<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1368" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IGCSI2ZMYJNARJNQD2J6NFMHZE-1-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-519644" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IGCSI2ZMYJNARJNQD2J6NFMHZE-1-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IGCSI2ZMYJNARJNQD2J6NFMHZE-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IGCSI2ZMYJNARJNQD2J6NFMHZE-1-820x548.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IGCSI2ZMYJNARJNQD2J6NFMHZE-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IGCSI2ZMYJNARJNQD2J6NFMHZE-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IGCSI2ZMYJNARJNQD2J6NFMHZE-1-1536x1026.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Nigeria Finance Minister Wale Edun is interviewed by Karin Strohecker, Reuters Chief Correspondent Emerging Markets, during the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors&#8217; Meeting at the IMF and World Bank’s 2024 annual Spring Meetings in Washington, U.S., April 18, 2024. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Aug 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s Finance Minister Wale Edun launched a $500 million dollar-denominated bond sale on the local market on Thursday, targeting domestic and foreign investors, the finance ministry said on Friday.



The ministry said in a statement that the move was part of plans to stabilise the naira currency by attracting dollars held by Nigerians abroad, as well as international investors who back reforms initiated by President Bola Tinubu.



Edun told Reuters in May that Nigeria would launch a diaspora bond in the third quarter. He said the bond would be issued locally but denominated in U.S. dollars.



While promoting the $500 million bond, Edun said on Thursday government revenue and expenditure had improved and interventions to reduce inflation were yielding results.



Nigeria&#8217;s headline inflation rate fell in July for the first time in well over a year, dipping to 33.40% in annual terms from 34.19% in June, data from the statistics agency showed on Thursday.



The ministry gave no details of the bond&#8217;s duration and when the sale will close.



Edun has considered plans for Nigeria to sell Eurobonds in the past. He said in the ministry&#8217;s statement that &#8220;the ratings system often does not favour the continent&#8221;. African issuers have faced challenges in international capital markets particularly with pricing for their debt.



In June, the World Bank approved a total of $2.25 billion loan for Nigeria to help stabilise its economy following reforms and to scale up support for the poor.



(Reporting by Camillus Eboh;Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

FILE PHOTO: Nigeria Finance Minister Wale Edun is interviewed at the IMF and World Bank’s 2024 annual Spring Meetings in Washington

Nigeria launches $500 million dollar bond on local market

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-420995" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NAIROBI, KENYA &#8211; 2022/07/27: A Kenya Airways plane seen parked at the parking bay of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. (Photo by John Ochieng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Kenya Airports Authority&nbsp;(KAA)&nbsp;said on Friday that it had contingency measures in place to prevent a strike by the country&#8217;s main aviation union that is set to begin on Aug. 19 from disrupting airport operations.



The Kenya Aviation Workers Union, which represents workers at airports and the national carrier Kenya Airways, said it would launch industrial action from Monday over a proposed deal with India&#8217;s Adani Airports Holdings to develop the country&#8217;s biggest airport in the capital Nairobi.



The union has said it thinks the Adani deal will lead to job losses and bring in non-Kenyan workers, and referred to it in a strike notice as the &#8220;intended sale&#8221; of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.



Kenya&#8217;s government has said the airport is not for sale and that no decision had been made on whether to proceed with what it called a proposed public-private partnership to upgrade the East African travel hub.



&#8220;Discussions are ongoing between the Ministry of Roads and Transport, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, KAA Management and Kenya Aviation Workers Union to reach an amicable agreement,&#8221; the airports authority said in a statement.



(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Hereward Holland; Editing by Alexander Winning)

A Kenya Airways plane seen parked at the parking bay of the

Kenya Airports Authority says Aug. 19 strike won’t disrupt operations

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="523" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108021270-1723768369491-gettyimages-2157639739-CHINA_LUJIAZUI_FORUM.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-519571" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108021270-1723768369491-gettyimages-2157639739-CHINA_LUJIAZUI_FORUM.jpeg 929w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108021270-1723768369491-gettyimages-2157639739-CHINA_LUJIAZUI_FORUM-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108021270-1723768369491-gettyimages-2157639739-CHINA_LUJIAZUI_FORUM-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108021270-1723768369491-gettyimages-2157639739-CHINA_LUJIAZUI_FORUM-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108021270-1723768369491-gettyimages-2157639739-CHINA_LUJIAZUI_FORUM-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), during the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.  Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING — China’s financial risks have dropped, including from local government debt, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said in state media interviews published late Thursday.



Pan also said the central bank will work with the Ministry of Finance to enable China to reach its full-year growth targets. He said that monetary policy would remain supportive.



Beijing has increasingly prioritized addressing risks from high debt levels in the real estate sector, which is closely linked to local government finances. International institutions have long called on China to reduce its ballooning debt levels.



“China’s overall financial system is sound. The overall risk level has significantly declined,” Pan said in an interview released by state broadcaster CCTV. That’s according to a CNBC translation of the transcript.



He noted that “the number and debt levels of local government financing platforms are declining,” and that the cost of their debt burden has “dropped significantly.”



Local government financing vehicles emerged in China in the last two decades to enable local authorities, who couldn’t easily borrow directly, to fund infrastructure and other projects. LGFVs primarily obtained financing from shadow banking.



The lack of regulatory oversight often meant indiscriminate funding of infrastructure projects with limited financial return. That raised the debt burden on LGFVs, for which the local governments are responsible.



Coordinated efforts in the last year by local governments, financial institutions and investors have “alleviated the most pressing repayment needs of the weakest LGFVs and boosted market sentiment,” S&amp;P Global Ratings analysts said in a July 25 report, one year since Beijing made a concerted effort to reduce LGFV risk.



However, the report said LGFV debt “remains a big problem.” The analysis found that more than 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) of LGFV bonds are due to mature over the next couple of quarters, while such debt growth remains in the high single digits.



Exacerbating debt challenges is China’s slowing growth. The economy grew by 5% in the first half of the year, raising concerns among analysts that the country would not be able to reach its target of around 5% growth for the full year without additional stimulus.



