<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)

FILE PHOTO: Wind turbines produce renewable energy outside Caledon

China could drive Africa’s renewable energy revolution, report says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WCQYHSJSLRIOFLI4ZD4XX22NTY-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470881" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WCQYHSJSLRIOFLI4ZD4XX22NTY-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WCQYHSJSLRIOFLI4ZD4XX22NTY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WCQYHSJSLRIOFLI4ZD4XX22NTY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WCQYHSJSLRIOFLI4ZD4XX22NTY-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WCQYHSJSLRIOFLI4ZD4XX22NTY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/WCQYHSJSLRIOFLI4ZD4XX22NTY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A container ship is seen as its docked next to cranes at the port of Mombasa, Kenya, October 23, 2019. Picture taken October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, March 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya will allow&nbsp;landlocked&nbsp;Uganda&#8217;s state oil firm to import petroleum products through its port of Mombasa,&nbsp;Uganda&#8217;s&nbsp;energy ministryconfirmed&nbsp;on Thursday, to end a row between the two neighbours.



Uganda has been seeking alternative ways of importing petroleum products, including through a Tanzanian port, after its oil retailers for decades received their cargo through affiliated firms in Kenya.



Solomon Muyita, spokesperson for Uganda&#8217;s ministry of energy and minerals, said the first shipment under the new system was expected in May.



&#8220;Kenya has agreed to give us a licence, UNOC (Uganda National Oil Company) is now free to import through Mombasa,&#8221; he said.



The Business Daily newspaper, which first reported the news, quoted&nbsp;Kenyan&nbsp;Energy Minister Davis Chirchir as saying UNOC&nbsp;would&nbsp;use the Kenya Pipeline Company to move the products, meaning that Kenya would&nbsp;still benefit from the arrangement.



Uganda imported $1.6 billion worth of petroleum products in 2022, mostly originating from the Gulf. Some 90% of the products are imported through Kenya.



It announced in November that it&nbsp;planned&nbsp;to hand over exclusive rights&nbsp;to&nbsp;supply all petroleum products to a unit of&nbsp;the&nbsp;global energy trader Vitol,which would then supply UNOC.



Using Kenyan firms to import oil had &#8220;exposed Uganda to occasional supply vulnerabilities&#8221;&nbsp;where Ugandan retail companies were considered secondary whenever there were supply disruptions affecting retail prices, the government said at the time.



Kenyan&nbsp;President William Ruto and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni met in Uganda last month and agreed to resolve the feud, Kenyan media outlets reported.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri and Elias Biryabarema; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Michael Perry and Kevin Liffey)

A container ship is seen as its docked next to cranes at the port of Mombasa

Kenya and Uganda resolve oil import row, Uganda says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/XP6IM6NFDFLQ5IWMSAQNFPEJA4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470834" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/XP6IM6NFDFLQ5IWMSAQNFPEJA4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/XP6IM6NFDFLQ5IWMSAQNFPEJA4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/XP6IM6NFDFLQ5IWMSAQNFPEJA4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/XP6IM6NFDFLQ5IWMSAQNFPEJA4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/XP6IM6NFDFLQ5IWMSAQNFPEJA4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/XP6IM6NFDFLQ5IWMSAQNFPEJA4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A woman displays a selection of Kwacha notes, the national currency and money used in Zambia in Lusaka, Zambia February 27, 2024. REUTERS/Namukolo Siyumbwa/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) &#8211; Zambia&#8217;s deal with bondholders this week suggests it will finally emerge from more than three years in default &#8212; and become the first successful restructuring under the debt-rework architecture designed by the G20.



The deal is a much-needed win for the so-called Common Framework. The African nation&#8217;s President Hakainde Hichilema posted on X that &#8220;history has been made,&#8221; while International Monetary Fund (IMF) President Kristalina Georgieva lauded the &#8220;important achievement.&#8221;



Global leaders hope that Ghana may soon reach its own deal with lenders, boosting the Framework before the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. in mid-April.



But the scars from Zambia&#8217;s drawn-out battles with creditors &#8211; and its years-long, stop-start progress &#8211; have left investors, observers and many policymakers themselves wary of the multilateral mechanism&#8217;s efficacy.



It was designed to expedite talks between a myriad of lenders from Chinese state-owned institutions to London-based asset managers and New York banks.



&#8220;I don&#8217;t think anyone is filled with a tremendous sense of confidence that the Common Framework is going to speed up the debt negotiation process,&#8221; said London-based Kevin Daly, head of emerging market debt at Abrdn, which held some of Zambia&#8217;s $3 billion worth of international bonds.



Ricardo Klinger, Brazil&#8217;s Finance Ministry official in the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group, said those involved in Zambia&#8217;s restructuring would discuss lessons learned. Brazil currently holds the G20 presidency.



&#8220;The stages are being completed more quickly because it is a learning process,&#8221; Klinger said.



He said they aim to publish a document in July incorporating feedback from all sides of Zambia&#8217;s restructuring to identify bottlenecks and potential improvements to gain time.



&#8220;The document seeks to synthesize this learning in these recent cases to build a more refined process,&#8221; he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-first-to-fall">FIRST TO FALL</h2>



Zambia was the first African country to default amid the economically punishing COVID-19 pandemic, doing so in late 2020.



Foreseeing more collapses, the G20 launched the Common Framework to bring all creditors to low-income nations under one roof &#8212; particularly China, whose lending to developing countries exploded in the decade before the pandemic.



For many, though, Zambia has been a cautionary tale &#8212; throwing into sharp focus disagreements around equal burden sharing and transparency.



The delays have hamstrung much-needed investments in the country, curtailed economic growth and weighed on local financial markets. A devastating drought has exacerbated the pain, hitting hydropower and food production.



In November, an unexpected official creditor smackdown of Zambia&#8217;s initial bondholder deal shocked its leaders &#8212; and bondholders like Daly.



Members of the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), co-chaired by China and France, said it did not offer Comparability of Treatment, meaning bondholders were not taking a comparable hit to the debt relief that official lenders offered.



Zambia has promised that the new deal has official creditor sign-off, but Daly and others said communication and transparency issues loom for other restructurings.



&#8220;There is a major flaw,&#8221; Daly said.



Bondholders, for example, do not have access to the terms official creditors give countries, effectively leaving them working in the dark. Details are sometimes published later, but not always, potentially leaving the public in the dark as well.



