<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="598" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/100432242-larry-ellison-ceo-oracle-getty-820x598.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-474536" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/100432242-larry-ellison-ceo-oracle-getty-820x598.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/100432242-larry-ellison-ceo-oracle-getty-300x219.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/100432242-larry-ellison-ceo-oracle-getty-123x90.jpg 123w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/100432242-larry-ellison-ceo-oracle-getty-768x560.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/100432242-larry-ellison-ceo-oracle-getty-1536x1120.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/100432242-larry-ellison-ceo-oracle-getty-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Every tech company is talking up its AI opportunity. Oracle is no exception. But during an earnings call in March, Oracle’s Larry Ellison laid out a future market opportunity focused on a major customer that investors may think about less often that Fortune 500 companies.



The Oracle founder, former CEO and current chairman and chief technology officer, sees national and state government applications being run on platforms like Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to a much greater degree than today, and indicated that it’s starting to happen in a variety of ways.



“We talk about, you know, winning business with companies. For the first time, we’re beginning to win business for countries,” Ellison said. “We have a number of countries where we’re negotiating sovereign regions with the national government.”



Major tech companies vying for massive government contracts in the cloud are nothing new. Microsoft and Amazon had a lengthy battle over a cloud deal with the Department of Defense, and both those AI players as well as Oracle and Google ended up all in on a $9 billion DoD contract in 2022.



But Ellison went further in his prediction when speaking with analysts on the recent earnings call, saying “Every government, pretty much every government, is going to want a sovereign cloud and a dedicated region for that government.”



Oracle, which works with Nvidia and Microsoft on generative AI capabilities, has already helped use cloud tech to cut red tape for countries. One example Ellison gave was Albania. It is trying to ascend to the European Union with the help of chatGPT, with the generative AI helping to decipher and summarize its laws and aid the country in what it needs to change in order to be compliant with E.U. regulations.



“It took Serbia eight years to harmonize their laws to be able to join the E.U.,” Ellison said. “Albania is facing the same thing, but with generative AI, we can read the entire corpus of the Albanian laws and&nbsp;actually harmonize their laws with the EU in probably more like 18 months to two years.”



Some analysts are skeptical of Ellison’s talk as being anything more than typical C-suite rallying for a key business unit. Oracle shares are up about 21% YTD, but Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow expressed concern about lower OCI growth during its latest earnings, which could “worry investors, as this is the main investment story.”



A version of future featuring cloud services and artificial intelligence-powered solutions can make government more efficient. Ellison said for starters, redundancy is a focus for government, in the case of disaster and disaster recovery. But it’s also moving into health care information and internet access projects.



Countries including Serbia are standardizing on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and using generative AI for processes like automating health care. Deals related to delivery of internet services in partnership with Elon Musk’s Starlink to remote areas are taking place in Kenya and Rwanda, where OCI and Starlink are mapping rural farms to see which crops are growing in what area, and if they are getting enough nutrients like nitrogen and water. “These maps are AI-assisted, help them plan their agricultural output and predict their agricultural output, predict markets, the logistics of the agricultural output, doing all of all of those things as next-generation national applications,” Ellison said.



Food security, rural school and rural hospital internet access, are other examples of what Ellison said are among the “all sorts of interesting new AI applications out there that you’ve probably never heard of before, at least I hadn’t heard of before until these last 12 months now that we’ve worked on and we’re now in the process of delivering.”



He also mentioned automation of vaccination programs, and other healthcare program “across the board.”



“We’re living in a world where like data and information is the gold of the future,” said Dan Gardner, CEO of digital strategy agency Code and Theory. “If the government can get access and action on that their data faster, why would we want to slow that down? We want that to be as efficient as possible. A lot of that is like mundane human resources, that maybe those people could be doing something else that is way more valuable.”



Cloud and generative AI applications allowing countries to give rural areas internet access could increase educational opportunities and create more economic value. It could also allow citizens to have more insight into government processes, said Tapan Parikh, Cornell University associate professor. “One thing technology’s always been good at is potentially making bureaucracies more efficient, or at least more transparent internally,” he said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-black-mirror-governments">‘Black Mirror’ governments</h3>



But the push to move more government processes to the cloud is also opening the door to new risks, especially as countries trust newly developed generative AI systems. While they may make processes faster than ever, there are bound to be mistakes as the technology develops and could make citizen data accessible to cyber criminals. “We shouldn’t use these technologies as an excuse to not maintain oversight and control over political processes,” Parikh said. “Certainly, I think that’s a very important thing, particularly when you’re dealing with countries that may not have the same kind of governance capacity.” Oracle did not respond to a request for additional comment on Ellison’s earnings call discussion.



“There’s the ‘Black Mirror’ bad side of it: Big Brother, data wars, AI warfare and all that stuff,” Garder said. “As far as like removing red tape and being more efficient and getting better use out of crops across the country, that’s incredible. That’s the multiplier of humanity that could really improve because of AI.”



AI raises a host of concerns.