The International Monetary Fund on Aug. 2 said in its regular review of China’s financial situation that macroeconomic policy should support domestic demand to mitigate debt risks.



“Small and medium-sized commercial and rural banks are the weak link in the large banking system,” the IMF report said, noting China has nearly 4,000 such banks that account for 25% of total banking system assets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-addressing-real-estate"><a></a>Addressing real estate</h2>



The number of high-risk small and medium-sized banks has dropped to half of what it was at their peak, Pan said via state media on Thursday, without sharing specific figures.



In real estate, he pointed out the mortgage down payment ratio has reached a record low of 15% in China, and that interest rates are also low. Pan noted central authorities are helping local governments with financing so they can acquire property and turn them into affordable housing or rental units.



Property and related sectors once accounted for at least one-fourth of China’s economy. But in recent years Beijing has sought to shift the country away from relying on real estate for growth, toward advanced tech and manufacturing.



Pan’s public comments come after a week of heightened volatility in the government bond market.



Earlier on Thursday, the PBOC made the rare decision to delay a rollover of its medium-term lending facility in favor of a 577.7 billion yuan capital injection via another tool called the 7-day reverse repurchase agreement. Pan highlighted that 7-day tool in June when discussing PBOC efforts to revamp its monetary policy structure.



The PBOC is scheduled Tuesday morning to release its monthly loan prime rate, another benchmark rate. The central bank cut the 1-year and 5-year loan prime rates by 10 basis points each in July, after keeping the 1-year unchanged for 10 straight months, and the 5-year unchanged for four months.

108021270-1723768369491-gettyimages-2157639739-CHINA_LUJIAZUI_FORUM

China’s central bank says risks from local government debt have dropped

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NXWKCDUVZNLTBAFY4YNDDH4KKA-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-519326" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NXWKCDUVZNLTBAFY4YNDDH4KKA-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NXWKCDUVZNLTBAFY4YNDDH4KKA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NXWKCDUVZNLTBAFY4YNDDH4KKA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NXWKCDUVZNLTBAFY4YNDDH4KKA-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NXWKCDUVZNLTBAFY4YNDDH4KKA-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/NXWKCDUVZNLTBAFY4YNDDH4KKA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A woman receives a bag of food from the government during the distribution of food items by the government to cushion the high cost of living in Abuja, Nigeria, September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Aug 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s headline inflation rate fell in July for the first time in well over a year, dipping to 33.40% in annual terms from 34.19% in June, data from the statistics agency showed on Thursday.



Analysts had said June&#8217;s reading could mark the peak in inflation as currency devaluation effects start to fade.



July&#8217;s slowdown will bring some relief to frustrated Nigerians, who protested this month over cost-of-living pressures and governance issues in Africa&#8217;s most populous nation.



Price pressures have been stoked by President Bola Tinubu&#8217;s decision to remove a decades-old fuel subsidy, devalue the naira currency and hike electricity tariffs. The reforms are aimed at lifting economic growth and shoring up public finances but have sent inflation soaring, eroding people&#8217;s incomes.



The last month that annual inflation fell was December 2022.



The central bank has increased interest rates four times this year to try to get inflation under control, but after the last hike in July some analysts said that could be the final act in the bank&#8217;s hiking cycle.



The Central Bank of Nigeria&#8217;s next rate setting meeting is scheduled for late September.



A report by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed food and non-alcoholic beverages continued to be the biggest contributor to inflation in July.



Food inflation eased to 39.53% from 40.87% in June.



(Additional reporting by Shamsuddin Mohd; Editing by Alexander Winning and Tomasz Janowski)

A woman receives a bag of food from the government during the distribution of food items by the government to cushion the high cost of living in Abuja

Nigeria inflation falls for first month in well over a year

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1005" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-519304" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E.jpg 1920w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E-1536x804.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A teller counts Kenya shilling notes inside the cashier&#8217;s booth at a forex exchange bureau in Kenya&#8217;s capital Nairobi, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Aug 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Kenyan and Ghanaian currencies are expected to be broadly stable in the next week to Thursday, while the Nigerian, Ugandan and Zambian currencies could fall, traders said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kenya">KENYA</h2>



Kenya&#8217;s shilling has in recent weeks shrugged off major demonstrations which forced the government to abandon tax hikes and triggered credit rating downgrades. It is seen remaining relatively steady.



This week traders said foreign-currency inflows for a bond auction had played a role supporting the currency.



Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 128.50/129.50 per dollar on Thursday, compared with last Thursday&#8217;s closing rate of 128.75/129.75.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-nigeria">NIGERIA</h2>



Nigeria&#8217;s naira could slip on the official market, unless the central bank intervenes to ease the pressure.



LSEG data showed the naira was quoted at 1,582 to the dollar on the official market, compared with around 1,580 a week ago. The unit changed hands at 1,595 naira to the dollar in street trading on Thursday.



The central bank injected dollars into the market last week, but pressure on the currency is building again.



&#8220;It&#8217;s most likely going to continue depreciating unless the central bank intervenes again,&#8221; one trader said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ghana">GHANA</h2>



Ghana&#8217;s cedi is expected to remain steady on the back of improved dollar liquidity and a slowdown in demand on the interbank market.



LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 15.60 to the dollar, from 15.52 at last Thursday&#8217;s close.



&#8220;The cedi has posted marginal gains in recent sessions as FX liquidity has improved and corporate demand reduced,&#8221; said Sedem Dornoo, a senior trader at Absa Bank Ghana.



&#8220;In the coming week, we expect a relatively stable (dollar-cedi) pair, with bid-offer spreads narrowing as liquidity continues to improve,&#8221; he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-uganda">UGANDA</h2>



Uganda&#8217;s shilling is seen trading with a weakening tone on an expected pick-up in dollar demand after mid-month tax payments.



Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,720/3,730 to the dollar, compared with last Thursday&#8217;s close of 3,725/3,735.



&#8220;Typically after mid-month taxes we see a surge in interest for dollars, I think that dynamic is likely to push the shilling on the lower side (weaker),&#8221; one trader said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-zambia">ZAMBIA</h2>



Zambia&#8217;s kwacha could post minor losses because of elevated dollar demand in the wake of a severe drought which has spurred imports.