&#8220;Improvements could &#8230; be made to transparency and information sharing between official and private creditors, as well as clearly defined rules on Comparability of Treatment to ensure agreements under the Common Framework are timely and equitable,&#8221; said Christian Libralato, EM Portfolio Manager at BlueBay Asset Management.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-aiming-to-revise">AIMING TO REVISE</h2>



Others agree with Klinger that Zambia&#8217;s pain could help forge a successful Framework.



&#8220;Some of those lessons will be put to work in Ghana, and some will be put to work in Ethiopia,&#8221; said Giulia Pellegrini, portfolio manager for emerging markets debt at Allianz Global Investors. &#8220;There will be some transferable skills and lessons.&#8221;



&#8220;There&#8217;s definitely a lot of push to have more successful cases,&#8221; she added.



Ghana is currently in formal talks with holders of more than $13 billion in international bonds and wants to speed up remaining negotiations. Ethiopia defaulted on its sole $1 billion Eurobond in December, but talks with bondholders have been slow.



The IMF is also working on key fixes; it is in the middle of a years-long revision of its debt-sustainability analyses (DSA) and has promised to share them earlier with creditors. DSAs detail how sustainable a country&#8217;s debt burden is and form the basis for restructurings.



It also launched the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, bringing together representatives from the countries, private lenders, the World Bank and the G20 to identify and solve key problems with the Framework. Such issues include how to calculate comparability of treatment, how to treat debt to state-owned enterprises, and cut-off dates for debt included in reworks.



&#8220;They are aware of these issues, and they have begun a process to address these, but it won&#8217;t be an easy announcement in the Spring Meetings,&#8221; Pellegrini said.



That may not be much comfort to other countries in a similar situation.



&#8220;I am not sure that the three years it took to get Zambia done will commend the Common Framework to other countries that may be technically eligible to apply for Common Framework treatment,&#8221; lawyer and veteran sovereign debt expert Lee Buchheit told Reuters.



(Reporting by Libby George in London, additional reporting by Marcela Ayres in Brasilia and Rodrigo Campos in New York, editing by Karin Strohecker and Hugh Lawson)

FILE PHOTO: Zambian currency, the Kwacha

Zambia’s debt-rework battle scars mar its Common Framework success

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="475" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NSP6U5TEJZNNDEK7AKO67HPJYM.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470796" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NSP6U5TEJZNNDEK7AKO67HPJYM.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NSP6U5TEJZNNDEK7AKO67HPJYM-300x196.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NSP6U5TEJZNNDEK7AKO67HPJYM-138x90.jpg 138w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: People walk over London Bridge with at a view of Tower Bridge in the City of London financial district, in London, Britain, October 25, 2023. REUTERS/ Susannah Ireland/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, March 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Britain&#8217;s economy entered a shallow recession last year,&nbsp;official figures confirmed on Thursday,&nbsp;leaving Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with a challenge to reassure voters that the economy is safe with him before an election expected later this year.



Gross domestic product shrank by 0.1% in the third quarter and by 0.3% in the fourth, unchanged from preliminary estimates, the Office for National Statistics&nbsp;(ONS)&nbsp;said on Thursday.



The figures will be disappointing for Sunak,&nbsp;who has been accused by the opposition Labour Party &#8211; far ahead in opinion polls &#8211; of overseeing &#8220;Rishi&#8217;s recession&#8221;.



&#8220;The weak starting point for GDP this year means calendar-year growth in 2024 is likely to be limited to less than 1%,&#8221; said Martin Beck, chief economic advisor at EY ITEM Club.&#8221;



&#8220;However, an acceleration in momentum this year remains on the cards.&#8221;



Britain&#8217;s economy has shown signs of starting 2024 on a stronger footing,&nbsp;with&nbsp;monthly GDP growth of&nbsp;0.2% in January,&nbsp;and unofficial surveys suggesting growth continued in February and March.



Tax cuts announced by finance minister Jeremy Hunt and expectations of interest rate cuts are likely to help the economy in 2024.



However,&nbsp;Britain remains one of the&nbsp;slowestcountries&nbsp;to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of last year, its economy was&nbsp;just 1% bigger than&nbsp;in&nbsp;late 2019, with only Germany faring worse&nbsp;among Group of Seven nations.



The economy grew just 0.1%&nbsp;in all of 2023, its weakest performance since 2009,&nbsp;excluding the&nbsp;peak-pandemic year of 2020.



GDP per person, which has not grown since early 2022, fell by 0.6% in the fourth quarter and 0.7% across 2023.



Sterling&nbsp;GBP=was little changed against the dollar and the euro&nbsp;EURGBP=after the data release.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-uk-recovery-begins-slowly">UK RECOVERY BEGINS SLOWLY</h2>



The&nbsp;Bank of England (BoE)&nbsp;has said inflation is moving towards the point where it can start cutting rates. It&nbsp;expects the economy to grow by just 0.25% this year although official budget forecasters expect a 0.8% expansion.



BoE policymaker Jonathan Haskel said in an interview reported in Thursday&#8217;s Financial Times that rate cuts were &#8220;a long way off&#8221;, despite dropping his advocacy of a rise at last week&#8217;s meeting.



Thursday&#8217;s&nbsp;figures from the ONS&nbsp;also showed&nbsp;0.7%&nbsp;growth in households&#8217; real disposable income, flat&nbsp;in the previous quarter.



Thomas Pugh, an economist at consulting firm RSM, said the increase could prompt consumers to increase their spending and support the economy.



&#8220;Consumer confidence has been improving gradually over the last year &#8230; as the impact of rising real wages filters through into people’s pockets, even though consumers remain cautious overall,&#8221; Pugh said.



Britain&#8217;s current account deficit totalled 21.18 billion pounds ($26.70 billion) in the fourth quarter, slightly narrower than a forecast of 21.4 billion pounds shortfall in a Reuters poll of economists, and equivalent to 3.1% of GDP, up from 2.7% in the third quarter.



The underlying current account deficit, which strips out volatile trade in precious metals, expanded to 3.9% of GDP.