Gardner pointed to the proliferation of more generative content in an election year around the world and all the issues related to tech-enabled interference. “Maybe it’s not like chips on the ground. But it’s data security, authentication of who you are, who governments are, what content you’re viewing, all the connection points between financial systems, and AI governance. Using AI as a tool of destruction is quite scary.”&nbsp;



“No big government in the world can afford to move all of their services and especially critical ones like defense, taxes, health care, completely into the cloud and into the hands of gen AI,”&nbsp;said Simone Bohnenberger, chief product officer at cloud company Phrase. “It’s just not in the realm of, I think it’s not responsible to do that. The potential risks outweigh the benefits of doing that.“ OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, is mostly trained on existing content on the internet. That could pose a problem, especially when text from lesser known languages like Albanian need to be analyzed, Bohnenberger said. “If you look at the World Wide Web or the internet, the vast majority of content there’s English, I think a quarter of the content is English, followed by Chinese,” she said. “Albanian is a minority. It’s very questionable for me how well that actually works for a small country like Albania and like an outlier language, because there’s just not much data you can train a model on. And if you don’t have much data, then the outputs will be very messy.”



Then there’s security and data risks with allowing foreign companies access to citizen data, Parikh said. Even the U.S., with all its resources, has been vulnerable to data hacks, including a recent February incident with contractor CGI Federal which exposed personally identifiable information on employees. The recent battle between the U.S. and China over TikTok is an example of how control of sensitive consumer data can be interjected into geopolitics. “I think certainly that’s a concern going forward for countries who are working with vendors from different countries,” Parikh said.

100432242-larry-ellison-ceo-oracle-getty

Oracle’s Larry Ellison thinks every government will want to build a ‘sovereign’ AI cloud in the future

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="573" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EU77SXNC7VKF5PUJALHFIPSWDU-820x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-460717" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EU77SXNC7VKF5PUJALHFIPSWDU-820x573.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EU77SXNC7VKF5PUJALHFIPSWDU-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EU77SXNC7VKF5PUJALHFIPSWDU-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EU77SXNC7VKF5PUJALHFIPSWDU-768x537.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EU77SXNC7VKF5PUJALHFIPSWDU-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/EU77SXNC7VKF5PUJALHFIPSWDU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A MultiChoice logo is displayed outside the company&#8217;s building in Cape Town, South Africa February 2, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, April 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;French media group Vivendi&#8217;s&nbsp;VIV.PA&nbsp;Canal+ made an all-cash mandatory offer on Monday to buy all the shares of South African broadcaster MultiChoice&nbsp;MCGJ.J&nbsp;it does not already own for 35 billion rand ($1.9 billion), both companies said.



That offer at 125 rand per share follows an indicative offer of 105 rand made by Canal+ on Feb. 1, which MultiChoice rejected as significantly undervaluing the company.



The need to make a mandatory offer was triggered by Canal+, MultiChoice&#8217;s biggest shareholder, subsequently raising its holding in the firm above the 35% threshold. Its new offer values MultiChoice, in which it now owns a 36.6% stake, at about 55 billion rand, according to Reuters calculations.



By 0759 GMT, shares in MultiChoice were up 3.7% at 116 rand.



The deal would create a pan-African broadcasting powerhouse with about 31.5 million subscribers across over 50 countries, able to put African content to global audiences as well as compete on an international scale.



The French media company has broad reach in French-speaking African nations, while MultiChoice has a stronger presence in English-speaking countries, including South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.



Canal+ said it believes the competitive landscape for Africa&#8217;s media and entertainment industry will undergo further profound changes as the continent rapidly adopts broadband and mobile internet. Smartphone adoption is also rising.



&#8220;A combined group would be better positioned to address key structural challenges and opportunities resulting from the progressive digitalisation and globalisation of the media and entertainment sector,&#8221; the companies said.



MultiChoice&#8217;s independent board constituted for the deal will now consider the bid.



Canal+ reserves the right to buy more MultiChoice shares in the market during the course of the offer. Should the French company buy these shares at more than 125 rand each, it is obliged to increase the offer price, according to the statement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-regulatory-hurdle">REGULATORY HURDLE</h2>



For the deal to be successful, the French broadcaster will need to navigate the country&#8217;s stringent Black economic ownership requirements and restrictions on foreign media ownership, which caps voting rights at 20%.



Maxime Saada, chairman and CEO of Canal+ Group, told Reuters there are workable solutions around that which &#8220;of course will require us to have local partners&#8221;.



Last month Bloomberg reported that billionaire Patrice Motsepe could join Canal+&#8217;s bid.



The companies said they intend to comply with all applicable laws and will provide further details in this regard.



($1 = 18.7119 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Tom Hogue, Miral Fahmy and Jan Harvey)

FILE PHOTO: MultiChoice logo is displayed outside the company in Cape Town

Vivendi’s Canal+ makes mandatory buyout offer for South Africa’s MultiChoice

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="575" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2YFSNLSNFRP7VNWQPEPCOAWUMU-1-820x575.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-454022" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2YFSNLSNFRP7VNWQPEPCOAWUMU-1-820x575.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2YFSNLSNFRP7VNWQPEPCOAWUMU-1-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2YFSNLSNFRP7VNWQPEPCOAWUMU-1-128x90.jpg 128w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2YFSNLSNFRP7VNWQPEPCOAWUMU-1-768x539.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2YFSNLSNFRP7VNWQPEPCOAWUMU-1-1536x1078.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2YFSNLSNFRP7VNWQPEPCOAWUMU-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A man shows off Zimbabwean currency notes outside a grocery store in Harare, Zimbabwe, March 17, 2022. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



Zimbabwe says it will re-launch its currency for a sixth time next week, in a bid to reign-in inflation after the latest collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar.



New Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mushayavanhu said the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), would replace the last incarnation of the Zimbabwe dollar, and would be backed by a select group of foreign currencies, gold and other precious metals the country produces. The new currency will be introduced next Monday at 13.56 per U.S. dollar.



&#8220;With effect from 5 April 2024, banks shall convert the current Zimbabwe dollar balances into the new currency which shall be called Zimbabwe Gold to foster simplicity, certainty, and predictability in monetary and financial affairs,&#8221; the central bank said in a monetary policy statement. &#8220;The new currency will co-circulate with other foreign currencies in the economy.&#8221;



Zimbabwe’s dollar had lost almost three quarters of its value against the dollar since a relaunch last year, stoking inflation which was measured at 55.3 percent in March versus 47.6 percent the month before. The country has battled to tame inflation since it hit a record 500 billion percent in 2008 when it was forced to abandon the Zimbabwe dollar.



Mushayavanhu replaced John Mangudya as governor last month.



To protect the value of the new currency, Mushayavanhu said he would limit central bank lending to the government &#8212; a key source of the inflation that engulfed the economy in 2008 &#8212; and ensure that reserve money would be fully backed by the country’s equivalent gold and foreign currency reserves.



A strict monetary policy would also be implemented he said, setting the new benchmark rate at 20 percent, down from the current rate of 130 percent. Exporters would be requested to surrender half of their forex receipts for the foreign exchange market with the balance going to the government.



&#8220;The Bank will use 50% of the foreign currency proceeds from surrender requirements for strategic interventions in the foreign exchange interbank market,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The remaining foreign currency will be available to satisfy the Government&#8217;s foreign currency obligations in exchange for ZiG and to build foreign exchange reserves for the Reserve Bank.&#8221;

FILE PHOTO: Zimbabwe’s poor feel the impact of far away Ukraine war

Zimbabwe relaunches currency in latest inflation fight

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-404443" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Macro view of a screen of trading terminal with abstract financial graph and digits. Trading and forex concept. 3D Rendering</figcaption></figure>



April 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Emerging market stocks dipped on Friday, tracking overnight weakness on Wall Street, as hawkish commentary from Federal Reserve officials dampened risk sentiment and tensions in the Middle East kept investors on edge.



The MSCI&#8217;s index for emerging market stocks&nbsp;.MSCIEF&nbsp;fell 0.3% but was still on track for marginal weekly gains.



Emerging market debt saw its first weekly inflow for eight weeks and EM stocks saw inflows of $3.8 billion in the week ended on Wednesday, according to a note by BofA Global Research.



The currencies index&nbsp;.MIEM00000CUS&nbsp;was flat by 0900 GMT.



&#8220;The risk-reward profile of global risk assets is not attractive,&#8221; Arthur Budaghyan, chief emerging market and China strategist for BCA Research, said in a note.



&#8220;Higher U.S. bond yields and rising oil prices might spoil the party.&#8221;



Minneapolis Fed Bank President Neel Kashkari said that at the U.S. central bank&#8217;s meeting last month he pencilled in two interest rate cuts this year &#8211; but if inflation continues to stall, none may be required by year-end.



Traders were also hesitant to take on new positions ahead of Friday&#8217;s closely-watched U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, while rising geopolitical tensions added to worries.



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu&#8217;s comments that Israel would harm &#8220;whoever harms us or plans to harm us&#8221; stoked fears of a wider war, after its presumed air strike on Iran&#8217;s embassy in Damascus earlier this week.



The Israeli shekel&nbsp;ILS=&nbsp;jumped 0.7% against the dollar, while stocks in Tel Aviv&nbsp;.TA125&nbsp;shed 1.6%.



Meanwhile, the Hungarian forint&nbsp;EURHUF=&nbsp;led gains against the euro among Central and Eastern European peers, up 0.4% after a raft of economic data.



Hungary&#8217;s industrial output rose by an annual 1.8% in February, based on preliminary unadjusted data, compared with a 3.6% fall in January, while another survey showed calendar-adjusted retail sales rose by an annual 1.1% in February following a 0.6% rise in January.



The forint and Poland&#8217;s zloty&nbsp;EURPLN=&nbsp;were on track for their second straight week of gains.



Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng index&nbsp;.HSI&nbsp;closed nearly flat, while stocks in mainland China were closed and will resume trade on April 8.



In India, stocks were range-bound after the central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged for a seventh straight policy meeting as growth is expected to remain robust while inflation stays above the 4% target.



(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Macro view of a screen of trading terminal with abstract financial graph and digits. Trading and forex concept. 3D Rendering

Stocks slip on Fed rate caution and geopolitical woes, currencies flat

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419915" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/GettyImages-1240090144-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The World Bank Group headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its world growth forecast by the most since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, and projected even faster inflation, after Russia invaded Ukraine and China renewed virus lockdowns. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



ADDIS ABABA, April 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Bank and Ethiopia have signed loan agreements totalling $1.72 billion to enhance electricity and water supply, as well as to facilitate the movement of food to markets, the finance ministry said on Friday.



The bank will allocate $523 million to expand the Horn of Africa nation&#8217;s electricity network and boost renewable energy generation, according to the ministry&#8217;s statement.



