<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RBDRNX6KFFJ3LNZOTUTISZLDJE-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-491521" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RBDRNX6KFFJ3LNZOTUTISZLDJE-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RBDRNX6KFFJ3LNZOTUTISZLDJE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RBDRNX6KFFJ3LNZOTUTISZLDJE-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RBDRNX6KFFJ3LNZOTUTISZLDJE-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RBDRNX6KFFJ3LNZOTUTISZLDJE-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RBDRNX6KFFJ3LNZOTUTISZLDJE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: President of China Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attend the China-Africa Leaders&#8217; Roundtable Dialogue on the last day of the BRICS Summit, in Johannesburg, South Africa, August 24, 2023. REUTERS/Alet Pretorius/Pool/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI, May 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;China&#8217;s flagship economic cooperation program is bouncing back after a lull during the global pandemic, with Africa a primary focus, according to a Reuters analysis of lending, investment and trade data.



Chinese leaders have been citing the billions of dollars committed to new construction projects and record two-way trade as evidence of their commitment to assist with the continent&#8217;s modernisation and foster &#8220;win-win&#8221; cooperation.



But the data reveals a more complex relationship, one that is still largely extractive and has so far failed to live up to some of Beijing&#8217;s rhetoric about the Belt and Road Initiative, President Xi Jinping&#8217;s strategy to build an infrastructure network connecting China to the world.



While new Chinese investment in Africa increased 114% last year, according to the Griffith Asia Institute at Australia&#8217;s Griffith University, it was heavily focused on minerals essential to the global energy transition and China&#8217;s plans to revive its own flagging economy.



Those minerals and oil also dominated trade. As efforts falter to boost other imports from Africa, including agricultural products and manufactured goods, the continent&#8217;s trade deficit with China has ballooned.



Chinese sovereign lending, once the main source of financing for Africa&#8217;s infrastructure, is at its lowest level in two decades. And public-private partnerships (PPPs), which China has touted as its new preferred investment vehicle globally, have yet to gain traction in Africa.



The result is a more one-sided relationship than China says it wants, one that is dominated by imports of Africa&#8217;s raw materials and that some analysts argue contains echoes of colonial-era Europe&#8217;s economic relations with the continent.



&#8220;This is something late-19th century Britain would recognise,&#8221; said Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project website and podcast.



China rejects such assertions.



&#8220;Africa has the right, capacity and wisdom to develop its external relations and choose its partners,&#8221; China&#8217;s foreign ministry wrote in response to Reuters&#8217; questions.



&#8220;China&#8217;s practical support for Africa&#8217;s path of modernisation in accordance with its own characteristics has been welcomed by an increasing number of African countries.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-pivot-with-potential">A PIVOT WITH POTENTIAL?</h2>



China&#8217;s engagement in Africa, a focus of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), grew rapidly in the two decades before the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese companies built ports, hydropower plants and railways across the continent, financed mainly through sovereign loans. Annual lending commitments peaked at $28.4 billion in 2016, according to the Global China Initiative at Boston University.



But many projects proved unprofitable. As some governments struggled to repay loans, China cut lending. COVID-19 then pushed it to turn inward, and Chinese construction projects in Africa fell.



A rebound in sovereign lending is not expected.



Policymakers in Beijing have instead been pushing Chinese companies to take equity stakes and operate infrastructure they build for foreign governments. The aim,&nbsp;China analysts say, is to help companies win higher-value contracts and, by giving them skin in the game, ensure the projects are economically viable.



Lending to Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), perhaps the most common means of PPP infrastructure investment, has been growing as a proportion of China&#8217;s overseas loans, according to figures shared exclusively with Reuters by AidData, a research centre at U.S. university William &amp; Mary.



The $668-million Nairobi Expressway, a public-private partnership built and run by the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), could be proof of concept for the model in Africa. Since it opened in August 2022, the toll road has been allowing commuters to speed above the Kenyan capital&#8217;s notorious traffic snarls, beating revenue and usage targets.



Daily average use in March was already 57,000 vehicles, exceeding a 2049 target of around 55,000 set by CRBC in a 2019 presentation on the project&#8217;s economic viability seen by Reuters.



But few companies are following CRBC&#8217;s example in Africa. While globally some 45% of Chinese non-emergency lending was to SPVs from 2018 to 2021, the most recent year for which AidData figures are available,&nbsp;the figure was only 27% for Africa.



Analysts point to a number of likely reasons, including a lack of legal frameworks for PPPs in many African countries and the view among some Chinese companies &#8211; many of them relative newcomers to PPPs &#8211; that African markets are risky.



China&#8217;s foreign ministry did not directly address a request for comment on the lower SPV figures for Africa. But it said the government encourages Chinese companies to &#8220;actively develop new modes of cooperation&#8221; such as PPPs to bring more private investment to Africa.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growing-engagement">GROWING ENGAGEMENT</h2>



The Griffith Asia Institute put China&#8217;s total engagement in Africa &#8211; a combination of construction contracts and investment commitments &#8211; at $21.7 billion last year, making it the largest regional recipient.



Data from the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank, showed investments hitting nearly $11 billion in 2023, the highest level since it began tracking Chinese economic activity in Africa in 2005.



Some $7.8 billion of that went to mining, like Botswana&#8217;s Khoemacau copper mine, which China&#8217;s MMG Ltd bought for $1.9 billion, and cobalt and lithium mines in countries including Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.



The hunt for critical minerals is driving infrastructure construction as well. In January, for example, Chinese companies pledged up to $7 billion in infrastructure investment under a revision of their copper and cobalt joint venture agreement with Democratic Republic of Congo.



Western and Gulf powers are also racing to lead the world&#8217;s energy transition, with the United States and European governments backing the Lobito Corridor, a rail link to bring metals from Zambia and Congo to Africa&#8217;s Atlantic coast.



African leaders have struggled, however, to raise financing for some other priority projects.



Despite the success of the Nairobi Expressway, for example, work on several Kenyan roads stalled when the government ran out of money to pay the Chinese construction firms.



During a visit to Beijing last October, President William Ruto asked for a $1 billion loan to complete the projects.



A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said discussions about the request were ongoing. Kenya&#8217;s finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment.



The final phase of a railway line intended to traverse Kenya from its main port to the border with Uganda has been in similar limbo since Chinese financing dried up in 2019. Uganda cancelled the contract for its portion of the line in 2022, after Chinese backers pulled out.



When asked about the decline in lending for African infrastructure, Chinese officials point to a pivot to trade and investment, arguing that BRI-generated trade boosts Africa&#8217;s wealth and development.



Two-way trade reached a record $282 billion last year, according to Chinese customs data. But at the same time, the value of Africa&#8217;s exports to China fell 7%, mainly due to a decline in oil prices, and its trade deficit widened 46%.



Chinese officials have sought to assuage the concerns of some African leaders.