($1 = 0.7933 pounds)



(Reporting by Suban Abdulla; Editing by William Schomberg and Kevin Liffey)

FILE PHOTO: Unemployment rate unchanged but signs point to cooling jobs market

UK economy went into recession last year, data confirms

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="569" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-480163885-820x569.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470766" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-480163885-820x569.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-480163885-300x208.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-480163885-130x90.jpg 130w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-480163885-768x533.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-480163885-1536x1065.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/GettyImages-480163885-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS &#8211; MARCH 23:Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte meets with the President of the People&#8217;s Republic of China Xi Jinping at the Catshuis March 23, 2014 in The Hague, Netherlands. The Nuclear Security Summit, held March 24-25, will be attended by world leaders and is aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism. (Photo by Valerie Kuypers-Pool/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



China’s technological progress cannot be stopped, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte when they met in Beijing Wednesday for talks on areas such as the critical semiconductor industry.



“The Chinese people also have legitimate development rights, and no force can stop the pace of China’s scientific and technological progress,” said Xi, according to Xinhua News Agency.



Xi said China will “continue to pursue a win-win approach.”



Relations between China and the Netherlands have been strained since the the Netherlands, together with the U.S., blocked exports of advanced chip technology to China over concerns they could be used for military purposes.



Semiconductor chips are critical components which can be found in everything from smartphones to automobiles.



Dutch tech giant ASML has been barred from exporting extreme ultraviolet lithography machines to China — it is the only company currently capable of making such machines To date, it has not shipped a single EUV machine to China yet.



Such EUV lithography machines are crucial for chip manufacturing and are used by companies like Taiwan’s TSMC to make the smallest and most sophisticated chips.



In January, the Netherlands barred ASML from exporting some of its deep ultraviolet lithography systems to China, which are used to make slightly less advanced chips.



Beijing slammed the Dutch government’s move, urging the Netherlands to “uphold an objective and fair position and market principles” and “protect the shared interests” of the two countries and their companies.



“Creating scientific and technological barriers and severing industrial and supply chains will only lead to division and confrontation,” Xi said Wednesday, according to Xinhua state media.



He said cooperation is the only way and added that “decoupling and breaking the chain” is not an option.



Xi said China is ready to continue dialogue with the Netherlands and urged the Dutch side to “provide a fair and transparent business environment for Chinese enterprises.”



According to Reuters, Rutte said Wednesday the Netherlands tried to ensure that export restrictions, when related to semiconductor industry and companies like ASML, are never aimed at one country. “We always try to make sure the impact is limited,” he was quoted as saying.



Chinese state media reported that Rutte responded by saying decoupling is not a policy choice for the Dutch government either, “since any act undermining China’s development interests will only boomerang.”

World Leaders Gather For Nuclear Security Summit 2014

Xi tells Dutch prime minister: No force can stop China’s tech advance

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KU2XLVYFJJIQNE46PWTLC5EAAY-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470494" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KU2XLVYFJJIQNE46PWTLC5EAAY-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KU2XLVYFJJIQNE46PWTLC5EAAY-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KU2XLVYFJJIQNE46PWTLC5EAAY-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KU2XLVYFJJIQNE46PWTLC5EAAY-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KU2XLVYFJJIQNE46PWTLC5EAAY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/KU2XLVYFJJIQNE46PWTLC5EAAY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A client uses an automated teller machine (ATM) at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 31, 2019. REUTERS/Maheder Haileselassie Tadese/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ADDIS ABABA, March 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has recovered more than three-quarters of the $14 million it lost when a software glitch earlier this month allowed customers to withdraw more funds than they held in their accounts, it has said.



Around 78% of the 801 million birr withdrawn from cash machines or transferred during the night of March 15, or 622.9 million birr ($11 million), has been returned, the president of the bank Abie Sano said on Tuesday.



The lender has published the names of the more than 500 people who are yet to return the balance, Abie said.



He previously blamed university students for being largely responsible for the &#8220;theft&#8221;, accusing them of sharing news about the glitch via social media.



The problem occurred during an update to the bank&#8217;s systems, Ethiopia&#8217;s central bank said earlier this month, adding that there was no risk to customers or the overall financial system.



($1 = 56.6083 birr)



(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Hereward Holland; editing by David Evans)

FILE PHOTO: A client uses an automated teller machine (ATM) at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia recovers $11 mln lost in system glitch

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107392986-17114704652024-03-18t151531z_1895541940_rc2co0a0r3k6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-prices-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-470467" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107392986-17114704652024-03-18t151531z_1895541940_rc2co0a0r3k6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-prices-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107392986-17114704652024-03-18t151531z_1895541940_rc2co0a0r3k6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-prices-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107392986-17114704652024-03-18t151531z_1895541940_rc2co0a0r3k6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-prices-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107392986-17114704652024-03-18t151531z_1895541940_rc2co0a0r3k6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-prices-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107392986-17114704652024-03-18t151531z_1895541940_rc2co0a0r3k6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-prices.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A farmers holds cocoa beans while he is drying them at a village in Sinfra, Ivory Coast, on April 29, 2023. Luc Gnago | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Consumers could start to see the effect of surging cocoa prices as the world faces the worst supply deficit in decades, with farmers in West Africa struggling against bad weather, disease and failing trees.



Cocoa futures for May delivery surged to an all-time intraday high of $10,080 per metric ton Tuesday before ending the day down 0.3% to settle at $9,622. Cocoa has more than tripled in cost over the past year and is up 129% in 2024.



Hershey CEO Michele Buck told CNBC last month that the company has a hedging strategy to manage the price volatility. The National Confectioners Association told CNBC in an email that the industry is working with retailers to “manage down costs” and keep chocolate affordable for consumers.



Though the large chocolate companies were well-hedged last year and did not have to immediately pass on high prices to consumers, there is only so much the industry can do to absorb costs, said Paul Joules, a commodities analyst at Rabobank.



The world is facing the largest cocoa supply deficit in more than 60 years and consumers could start to see the effect at the end of this year or early 2025, Joules said. The International Cocoa Organization has forecast a supply deficit of 374,000 tons for the 2023-24 season, a 405% increase from a deficit of 74,000 tons in the previous season.



“The worst is still yet to come,” Joules said. Cocoa prices will likely remain elevated for some time because there are no easy fixes to the systemic issues facing the market, he said.



Consumers could face higher prices or “shrinkflation” in the form of smaller chocolate bars, Joules said. Companies might also adjust ingredients to use less cocoa in some products, he said. The worst sticker shock would come from dark chocolate, which has a very high cocoa content, the analyst said.