An additional $500 million will go towards two projects aimed at boosting access to food markets, including improving road networks in rural areas, the statement said.



Ethiopia, which has also experienced foreign-currency shortages, continues to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a two-year war in the northern Tigray region, and droughts, floods, and locust invasions in parts of the country



The remaining World Bank funding will be allocated to improving water supply and supporting programs in towns that employ disadvantaged youths.



Typically, World Bank loans carry low to zero interest rates and have repayment periods of 30 to 40 years.



(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Bate Felix)

IMF And World Bank Headquarters During Virtual Spring Meetings

World Bank loans Ethiopia $1.72 bln for power, water supply expansion

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="549" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KDI6GFUK7NPKRJPN5JH5FCFIX4-820x549.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-473605" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KDI6GFUK7NPKRJPN5JH5FCFIX4-820x549.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KDI6GFUK7NPKRJPN5JH5FCFIX4-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KDI6GFUK7NPKRJPN5JH5FCFIX4-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KDI6GFUK7NPKRJPN5JH5FCFIX4-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KDI6GFUK7NPKRJPN5JH5FCFIX4-1536x1029.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/KDI6GFUK7NPKRJPN5JH5FCFIX4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 25, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



April 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A South African antitrust agency is set to investigate Microsoft&nbsp;MSFT.O&nbsp;over its cloud computing licensing practices, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.



The South African case against Microsoft is likely to mirror the European Union antitrust case, according to the source.



Microsoft is not aware of any complaint filed by the South African competition authority, the company said in an emailed statement.



South Africa&#8217;s competition agency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.



The U.S. software giant faces a EU complaint by rivals over its cloud computing licensing practices in the region.



Industry group CISPE, which includes members such as Amazon.com&nbsp;AMZN.O&nbsp;and 26 small EU cloud providers, filed a complaint in late 2022 alleging Microsoft&#8217;s new contractual terms were harming Europe&#8217;s cloud computing ecosystem.



Microsoft amended its licensing terms in mid-2022 after rivals in Germany, Italy, Denmark and France took their grievances to the EU competition watchdog.



(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Nilutpal Timsina; Additional reporting by Yuvraj Malik, Priyanka.G Editing by Anil D&#8217;Silva)

FILE PHOTO: A Microsoft logo is seen in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris

South Africa to investigate Microsoft over cloud computing licensing practices, source says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="553" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/D74XRUJPWFKUDPO6JC6YAB4D3I-820x553.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-473324" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/D74XRUJPWFKUDPO6JC6YAB4D3I-820x553.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/D74XRUJPWFKUDPO6JC6YAB4D3I-300x202.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/D74XRUJPWFKUDPO6JC6YAB4D3I-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/D74XRUJPWFKUDPO6JC6YAB4D3I-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/D74XRUJPWFKUDPO6JC6YAB4D3I-1536x1036.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/D74XRUJPWFKUDPO6JC6YAB4D3I-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A worker collects trolleys at South African retailer Woolworths, in Johannesburg, South Africa, November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, April 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Consumer spending growth in South Africa steadied in 2023 after the previous year&#8217;s post-pandemic surge, but expected interest rate cuts will encourage more purchases in 2024, executives from Visa&nbsp;V.N&nbsp;and Discovery Bank said on Thursday.



Recent retail results show that consumers are under financial pressure as high interest rates increase the cost of debt and inflation pushes food prices higher.



Releasing their latest SpendTrend24 report, Discovery&#8217;s&nbsp;DSYJ.J&nbsp;banking unit and Visa said that while consumer spending in South Africa outpaced inflation by 19 percentage points in 2022, the two measures were closely matched last year.



Spending on food, including groceries, takeout and dining out, increased in most South African cities, by an average of 8% in 2023 compared to a 16% increase the year before, the report said.



More broadly, in South Africa and four other emerging market countries that were part of the survey &#8211; Nigeria, Ghana, Brazil and Vietnam &#8211; a larger part of household budgets went on essentials like groceries and fuel, with less spent on non-essentials like travel.



The report also showed that spending is rising among affluent and high net worth consumers, with a slight decrease in the mass segment due to rising living costs.



&#8220;Our latest research highlights that throughout 2023, global economies navigated a complex path of post-pandemic revival, framed by persistent inflation and high interest rates,&#8221; Discovery Bank&#8217;s Chief Executive Officer Hylton Kallner said.



&#8220;These challenges pushed up the cost of living, prompting consumers to adjust their spending habits.&#8221;



South Africans are increasingly using their mobile phones to pay for goods instead of physical cards, according to the report, with adoption rates matching or surpassing those of international cities.



The country&#8217;s central bank paused its tightening cycle in July for the first time since November 2021 and economists expect rates to fall from the second half of this year.



Kallner said the expected interest rate reductions would result in higher disposable income for consumers, although they will continue to prioritise getting the most value for their money.



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Sfundo Parakozov; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

A worker collects trolleys at South African retailer Woolworths

Consumer spending growth in South Africa steadied in 2023, report shows

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="530" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-820x530.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-433145" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-820x530.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-300x194.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-139x90.jpg 139w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-768x497.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A-1536x994.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A general view shows the Central Bank of Kenya headquarters building along Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi, Kenya November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi/</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, April 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya plans to increase the capital requirements for commercial banks to account for emerging risks in areas like information communication technology and climate change, its central bank governor said on Thursday.