On Thursday the kwacha was slightly weaker at 26.25 per dollar, from 26.05 a week ago.



&#8220;Dollar supply remains limited and demand continues to be high, putting pressure on the kwacha,&#8221; one trader said.



(Reporting by Hereward Holland, Chijioke Ohuocha, Christian Akorlie, Elias Biryabarema and Chris Mfula;Editing by Alexander Winning)

LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E

Kenya and Ghana currencies seen steady

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="559" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DH62NRAIFZKMXEUDMGT2BNEGPY.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-519182" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DH62NRAIFZKMXEUDMGT2BNEGPY.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DH62NRAIFZKMXEUDMGT2BNEGPY-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DH62NRAIFZKMXEUDMGT2BNEGPY-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DH62NRAIFZKMXEUDMGT2BNEGPY-768x537.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A woman walks past a Standard Bank logo at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 conference in Cape Town, South Africa February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Aug 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Africa&#8217;s biggest lender by assets Standard Bank said on Thursday its half-year profit rose by 4%, with performance supported by franchise growth in its banking businesses and strong earnings growth in its insurance and asset management unit.



South Africa-based Standard Bank said headline earnings&nbsp;rose&nbsp;to 22 billion rand ($1.22 billion) in the six months ended June 30, up from 21.2 billion rand in the previous year.



Standard Bank, with operations in 20 sub-Saharan African countries, said further earnings growth was hindered by currency devaluations across its operations in the rest of Africa, which contributed 41% to group headline earnings.



Net interest income (NII) &#8211; the amount banks earn from loans minus what they pay on deposits- in its banking business grew by 7%.



Gross loans and advances grew by 3% to 1.7 trillion rand, as increased competition and higher interest rates negatively impacted demand and affordability, resulting in subdued growth in the bank&#8217;s retail portfolios.



This, however, &#8220;was more than offset by strong momentum in the corporate and sovereign lending portfolio&#8221; supported by projects in the energy and infrastructure sector.



Total provisions for credit impairments increased by 8% to 66.8 billion rand, while credit impairment charges decreased by 15% to 8 billion rand.



($1 = 18.0562 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Kim Coghill and Toby Chopra)

Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 conference in Cape Town

South Africa’s Standard Bank posts 4% rise in half-year profit

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="675" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108020266-1723639428249-gettyimages-2160057485-UK_YORK.png" alt="" class="wp-image-519226" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108020266-1723639428249-gettyimages-2160057485-UK_YORK.png 1200w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108020266-1723639428249-gettyimages-2160057485-UK_YORK-300x169.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108020266-1723639428249-gettyimages-2160057485-UK_YORK-820x461.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108020266-1723639428249-gettyimages-2160057485-UK_YORK-160x90.png 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/108020266-1723639428249-gettyimages-2160057485-UK_YORK-768x432.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A guided tour in the center of in York, UK, on Friday, June 7, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The U.K. economy grew by 0.6% in the second quarter of the year, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday, continuing the country’s cautious recession rebound.



The reading was in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters and follows an expansion of 0.7% in the first quarter.



Economic growth was flat in June, in line with a Reuters poll, as activity in the U.K.’s dominant services sector dipped 0.1%. Construction and production output rose by a respective 0.5% and 0.8% in the month.



The British economy has recorded slight but steady growth almost every month so far this year, as the U.K. exits a shallow recession. GDP was also flat in April, when wet weather quelled retail sales and construction output.



On an annual basis the economy was 0.9% bigger in the second quarter, against a forecast of 0.8%.



“These figures confirm that the UK’s recovery from recession picked up steam in the second quarter, despite strike action and wet weather causing activity to flatline in June,” Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said in a note.



“The UK’s strong second quarter owes more to temporary momentum from the large recent falls in inflation and a boost to consumer spending from events like Euro 2024 than from a meaningful improvement in the UK’s underlying growth trajectory,” Thiru continued.



The pace of growth is unlikely to continue into the second half amid weaker wage growth, high interest rates and supply challenges, Thiru added.



U.K. inflation rose to 2.2% in July, data published Wednesday by the ONS showed, coming in slightly below a consensus forecast of 2.3%. The headline figure had been at the Bank of England’s 2% target rate for the two months prior, helping spur the central bank’s decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points at the start of August.



The July figures were described by analysts as supportive of consistent monetary easing through the rest of the year, despite stubbornness in services inflation.



Over the April-June period, U.K. wage growth excluding bonuses cooled to a two-year low, but remained relatively hot at&nbsp;5.4%.



Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, said lower interest rates should “help stimulate more economic growth by making borrowing more affordable for households and businesses” in the coming months — but noted that it would take time for the impact to be felt.



The British pound ticked slightly higher following Thursday’s GDP release, and was up by 0.1% against the U.S. dollar and 0.2% against the euro at 7:35 a.m. in London.



Institutions including the International Monetary Fund, investment bank Goldman Sachs and the Bank of England have all hiked their growth forecasts for the U.K. economy in recent months. The IMF now sees growth of 0.7% this year, up from 0.5% previously.



Factors cited include the decline in inflation and reforms to planning and business rules planned by the new Labour government, which took office in July. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Finance Minister Rachel Reeves have repeatedly stated that boosting economic growth will be the bedrock of their policymaking, setting a target for the U.K. to achieve the fastest per capita GDP growth among the Group of 7 nations.



“The new Government is under no illusion as to the scale of the challenge we have inherited after more than a decade of low economic growth and a £22 billion black hole in the public finances,” Reeves said in a statement Thursday.



Labour is due to deliver its first budget on Oct. 30, with analysts saying the announcement will give more clarity on the government’s fiscal strategy and plans for changes to taxation and public spending.



Because of this, “it is unlikely that we will see a marked acceleration in GDP in the short term,” said Quilter Cheviot’s Richard Carter.



“For now, the economy is expected to continue on its relatively moderate growth path, bolstered by wage growth that remains ahead of inflation and the recent easing of monetary policy,” he added.