At a summit in Johannesburg last August, Xi said Beijing would launch initiatives to support the continent&#8217;s manufacturing and agricultural modernisation &#8211; sectors African policymakers consider key to closing trade gaps, diversifying their economies and creating jobs.



China has also pledged to increase agricultural imports from Africa.



Such efforts, for now, are coming up short.



With one of Africa&#8217;s largest trade deficits to China, Kenya has been pushing to increase access to the world&#8217;s second-largest consumer market, recently gaining it for avocados and seafood. But cumbersome health and hygiene regulations mean Chinese consumers remain out of reach for many producers.



&#8220;The Chinese market is a new one,&#8221; said Ernest Muthomi, CEO of the Avocado Society of Kenya. &#8220;It was a challenge because you have to install the equipment for fumigation.&#8221;



Of 20 billion shillings ($150.94 million) worth of avocados exported last year, just 10% went to China.



Overall, Kenyan exports to China fell over 15% to $228 million, Chinese customs data showed, as a decline in titanium production led to a drop in shipments of the metal &#8211; a key export to China.



But Chinese manufactured goods kept coming.



That&#8217;s not sustainable, said Francis Mangeni, an advisor at the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area.



Unless African nations can add value to their exports through increased processing and manufacturing, he said, &#8220;we are just exporting raw minerals to fuel their economy.&#8221;



($1 = 132.5000 Kenyan shillings)



(Reporting by Rachel Savage in Johannesburg and Duncan Miriri in Nairobi; Additional reporting by Elias Biryabarema in Kampala, Joe Cash in Beijing, Nyasha Chingono in Harare, Chris Mfula in Lusaka and Felix Njini in Johannesburg; Editing by Joe Bavier and Alexandra Zavis)

FILE PHOTO: China-Africa Leaders’ Roundtable Dialogue

Post-COVID, China is back in Africa and doubling down on minerals

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="429" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-820x429.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-433367" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-820x429.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-300x157.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-160x84.jpg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-768x402.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI-1536x804.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Construction work is seen opposite a statue of Samora Machel, the first President of Mozambique, and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Maputo, Mozambique, September 1, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



May 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Mozambique&#8217;s central bank cut its MIMO interest&nbsp;rate by 75 basis points to 15.00%, the third meeting in a row at which the rate has been reduced, the bank said on Monday.



The bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee said in a statement that the decision was based on favourable forecasts while trying to keep inflation in single digits in the medium term.



The southern African country&#8217;s inflation edged up to 3.26% year on year in April&nbsp;MZCPIY=ECI&nbsp;from 3.03% in March, statistics agency data showed this month.



(Reporting by Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning)

PF3JNZQUQ5M65OD7XXTYURHSSI

Mozambique central bank cuts key rate for third meeting 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/2024/05/VFKU2JNBTBIDVNPMOMLDRAUIO4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-491240" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/VFKU2JNBTBIDVNPMOMLDRAUIO4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/VFKU2JNBTBIDVNPMOMLDRAUIO4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/VFKU2JNBTBIDVNPMOMLDRAUIO4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/VFKU2JNBTBIDVNPMOMLDRAUIO4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/VFKU2JNBTBIDVNPMOMLDRAUIO4.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pedestrians walk in front of Ghana&#8217;s central bank building in Accra, Ghana, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, May 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s central bank held its main interest rate steady at 29%&nbsp;GHCBIR=ECI&nbsp;for the second meeting in a row&nbsp;on Monday,&nbsp;as a slide in the local cedi currency has slowed inflation&#8217;s decline.



The West African cocoa, gold and oil producer,&nbsp;which defaulted on most of its external borrowing in December 2022,&nbsp;has been restructuring its debts as it tries to emerge from its worst economic crisis in a generation.



&#8220;The latest forecast shows a slightly elevated inflation profile on account of recent exchange rate pressures,&#8221; Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison told a news conference, adding that inflation was expected to fall to between 13% and 17% by the end of 2024.



Consumer inflation fell marginally last month to 25.0% year-on-year GHCPIY=ECI from 25.8% in March, but it remains well above the central bank&#8217;s 8% target with a margin of error of 2 percentage points either side.



Addison said the cedi&nbsp;GHS=&nbsp;had been partly hurt by speculative foreign currency buying but that the central bank had enough reserves to support the market.



Godfred Alufar Bokpin, professor of finance at the University of Ghana, said there was not much scope to ease monetary policy given current risks to the cedi and a general election later this year.



Last week Ghana received a draft memorandum of understanding from its bilateral creditors including China and France to restructure $5.4 billion of debt, which it is currently reviewing before signing.



Once agreed, the document will pave the way for the International Monetary Fund&#8217;s executive board to meet next month to approve a disbursement of $360 million under the country&#8217;s $3 billion bailout programme, which Addison said helped clear uncertainty.



&#8220;We are very happy and quite certain that the Fund meeting will happen in June,&#8221; Addison told Reuters on Monday.



In addition to the restructuring memorandum with official creditors, Ghana is seeking a deal with holders of about $13 billion in international bonds. It has&nbsp;restructured most of its local debt.



(Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix, Alexander Winning and Andrew Heavens)

VFKU2JNBTBIDVNPMOMLDRAUIO4

Ghana central bank holds rate as currency slide slows disinflation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="505" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-820x505.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-459210" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-820x505.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-300x185.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-146x90.jpg 146w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-768x473.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-1536x946.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/YVOFDSRNTVM37PQ7357O7KQHAY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A customer walks beneath the logo of South African supermarket operator Pick n Pay in Cape Town, South Africa, April 26 2016. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Ackerman family, which founded South Africa&#8217;s Pick n Pay&nbsp;PIKJ.J, will relinquish control of the struggling retailer as part of a revamp aimed at stemming losses, cutting debt and regaining market share.



Gareth Ackerman will also retire as chairman after 14 years in the job and 40 years at the company, though he will stay on to support management until next year&#8217;s annual results.



New CEO Sean Summers is tasked with reviving a business that has been losing market share to bigger rival Shoprite&nbsp;SHPJ.J&nbsp;and others for more than a decade.



Founded by Raymond Ackerman in 1967, Pick n Pay was once South Africa&#8217;s largest retailer, but &#8220;inappropriate strategic initiatives&#8221; over the last decade failed to prevent profit declines in the core business, Gareth Ackerman said on Monday.



This led the group, whose crown jewel is discount grocery chain Boxer, to report a comparable loss before tax and capital items of 1.67 billion rand ($91 million) in the year ended Feb. 25, from a profit of 1.8 billion rand the year before.



Summers announced a two-step recapitalisation plan earlier this year that includes a rights issue to raise up to 4 billion rand and Boxer&#8217;s listing in order to cut the group&#8217;s 6.1 billion rand of debt and help fund its new strategy.