Although the East African nation has a robust financial sector, with its banks expanding around the region in the past two decades, it has seen the capital adequacy ratios of some institutions come under pressure in recent years.



&#8220;The capital requirements for banks need to be increased. We have seen increased risks whether it is from climate change or cybersecurity,&#8221; Kamau Thugge, the central banker, told a news conference, without mentioning the potential size of the increment.



The central bank was concerned about rising non-performing loans in the banking sector, which increased to 15.5% of total loans in February this year, from 14.8% at the end of last year, he said.



The proposal to raise the capital will be published in the next one month for a public discussion, Thugge said, in line with the legal requirements.



Kenya requires a minimum capital of 1 billion shillings ($7.69 million) for those who wish to start a bank.



Banks that are already operating are required to maintain 10.5% core capital to total risk-weighted assets, and 14.5% total capital to risk-weighted assets.



&#8220;We need strong banks,&#8221; Thugge said.



($1 = 130.0000 Kenyan shillings)



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

XRWAJLZOAVK3DL2J5JMRWBBQ6A

Kenya to raise capital requirements for banks, central banker says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107368871-1707125203700-gettyimages-1244583255-ZAMBIA_COPPER-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-463267" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107368871-1707125203700-gettyimages-1244583255-ZAMBIA_COPPER-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107368871-1707125203700-gettyimages-1244583255-ZAMBIA_COPPER-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107368871-1707125203700-gettyimages-1244583255-ZAMBIA_COPPER-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107368871-1707125203700-gettyimages-1244583255-ZAMBIA_COPPER-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107368871-1707125203700-gettyimages-1244583255-ZAMBIA_COPPER.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Copper plates on wagons ready for onward shipping at the Mufulira refinery, operated by Mopani Copper Mines Plc, in Mufulira, Zambia, on Friday, May 6, 2022.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



April 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;London base metal prices rose on Thursday, with copper hitting its highest level in more than 14 months, supported by a weaker dollar and global rate cuts hopes.



Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)&nbsp;CMCU3&nbsp;was up 0.9% at $9,344 per metric ton by 0752 GMT. The contract leapt to as much as $9,380 earlier in the session, a level last seen on Jan. 27, 2023.



The dollar fell as investors waited on U.S. labour data for clues on the Federal Reserve&#8217;s interest rate outlook. A weaker dollar makes greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies.



Prices were also supported by Fed Chair Jerome Powell&#8217;s affirmation that his outlook on lowering the policy rate at some point this year remained the same and will continue to be guided by economic data.



Meanwhile, Euro zone inflation fell unexpectedly last month, solidifying the case for the European Central Bank to start lowering borrowing costs from record highs.



&#8220;A notable surge in speculative activity on the LME, paired with expectations of relaxed monetary policy outlook in Europe, has propelled metal prices to their highest levels in several months,&#8221; said Sucden Financial analysts in a note.



&#8220;The anticipation of monetary policy cutting cycle and ongoing geopolitical tensions are expected to further ease the pressure that has been felt by base metals in recent months,&#8221; they added.



China&#8217;s stronger-than-expected manufacturing data released earlier this week also boosted optimism around metals demand outlook in their biggest consuming market.



Prices of copper price have especially been aided by output cut plans by Chinese smelters amid a shortage of raw materials.



LME aluminium&nbsp;CMAL3&nbsp;advanced 1% to $2,452, nickel&nbsp;CMNI3&nbsp;increased 0.7% to $17,465, zinc&nbsp;CMZN3&nbsp;rose 1.3% to $2,580.50, lead&nbsp;CMPB3&nbsp;advanced 1.2% to $2,107.50 a ton and tin&nbsp;CMSN3&nbsp;climbed 0.9% to $28,640.



The Chinese markets are closed for a public holiday on Thursday and Friday.



For the top stories in metals and other news, click



TOP/MTL&nbsp;or&nbsp;MET/L



(Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Philippa Fletcher)

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Copper hits 14-month high on rate cut hopes and soft dollar

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="590" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QPRF7MPZSFKF5M3QKKR4AKB43I-820x590.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-473228" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QPRF7MPZSFKF5M3QKKR4AKB43I-820x590.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QPRF7MPZSFKF5M3QKKR4AKB43I-300x216.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QPRF7MPZSFKF5M3QKKR4AKB43I-125x90.jpg 125w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QPRF7MPZSFKF5M3QKKR4AKB43I-768x553.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QPRF7MPZSFKF5M3QKKR4AKB43I-1536x1106.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QPRF7MPZSFKF5M3QKKR4AKB43I-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Senegal&#8217;s newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye addresses the audience after he took the oath of office as president during the inauguration ceremony in Dakar, Senegal April 2, 2024. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DAKAR, April 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Senegal will conduct an audit of the oil, gas and mining sectors, newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye told the nation&nbsp;in a televised speech on Wednesday,&nbsp;while also reassuring investors they were welcome in the country.



Faye&nbsp;defeated the ruling coalition&#8217;s candidate in a March election by a landslide, reflecting high hopes for change in the country of around 18 million.



The audit is one of the first policy moves announced since the 44-year-old former tax inspector&#8217;s inauguration on Tuesday.