108020266-1723639428249-gettyimages-2160057485-UK_YORK

UK economy expands 0.6% in second quarter; June growth stalls

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="534" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UWIKV4GDEJJVZLW6UE2OMJCQHA.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-519143" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UWIKV4GDEJJVZLW6UE2OMJCQHA.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UWIKV4GDEJJVZLW6UE2OMJCQHA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UWIKV4GDEJJVZLW6UE2OMJCQHA-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UWIKV4GDEJJVZLW6UE2OMJCQHA-768x513.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view of the cityscape of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, April 24, 2024. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A group of foreign holders of Ethiopia&#8217;s $1 billion international bond said on Wednesday it was disappointed with recent government comments regarding a possible 20% principal haircut on their holdings.



The group &#8220;does not view any such haircut as being consistent with its evaluation of Ethiopia&#8217;s economic fundamentals,&#8221; it said via email, calling the government&#8217;s recent public statements &#8220;incompatible with a good-faith approach to debt restructuring.&#8221;



The government did not respond to a request for comment.



The comments set the stage for tense restructuring negotiations in the wake of Ethiopia defaulting on its sole international bond in December and has made little headway since.



The country surprised bondholders by announcing plans earlier this month to reduce the bond principal to $800 million, indicating a 20% haircut, citing the need to match debt relief offered by official creditors.



The creditor group, which says it holds more than 40% of the bond, called for transparency and public disclosure of any assumptions made with the input of official bilateral creditors.



The East African country requested a debt&nbsp;rework in&nbsp;early 2021 under the G20 Common Framework restructuring process, but a two-year civil war, which ended in a truce in late 2022, delayed progress.



Ethiopia had secured an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for a new $3.4 billion financing program in July.



The government at the time said it planned to finalise the restructuring before the first review of its&nbsp;IMF programme.&nbsp;According to the&nbsp;Fund, initial reviews will be held on a quarterly basis.



The IMF did not respond to a request for comment.



Negotiating in&nbsp;good faith&nbsp;is key for the progress of any country&#8217;s IMF programme, which includes&nbsp;timely dialogue,&nbsp;information sharing and&nbsp;the opportunity for&nbsp;creditor input.



Ethiopia&#8217;s Eurobond slipped 0.3 cents in a sixth straight session of declines, being bid at 76.5 cents, Tradeweb data showed.



The security is held by major asset management firms, such as Eaton Vance, Morgan Stanley, Vanguard and BlackRock, according to EMAXX data.



The bond&nbsp;makes up a small part of Ethiopia&#8217;s external debt.



The IMF estimates that as of end-June, external debt stood at $28.9 billion, around half of which it owed to multilateral lenders such as the IMF, World Bank and African Development Bank.



Of the $12.4 billion owed to bilateral lenders, China accounts for $7.4 billion and Saudi Arabia just over $1 billion. Ethiopia&nbsp;owes under $2 billion to Paris Club rich creditor nations.



Ethiopia failed to reach an agreement in formal talks with investors late last year. Back then, the government proposed to swap the existing bond for a new $1 billion issue that would be paid off starting in 2028.



&#8220;There&#8217;s no formal proposal out there so we don&#8217;t know what the government intends,&#8221; said Kevin Daly, portfolio manager at abrdn, which holds the bond but is not part of the creditor group,&nbsp;adding&nbsp;a deal would probably be found between the previous government offer and the 20% haircut proposal.



Yvette Babb, portfolio manager at William Blair, said a swift debt rework should be possible, though Ethiopia&#8217;s apparent lack of desire to issue Eurobonds down the line might make for less urgency on the government side.



&#8220;This is not a very complex case &#8211; it&#8217;s a single bond, $1 billion, the IMF parameters are pretty clear. It&#8217;s really a matter of the willingness for all parties to get this done quickly.&#8221;



(Reporting by Libby George, Duncan Miriri, Rodrigo Campos and Karin Strohecker; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Jan Harvey, Richard Chang, Jonathan Oatis and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)

A general view of the cityscape of Addis Ababa

Ethiopia bondholders disappointed by proposed bond haircut

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2002633089-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518909" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2002633089-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2002633089-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2002633089-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2002633089-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2002633089-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-2002633089-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA &#8211; FEBRUARY 13: Ashor Sarupen, deputy chairperson of the DA Federal Council at the podium during the 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA) Debate at Cape Town City Hall on February 13, 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. The National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) held joint sittings to debate the State of the Nation Address (SONA), which President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered at the Cape Town City Hall on February 8th. (Photo by Jeffrey Abrahams/Gallo Images via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



PRETORIA, Aug 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s new government is committed to rapid reforms that could help push growth to at least 3.5% in the medium term and reduce unemployment, Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen said on Wednesday.



Growth in Africa&#8217;s most industrialised nation has been anaemic in the last decade owing partly to an energy crisis and challenges in the state-dominated logistics sector, while unemployment and inequality have risen. The economy grew 0.6% in 2023.



President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose African National Congress (ANC) was forced into a government of national unity after losing its parliamentary majority in May&#8217;s election, has repeatedly urged reforms to boost growth and jobs.



The official&nbsp;unemployment rate&nbsp;hit 33.5% in April-June of this year, not far off record highs.



Sarupen, of the free-market Democratic Alliance (DA), said the unity government acknowledged that reforms &#8220;need to happen with pace to get people into jobs&#8221;.



&#8220;There&#8217;s appetite for reform and that&#8217;s been heartening to see, and that&#8217;s made the transition also a little bit easier,&#8221; Sarupen told Reuters in an interview at his office in Pretoria.



South Africa&#8217;s GDP even shrank 0.1% in the first quarter from the previous one, though it was up 0.5% year-on-year.



&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to get growth in the medium term, so at the end of three years, maybe to the outer year &#8230; I think we&#8217;ve got to try to get that up to 3-1/2%,&#8221; Sarupen said.



Some political analysts had feared the divergence in ideology between the two biggest parties in the government &#8211; ANC and DA &#8211; would make it hard to agree how to revive the economy.