Ackerman Investment Holdings (AIH) supports the plan and will invest up to 1.025 billion rand in the rights offer.



But AIH and related persons have also agreed to forgo control of Pick n Pay, such that their voting rights will fall slightly below 50% after the planned offer, the company added.



AIH will also relinquish the right to nominate the chair, CEO and finance chief, and the Ackerman family&#8217;s representation on the board of directors will reduce to three members from four.



&#8220;We need new blood and ideas,&#8221; Gareth Ackerman said.



Chief Financial Officer Lerena Olivier told investors the retailer needed about 10-12 billion rand of capital, with 6-8 billion projected to come from the Boxer listing.



&#8216;QUALITY NOT QUANTITY&#8217;



Under Summers&#8217; new plan, over 100 loss-making Pick n Pay supermarket stores will be closed or converted to Pick n Pay franchise or Boxer stores, resulting in about 850 million rand of savings.



He said he expected the core Pick n Pay business to break-even in its 2027 financial year, and would also revamp the company&#8217;s operating model, with about 1.3 billion rand of cost cuts targeted over the next three years.



&#8220;It&#8217;s not a race to see who can have the most stores. Retail is not about having the most stores, it&#8217;s about which stores and where and for us it&#8217;s going to be a flight to quality not quantity,&#8221; Summers said.



($1 = 18.4008 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Stephen Coates and Mark Potter)

FILE PHOTO: A customer walks beneath the logo of South African supermarket operator Pick n Pay in Cape Town

Ackerman family cedes control of South Africa’s Pick n Pay in revamp

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423556" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Illustration photo shows a two-rand coin above a South African flag April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s rand was little changed early on Monday at the start of a packed week headlined by the national election and also featuring an interest rate decision and a slew of other economic data releases.



At 0715 GMT, the rand traded at 18.4325 against the dollar&nbsp;ZAR=D3, not far from its previous close of 18.4250.



South Africans vote in national and provincial elections on May 29, with market participants eager to learn whether the governing African National Congress would lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994.



&#8220;The local currency has managed to hold below the key 18.50 technical level for now, but with the election on Wednesday, we could still see some volatility and a possible break above,&#8221; said Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE.



The South African Reserve Bank will announce its latest monetary policy decision on Thursday, a day after the election.



Monthly producer inflation, trade and budget balance data are also due this week.



On the stock market, the Top-40&nbsp;.JTOPI&nbsp;index was up 0.3% in early trade.



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond&nbsp;ZAR2030=&nbsp;was weaker, with the yield up 4.3 basis points to 10.578%.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Illustration photo of South African rand

South African rand steady as focus shifts toward elections, rate decision

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="559" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RLSNGTM6G5NE7C4IJFIL2VTIHE-820x559.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-484600" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RLSNGTM6G5NE7C4IJFIL2VTIHE-820x559.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RLSNGTM6G5NE7C4IJFIL2VTIHE-300x204.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RLSNGTM6G5NE7C4IJFIL2VTIHE-132x90.jpg 132w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RLSNGTM6G5NE7C4IJFIL2VTIHE-768x523.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RLSNGTM6G5NE7C4IJFIL2VTIHE-1536x1047.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/RLSNGTM6G5NE7C4IJFIL2VTIHE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Supporters of the African National Congress hold the party flag during ANC campaign in Atteridgeville a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africans will vote on Wednesday with widespread anger over power cuts, joblessness and corruption&nbsp;threatening to end the dominance of the African National Congress, thirty years after Nelson Mandela led it into power.



At no point since world media beamed iconic images of Black South African voters queueing to cast ballots for the first time&nbsp;following the end of white-minority rule&nbsp;has the ANC looked so likely to lose its parliamentary majority.



Polls suggest the ANC&#8217;s share of the vote could fall as low as 40%, compared with 57.5% in 2019, which would force the party into a wobbly coalition with rivals &#8211; and potentially expose President Cyril Ramaphosa to a leadership challenge.



Yet a survey released earlier this week by Afrobarometer suggested a third of voters were undecided, making this poll the most unpredictable in South Africa&#8217;s democratic history.



Nicole Beardsworth, politics researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, sees the ANC getting &#8220;a bit of a bump&#8221; on the day, confounding the worst predictions &#8211; especially with Ramaphosa&#8217;s introduction this month of popular measures such as a national health insurance law and proposed basic income grant.



&#8220;But I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;re going to see the ANC get over 50%,&#8221; she said. &#8220;They&#8217;re &#8230; going to have negotiate a coalition. The big question is: with whom?&#8221;



Much will depend on how well or badly they do, she said. A small margin would enable them to do a deal with a marginal party with limited leverage to make significant demands.



Bigger losses could mean a coalition with the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) &#8211; a prospect that makes business leaders and South Africa&#8217;s privileged white minority shudder &#8211; or with several small parties that could thwart decision-making.



Yet some think punishment at the polls could be a catalyst for the ANC to clean&nbsp;itself&nbsp;up: &#8220;A different party might come out of it,&#8221; independent analyst Ralph Mathekga said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-achievements-and-failures">ACHIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES</h2>



For three decades the ANC has traded off its legacy of freeing the Black majority from white rulers&nbsp;whose apartheid system&nbsp;took their land, kept them poor and uneducated, and forbade them to visit most of the country except to clean houses or dig gold mines.



In its early years in government, it began reversing these inequities &#8211; bringing electricity, water and half-decent housing to millions.



But corruption and incompetence have eroded some of those gains. State power provider Eskom&#8217;s creaking coal-fired power stations haven&#8217;t kept up with demand, causing frequent blackouts, while roads, sewage treatment plants and schools rot from the inside. A third of South Africans are jobless.



&#8220;I don&#8217;t see what I&#8217;m voting for. We don&#8217;t have roads (or decent) houses,&#8221; Zinhle Nyakenye, 31 and unemployed, told Reuters in Mandela&#8217;s home town of Qunu, as she fetched water for household use from a stream.



Corruption has spread, although a strong rule of law &#8211; one of the ANC&#8217;s most enduring legacies &#8211; has resulted in legal proceedings against powerful people such as ex-president Jacob Zuma, while the parliamentary speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula resigned last month. Both deny wrongdoing.



Zuma in December created a breakaway party called uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) that could take votes from the ANC in its eastern Zulu heartlands. It may also stir up trouble if Zuma&#8217;s supporters &#8211; who rioted and looted for days when he was arrested for contempt of court in July 2021 &#8211; don&#8217;t like the results.



But South Africa&#8217;s robust legal system also means rules for coalition building are clear, even if the players have never done it, said Chatham House&#8217;s Chris Vandome.