&#8220;The exploitation of our natural resources, which according to the constitution belong to the people, will receive particular attention from my government,&#8221; he said.



&#8220;I will proceed with the disclosure of the effective ownership of extractive companies (and) with an audit of the mining, oil, and gas sector.&#8221;



He did provide further details, but sought also to reassure investors, who he said were &#8220;welcome in Senegal.&#8221;



&#8220;Investor rights will always be protected, as well as the interests of the state and the people,&#8221; he said.



Senegal&#8217;s first offshore oil development is due to start production in mid-2024. The Sangomar oil and gas project operated by Woodside Energy&nbsp;WDS.AX&nbsp;is expected to produce about 100,000 barrels per day.



(Reporting by Diadie Ba and Bate Felix; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Chris Reese and Costas Pitas)

FILE PHOTO: Senegal’s Newly elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye takes the oath of office as president during the inauguration ceremony in Dakar

Senegal’s new president announces oil, gas and mining sector audit

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="596" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2CJFTVWIVVM6BOJKJGSWI5BMOM-820x596.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-472906" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2CJFTVWIVVM6BOJKJGSWI5BMOM-820x596.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2CJFTVWIVVM6BOJKJGSWI5BMOM-300x218.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2CJFTVWIVVM6BOJKJGSWI5BMOM-124x90.jpg 124w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2CJFTVWIVVM6BOJKJGSWI5BMOM-768x558.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2CJFTVWIVVM6BOJKJGSWI5BMOM-1536x1116.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2CJFTVWIVVM6BOJKJGSWI5BMOM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Nyasa Manonoke, 69, collects her monthly allocations of food aid provided by the World Food Program (WFP) in Mumijo, Buhera district east of the capital Harare, Zimbabwe, March 16, 2024. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



HARARE, April 3 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday declared Zimbabwe&#8217;s drought a national disaster and said the country needed more than $2 billion in aid to feed millions facing hunger.



Mnangagwa&#8217;s statement follows similar announcements by Zambia in late February and Malawi in March, as drought induced by the El Nino global weather pattern triggers a humanitarian crisis in southern Africa.



More than 2.7 million people in Zimbabwe will go hungry this year, Mnangagwa told journalists at the state house in Harare, adding that 80% of the country had received poor rains.



&#8220;Preliminary assessments show that Zimbabwe requires in excess of $2 billion towards various interventions we envisage in our national response,&#8221; Mnangagwa said.



He said the government would prioritise winter cropping to boost reserves, and work with the private sector to import grains.



El Nino is a naturally occurring weather phenomenon associated with a disruption of wind patterns that means warmer ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific.



Most provinces in Zimbabwe have experienced crop failure since November, with hotter areas declaring grains such as maize a write-off.



Humanitarian agencies including the World Food Programme, which fed 270,000 people between January and March in four districts, have described the hunger situation as &#8220;dire&#8221;, calling on donors to provide more aid.



The drought in southern Africa has reached crisis levels with Botswana and Angola to the west, and Mozambique and Madagascar to the east also facing hunger.



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono, Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Barbara Lewis)

Villagers collect monthly allocations of food aid provided by WFP in Mumijo

Hunger grips southern Africa as Zimbabwe declares drought a disaster

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107345165-1702048316016-gettyimages-1421604025-dsc05224-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-472903" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107345165-1702048316016-gettyimages-1421604025-dsc05224-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107345165-1702048316016-gettyimages-1421604025-dsc05224-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107345165-1702048316016-gettyimages-1421604025-dsc05224-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107345165-1702048316016-gettyimages-1421604025-dsc05224-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107345165-1702048316016-gettyimages-1421604025-dsc05224-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/107345165-1702048316016-gettyimages-1421604025-dsc05224-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Roughly half of adults are stressed about personal finance, a new survey spanning various advanced economies found. D3sign | Moment | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



At least half of adults in a range of major economies report being stressed about their personal finances, and say inflation is one of the main reasons.



A significant number also say they feel worse-off financially than their parents, and are pessimistic about their children’s financial futures, the International Your Money Financial Security Survey conducted by SurveyMonkey found.



In the U.S., Australia, Spain and Mexico, around 70% of adults said they were “very or somewhat stressed” about money. The percentage reduced slightly to 63% in the U.K., 57% in Germany, 55% in Switzerland, and roughly half of people in Singapore and France.



Across those countries, between a half and two thirds of people said they considered themselves to be part of the middle class — except in the U.K., where it was a lower 37%.



Yet despite the middle classes traditionally being considered financially comfortable, between 45% and 62% of those who put themselves in that group described themselves as “living paycheck to paycheck.”



Half of adults in Australia, Germany and the U.K. said they were worse off than they were five years ago.



Meanwhile, of the countries surveyed, only adults in Singapore and Mexico were more likely than not to say they were better-off financially than their parents.



Inflation was widely cited as the source of financial stress, along with a lack of savings, economic instability and rising interest rates.



The study of 4,342 adults was carried out in March and released on Wednesday,



“The health of the global economy, though muted in some areas, is not being reflected in the perceptions of the average person&#8230; Despite the performance of the economy writ large, roughly half of adults are stressed about their personal finances in every country studied around the world,” said Eric Johnson, CEO of SurveyMonkey, in an accompanying article.