Sarupen, who shares the role of deputy finance minister with the ANC&#8217;s David Masondo, added that, while the government would maintain its fiscal path and discourage higher spending, he had a new appreciation for the constraints on the Treasury.



Two big contributors to government spending in recent years have been the public sector wage bill and a 350 rand ($19) per month grant introduced in 2020 to support those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.



Sarupen said he would support keeping the grant beyond 2026 and perhaps converting it to a basic income payment:



&#8220;For social stability, for social security, and if it can be accommodated within the fiscal envelope as it stands &#8230; I think it should stay in place.&#8221; 



($1 = 18.0526 rand)



(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Kevin Liffey)

SONA Debate At Cape Town City Hall Day 01 In South Africa

South Africa’s government set on speedy reforms, says deputy minister

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1153" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_003223-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518815" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_003223-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_003223-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_003223-820x462.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_003223-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_003223-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_003223-1536x865.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo courtesy of Godfrey Mutizwa</figcaption></figure>



Land borders in Africa are by nature intimidating places if you don’t know where you are going. First are the crowds, among them hangers-on and tricksters always looking for an opportunity for a quick buck. And then the officials, serious looking and rarely offering a smile.



But I was going home and as a veteran of Beitbridge, one of Africa’s busiest land borders, I was excited to be making the crossing for the first time since it was upgraded and modernised almost three years ago by Zimborders for some $300 million on a Build, Operate and Transfer basis.



On approaching the South African border however my excitement was tempered by a two to three-kilometre stretch of goods trucks – harking back to the bad days before the upgrade when it would take truck drivers as many as two weeks to cross – because of inefficiencies, corruption and in some cases just sheer volumes.



Beitbridge is one busy border post, providing the biggest trade link for the southern Africa hinterland comprising Zimbabwe, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Malawi and sometimes further afield to parts of western Tanzania. Between them, Zambia and the DRC are key global copper producers, while Zimbabwe’s new Chinese funded lithium mines now account for more than two-thirds of Africa’s lithium output, Bloomberg reports.



There are serious mineral volumes and capital equipment being moved here before counting manufactured goods that flow north for South Africa’s neighbours with no meaningful manufacturing bases of their own. But Zimborders was supposed to solve that, I consoled myself.



In an opinion piece published on our web page in March this year, Glynn Cohen, the Chairman of Zimborders wrote: ‘’This flagship project will undoubtedly be successful – improving efficiency, reducing congestion and transit fraud…already, it now takes a few hours for trucks to cross the border compared with up to a week before’’.



But I had not reckoned with the South African side of the border. The arrival hall was one mass of people when we arrived with queues stretching outside and no sign of any official intervention. With my nephew in tow, we squeezed inside, and I am ashamed to say, many `sorries’ later, we jumped the queue and an hour later were by the exit gates.



But the ordeal was just beginning. Unbeknown to me, the immigration lady who stamped my passport, had made a mistake and an eagle-eyed police officer at the exit gate spotted the error and promptly sent me back to the hoards inside the arrival hall. Many swear words later I was back at the exit gate but by then my transport was gone and so I had to walk to the Zimbabwean side, an experience I have been told could be hazardous.



I took off but was pleasantly surprised by the visible policing on the South Africa side. However, the minute you step on the Zimbabwean side, things change. Hawkers selling everything from roasted maize to cool drinks dotted the route even at 1am. And then the darkness! While the South African side was well lit, there were neither lights nor security until I reached the army post at the entrance to Zimbabwe. I made it without a scratch but truth be told I was shaken.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1153" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_023622-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518816" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_023622-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_023622-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_023622-820x462.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_023622-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_023622-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/20240812_023622-1536x865.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo courtesy of Godfrey Mutizwa</figcaption></figure>



A few metres later however Zimborders was there. True of border posts, the new building is imposing and it has to be said, impressive. The experience inside was even better, the whole exit process taking me half an hour. Thank you Africa Export-Import Bank and South African banks that funded this, I thought as we headed into the night.



So I must concede Mr Cohen was right. The upgrade has certainly made a huge difference from the corruption infested old post I had used for many years. However, the South African side has clearly not read the script and the experience got even worse when I returned, this time by bus. The hour I spent on the way out became four hours.



Put simply, the South African officials we encountered on the 12th of August 2024 didn’t care. We were grouped by our busses but the queue outside the arrival hall was one giant milling mass of people. One minute we were told to follow our driver inside, and the next we were chucked out because the official decided otherwise.



While all this is happening one could clearly see the officials sitting behind their desks chatting with nary a care in the world. You are shouted at like you are misbehaving children when those queues contain adults taking care of their households, working in the mines, running companies sustaining the economies of southern Africa.



It was shameful. But when you have done this crossing as many times as I have, you understand an immigration official wields absolute power. One word out of turn will take you and your fellow travellers to the back of the queue. You wait for this important man – it was mostly men – to stamp your passport without complaint.



So much for boosting intra-African trade. This was one bruising encounter that will take some time to heal but who is listening? While the Border Management Authority represents South Africa’s latest attempt to clean up its ports of entry, on the ground, I saw no change.



You can still cross the border without a passport for a thousand rand or more, a lady travelling beside me told me. Some 700 rand allows you to be given more days – as many as three months instead of a week, and 500 rand can enable you to jump the patient masses and get your passport stamped quicker.



For the record, I didn’t pay. All I did was push and hustle my fellow travellers for which I am truly sorry.

20240812_003223

Chronicle of a Beitbridge border crossing

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2048" height="1290" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TY7OYQCA35KY5IVPS5BCE5Y65M-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-513730" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TY7OYQCA35KY5IVPS5BCE5Y65M-scaled.jpg 2048w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TY7OYQCA35KY5IVPS5BCE5Y65M-300x189.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TY7OYQCA35KY5IVPS5BCE5Y65M-820x516.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TY7OYQCA35KY5IVPS5BCE5Y65M-143x90.jpg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TY7OYQCA35KY5IVPS5BCE5Y65M-768x484.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TY7OYQCA35KY5IVPS5BCE5Y65M-1536x967.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Diamonds are displayed at the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in Gaborone, Botswana, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



GABORONE, (Reuters) &#8211; Botswana intends to renegotiate its proposed purchase of a stake in Belgian gem dealer HB Antwerp to double the size of its shareholding at no extra cost following the downturn in the diamond market, the country&#8217;s mines minister said on Tuesday.