&#8220;South Africa&#8217;s system was designed so that political parties in a very fractured country could work together,&#8221; Vandome said. &#8220;It was never designed for a dominant party to maintain absolute control &#8230; for 30 years.&#8221;



(Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton and Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Toby Chopra)

Supporters of the African National Congress hold the party flag during ANC president Jacob Zuma’s election campaign in Atteridgeville a township located to the west of Pretoria

South African election could spell the end of ANC dominance

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="533" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/KWU57PCES5KMPLXRN6DA4Y32LI-820x533.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-490133" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/KWU57PCES5KMPLXRN6DA4Y32LI-820x533.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/KWU57PCES5KMPLXRN6DA4Y32LI-300x195.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/KWU57PCES5KMPLXRN6DA4Y32LI-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/KWU57PCES5KMPLXRN6DA4Y32LI-768x499.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/KWU57PCES5KMPLXRN6DA4Y32LI-1536x998.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/KWU57PCES5KMPLXRN6DA4Y32LI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A man walks past election posters of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), as South Africa prepares for the May 29 general elections, in Soweto, South Africa, May 24, 2024. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 24 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africans vote in national and provincial elections on May 29 with opinion polls suggesting the governing African National Congress will lose its majority for the first time in the democratic era, while remaining the largest party.



Under South Africa&#8217;s constitution, voters elect 400 members of the National Assembly, who then elect the president by a simple majority. In all previous elections since 1994, the ANC won and lawmakers elected the party&#8217;s leader as president.



Here are scenarios that could unfold this time, depending on the electoral maths.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anc-outperforms-polls-and-wins">ANC OUTPERFORMS POLLS AND WINS</h2>



In recent months, several polls suggested ANC support was hovering around the 40% mark, which would represent a collapse from its performance in 2019, when it won 57.5% of the vote.



However, a tracking poll suggests ANC support has risen in the weeks leading up to election day. Analysts say the party has an unmatched grassroots campaigning machine, with activists going door-to-door in communities across the country.



Over the past four electoral cycles, the ANC&#8217;s share of the vote gradually dropped, but never by more than five percentage points from one election to the next.



If the ANC wins a majority, it is highly likely that President Cyril Ramaphosa, the party leader, would be re-elected as head of state by the new National Assembly.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anc-loses-majority-and-ramaphosa-gets-ousted">ANC LOSES MAJORITY AND RAMAPHOSA GETS OUSTED</h2>



If the ANC loses its majority by a wide margin and Ramaphosa is blamed, the party could seek to oust him as its leader and nominate someone else for the National Assembly to elect as South African president.



It would have to move quickly as the constitution says the new National Assembly must convene within 14 days of the election result being declared to elect a president.



Most analysts say this is unlikely unless the ANC vote share is around 40% or less, a worst-case-scenario for the party. A more&nbsp;probable&nbsp;scenario would be for Ramaphosa to hand over to a successor in an orderly transition part way through his term.



Whether Ramaphosa stays or goes, the overwhelmingly likely scenario is that he or the next ANC leader will be president after the election. There would have to be a colossal upset for another party to have a chance of winning the presidency.



Regardless of whether Ramaphosa or someone else is president, if the ANC loses its majority it will need support from one or more other parties to keep governing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anc-narrowly-loses-majority-and-seeks-small-partners">ANC NARROWLY LOSES MAJORITY AND SEEKS SMALL PARTNERS</h2>



If the ANC comes close enough to 50%, it will try to make a deal with small- or medium-sized parties to form a government.



Analysts say the socially conservative Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which is strong in KwaZulu-Natal province and is polling at about 5% nationally, could be the ANC&#8217;s first choice, though the IFP leader says it would rather not prop up the ANC.



The two parties were in violent conflict during the final years of apartheid, but worked together in the government of national unity that was formed after the 1994 election.



Other potential partners include the small Muslim party Al-Jama&#8217;ah and the Patriotic Alliance, which draws its support from the mixed-race community.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anc-loses-majority-by-wider-margin-and-seeks-larger-partner">ANC LOSES MAJORITY BY WIDER MARGIN AND SEEKS LARGER PARTNER</h2>



Depending on the numbers, the party may have no choice but to seek support from one of its larger rivals: the free-market Democratic Alliance (DA) or the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).



The price of a deal with either of those would likely be significant policy concessions by the ANC, as well as the offer of some senior government positions for their partner.



Analysts say it is difficult to envisage a stable arrangement under this scenario, and South Africa could be facing a period of unprecedented government volatility.



Investors and the business community would prefer a deal with the DA, which has said it would not rule one out. However, many analysts think the ideological divide between the ANC and the DA is so wide as to make a deal difficult or impossible.



Led by Julius Malema, a former leader of the ANC&#8217;s youth wing, the EFF may be a more natural fit for the ANC, but relations are tense between Malema and some ANC factions.



The EFF said in April it would partner with the ANC if it got the powerful post of finance minister. The ANC, which has not disclosed its thinking on any non-majority scenario, would be unlikely to agree to this unless it were hugely weakened.



Steven Friedman, an academic affiliated with the University of Johannesburg and Rhodes University, said it was hard to imagine the ANC and the EFF governing together for five years.



He cited their inability last year to agree on a constitutional change on land reform even though their positions on the issue are closely aligned.



(Additional reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Toby Chopra)

South Africa prepares for the May 29 general elections, in Soweto

Will South Africa have a new government or president after election?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1251771740-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-432767" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1251771740-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1251771740-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1251771740-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1251771740-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1251771740-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/GettyImages-1251771740-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ebrahim Patel, South Africa&#8217;s trade minister, speaks during the South Africa Investment Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Today&#8217;s conference starts as data this week showed that the South African economy has probably entered a technical recession. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s trade, industry and competition minister Ebrahim Patel said on Friday he will retire from cabinet after the May 29 national election,&nbsp;the latest longstanding economics figure from the ruling African National Congress to step down from government.



Patel&#8217;s department oversees a number of regulatory and financial development agencies, including the competition commission which would have a say in any potential new bid by BHP Group BHP.AX for Anglo American AAL.L.



&#8220;It has been a great honour to serve my country as a member of cabinet for 15 years and three terms of office,&#8221; Patel said in a statement. &#8220;I have advised the President that I will conclude my service in cabinet at the end of this third term.&#8221;



President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Patel as trade minister in 2019. Prior to this, he was the Minister of Economic Development.



South Africa&#8217;s Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan also announced in March that he would not be available to serve in the next national executive after the election.



Gordhan oversees state entities including struggling power utility Eskom and logistics firm Transnet, whose poor performances have dragged down South Africa&#8217;s economic growth.



Ramaphosa&#8217;s ANC is at risk of losing its parliamentary majority for first time since 1994, according to polls.



(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Key Speakers at the South Africa Investment Conference

South Africa’s trade and competition minister Patel to exit cabinet after election

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="555" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-2-1-820x555.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-469888" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-2-1-820x555.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-2-1-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-2-1-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-2-1-768x520.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-2-1-1536x1040.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/QHXVUHX3MJJHRDRSFYCEORRMQ4-2-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People walk past the Bank of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, May 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana has agreed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its bilateral creditors, including China and France, to restructure $5.4 billion of debt, two government sources said on Friday, one-and-a-half years after the West African country defaulted.