Global economic growth is slowing yet most developed economies have avoided the recessions that were forecast amid high inflation and interest rate hikes. Labor markets have proved resilient, but numerous surveys have suggested grim sentiment among consumers who have been hit hard by price rises in household bills and everyday goods.

107345165-1702048316016-gettyimages-1421604025-dsc05224

Half of adults globally are stressed about their finances, and inflation is a key reason

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-427563" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



April 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The International Monetary Fund concluded its visit to Ethiopia to discuss a request for IMF support on Tuesday without reaching an agreement, leaving the East African nation short of a commitment it made with its official international creditors.



&#8220;The team made substantial progress towards establishing how the IMF could support the authorities&#8217; economic program,&#8221; and discussions will continue later this month in Washington, the IMF said.



But the Paris Club of developed creditor nations, which does not include China, said last year that an agreement to suspend Ethiopia&#8217;s debt payments through 2025 could be voided if the country did not secure an IMF loan by March 31.



It was not clear whether Paris Club members would enforce that deadline. Ethiopia reached a separate debt-service suspension deal with China earlier in 2023.



Ethiopia has been without an IMF program since its last lending arrangement with the fund expired in late 2022.



In December, Ethiopia became the third African nation to default in as many years after it failed to make a coupon payment on its $1 billion Eurobond.



Ethiopia&#8217;s economy is reeling from high inflation, a shortage of hard currency and growing external debt repayments, after the federal government and a rebellious regional government signed a deal in late 2022 to end two years of armed conflict.



The country&#8217;s external debt totaled $28.2 billion at the end of March, according to government data, including a $1 billion international bond maturing in December 2024&nbsp;XS1151974877=TE.



Between 2006 and 2022, Chinese lenders had committed to extending more than $14 billion in loans to the country, according to Boston University.



(Reporting by Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Bill Berkrot)

FILE PHOTO: The IMF logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington

IMF ends Ethiopia visit, deal not yet secured

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1760011544-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-472610" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1760011544-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1760011544-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1760011544-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1760011544-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1760011544-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/GettyImages-1760011544-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">02 November 2023, Great Britain, Milton Keynes: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (l) is welcomed by Rishi Sunak (r) , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, at the &#8220;AI Safety Summit 2023&#8221; (International Summit on Artificial Intelligence Safety) at Bletchley Park. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa (Photo by Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



The United States and Britain on Monday announced a new partnership on the science of artificial intelligence safety, amid growing concerns about upcoming next-generation versions.



Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and British Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington to jointly develop advanced AI model testing, following commitments announced at an AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park in November.



“We all know AI is the defining technology of our generation,” Raimondo said. “This partnership will accelerate both of our institutes work across the full spectrum to address the risks of our national security concerns and the concerns of our broader society.”



Britain and the United States are among countries establishing government-led AI safety institutes.



Britain said in October its institute would examine and test new types of AI, while the United States said in November it was launching its own safety institute to evaluate risks from so-called frontier AI models and is now working with 200 companies and entites.



Under the formal partnership, Britain and the United States plan to perform at least one joint testing exercise on a publicly accessible model and are considering exploring personnel exchanges between the institutes. Both are working to develop similar partnerships with other countries to promote AI safety.



“This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world,” Donelan said. “AI is already an extraordinary force for good in our society, and has vast potential to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, but only if we are able to grip those risks.”



Generative AI &#8211; which can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts &#8211; has spurred excitement as well as fears it could make some jobs obsolete, upend elections and potentially overpower humans and catastrophic effects.



In a joint interview with Reuters Monday, Raimondo and Donelan urgent joint action was needed to address AI risks.



“Time is of the essence because the next set of models are about to be released, which will be much, much more capable,” Donelan said. “We have a focus one the areas that we are dividing and conquering and really specializing.”



Raimondo said she would raise AI issues at a meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council in Belgium Thursday.



The Biden administration plans to soon announce additions to its AI team, Raimondo said. “We are pulling in the full resources of the U.S. government.”



Both countries plan to share key information on capabilities and risks associated with AI models and systems and technical research on AI safety and security.



In October, Biden signed an executive order that aims to reduce the risks of AI. In January, the Commerce Department said it was proposing to require U.S. cloud companies to determine whether foreign entities are accessing U.S. data centers to train AI models.



Britain said in February it would spend more than 100 million pounds ($125.5 million) to launch nine new research hubs and AI train regulators about the technology.



Raimondo said she was especially concerned about the threat of AI applied to bioterrorism or a nuclear war simulation.



“Those are the things where the consequences could be catastrophic and so we really have to have zero tolerance for some of these models being used for that capability,” she said.

International AI Summit in Great Britain

US, Britain announce partnership on AI safety, testing

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="545" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CGWOJODAWNIHDC2VWWGJADC3XI-820x545.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-472547" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CGWOJODAWNIHDC2VWWGJADC3XI-820x545.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CGWOJODAWNIHDC2VWWGJADC3XI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CGWOJODAWNIHDC2VWWGJADC3XI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CGWOJODAWNIHDC2VWWGJADC3XI-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CGWOJODAWNIHDC2VWWGJADC3XI-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CGWOJODAWNIHDC2VWWGJADC3XI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A worker loads wine bottles onto a conveyer belt at the Rostberg bottling plant near Cape Town, November 29, 2012. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, April 2 (Reuters) &#8211; South African manufacturing activity declined in March, a Purchasing Managers&#8217; Index (PMI) survey showed on Tuesday, with respondents suggesting that demand was sluggish.



