGOA amounts to $1 billion Vietnam alone exports $20 billion worth to the US. The AGOA is a non-reciprocal trade preference programme that provides duty-free treatment to US imports of certain products from eligible sub-Saharan African countries.

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Regional integration dynamics in Africa

Regional integration holds many promises, generates many fears, and results in many disappointments. This is because levels of ambitions often differ among regional partners and among domestic actors, and do not match implementation realities. Progress and achievements are often overlooked, whereas difficulties and constraints encountered are emphasised. And integration agendas are commonly criticized for not sufficiently reflecting domestic concerns and interests. ECDPM. 2016. Thematic focus: Regional integration dynamics in Africa.

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