Botswana is the world&#8217;s biggest diamond producer by value, meaning its economy has been disproportionately hit by a drop in demand for diamonds caused by a global economic slowdown.



Lefoko Moagi told parliament the weaker diamond market had also affected the company&#8217;s valuation, giving the country room to renegotiate.



&#8220;We will not be injecting more capital, but we will get more shares for the same amount proposed in 2023,&#8221; Moagi said. &#8220;Instead of the 24%, we will negotiate to get 49.9% for the same amount initially proposed.”



Finance ministry budget documents showed in February that the country had set aside 890 million pula ($65.95 million) for the 24% stake, valuing the Belgian company at about $275 million.



The HB Antwerp deal was announced during Botswana&#8217;s negotiations for a new sales contract with Anglo American&#8217;s diamond unit De Beers in March 2023.



As Botswana sought to increase its power to market its stones outside a decades-old agreement with De Beers, it said the HB Antwerp deal would strengthen its presence in the downstream diamond industry.



It includes supplying the trader with rough diamonds for five years through the state-owned Okavango Diamond Company (ODC).



($1 = 13.4953 pulas)



(Reporting by Brian Benza; editing by Nelson Banya and Barbara Lewis)

FILE PHOTO: Diamonds are displayed at the De Beers Global Sightholder Sales (GSS) in Gaborone, Botswana

Botswana aims to negotiate bigger stake in HB Antwerp diamond dealer

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="519" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UMBTJI4JKVLT5FGG6KDRNAJQHE.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518733" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UMBTJI4JKVLT5FGG6KDRNAJQHE.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UMBTJI4JKVLT5FGG6KDRNAJQHE-300x195.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UMBTJI4JKVLT5FGG6KDRNAJQHE-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UMBTJI4JKVLT5FGG6KDRNAJQHE-768x498.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Dr. Tresor Wakilongo, verifies the evolution of skin lesions on the ear of Innocent, suffering from Mpox &#8211; an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus that sparks off a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever; at the treatment centre in Munigi, following Mpox cases in Nyiragongo territory near Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Vaccines to help curb an escalating mpox outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries may still not reach the central African country for months even as the World Health Organization considers following Africa’s top public health agency in declaring the outbreak an emergency.



On Tuesday, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declared a public health emergency of continental concern for the first time ever, and on Wednesday, a WHO-led panel meets to decide if it represents a global threat.



But while experts hoped the meetings would galvanise action worldwide, many obstacles remain, including limited vaccine supply, funding and competing disease outbreaks.



“It is important to declare an emergency because the disease is spreading,” said Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, head of Congo’s Institut National pour la Recherche Biomedicale (INRB). He said he hoped any declaration would help provide more funding for surveillance as well as supporting access to vaccines in Congo.



But he acknowledged the road ahead was not easy in a huge country where health facilities and humanitarian funds are already stretched by conflict and outbreaks of diseases like measles and cholera.



“If the big declarations remain just words, it won’t make any material difference,” said Emmanuel Nakoune, an mpox expert at the Institut Pasteur de Bangui in Central African Republic.



Africa CDC said last week it had been granted $10.4 million in emergency funding from the Africa Union for its mpox response, and its director general Jean Kaseya said on Tuesday there was a clear plan to secure 3 million doses of vaccine this year, without elaborating further.



However, sources involved in planning a vaccination roll-out in Congo said only 65,000 doses were likely to be available in the short-term, and campaigns were unlikely to begin before October at the earliest.



There have been more than 15,000 suspected cases of mpox in Africa this year and 461 deaths, mainly among children in Congo, according to Africa CDC. The viral infection is usually mild but can kill, and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions.



A new offshoot of the virus has caused outbreaks in refugee camps in the east of Congo this year, and spread to Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya for the first time.



Ivory Coast and South Africa are also experiencing outbreaks linked to a different strain of the virus, which spread globally in 2022, largely among men who have sex with men. This outbreak prompted WHO to declare a global emergency before ending it 10 months later.



Then, two vaccines were used &#8211; Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos, and LC16, made by KM Biologics. Outside clinical trials, neither has ever been available in Congo or across Africa, where the disease has been endemic for decades. Only LC16 is approved for use in children.



Congo&#8217;s regulators approved the use of the vaccines domestically in June, but the government is yet to officially request any from either the manufacturers or governments like the United States looking to make donations through the global vaccine group, Gavi.



(Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Giles Elgood)

FILE PHOTO: Children at risk as mpox variant hits Congo displacement camps

Mpox vaccines likely months away even as WHO, Africa CDC discuss emergency

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="529" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U4ZO2CUGW5IUBMTRVQDPXQQ7R4.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518486" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U4ZO2CUGW5IUBMTRVQDPXQQ7R4.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U4ZO2CUGW5IUBMTRVQDPXQQ7R4-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U4ZO2CUGW5IUBMTRVQDPXQQ7R4-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/U4ZO2CUGW5IUBMTRVQDPXQQ7R4-768x508.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Christian Musema, a laboratory nurse, takes a sample from a child declared a suspected case Mpox &#8211; an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus that spark-off a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever; at the the treatment centre in Munigi, following Mpox cases in Nyiragongo territory near Goma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo July 19, 2024. REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Aug 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Africa&#8217;s top public health body declared what it termed a &#8220;public health emergency of continental security&#8221; on Tuesday over an outbreak of mpox that spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries.



Mpox is transmitted through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can kill.



The outbreak in Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as Clade I. But the new variant, known as Clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, particularly among children.



The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) warned last week that the viral infection&#8217;s rate of spread was alarming.



It said that over 15,000 mpox cases and 461 deaths were reported on the continent this year so far, representing a 160% increase from the same period last year.