The MoU paves the way for the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve the disbursement of $360 million under Ghana&#8217;s $3 billion, three-year bailout programme, which is expected next month.



Once signed, the agreement would form the basis of a deal to restructure loans its official creditors, including China and France under the Paris Club of creditor, agreed in January.



Ghana&#8217;s Finance Minister Mohammed Amin Adam is due to hold a press briefing on Friday morning.



Ghana was the second country in Africa to default on most of its $30 billion external debt during the pandemic as the exporter of gold, cocoa and oil battled to emerge from its worst economic crisis in a generation. The first country was Zambia.



Ghana&#8217;s economy has since started to recover, with inflation easing from 54.1% in December 2022 to 25% in April 2024 and 2023 growth of 2.9% exceeding the IMF&#8217;s 2.3%.



Together with Zambia and Ethiopia, the world&#8217;s second-biggest cocoa producer is reworking its debt under the G20 Common Framework, a process set up during the pandemic to speed up debt overhauls.



However, progress has been slow, holding back the countries&#8217; economic recoveries and access to much needed overseas loans, aid and investment.



The IMF declared Ghana&#8217;s debt unsustainable in its Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) and is aiming for the country to restore itself to a &#8220;moderate&#8221; risk of debt distress by 2028.



This would bring Ghana&#8217;s public debt-to-GDP ratio from 88.1% at the end of 2022 to 55% by 2028.



Terms with official creditors will be of interest to Ghana bondholders, who are next in line for a deal, as they will seek an equitable solution under the comparability of treatment principle, a key element of the Common Framework for debt restructuring.



Ghana did in April find common ground with some of its biggest bondholders, including Western asset managers and hedge funds as well as regional African banks. But the IMF said that the interim deal was outside the DSA threshold and needed to be tweaked.



The regional African banks had also rejected parts of the deal, including an option to retain the original value of the bonds with a longer maturity and lower coupon.



The government said it was working to satisfy the IMF&#8217;s requirements.



The country concluded a domestic debt restructuring in October, during which 206 billion Ghanaian cedi ($17.5 billion) was swapped for longer-dated, lower-interest debt, resulting in 61 billion Ghanaian cedi of savings, then Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said.



(Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Writing by Sofia Christensen, Karin Strohecker and Portia Crowe; Editing by Alison Williams and Subhranshu Sahu)

People walk past the Bank of Ghana in Accra

Ghana seals debt restructuring deal with official creditors, sources say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="538" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2154333200-820x538.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-489997" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2154333200-820x538.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2154333200-300x197.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2154333200-137x90.jpg 137w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2154333200-768x503.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2154333200-1536x1007.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-2154333200-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; MAY 23: U.S. President Joe Biden and Kenyan President William Ruto hold a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House on May 23, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden welcomed Ruto for a state visit including a bilateral meeting, a joint press conference and a state dinner. Ruto’s visit is the first official state visit to the White House by a leader from an African country since 2008. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. President Joe Biden and Kenyan President William Ruto on Thursday called for increased support for developing countries like Kenya, including through debt relief by major bilateral creditors like China.



Biden and Ruto, on a three-day state visit to the United States, issued a &#8220;Nairobi-Washington Vision&#8221; that includes detailed steps for addressing the staggering debt burden faced by many low-income countries, about half of&nbsp;which&nbsp;are in or close to debt distress.



Many countries are now paying the majority of their revenues to repay debts, limiting their ability to invest in development projects or climate.



&#8220;Countries willing to commit to ambitious reforms and high-quality plans for investments in sustainable development and in addressing global challenges like climate change, pandemics and health threats, and fragility and conflict should be buoyed not abandoned by the international community,&#8221; the statement for the Nairobi-Washington Vision said.



&#8220;High-ambition countries&#8221; should receive financial support from international financial institutions, it said, adding that creditor countries should provide reprieves.



China, the United States and other Group of 20 creditor countries set up the Common Framework for Debt Restructuring to help countries facing huge debt burdens during the pandemic, but the initiative has faced long delays.



A senior U.S. Treasury official said China &#8211; the largest official creditor &#8211; had taken some steps to aid debt-ridden countries, but more work was needed.



The U.S. and Kenya want a big push by the international financial institutions, China and other official bilateral creditors, and the private sector to ensure that debtor countries do not spend all their money servicing old debts.



&#8220;We can&#8217;t have official creditors free-riding on the rest of the system,&#8221; the senior Treasury official said.



Ruto told Reuters last month that Kenya expects a fresh $1 billion disbursement from the International Monetary Fund this month. Chinese loans to Kenya, which surged from around 2013-2022, now account for about 64% of Kenya&#8217;s current stock of external bilateral debt.



Commercial external lending also contributed to Kenya&#8217;s external debt problem, with a great focus on a $2 billion Eurobond maturing in June 2024.



The U.S. this week sent $250 million in fresh funding for crisis response by the World Bank&#8217;s International Development Association, and was working with Congress to provide $21 billion to the IMF&#8217;s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, the officials said. It is also urging Congress to approve $36 billion to the World Bank.



Washington, the official said, would also work with other Group of Seven advanced economies and Group of Twenty to push for more private investment, coordinated relief packages and reforms at the international financial institutions.



&#8220;It&#8217;s not just China. &#8230; The system needs to operate better,&#8221; the Treasury official said.



(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; editing by David Ljunggren and Leslie Adler)

President Biden Hosts Kenyan President William Ruto For Official State Visit

US, Kenya call for increased support for developing countries

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="581" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/OMGAKGST45NKLBLRIAB3HCLZXM-820x581.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-489691" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/OMGAKGST45NKLBLRIAB3HCLZXM-820x581.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/OMGAKGST45NKLBLRIAB3HCLZXM-300x212.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/OMGAKGST45NKLBLRIAB3HCLZXM-127x90.jpg 127w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/OMGAKGST45NKLBLRIAB3HCLZXM-768x544.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/OMGAKGST45NKLBLRIAB3HCLZXM-1536x1088.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/OMGAKGST45NKLBLRIAB3HCLZXM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">U.S. President Joe Biden welcomes Kenyan President William Ruto at the South Portico of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis</figcaption></figure>



May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House on Thursday for a state visit aimed at deepening relations with African nations, which have been sidelined by wars in Ukraine and Gaza, with a flurry of deal announcements.



&#8220;We may be divided by distance, but we are united by the same democratic values,” Biden said, noting that the two countries are celebrating a 60-year partnership this year.



&#8220;Today, as we begin the next decade of our partnership, we&#8217;ve launched a new initiative to bring our country&#8217;s companies and communities closer together,&#8221; he said.