David Branch, sector manager at Wells Fargo’s Agri-Food Institute, said consumers could see higher prices as soon as Easter, which is on Sunday.



“Given that cocoa prices and other manufacturing costs have been rising steadily over the past year, it is likely consumers will see a price spike on chocolate candy this Easter,” Branch told clients in a research note this month.



Cocoa prices have been on a tear due to supply disruptions in the key producing nations of Ivory Coast and Ghana, Joules said. The two countries represent about 60% of global cocoa production.



Crops have been hit by black pod disease and swollen shoot virus and many trees are past their maximum yield potential because there has not been a major round of planting since the early 2000s, Joules said.



Heavy rains exacerbated the disease issues, Branch said, and the El Niño weather phenomenon has also led to drier conditions resulting in lower cocoa yields in previous years. Seasonal harmattan winds were more extreme this year, also affecting crop yields, Branch said.



Farmers in Ivory Coast are increasingly exiting cocoa production for more lucrative crops such as rubber, Joules said. The governments of Ghana and Ivory Coast set fixed prices for the farmers at the start of the season so they are not benefiting from the currently rally, the analyst said.



The recent runup is likely due to panic among some commercial buyers rather than market speculation, Joules said. Buyers see the magnitude of the supply deficit and are trying to secure the cocoa that is available, according to the analyst.



Speculators contributed to the early leg of the rally last year as they bet on higher prices by increasing their long positions, Joules said, but they have been exiting those positions this year to book profits.



The spike in prices has hit chocolate giant Hershey, which sees flat earnings for the year. Hershey stock is down about 22% over the past 12 months, while Nestle’s Switzerland-listed shares have shed about 13% during the same period.

107392986-17114704652024-03-18t151531z_1895541940_rc2co0a0r3k6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-prices

Cocoa prices are soaring to record levels. What it means for consumers and why ‘the worst is still yet to come’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107251051-1685980909876-IMG_0399-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-470431" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107251051-1685980909876-IMG_0399-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107251051-1685980909876-IMG_0399-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107251051-1685980909876-IMG_0399-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107251051-1685980909876-IMG_0399-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107251051-1685980909876-IMG_0399.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Worldwide Developers Conference stage. CNBC/Kif Leswing</figcaption></figure>



Apple on Tuesday announced that its annual developers conference, WWDC, will take place June 10 through June 14.



The conference will be livestreamed on Apple’s website, although the company is inviting some software makers to its campus on the first day to “celebrate in person,” Apple said.



At this year’s conference, Apple could reveal its long-awaited artificial intelligence strategy and consumer features. In February, Cook said Apple was “investing significantly” in AI and teased an AI-related announcement “later this year” that many analysts believe will come at the Worldwide Developers Conference.



Apple typically reveals the latest versions of its iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV software at WWDC via a “keynote” video on the first day, led by CEO Tim Cook and other Apple staff, which is also streamed on YouTube. At some past conferences, the company has also revealed new professional-oriented hardware, such as Mac laptops.



At this year’s conference, Apple also plans to reveal the first major software update to the Vision Pro, the virtual reality headset it launched earlier this year.

107251051-1685980909876-IMG_0399

Apple announces its big annual conference, where it could reveal its AI strategy

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3UP4IYO7MZPNFONHCCNZJCCYTU-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-449453" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3UP4IYO7MZPNFONHCCNZJCCYTU-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3UP4IYO7MZPNFONHCCNZJCCYTU-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3UP4IYO7MZPNFONHCCNZJCCYTU-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3UP4IYO7MZPNFONHCCNZJCCYTU-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3UP4IYO7MZPNFONHCCNZJCCYTU-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3UP4IYO7MZPNFONHCCNZJCCYTU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Central Bank of Nigeria&#8217;s logo is seen on the headquarters building in Abuja, Nigeria January 22, 2018. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, March 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s central bank raised its monetary policy rate by 200 basis points to 24.75% from 22.75%&nbsp;NGCBIR=ECI, its governor Olayemi Cardoso said on Tuesday.



The decision by the bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee was just the second since Cardoso took office last September, as it did not hold a meeting under him until February.



At that meeting, the Central Bank of Nigeria delivered its largest rate hike in around 17 years to try to get price pressures under control, raising it by 4 percentage points.



Inflation is above 30% in annual terms, its highest in almost three decades, leaving millions of people in Africa&#8217;s biggest economy and most populous nation struggling to meet their basic needs.



Cardoso told a press conference that the members of the MPC were convinced they needed to continue with the tightening cycle to tame inflation.



Price pressures have been spurred by reforms implemented by President Bola Tinubu in his first year in charge, chiefly ending a costly fuel subsidy and devaluing the country&#8217;s naira currency&nbsp;NGN=D1&nbsp;twice.



Tinubu has defended those reforms as necessary to lift economic growth and attract investment, but they have prompted public anger and, in some cases, desperation.



(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos and Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Bate Felix and Alison Williams)

Central Bank of Nigeria’s logo is seen on the headquarters building in Abuja

Nigeria’s central bank raises benchmark rate to 24.75% to tame inflation

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NS4PXPDKTBIWLC5GSUMX6ZMW34-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470200" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NS4PXPDKTBIWLC5GSUMX6ZMW34-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NS4PXPDKTBIWLC5GSUMX6ZMW34-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NS4PXPDKTBIWLC5GSUMX6ZMW34-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NS4PXPDKTBIWLC5GSUMX6ZMW34-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NS4PXPDKTBIWLC5GSUMX6ZMW34-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/NS4PXPDKTBIWLC5GSUMX6ZMW34-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A billboard of president Faure Gnassingbe, presidential candidate of UNIR (Union for the Republic), is pictured on a street in Lome, Togo, February 19, 2020. Picture taken February 19, 2020. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LOME, March 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Togo has adopted a new constitution that lengthens presidential terms by one year while limiting the number of terms to one, which will likely allow President Faure Gnassingbe to extend his 19-year rule by a year longer than previously expected.



The presidency of the tiny phosphate-producing country on the West African coast has been a family affair since 1967, when Gnassingbe Eyadema seized power in a coup. His son succeeded him after his death in 2005.



Under the new constitution, which does not take into account the time he has already spent in office, Faure Gnassingbe could now stay in power until 2031 if he is re-elected in 2025.