Mpox has been endemic in parts of Africa for decades after it was first detected in human in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1970.



A milder version of the virus spread to over a hundred countries in 2022, largely through sexual contact, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a public health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alert.



The WHO ended the emergency 10 months later, saying the health crisis had come under control.



(Reporting by Jessica Donati; Editing by Alex Richardson and David Holmes)

Children at risk as mpox variant hits Congo displacement camps

Africa public health body declares mpox emergency

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="486" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/K6EWW5EJ4ZI3LPDT3S6UCBY4FE-820x486.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518412" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/K6EWW5EJ4ZI3LPDT3S6UCBY4FE-820x486.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/K6EWW5EJ4ZI3LPDT3S6UCBY4FE-300x178.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/K6EWW5EJ4ZI3LPDT3S6UCBY4FE-152x90.jpg 152w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/K6EWW5EJ4ZI3LPDT3S6UCBY4FE-768x455.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/K6EWW5EJ4ZI3LPDT3S6UCBY4FE-1536x910.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/K6EWW5EJ4ZI3LPDT3S6UCBY4FE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Casual workers display posters advertising their skills at an intersection in Kempton Park, near Johannesburg, South Africa, October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



PRETORIA, Aug 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s official unemployment rate rose for the third quarter in a row, reaching 33.5% in April-June of this year, data from the statistics agency showed on Tuesday.



Unemployment is now at its highest since the government repealed COVID-19 rules in the second quarter of 2022, though it remains below the record high of 35.3% struck in the final three months of 2021.



&#8220;The number of jobs that are being created are not able to deal with the issue of unemployment,&#8221; Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke told a media briefing.



Lowering the country&#8217;s unemployment rate &#8211; one of the highest in the world &#8211; is a priority for the coalition government that emerged after the African National Congress lost its majority in an election in May.



Laying out the government&#8217;s priorities for the next five years, President Cyril Ramaphosa said last month that officials thought small businesses and the informal sector held the greatest potential for job creation.



Economist Sanisha Packirisamy at local investment firm Momentum Investments said that since the COVID pandemic there had been a recovery in employment in areas viewed as more highly skilled, largely in the services sector.



Whereas for workers classified as unskilled or semi-skilled there had barely been a recovery, she said.



Packirisamy said significant job creation in South Africa would take time, and &#8220;as such we are not expecting significant jobs growth in the remainder of this year&#8221;.



Under an expanded definition of unemployment, which includes those discouraged from seeking work, 42.6% were jobless in the second quarter compared with 41.9% in the previous three months.



Statistics South Africa said the number of unemployed people rose to 8.384 million in April-June from 8.226 million in January-March.



Five of the 10 industries tracked by the agency saw employment decreases in the second quarter, with the highest number of jobs lost in trade and agriculture.



Solly Molayi, acting head of population statistics, said the hotel and restaurant sector lost 87,000 jobs in the second quarter and was the biggest contributor to joblessness in trade.



(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning and Giles Elgood)

K6EWW5EJ4ZI3LPDT3S6UCBY4FE

South Africa’s unemployment rate climbs for third quarter in a row

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KMHFEW5PZNIVDJA5S7C2XIOQ3M-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518409" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KMHFEW5PZNIVDJA5S7C2XIOQ3M-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KMHFEW5PZNIVDJA5S7C2XIOQ3M-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KMHFEW5PZNIVDJA5S7C2XIOQ3M-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KMHFEW5PZNIVDJA5S7C2XIOQ3M-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KMHFEW5PZNIVDJA5S7C2XIOQ3M-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KMHFEW5PZNIVDJA5S7C2XIOQ3M-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A logo of the Bank of America is seen on an office building at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) at Gandhinagar, India, December 8, 2023.REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Investors increased their allocations to cash and reduced their overweight position in stocks in August, as&nbsp;expectations&nbsp;for global growth dropped to&nbsp;their lowest&nbsp;in&nbsp;eight months, a BofA survey of fund mangers published Tuesday showed.



According to the survey, 31% of respondents said they were overweight&nbsp;in&nbsp;stocks in August, down from 51% in July, while their average cash level was 4.3% of their assets under management, up from 4.1% a month before.



BofA attributed the shift to weak U.S. payrolls data for July, and the volatility shock associated with the rebound in the Japanese yen.



The S&amp;P 500 is down 3.6% so far this month. It tumbled 2.7% on the day of the payrolls report and a further 2% the following session, after Japan&#8217;s Nikkei share index fell by its most in a day since 1987.&nbsp;.SPX



Market players have also pointed to the rebound in the yen and the resulting wind-down of carry trades used by investors to juice their bets, as being behind the sell off.



Shares around the world have been rebounding in recent sessions, however.



BofA said 189 participants with $508 billion of assets under management responded to the&nbsp;survey, and a net&nbsp;47% of survey respondents expect a weaker global economy in the next 12 months, down 20 percentage points from July.



However, 76% of respondents to the survey said they still expect a &#8220;soft landing&#8221; for the global economy, referring to a gradual slowdown as opposed to a more dramatic &#8220;hard landing&#8221; or a &#8220;no landing&#8221; scenario in which growth does not slow at all.



This conviction &#8220;is driven by expectations for lower interest rates,&#8221; BofA said, as 93% of respondents expect short-term rates to be lower in 12 months&#8217; time, the highest in the past 24 years.



The survey found 60% of respondents expect four or more rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve over the next 12 months.



Allocation to Japanese equities saw the largest one-month drop since April 16. Investors moved from a net 7% overweight in July to a net 9% underweight in August, the first net underweight since July 2023.



(Reporting by Alun John; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Sharon Singleton)

A logo of the Bank of America is seen on an office building at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) at Gandhinagar

Investors reduced allocations to stocks, moved to cash in August, BofA survey shows

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SXlrcXW.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518376" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SXlrcXW.jpg 1920w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SXlrcXW-300x169.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SXlrcXW-820x461.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SXlrcXW-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SXlrcXW-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SXlrcXW-1536x864.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A worker labels copper products at Truong Phu cable factory in northern Hai Duong province, outside Hanoi, Vietnam August 11, 2017. Kham | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Commodity prices have tumbled over the past month, signaling underlying weakness in the global economy despite the U.S. stock market bouncing back from recession fears.