Ruto responded, “Today, as we celebrate our past, we are optimistic about our future. By undertaking this state visit, we will have the opportunity to discuss and to have a conversation about building global partnership and leadership.&#8221;



The Kenyan president, who arrived in the U.S. on Monday and visited Atlanta, Georgia, spoke with CEOs in the White House on Wednesday. Later on Thursday, he will meet with Biden in the Oval Office and hold a joint press conference before attending a lavish state dinner in the evening.



Ruto&#8217;s trip is the first state visit for an African president to the White House since 2008. Successive U.S. governments have said they wanted to offer a more sustainable and democratic alternative to relations with U.S. rivals China and Russia, but have failed to establish real ties.



Africa&#8217;s political landscape has been upended in the past year by a spate of military coups, wars and shaky elections that have given China and Russia greater influence. Biden hopes strengthening ties with Kenya, seen as a democratic stronghold, can help stabilize the continent and advance U.S. interests.



The White House said Biden would also designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally, the first sub-Saharan African country to receive the designation. Currently, 18 countries are designated as non-NATO allies, including Qatar, Israel, Brazil and the Philippines.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-green-energy-health-deals">GREEN ENERGY, HEALTH DEALS</h2>



The leaders will announce new U.S.-backed investments in green energy and health manufacturing, along with a detailed plan to cut Kenya&#8217;s high debt load, most of which is owed to China, the White House said.



The U.S. will announce $250 million in new investments in Kenya through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, including $180 million for a major affordable housing project, a U.S. government official said. That will bring the U.S. financing institution&#8217;s portfolio in Kenya to nearly $1.1 billion. The corporation will also open an office in Kenya.



The humanitarian crisis in Haiti will be a focus. Kenya&#8217;s plan to deploy 1,000 paramilitary officers to the Caribbean country as part of a U.N.-backed effort to curb gang violence and hunger has been delayed, sources told Reuters.



Biden told reporters on Wednesday that he plans an official visit to Africa in February after the U.S. presidential election, an announcement that presumes he will defeat Donald Trump. Biden had earlier pledged to make a trip to Africa sometime in 2023.



Ruto will be celebrated at a dinner lit by 1,000 candles and a menu of heirloom tomato soup, butter-poached lobster, smoked beef short ribs and a white chocolate dessert.



Country singer Brad Paisley will headline the dinner along with Howard University&#8217;s Gospel Choir, both of which are tributes to Ruto&#8217;s musical interests.



(Reporting By Andrea Shalal and Jarrett Renshaw; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Don Durfee, Cynthia Osterman and Jonathan Oatis)

U.S. President Biden welcomes Kenyan President Ruto on at the White House in Washington

Biden welcomes Kenya’s Ruto to White House with investments, promises

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="519" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-820x519.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-488951" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-820x519.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-1536x973.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/BHP-shares-hit-3-month-high-as-deadline-for-formal-Anglo-bid-looms-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A small toy figure and mineral imitation are seen in front of the BHP logo in this illustration taken November 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



PERTH/HONG KONG, May 23 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;BHP&nbsp;BHP.AX&nbsp;will stand firm on the structure and value of its latest takeover proposal for Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L, focusing instead on allaying its target&#8217;s concerns around execution risks over the coming week, sources said on Thursday.



The world&#8217;s biggest listed mining group now has until May 29 to make a firm bid for Anglo American or it will be forced to walk away for at least six months under the UK&#8217;s takeover rules after it was granted a one-week extension on Wednesday.



Two sources who have been in talks with the miner and its advisers said they expect BHP management will spend the next week properly understanding Anglo&#8217;s concerns on an asset-by-asset basis with a goal to convince it on the merits of the deal.



Baden Moore, analyst at broker CLSA in Sydney, said BHP&#8217;s goal will be to get Anglo American to agree to open its books and allow a further extension.



&#8220;They are gradually, gradually getting closer to a deal,&#8221; he said.



Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers highlighted concerns on Wednesday about completion and execution risks in BHP&#8217;s proposal, meaning the structure of any deal and the fate of Anglo&#8217;s businesses in South Africa remain big obstacles.



One solution that BHP has already offered is to foot the bill to demerge Kumba Iron Ore&nbsp;KIOJ.J&nbsp;which is expected to net the South African government $2 billion of much needed capital gains tax, according to a pre-due-diligence BHP estimate, said one of the sources.



Last week, Anglo announced plans to either spin-off or sell its less profitable nickel, diamond and platinum businesses to refocus on copper, and to also sell its coal businesses.



In that plan Anglo would need to bear those substantial spin-out costs itself, which would ultimately be borne by its shareholders.



If the deal does not go ahead, Anglo boss Duncan Wanblad will be under pressure to get top dollar for its diamonds business in particular and ensure its demergers proceed without any hiccups, two investors said. One foot wrong and BHP will be ready to pounce, they said.



&#8220;Anglo does not exist in a year&#8217;s time, one way or the other, in my mind,&#8221; one of the investors said.



BHP and Anglo are having joint meetings with UK and Australian regulators this week, a separate source told Reuters.



BHP&#8217;s latest 29.34 pounds per share approach, based on undisturbed share prices at market close on April 23, valued London-listed Anglo at 38.6 billion pounds (about $49.1 billion). The offer was still conditional on Anglo unbundling its platinum and iron ore assets in South Africa.



The May 29 deadline coincides with general elections in South Africa, where Anglo was formed and is still of significant national importance.



Shares of BHP fell 3.8% to A$44.47 on Thursday.



Anglo&#8217;s shares closed up 0.4% at 26.98 pounds on the London bourse on Wednesday.



($1 = 0.7864 pounds)



(Editing by Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

FILE PHOTO: BHP shares jump 2.3% after Anglo announces break-up plan

BHP will not relent on structure, value of $49 bln Anglo offer, say sources

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="515" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/E3QSTNRI5NLCHAEJURPRJHWWEI-820x515.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-489417" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/E3QSTNRI5NLCHAEJURPRJHWWEI-820x515.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/E3QSTNRI5NLCHAEJURPRJHWWEI-300x188.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/E3QSTNRI5NLCHAEJURPRJHWWEI-143x90.jpg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/E3QSTNRI5NLCHAEJURPRJHWWEI-768x482.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/E3QSTNRI5NLCHAEJURPRJHWWEI-1536x964.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/E3QSTNRI5NLCHAEJURPRJHWWEI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The Anglo American logo is seen in Rusternburg October 5, 2015. Picture taken October 5, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko//File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) &#8211; Anglo American (AAL.L), opens new tab on Wednesday rejected a third takeover proposal from BHP Group (BHP.AX), opens new tab that valued the company at 38.6 billion pounds ($49.18 billion), but agreed to a one-week extension for its rival to table a binding offer.



The move marks the third unsuccessful offer in a month from BHP, the world&#8217;s biggest listed mining group, as Anglo works on a radical plan to divest its less profitable coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses.