This is a highly likely scenario because his party controls parliament. The new constitution, approved by 89 out of 91 lawmakers, says the president is elected by parliament for a single six-year term.



Under the previous constitution, adopted in 2019 in response to street protests, a president was elected by universal suffrage for a maximum of two five-year terms. It would have allowed Gnassingbe to rule until 2030.



&#8220;This is the umpteenth preparation of a constitutional coup by a monarchical regime that has held the country&#8217;s destiny hostage for almost 60 years,&#8221; one of Togo&#8217;s opposition parties, the Democratic Forces of the Republic, said while the new constitution was still being debated.



Several other African countries, including Central African Republic, Rwanda, Congo Republic, Ivory Coast and Guinea, have pushed through constitutional and other legal changes in recent years allowing their presidents to extend their terms in office.



The West and Central African region has also witnessed eight military coups in the past three years.



Violent police crackdowns on political demonstrations have been routine under Gnassingbe, as they were during his father&#8217;s long rule.



Faure Gnassingbe was last re-elected in a 2020 landslide the opposition disputed.



The new constitution also creates a new role, president of the council of ministers, with extensive authority to manage government affairs.



(Reporting by Alice Lawson; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Estelle Shirbon)

FILE PHOTO: A billboard of presidential candidate of UNIR Gnassingbe is pictured on a street in Lome

New Togo charter weakens future presidents but could extend incumbent’s rule

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="559" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D4PLQBAJ5ZLT5KQNEK63J2BLJM-820x559.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470195" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D4PLQBAJ5ZLT5KQNEK63J2BLJM-820x559.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D4PLQBAJ5ZLT5KQNEK63J2BLJM-300x204.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D4PLQBAJ5ZLT5KQNEK63J2BLJM-132x90.jpg 132w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D4PLQBAJ5ZLT5KQNEK63J2BLJM-768x523.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D4PLQBAJ5ZLT5KQNEK63J2BLJM-1536x1047.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D4PLQBAJ5ZLT5KQNEK63J2BLJM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Presidential candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who is backed by Senegalese opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, walks with one of his wives after casting his vote at the polling station at Ndiaganiao in Mbour, Senegal March 24, 2024. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/ File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DAKAR, March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Senegal&nbsp;opposition presidential candidate&nbsp;Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a political newcomer popular among disaffected youth,&nbsp;promised on Monday to govern with humility and transparency.



Faye, set to be declared the next president after his main rival called him to concede defeat, thanked President Macky Sall and other candidates for respecting&nbsp;Senegal&#8217;s democratic tradition by recognising his victory well before official results.



&#8220;In electing me, the&nbsp;Senegalese people have decided on a break with a past,&#8221; Faye told journalists in his first public appearance since the election. &#8220;I promise to govern with humility and transparency.&#8221;



Provisional results showed Faye with about 53.7% and Amadou Ba &#8211; from the current ruling coalition &#8211; with 36.2% based on tallies from 90% of polling stations in the first-round vote, the electoral commission said.



Ba and Sall both congratulated Faye, who turned 44 on Monday. They hailed the outcome as a win for&nbsp;Senegal, whose reputation as one of West Africa&#8217;s most stable democracies took a hit when Sall&nbsp;postponed the vote.



&#8220;The&nbsp;Senegalese people have reinforced the good health of our democracy.. I wish him (Faye) success at the head of our country,&#8221; Ba said.



A peaceful transition of power in&nbsp;Senegal&nbsp;would mark a boost for democracy in West Africa, where there have been eight military coups since 2020.



Some of the juntas that seized power have cut ties with traditional&nbsp;regional power-brokers such as France and the&nbsp;U.S.,&nbsp;turning&nbsp;instead to Russia for help in their fight against a jihadist insurgency spreading through countries that neighbour&nbsp;Senegal.



Senegal&#8217;s international bonds rose on reports that Faye was close to being declared a winner, reversing sharp falls from earlier in the day.



Many hope the vote will bring stability and an economic boost after three years of unprecedented political turbulence&nbsp;and&nbsp;several waves of deadly anti-government protests.



&#8220;I am happy to see there is a wind of change,&#8221; said&nbsp;an&nbsp;opposition supporter named Tall, who joined revellers during the night as street celebrations broke out in anticipation of Faye&#8217;s victory.



&#8220;It is wonderful because democracy has won. Many thought it would not happen,&#8221; he said,&nbsp;giving only&nbsp;his first name.



Full, official results are expected to be announced by the Dakar appeals court on Friday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-young-voters">YOUNG VOTERS</h2>



Faye&nbsp;owes much of his success to the backing of firebrand opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who was barred from running due to a defamation conviction.



The two former tax inspectors, who were both released from jail this month, campaigned together under the slogan &#8220;Diomaye is Sonko&#8221;, promising to fight corruption and prioritise national economic interests.



They are particularly popular among young voters in a country where more than 60% of people are under 25 and struggle to find jobs.&nbsp;Faye promised to dedicate more state resources to help the youths.



Police crackdowns on protests&nbsp;buoyed the opposition, as did&nbsp;rising living costs and concerns Sall would seek to extend his mandate beyond constitutional limits.



Anger around Sonko&#8217;s prosecution grew when authorities sought to postponeby 10 months the vote, initially scheduled for February.



Investors were wary about&nbsp;whether a new&nbsp;government&nbsp;would be less&nbsp;business friendly&nbsp;than&nbsp;Sall&#8217;s government,&nbsp;which&nbsp;attracted investments into infrastructure.



Senegal is set to start producing oil and gas this year, and Faye has promised a raft of changes including plans to renegotiate oil and gas contracts. Still, he sought to reassure investors last week the country would respect its commitments.



(Reporting by Portia Crowe, Diadie Ba and Bate Felix; Additional reporting by Ngouda Dione and Rachel Savage;Writing by Sofia Christensen and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Silvia Aloisi, Bernadette Baum, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean, Andrew Heavens and David Gregorio)

Senegal holds presidential election

Senegal’s president-elect Faye vows to govern with humility

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107381656-1709554734955-gettyimages-1232607338-AA_30042021_335705-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-470146" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107381656-1709554734955-gettyimages-1232607338-AA_30042021_335705-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107381656-1709554734955-gettyimages-1232607338-AA_30042021_335705-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107381656-1709554734955-gettyimages-1232607338-AA_30042021_335705-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107381656-1709554734955-gettyimages-1232607338-AA_30042021_335705-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107381656-1709554734955-gettyimages-1232607338-AA_30042021_335705-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107381656-1709554734955-gettyimages-1232607338-AA_30042021_335705.jpeg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The European Union on Monday began an investigation into Apple, Alphabet and Meta, in its first probe under the sweeping new Digital Markets Act tech legislation.



