Africa-news

Africa-news (598)

China will deepen its ties with Africa over the next decade by focusing on trade and is unlikely to be dislodged by US and European Union attempts to re-engage with the continent, the Economist Intelligence Unit said. 

US company Columbia Gem House has denied accusations from Malawi that it owes more than $300 billion in unpaid taxes on minerals extracted in the country.

China will deepen its ties with Africa over the next decade by focusing on trade and is unlikely to be dislodged by US and European Union attempts to re-engage with the continent, the Economist Intelligence Unit said.

A consortium led by Remgro has reached an agreement with JSE-listed private hospital giant Mediclinic International to buy it out in a cash offer, which represents around a 50% premium to the group’s volume-weighted average share price for the six months to 25 May 2022.

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has ploughed R1.6 billion into the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), which funds infrastructure development projects on the continent.

The PIC has over R2.5 trillion in assets under management – investing the pensions of civil servants – and is the largest fund manager in Africa.

"The PIC has given formal notification to make a $100 million (~R1.6 billion) equity investment in the AFC," the AFC said in a statement.

The investment follows those from the Seychelles Pension Fund, the government of Sierra Leone, the Republic of Togo, the Central Bank of Guinea and the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, the AFC said. There are 32 equity investors in the AFC. It recently acquired Africa's biggest renewable energy independent power producer, Lekela Power. It is the joint owner with Infinity Group. Lekela Power has 1GW of wind farms - located in South Africa, Egypt and Senegal. 

The AFC was established in 2007 and has delivered infrastructure projects in power, heavy industry, transport, natural resources and telecommunications. It has invested over $10 billion (~R165 billion) across 35 countries in Africa.

Commenting on the investment, the PIC's chief investment officer Kabelo Rikhotso said that the partnership would allow the fund manager to diversify its portfolio and deliver on the mandate to invest in the rest of the continent, driving development, industrialisation and growth. "We are confident that the future prospect of this investment and its potential positive societal benefits," said Rikhotso.

"African pension funds have a key role to play in financing the instrumental infrastructure urgently needed on the continent…" noted Samaila Zubairu, CEO of the AFC.-moneyweb

As funding for startups falls across the globe, Africa is standing out as a notable exception, with its under-served population outweighing the impact of inflation and slowing economies.

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the central bank’s constitutional mandate to maintain price stability is sufficient to foster job creation, suggesting there’s no need for that directive to be expanded.

Some African nations, which rushed into capital markets as global interest rates fell to record lows, are on the verge of default because of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Zambia has already reneged on its debt. Investors, anticipating a wave of restructurings, are demanding a high risk premium from the most vulnerable countries, pricing them out of the market.

Cryptocurrencies have become popular in African and other developing countries. That’s according to a policy brief released recently by UNCTAD, a United Nations agency.

The African Continental Free Trade Area came into operation on 1 January 2021. This is a considerable achievement. The free trade area is now the world’s single largest market for goods and services, when measured by number of countries, after the World Trade Organisation. It is also the largest in terms of geographic area and population size.

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