The 29.34 pounds per share approach, based on undisturbed share prices at market close on April 23 and raised from an initial 25.08 pounds, is still conditional on Anglo un-bundling its platinum and iron ore assets in South Africa, the country where it was founded and has deep roots, employing more than 40,000 people.



Anglo reiterated that this condition carries significant execution and completion risks.



BHP&#8217;s proposal &#8220;does not address the Board&#8217;s concerns about the structure, which results in significant complexity, execution risks, an extended timeline to completion,&#8221; Anglo chairman Stuart Chambers said in a statement.



&#8220;(It) consequently has the potential for material value leakage to be disproportionately suffered by Anglo American&#8217;s shareholders,&#8221; he added.



Anglo&#8217;s share price reversed earlier losses at 27.15 pounds, up 1% by 1344 GMT.



BHP said in a separate statement that it will not increase the percentage of its shares it is offering Anglo&#8217;s shareholders as part of the deal, unless a third party makes a competing offer.



Analysts at JP Morgan last week said BHP would need to boost its offer by around 30% to reflect fair value for Anglo and its prized copper assets in Chile and Peru.



Developments such as artificial intelligence and automation, and the energy transition including electric vehicles and renewable energy, have driven up demand prospects for copper cable used to conduct electricity.



Reporting by Clara Denina and Felix Njini; additional reporting by Anousha Sakoui; Editing by Veronica Brown, Shinjini Ganguli, Kirsten Donovan

FILE PHOTO: BHP-Anglo American deal raises alarm in Japan’s steel industry

Anglo rejects BHP’s third offer, but leaves door open to engage with rival

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="562" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HSRFB4DE3VJQHL6HXJ7GNC6KSA-820x562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-489354" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HSRFB4DE3VJQHL6HXJ7GNC6KSA-820x562.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HSRFB4DE3VJQHL6HXJ7GNC6KSA-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HSRFB4DE3VJQHL6HXJ7GNC6KSA-131x90.jpg 131w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HSRFB4DE3VJQHL6HXJ7GNC6KSA-768x527.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HSRFB4DE3VJQHL6HXJ7GNC6KSA-1536x1053.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/HSRFB4DE3VJQHL6HXJ7GNC6KSA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A worker attends to machinery at a smelter plant at Anglo American Platinum&#8217;s Unki mine in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe, May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;BHP Group&#8217;s&nbsp;BHP.AX&nbsp;$43 billion takeover proposal for smaller rival Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;needs a &#8220;meaningful revision&#8221;, Anglo&#8217;s second-biggest investor said on Wednesday, as the clock ticks for the world&#8217;s No.1 miner to submit a binding offer.



BHP&#8217;s latest all-share proposal, raised from an initial $39 billion, was dismissed by Anglo as significantly undervaluing the company and being difficult to execute.



BHP&#8217;s offer should reflect both the value of existing Anglo assets and the future options and benefits that BHP can derive, specifically from Anglo&#8217;s unlisted assets, said South Africa&#8217;s Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which owns a roughly 7% stake in Anglo, second only to BlackRock&#8217;s 9.6% holding.



&#8220;This would require a meaningful revision of the current BHP proposal that should take into consideration the material risks that current shareholders of both Anglo and its subsidiaries would have to assume,&#8221; it said.



The PIC, which manages about 2.6 trillion rand ($143 billion) in assets, is Africa&#8217;s second-biggest fund manager. It is also a top investor in Anglo Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore &#8211; two South African units of Anglo that BHP doesn&#8217;t want included in its portfolio, should its deal succeed.



BHP, which has until 1600 GMT on Wednesday to make a binding offer, has insisted that Anglo divests its platinum and iron ore units in South Africa as a condition for the merger.



Anglo has rebuffed two all-share proposals from BHP as inadequate and too difficult to execute and last week unveiled plans for a break-up to focus on energy transition metal copper, while spinning out or selling its coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses.



Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad&#8217;s plan to refocus the company on copper, iron ore and fertiliser assets could lead investors to give it a premium share price rating similar to pure copper companies such as Antofagasta or Freeport-McMoRan in future, Ian Woodley, a portfolio manager at Old Mutual, said.



A failure to improve its market valuation could still make Anglo vulnerable to a takeover, he added.Anglo shareholder Legal &amp; General Investment Management (LGIM) said on Monday it supported the break-up plan and did not see a clear reason for the board to change stance on BHP&#8217;s offer, unless there was a reasonable premium to the underlying fair value of Anglo&#8217;s assets.



($1 = 18.2234 rand)



(Reporting by Felix Njini and Clara Denina; Writing by Bhargav Acharya and Tannur Anders; Editing by Alexander Winning and Mark Potter)

FILE PHOTO: BHP insists Anglo American’s South African assets must go in any takeover, sources say

Major Anglo investor says BHP bid needs ‘meaningful revision’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/YCG36AWNFBPL5CKDLPPYGQ5XRU-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-489385" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/YCG36AWNFBPL5CKDLPPYGQ5XRU-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/YCG36AWNFBPL5CKDLPPYGQ5XRU-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/YCG36AWNFBPL5CKDLPPYGQ5XRU-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/YCG36AWNFBPL5CKDLPPYGQ5XRU-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/YCG36AWNFBPL5CKDLPPYGQ5XRU-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/YCG36AWNFBPL5CKDLPPYGQ5XRU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Cracks are seen in the dried up municipal dam in drought-stricken Graaff-Reinet, South Africa, November 14, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



HARARE, May 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) needs $400 million to feed millions of people in Southern Africa following a drought that plunged parts of the region into hunger, the programme said on Wednesday.



The WFP told Reuters it needed urgent funding for six months to support drought relief in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, after harvests fell as a result of an El Niño-induced drought that has affected 4.8 million people.



El Niño, a weather phenomenon that disrupts wind patterns and warms the temperature in parts of the Pacific Ocean, can impact crop yields by reducing rain levels.



&#8220;It&#8217;s fair to say this will probably be the biggest El Niño response we have ever done in Southern Africa,&#8221; WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri told Reuters.



About 70% of the Southern African population that relies on rain-fed agriculture had their harvests &#8220;wiped out&#8221; by lack of rains, Phiri added.



Phiri said the WFP, which also provides cash payouts for hungry communities, is looking to buy grain from outside markets.



In August last year WFP spent $14 million to support communities in Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, Phiri said.



Successive droughts in the region have caused dwindling grain stocks, forcing affected countries like Zimbabwe to obtain grain abroad.



A group of private millers in Zimbabwe are planning to import 1.4 million metric tonnes of maize from Brazil, Argentina and other countries to help address hunger.



In Zimbabwe Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the government will receive a $32 million insurance payout for drought relief from the African Union Climate Agency.



Ncube said part of the funding will be used as cash transfers for vulnerable communities with some going to humanitarian agencies to provide support for procuring food.