“Today, the Commission has opened non-compliance investigations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) into&nbsp;Alphabet’s&nbsp;rules on steering in Google Play&nbsp;and&nbsp;self-preferencing on Google Search,&nbsp;Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store&nbsp;and&nbsp;the choice screen for Safari&nbsp;and&nbsp;Meta’s&nbsp;‘pay or consent model,’” the European Commission said in a statement.



The first two probes focus on Alphabet and Apple and relate to so-called anti-steering rules. Under the DMA, tech firms are not allowed to block businesses from telling their users about cheaper options for their products or about subscriptions outside of an app store.



“The way that Apple and Alphabet’s implemented the DMA rules on anti-steering seems to be at odds with the letter of the law. Apple and Alphabet will still charge various recurring fees, and still limit steering,” the EU’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, said during a news conference Monday.



Apple has already fallen foul of the EU’s rules. This month, the company was fined 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) after the European Commission said it found that Apple had applied restrictions on app developers that prevented them from informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services available outside of the app.



In a third inquiry, the&nbsp;commission said it is investigating whether Apple has complied with its DMA obligations to ensure that users can easily uninstall apps on iOS and change default settings. The probe also focuses on whether Apple is actively prompting users with choices to allow them to change default services on iOS, such as for the web browser or search engine.



The commission said that it is “concerned that Apple’s measures, including the design of the web browser choice screen, may be preventing users from truly exercising their choice of services within the Apple ecosystem.”



Apple said it believes it is in compliance with the DMA.



“We’re confident our plan complies with the DMA, and we’ll continue to constructively engage with the European Commission as they conduct their investigations. Teams across Apple have created a wide range of new developer capabilities, features, and tools to comply with the regulation,” an Apple spokesperson told CNBC on Monday.



The fourth probe targets Alphabet, as the European Commission looks into whether the firm’s display of Google search results “may lead to self-preferencing in relation to Google’s,” other services such as Google Shopping, over similar rival offerings.



“To comply with the Digital Markets Act, we have made significant changes to the way our services operate in Europe,” Oliver Bethell, director of competition at Alphabet, said in a statement.



“We have engaged with the European Commission, stakeholders and third parties in dozens of events over the past year to receive and respond to feedback, and to balance conflicting needs within the ecosystem. We will continue to defend our approach in the coming months.”



Alphabet pointed to a blog post from earlier this month, wherein the company outlined some of those changes — including giving Android phone users the option to easily change their default search engine and browser, as well as making it easier for people to see comparison sites in areas like shopping or flights in Google searches.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meta-investigation"><a></a>Meta investigation</h2>



The fifth and final investigation focuses on Meta and its so-called pay and consent model. Last year, Meta introduced an ad-free subscription model for Facebook and Instagram in Europe. The commission is looking into whether offering the subscription model without ads or making users consent to terms and conditions for the free service is in violation of the DMA.



“The Commission is concerned that the binary choice imposed by Meta’s ‘pay or consent’ model may not provide a real alternative in case users do not consent, thereby not achieving the objective of preventing the accumulation of personal data by gatekeepers.”



Thierry Breton, the EU’s internal market commissioner, said during the news conference that there should be “free alternative options” offered by Meta for its services that are “less personalized.”



“Gatekeepers” is a label for large tech firms that are required to comply with the DMA in the EU.



“We will continue to use all available tools, should any gatekeeper try to circumvent or undermine the obligations of the DMA,” Vestager said.



Meta said subscriptions are a common business model across various industries.



“Subscriptions as an alternative to advertising are a well-established business model across many industries, and we designed Subscription for No Ads to address several overlapping regulatory obligations, including the DMA. We will continue to engage constructively with the Commission,” a Meta spokesperson told CNBC on Monday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tech-giants-at-risk-of-fines"><a></a>Tech giants at risk of fines</h2>



The commission said it intends to conclude its probes within 12 months, but Vestager and Breton during the Monday briefing stressed that the DMA does not dictate a hard deadline for the timeline of the inquiry. The regulators will inform the companies of their preliminary findings and explain measures they are taking or the gatekeepers should take in order to address the commission’s concerns.



If any company is found to have infringed the DMA, the commission can impose fines of up to 10% of the tech firms’ total worldwide turnover. These penalties can increase to 20% in case of repeated infringement.



The commission said it is also looking for facts and information to clarify whether Amazon may be preferencing its own brand products on its e-commerce platform over rivals. The commission is further studying Apple’s new fee structure and other terms and conditions for alternative app stores.



This month, the tech giant announced that users in the EU would be able to download apps from websites rather than through its proprietary App Store — a change that Apple has resisted for years.



The EU’s research into Apple and Amazon does not comprise official investigations.

107381656-1709554734955-gettyimages-1232607338-AA_30042021_335705

EU launches probe into Meta, Apple and Alphabet under sweeping new tech law

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-470116" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/5OKBEVP6EFKETLPBJ6VKFBFY4U-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A sign of the New Development Bank (NDB) of BRICS countries is pictured at its headquarters in Shanghai, China, May 30, 2023. REUTERS/Aly Song</figcaption></figure>



BOAO, China, March 26 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The New Development Bank (NDB), set up by the BRICS group of emerging economies, aims to make about $5 billion in loans this year, its vice president, Zhou Qiangwu, said on Tuesday.



&#8220;During the epidemic, our business has been somewhat affected, and now everything is going back on track,&#8221; Zhou told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual Boao Forum.



Zhou did not elaborate on how the bank may have been off track, but said China and India have received slightly more investment from the bank than other members.



Headquartered in Shanghai, the NDB was set up in 2015 by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, collectively known as the BRICS countries.



Zhou also said he expected China&#8217;s economy to grow about 5% this year, in line with the government&#8217;s target.