The seasonally-adjusted PMI fell to 49.2 points in March from 51.7 in February, dropping below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction.



&#8220;The PMI has been choppy in recent months, but the average for the first quarter of this year is equal to the final quarter of last year. In the fourth quarter, the gross value added by the sector managed to eke out a 0.2% quarter-on-quarter expansion,&#8221; Absa, which sponsors the PMI, said in a statement.



One positive survey finding was respondents were the most upbeat about expected business conditions since the start of 2023.



This is a developing story&#8230;



(Reporting by Alexander Winning)

A worker loads wine bottles onto a conveyer belt at the Rostberg bottling plant near Cape Town

South African factory activity declines in March – Absa PMI

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="517" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-820x517.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416545" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-820x517.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-300x189.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-143x90.jpeg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-768x484.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-1536x969.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A participant stands near a logo of World Bank at the International Monetary Fund &#8211; World Bank Annual Meeting 2018 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, October 12, 2018.
Johannes Christo | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, April 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The World Bank is looking to issue up to $1 billion in a debut hybrid note on capital markets this year, a senior executive told Reuters, as development banks face increasing pressure to find new ways to boost their lending.



The G20 group of major economies has urged multilateral lenders to explore hybrid financing structures in a push to try and maximise balance sheets and increase funding to help developing economies cope with crises, including climate change.



The World Bank would be only the second multilateral lender to issue such an instrument after the African Development Bank (AfDB) sold its hybrid capital note in January &#8211; the first such financing of its kind from a multilateral lender.



When the AfDB sold this deeply subordinated, debt-like equity instrument, it said it hoped to establish this as a new asset class.



&#8220;We are working towards a potential pilot transaction some time this calendar year,&#8221; said George Richardson, director of the capital markets and investment department at the World Bank Treasury.



&#8220;It would be interesting to see if we can find a new way of raising money. The proof is in the pudding,&#8221; said Richardson, adding the lender was talking to investors about the issue and was also closely monitoring market conditions.



Looking at the ratings that would be assigned to the new instrument, Richardson said the World Bank was convinced that hybrid capital issued by multilateral development banks would be a better credit, relative to senior, unsecured bonds, than currently reflected in the rating agencies&#8217; methodologies.



&#8220;These state that hybrid capital will be rated 3 to 5 notches below senior ratings,&#8221; he said, adding that Fitch was undergoing a methodology change and it remained to be seen what changes the ratings agency would make on hybrid capital.



&#8220;We are not commercial banks nor a corporate. Our governance and ownership structure makes us better credits than commercial banks and corporates,&#8221; he added.



Moody&#8217;s assigned an AA3 rating to the AfDB issue, three notches below the bank&#8217;s AAA rated bonds. The AfDB hybrid issue traded at 97.6 cents in the dollar on Tuesday, according to LSEG data, below its debut of just over 100 cents in the dollar in early February. 008281BF3=



(Reporting by Karin Strohecker, Editing by Bernadette Baum)

106944604-16321717072021-09-20t205319z_656748898_rc2wtp9oerrm_rtrmadp_0_worldbank-ethics-report

World Bank set to issue up to $1 bln in debut hybrid note this year

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="550" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-820x550.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-472496" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-820x550.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-1536x1030.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/QASBB3K3FJKGZCBL7XYAB5FYUA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Wind turbines produce renewable energy outside Caledon, South Africa, May 20, 2020. Picture taken May 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, April 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;China has a unique opportunity to drive forward an energy revolution in Africa, but it must first reverse nearly two decades of neglect of green power investments there, research from Boston University showed on Tuesday.



Beijing has emerged as the continent&#8217;s biggest bilateral trading partner since the start of the century and has financed billions of dollars worth of large-scale infrastructure projects.



Three years ago, China&#8217;s President Xi Jinping said the country would not build new coal-fired power projects abroad, pledging to deal with climate change by supporting the development of green and low-carbon energy.



Although Africa&#8217;s green energy potential is one of the highest in the world, Chinese lending and investment has so far provided relatively little support for the continent&#8217;s energy transition, according to a report from Boston University&#8217;s Global Development Policy Center and the African Economic Research Consortium.



Lending for renewables, such as solar and wind, from China&#8217;s two main development finance institutions constituted just 2% of their $52 billion of energy loans from 2000 to 2022, while more than 50% is allocated to fossil fuels.



&#8220;Given current economic challenges and future energy opportunities, China can play a role in contributing to Africa&#8217;s energy access and transition through trade, finance and FDI (foreign direct investment),&#8221; the report said.



Chinese development finance institutions have been focused on investing in the extraction and export of commodities to China and in electrification projects.



Chinese lending has targeted many of the same sectors that produce the oil and minerals that flow back to China.



At least eight hydropower projects financed by the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), which represent 26% of all hydropower lending, are intended to support the extraction of various metals.



&#8220;Although this track has led to export revenues for African economies, African countries are not yet receiving the full benefits of renewable energy technologies,&#8221; the report said.



In 2022, fossil fuels accounted for around 75% of total electricity generation in Africa and about 90% of energy consumption, the report said.



(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian, Editing by Rachel Savage and Ros Russell)

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