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Tannur Anders, William Maclean)

FILE PHOTO: Cracks are seen in the dried up municipal dam in drought-stricken Graaff-Reinet,

UN food agency looks for $400 mln to feed millions in southern Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="622" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CVOYCLDIW5OFFPIXIALIMN65GA-820x622.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-489351" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CVOYCLDIW5OFFPIXIALIMN65GA-820x622.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CVOYCLDIW5OFFPIXIALIMN65GA-300x227.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CVOYCLDIW5OFFPIXIALIMN65GA-119x90.jpg 119w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CVOYCLDIW5OFFPIXIALIMN65GA-768x582.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CVOYCLDIW5OFFPIXIALIMN65GA-1536x1164.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CVOYCLDIW5OFFPIXIALIMN65GA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A general view of fog over the Great Pyramids and old houses in Cairo, Egypt 24 January 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, May 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;From Brazil, Nigeria and Turkey to even some of the riskiest emerging markets such as Egypt and Zambia, evidence is growing that a decade-long deterioration in sovereign credit ratings has finally started to reverse.



Economists watch ratings because they influence a country&#8217;s borrowing costs and many are now highlighting a turnaround that seems incongruous with the usual warnings about rising debt pressures.



According to Bank of America, almost three-quarters of all sovereign rating moves by S&amp;P, Moody&#8217;s and Fitch this year have been in a positive direction, compared with the almost 100% that went the other way in the first year of the COVID pandemic.



With that and the spike in global interest rates now in the rear view mirror, more good news should be coming too.



Moody’s now has 15 developing economies on a positive outlook &#8211; rating firm parlance for an upgrade watch &#8211; one of its highest numbers ever. S&amp;P has 17, while Fitch has seven more positive than negative outlooks, its best ratio since a post-global financial crisis rebound in ratings in 2011.



Fitch&#8217;s global head of sovereign research Ed Parker said the turnaround has been down to a combination of factors.



For some countries it has been a general recovery from COVID and/or the energy price spikes caused by the Ukraine war. Others are seeing country-specific improvements in policymaking, while a core group of junk-rated &#8220;frontier&#8221; nations are now benefiting from suddenly being able to access debt markets again, he said.



Aviva Investors&#8217; head of EM hard currency debt, Aaron Grehan, describes the current upgrade wave as a &#8220;definitive shift&#8221; that has also coincided with a sharp drop in the premiums that emerging markets almost everywhere have had to pay to borrow.



&#8220;Since 2020, well over 60% of all rating actions have been negative. In 2024, 70% have been positive,&#8221; Grehan said, adding that Aviva&#8217;s internal scoring models were similar.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-decade-of-downgrades">DECADE OF DOWNGRADES</h2>



The awkward reality though is that the current run of upgrades will not make up for the last 10-15 years.



Turkey, South Africa, Brazil and Russia all lost coveted investment grade scores during that time, while a deluge of debt almost everywhere apart from the Gulf has left the average EM credit rating more than a notch lower than it used to be.



And though some countries argue that developed economies where debt is still surging are being treated more leniently by the rating firms, EM finances are hardly sparkling now.



Eldar Vakitov, a sovereign analyst and &#8220;bond vigilante&#8221; at M&amp;G Investments points to the International Monetary Fund&#8217;s recent forecast that the average EM fiscal deficit will edge up to 5.5% of GDP this year.



Just a year ago, the assumption was that the 2023 EM fiscal expansion was a one-off that would be fully reversed this year. Now the EM fiscal deficit is expected to remain above 5% of GDP until the end of the Fund’s forecast horizon in 2029.



So why all the rating upgrades?



&#8220;For some countries it is all about the starting point,&#8221; Vakitov said, explaining that even though government deficits were still wide, they had at least dropped down from peak COVID levels.



A few governments, such as Zambia, are getting a natural lift from coming out of debt restructurings while a number of places are making obvious policy improvements.



Turkey, which has already had a couple of upgrades for attacking its inflation problem head on, and Egypt which seems to have shaken off default worries, are both expected to see multi-notch upgrades now, according to market pricing.



&#8220;Rating agencies tend to be slow though,&#8221; Vakitov said, &#8220;so it often takes them a lot of time to give upgrades.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coupon-payments">COUPON PAYMENTS</h2>



The downgrades have not stopped completely. Moody&#8217;s and Fitch have both put China on a warning over the last six months, Israel&#8217;s war has led to its first ever downgrades and Panama has been stripped of one of its investment grades.



Three years on from COVID spending splurges and the bills are having to be paid too. EM hard currency debt amortisations and coupon payments are expected to reach an all-time high of $134 billion this year, JP Morgan estimates.



That is up by $32 billion from last year, so it is not surprising then that emerging market policymakers are eager to do all they can to get their ratings up and keep borrowing costs down.



Indonesia&#8217;s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati explained in London this month how the agencies had doubted her when she told them during COVID that Indonesia would get its deficit back below 3% of GDP within 3 years.



&#8220;It ended up that we were able to consolidate the fiscal (position) in only two years,&#8221; she said. &#8220;So I always like to say to my rating agency staff, I won the bet, so you have to upgrade my rating!&#8221;



(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Alison Williams)

FILE PHOTO: A general view of fog over the Great Pyramids and old houses in Cairo

Emerging market credit ratings are finally looking up again

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="531" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ARGIAOBTTJMZDB3GT55CBXY4SI-820x531.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-489300" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ARGIAOBTTJMZDB3GT55CBXY4SI-820x531.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ARGIAOBTTJMZDB3GT55CBXY4SI-300x194.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ARGIAOBTTJMZDB3GT55CBXY4SI-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ARGIAOBTTJMZDB3GT55CBXY4SI-768x498.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ARGIAOBTTJMZDB3GT55CBXY4SI-1536x995.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ARGIAOBTTJMZDB3GT55CBXY4SI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A man pushes a trolley loaded with a bag of maize meal outside a spaza shop in Thembisa, on the East Rand, in South Africa, August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, May 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s inflation slowed slightly in April, its second decline in a row but it still remains above the central bank&#8217;s preferred level.



Headline consumer inflation dropped to 5.2% year on year in April from 5.3% in March, Statistics South Africa data showed. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted inflation would come in at 5.3%.



The South African Reserve Bank has been trying to steer inflation to the midpoint of its target range of 3% to 6%, keeping its main interest rate at 8.25%&nbsp;ZAREPO=ECI&nbsp;since May 2023.



The central bank said last month that the path back to 4.5% inflation would probably be &#8220;bumpy and protracted&#8221; due to setbacks in the disinflation trajectory.



On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation was at 0.3% in April compared to 0.8% a month before.



Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel prices, was at 4.6% year on year in April, down from 4.9% in March.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning)

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Post-COVID, China is back in Africa and doubling down on minerals

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