(Reporting by Kevin Yao. Editing by Gerry Doyle)

FILE PHOTO: A sign of the New Development Bank (NDB) is pictured at its headquarters in Shanghai

BRICS development bank aims to make $5 bln in loans in 2024

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LIIL4DGYFVNP5EAHWSIR7IM3BM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416704" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LIIL4DGYFVNP5EAHWSIR7IM3BM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LIIL4DGYFVNP5EAHWSIR7IM3BM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LIIL4DGYFVNP5EAHWSIR7IM3BM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LIIL4DGYFVNP5EAHWSIR7IM3BM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LIIL4DGYFVNP5EAHWSIR7IM3BM-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LIIL4DGYFVNP5EAHWSIR7IM3BM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Zambia&#8217;s President Hakainde Hichilema addresses the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S. on September 21, 2021. Spencer Platt/Pool via REUTERS</figcaption></figure>



March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia said on Monday that it had reached an agreement with a group of private creditors on restructuring $3 billion of its international bonds &#8211; a major step that brings the country closer to emerging from its long-delayed debt rework.



The latest deal proposes swapping the country&#8217;s three existing instruments into two amortising bonds, one of which would deliver higher repayments if the country&#8217;s economic outlook and capability of dealing with its debt burden improves.



&#8220;History has been made!,&#8221; the country&#8217;s President Hakainde Hichilema said on social media platform X. &#8220;We are pleased to announce the agreement with our Eurobond holders.&#8221;



Zambia defaulted three years ago and is reworking its debt under the Common Framework, a G20 platform designed to ensure swift and smooth debt overhauls for low-income nations.



But the process has been beset by long delays, which have hamstrung much needed investments, curtailed economic growth and weighed on local financial markets. The situation has worsened amid a devastating drought that has been declared a national disaster and which affects hydropower generation and food production.



Zambia secured a $1.3 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund in 2022, which required it to restructure its debt.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-changes-in-substance">CHANGES IN SUBSTANCE</h2>



Monday&#8217;s proposal is in structure much like a preliminary deal that was reached late last year, but was then derailed after being rejected by official creditors, which include countries such as China and France.



However, there are some changes in substance. While the overall claim that bondholders have against the country grew to $3.98 billion due to accumulated unpaid interest, under the new deal investors will receive bonds with a face value&nbsp;of&nbsp;$3.05 billion &#8211; a reduction from the $3.135 billion proposed in October.



Under the agreement, bondholders would forego approximately $840 million of their claims, the statement said, compared to $700 million in the previous proposal. Cash flow relief remained the same at around $2.5 billion during the IMF programme period.



The government also said in the announcement it had received confirmation from official creditors that the agreed terms were compatible with regards to comparability of treatment.



An IMF spokesperson said via email the &#8220;agreement is consistent with the parameters of the IMF program.&#8221;



Bondholders also welcomed the agreement in a separate emailed statement.



&#8220;We are pleased to have finally reached a definitive and conclusive agreement with the Government that is supported by all stakeholders,&#8221; said the group of private creditors, which include Amia Capital, Amundi, Farallon, Greylock Capital Management, and BlueBay Asset Management.



The government said it will ensure that &#8220;certain other creditors do not receive a better recovery in the restructuring on net present value terms&#8221; and also a loss reinstatement clause if Zambia were to default during the term of the existing International Monetary Fund programme, the statement added.



(Reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario and Karin Strohecker, additional reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Rachel Savage, Editing by Alexander Winning, Toby Chopra and Sharon Singleton)

Annual United Nations General Assembly in New York

Zambia strikes preliminary deal on $3 bln international bond rework

<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, March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s central bank on Monday&nbsp;kept its main&nbsp;interest rate at 29%&nbsp;GHCBIR=ECI, saying the inflation outlook had worsened slightly over the past two months and required close monitoring.



The West African cocoa, gold and oil producer has been restructuring its debts as it tries to emerge from its worst economic crisis in a generation, supported by a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.



Inflation rose slightly in January before slowing again in February GHCPIY=ECI, and central bank governor Ernest Addison told a news conference that the latest inflation forecasts showed a more elevated profile than at the last policy meeting in January.



The bank&#8217;s Monetary Policy Committee also decided to adjust the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) to encourage banks to lend instead of investing more money in Treasury bills.



Addison said the CRR would be set at 15% for banks with a loan-to-deposit ratio above 55%, at 20% for banks with a loan-to-deposit ratio between 40% and 55%, and at 25% for banks with a loan-to-deposit ratio below 40%.



&#8220;The banks will now be forced to do more of what banks do, which is financial intermediation and not &#8230; holding government paper,&#8221; he said.



The IMF was expected to&nbsp;visit Ghana for a second review of its Extended Credit Facility-backed programme in April,&nbsp;the governor added. If the visit is a success, the IMF&#8217;s executive board could meet to discuss the second review in May and potentially approve another loan disbursement, he said.



Addison said another $200 million loan for the country&#8217;s cocoa board, COCOBOD, was &#8220;trickling in,&#8221; put together by a consortium of cocoa buyers.



Ghana reached a deal in January to restructure $5.4 billion of loans with its official creditors. It is now pushing for a deal with holders of about $13 billion in international bonds.



(Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Christian Akorlie; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning, Alexander Smith and Andrew Heavens)

People walk past the Bank of Ghana in Accra

Ghana central bank flags worse inflation outlook as it holds key rate

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/106912016-1626438957428-gettyimages-1232945042-BC_CancelledMarch2021_5997-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-469883" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/106912016-1626438957428-gettyimages-1232945042-BC_CancelledMarch2021_5997-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/106912016-1626438957428-gettyimages-1232945042-BC_CancelledMarch2021_5997-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/106912016-1626438957428-gettyimages-1232945042-BC_CancelledMarch2021_5997-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/106912016-1626438957428-gettyimages-1232945042-BC_CancelledMarch2021_5997-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/106912016-1626438957428-gettyimages-1232945042-BC_CancelledMarch2021_5997.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The logo of cryptocurrency exchange Binance displayed on a smartphone with the word “cancelled” on a computer screen in the background. Budrul Chukrut | SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



One of two Binance executives detained in Nigeria has escaped custody, while the Nigerian government has filed new tax evasion charges against the global cryptocurrency exchange.



Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Monday announced that four new charges relating to tax evasion had been filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, according to multiple local media reports.



Binance faces charges of alleged non-payment of Value-Added Tax (VAT) and company income tax, failure to submit tax returns and complicity in aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform, the reports said.