U.S. stocks recovered most of their losses last week in the wake of a steep sell-off triggered by weak labor and manufacturing data. Investors have sought to look past recession fears, with some analysts arguing that U.S. economic fundamentals remain on a solid footing.



But commodity markets may be telling a different story about the global economy. The Invesco DB Base Metals Fund is down more than 7% over the past month, while crude oil futures dropped 14% from July 5 through Aug. 5.



“In terms of commodities, the entire asset class is coming under pressure,” Rob Ginsberg, managing director at Wolfe Research, told clients in a Friday research note.



“Outside of gold, you would be hard pressed to find a positive set-up,” Ginsberg said. “We see this broad decline in commodity prices as yet another warning about the state of the economy.”



Copper in particular is viewed as a signal of what is likely to happen with the economy, said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.



Copper soared earlier this year on expectations of a super-cycle in which demand would outstrip supply due to the metal’s role as a key input in growth industries such as electric vehicles, semiconductors and renewable energy.



But copper futures have pulled back 21.4% from the 2024 high of $5.19 per pound on May 20 to trade at $4.089 as of Monday morning. Futures are down nearly 12% over the past month.



“We’ve got the narrative of the super-cycle, this wonderful world of battery vehicles, dissipating very, very quickly,” Melek told CNBC. “No one is really talking about it anymore.”



Weakness in China, the world’s second-largest economy, is weighing on copper and oil in particular, Melek said. Global manufacturing data also hasn’t been “gangbusters,” he said. It is likely that copper and oil are facing surpluses rather than the tight market that some analysts had expected, the analyst said.



“We didn’t get extremely supportive fiscal stimulus in China,” Melek said. “There were a lot of bets out there, particularly on the discretionary side, that China will deliver some sort of a stimulus that will lift their economy.”



Though oil has found support from ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, weak demand in China has weighed on the market for months. OPEC on Monday lowered its global oil demand growth forecast this year by 135,000 barrels per day as expectations in China have softened.



“Both energy markets and base metal markets and copper do reflect a slower economic environment where there is likely to be less demand growth that reduces the risk of undersupply conditions,” Melek said.



At the same time China’s economy is sputtering, the U.S. is leaning into protectionism, imposing tariffs against Beijing on everything from electric vehicles, to batteries, to semiconductors and solar modules. The European Union announced tariffs on Chinese EVs in July, with Beijing filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization on Friday



“That just means that there is less free flow of stuff from there to here,” Melek said. “If we impose tariffs, that means higher prices. Almost by definition, for any level of demand, you get less of it with tariffs.”



The market is waiting on the latest reading of the consumer price index Wednesday and commentary out of the annual meeting of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming next week. A rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September has largely already been priced in, Melek said.



“I’m not sure the market gets all that excited,” Melek said of the expected rate cut. TD Securities is pricing in a 25 basis point cut, though the Fed might become more optimistic about doing 50 basis points if the CPI data on Wednesday comes in weak, he said.

-SXlrcXW

Falling commodity prices are indicating there is trouble brewing with the economy

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="524" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TUECT3YWJBLPBBKU2UOKASRWP4-820x524.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-518337" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TUECT3YWJBLPBBKU2UOKASRWP4-820x524.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TUECT3YWJBLPBBKU2UOKASRWP4-300x192.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TUECT3YWJBLPBBKU2UOKASRWP4-141x90.jpg 141w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TUECT3YWJBLPBBKU2UOKASRWP4-768x490.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TUECT3YWJBLPBBKU2UOKASRWP4-1536x981.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TUECT3YWJBLPBBKU2UOKASRWP4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People shop at a public market, ahead of the parliamentary and presidential elections that are scheduled for December 20, in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo December 19, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra</figcaption></figure>



KINSHASA, Aug 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia will reopen its border with Democratic Republic of Congo after sealing it at the weekend due to protests, blocking a key export route for the world&#8217;s second largest copper producer, the two countries said in a joint statement on Monday.



The border, which was closed following an announcement by Zambian Trade Minister Chipoka Mulenga on Saturday, will reopen on Tuesday, according to a separate statement from Congo&#8217;s trade ministry.



Mulenga made the announcement after a Congolese ban on imported soft drinks and beer led to demonstrations by Congolese transporters in the border town of Kasumbalesa.



Congo on Sunday said talks had begun between the neighbouring countries to enable a rapid reopening of the border.



On Monday, it said it would authorise the import of goods covered under the ban whose importation had been initiated before the ban came into effect.



Congo was the world&#8217;s no. 2 producer and no. 3 exporter of copper in 2023, producing about 2.84 million tons.



Zambia is a key export route for the Central African country. Most of Congo&#8217;s copper exports pass through the town of Kasumbalesa and into Zambia.



(Reporting by Benoit Nyemba, Yassin Kombi and Ange Kasongo; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Nigeria launches $500 million dollar bond on local market

Kenya Airports Authority says Aug. 19 strike won’t disrupt operations

China’s central bank says risks from local government debt have dropped

Nigeria inflation falls for first month in well over a year

Kenya and Ghana currencies seen steady

South Africa’s Standard Bank posts 4% rise in half-year profit

UK economy expands 0.6% in second quarter; June growth stalls

Ethiopia bondholders disappointed by proposed bond haircut

South Africa’s government set on speedy reforms, says deputy minister

Chronicle of a Beitbridge border crossing

Botswana aims to negotiate bigger stake in HB Antwerp diamond dealer

Mpox vaccines likely months away even as WHO, Africa CDC discuss emergency

Africa public health body declares mpox emergency

South Africa’s unemployment rate climbs for third quarter in a row

Investors reduced allocations to stocks, moved to cash in August, BofA survey shows

Falling commodity prices are indicating there is trouble brewing with the economy

Zambia to reopen closed border with Democratic Republic of Congo

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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