Alongside the company, two senior executives — U.S. citizen Tigran Gambaryan and British-Kenyan Nadeem Anjarwalla — were both charged and remanded in custody by Nigerian authorities.



Reports emerged over the weekend that Anjarwalla escaped on Friday from the Abuja guest house where the pair was detained.



“We were made aware that Nadeem is no longer in Nigerian custody. Our primary focus remains on the safety of our employees and we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to quickly resolve this issue,” a Binance spokesperson told CNBC.



The families of the two employees declined to comment at this time, but issued statements on March 20, following a hearing at which Nigerian authorities extended their detainment.



Anjarwalla’s wife, Elahe Anjarwalla, said she was “completely heartbroken” that he would not be home in time to celebrate their son’s first birthday.



“Nadeem has no authority to make high level decisions at Binance and I am once again asking from the bottom of my heart that the Nigerian authorities please allow him and Tigran to return home whilst they continue their discussions with Binance. I am also calling on the British and Kenyan governments to do more to get Nadeem back home to us,” she said.



Gambaryan’s wife Yuki said she did not know what to tell their two children about their father’s absence.



“Tigran is globally recognized for his work in law enforcement and many of his peers would say that Tigran’s continuous efforts are what keep crypto currencies safe and clean,” she said.



“Please let him come home to continue this good work. The longer that our husbands are away from our families, the harder it is becoming for us to go about our daily lives.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-background"><a></a>Background</h2>



Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were taken into custody in Nigeria on Feb. 26, although neither was charged at the time with any crimes. The Abuja government accused their employer of wreaking havoc on the country’s local currency.



The Nigerian naira is one of the worst-performing currencies in the world and has lost nearly 70% of its value to the U.S. dollar over the past year. Locals have flocked to cryptocurrencies in recent years to shelter their savings from the plunging currency and a soaring inflation rate that hit nearly 30% two months ago.



But Binance’s troubles in Nigeria appear to be less about a crypto crackdown and more of an attack on what Abuja sees as a bad actor in the space.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107375463-1708428203684-gettyimages-2015599138-AFP_34JR9E8-1-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-469884" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107375463-1708428203684-gettyimages-2015599138-AFP_34JR9E8-1-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107375463-1708428203684-gettyimages-2015599138-AFP_34JR9E8-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107375463-1708428203684-gettyimages-2015599138-AFP_34JR9E8-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107375463-1708428203684-gettyimages-2015599138-AFP_34JR9E8-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107375463-1708428203684-gettyimages-2015599138-AFP_34JR9E8-1-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/107375463-1708428203684-gettyimages-2015599138-AFP_34JR9E8-1.jpeg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">IBADAN, Nigeria &#8211; Feb. 19, 2024: Demonstrators are seen at a protest against the hike in price and hard living conditions in Ibadan on February 19, 2024. Samuel Alabi | Afp | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Nigeria has expressed two chief concerns with Binance — the fact that the government doesn’t know where money goes or how it moves through the exchange, and that the exchange was allegedly facilitating speculation on the price of the naira through its peer-to-peer marketplace.



The government alleged that Binance was laundering money and that $26 billion worth of untraceable funds had moved through the exchange.



Authorities in Abuja have also contended that traders using this P2P platform to trade the local currency for U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, like tether, were colluding on the price to maximize the exchange value. Binance has since shut down its peer-to-peer trading platform in Nigeria.



This is not the first time that Abuja has taken issue with Binance. In July 2023, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission put out a circular warning people against doing business with the exchange, noting that “any investing public dealing with this entity” was doing so at a “high level of risk” that “may result in total loss of investments.”

106912016-1626438957428-gettyimages-1232945042-BC_CancelledMarch2021_5997

Binance executive escapes Nigerian custody as authorities file new tax charges

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="579" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-820x579.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-469825" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-820x579.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-300x212.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-127x90.jpg 127w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-768x542.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-1536x1084.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/77N47G4UEZLRZAXJNMCNLPRFOU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Women queue for food parcels during distribution by volunteers of the Lagos food bank initiative in a community in Oworoshoki, Lagos, Nigeria July 10, 2021. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, March 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;At a warehouse in Nigeria&#8217;s commercial capital Lagos, dozens of women patiently wait their turn to receive food handouts. Among them is 68-year-old widow Damilola Salami, who received an invitation to the facility just as she had almost run out of food.



The Lagos Food Bank is a crucial lifeline to residents like Salami, but has seen supplies from private and other donors fall as inflation soars in Africa&#8217;s biggest economy.



Nigeria is grappling with the worst cost of living crisis in decades, which has deepened since President Bola Tinubu rolled out bold but unpopular economic reforms after assuming office last May.



&#8220;There is nothing for us to eat, we are hungry,&#8221; said Salami as she waited for her share of food and cooking oil. &#8220;Our children are out of school because of the increase in fees. Now, the children are at home and there is no food.&#8221;



Mabel Wade, an 80-year-old charcoal seller, said sustenance was scarce and she often relied on neighbours before she was told of the food bank.



&#8220;Sometimes there is no food to eat at all&#8230; Sometimes, it is biscuit and water,&#8221; she said, after registering for food stamps.



Last month a stampede broke out and killed seven people at a food distribution centre in Lagos.



World Bank data shows that 46% of Nigeria&#8217;s population was deemed poor in 2023. Twenty million of them live in urban areas.



In the past, the imposing warehouse of Lagos Food Bank would be fully stocked with bags of Nigerian staples like rice, beans and vegetable oil. Not anymore.



Founder Michael Sunbola said the facility&#8217;s major donor had cut supplies by 93%, citing the high cost of food.



The food bank has now dialled back on quantities, providing families with enough supplies for a few days at a time when once their parcels would have lasted two weeks. The facility is also having to &#8220;narrow down the number of people we want to reach out to&#8221;, said Sunbola of the people invited to use the service.



&#8220;Now, we do only women from the age of 50,&#8221; he told Reuters.



No Hunger Initiatives, a food bank serving mostly internally displaced people in the capital Abuja, faces similar problems.



The number of people seeking food handouts has tripled since May 2023 but the facility is unable to keep up because donors have cut back supplies by half due to rising inflation, said Kumdet Yilkon, a senior official.



(Editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Lucy Marks)

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