<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3260" height="2173" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/7MYMOOPDYFJ6NMSH3YT5ODN52I.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-580094"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rwanda&#8217;s President Paul Kagame addresses the delegates at the FIA General Assembly at the Kigali Convention Center, in Kigali, Rwanda December 13, 2024. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Jan 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Rwanda&#8217;s President Paul Kagame said he agreed with the U.S. government on the need for a ceasefire in eastern Congo but gave no indication of bowing to calls for Rwandan troops and the M23 rebels they support to withdraw from Goma.



The rebels marched into Goma, the largest city in Congo&#8217;s east, on Monday in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict in more than a decade, leaving hospitals overwhelmed treating patients with gunshot, mortar and shrapnel wounds.



The U.S. urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to consider unspecified measures to halt the rebel offensive, which has forced tens of thousands from their homes. The council has the authority to impose sanctions.



In Goma, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo&#8217;s (DRC) North Kivu province, shops and houses had been looted but, after several days of intense fighting, the city was largely calm apart from some sporadic gunfire on Wednesday, residents said.



&#8220;Had a productive conversation with Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio on the need to ensure a ceasefire in Eastern DRC and address the root causes of the conflict once and for all,&#8221; Kagame wrote on X on Wednesday.



Rubio told Kagame that Washington was &#8220;deeply troubled&#8221; by the escalation in the three-decade conflict, which is rooted in the long fallout from the Rwandan genocide and the struggle for control of Congo&#8217;s mineral resources.



Congo and the head of U.N. peacekeeping have said Rwandan troops are present in Goma, backing up their M23 allies. Rwanda has said it is defending itself against the threat from Congolese militias, without directly commenting on whether its troops have crossed the border.



&#8220;The Secretary urged an immediate ceasefire in the region, and for all parties to respect sovereign territorial integrity,&#8221; the U.S. State Department said in a statement.



The Congolese and Rwandan army exchanged fire across their shared border on Monday, UN sources said, as the rebels tried to consolidate control of Goma, a gateway for the trade of valuable tin and tantalum ores, for the second time in 13 years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sporadic-gunfire-looting">SPORADIC GUNFIRE, LOOTING</h2>



At a stadium in Goma on Tuesday, hundreds of unarmed government soldiers and militia fighters sat on the football pitch while others lined up in what the M23 fighters described as a disarmament process, according to an unverified video seen by Reuters.



&#8220;Sporadic explosions and gunfire are still heard in the outlying districts of Goma. Quiet night after the rebels took over the city centre but looting of businesses. Airport, internet, electricity and water cut off,&#8221; one resident said in a phone message.



M23 is the latest in a string of ethnic Tutsi-led, Rwandan-backed insurgencies that have roiled Congo since the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda 30 years ago, when Hutu extremists killed Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and then were toppled by the Tutsi-led forces led by Kagame.



Rwanda says some of the ousted perpetrators have been sheltering in Congo since the genocide, forming militias with alliances with the Congolese government, and pose a threat to Congolese Tutsis and Rwanda itself.



Congo rejects Rwanda&#8217;s complaints, and says Rwanda has used its proxy militias to control and loot lucrative minerals such as coltan, which is used in smartphones.



In the Congolese capital Kinshasa, 1,600 km (1,000 miles) west of Goma, protesters attacked a U.N. compound and embassies including those of Rwanda, France and the United States on Tuesday, angered at what they said was foreign interference.



(Reporting by Congo newsroom; Writing by Hereward Holland, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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Rwanda’s Kagame says he agrees with US on need for ceasefire in Congo

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3335" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/7WPZDEJJ4VPPJOVLSDZQJHV4X4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-580077"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Marco Rubio speaks after he is sworn in as Secretary of State by U.S. Vice President JD Vance at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo </figcaption></figure>



WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Tuesday that Washington was &#8220;deeply troubled&#8221; by escalation in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, particularly the fall of the city of Goma to Rwandan-backed rebels.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-it-s-important">WHY IT&#8217;S IMPORTANT</h2>



The call came as the United States urged the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday to consider measures to halt an offensive by Rwandan troops and M23 rebel forces in eastern Congo as a conflict there escalates.



The Rwandan-backed M23 rebels marched into Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo, on Monday in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict in more than a decade.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-quotes">KEY QUOTES</h2>



&#8220;The Secretary urged an immediate ceasefire in the region, and for all parties to respect sovereign territorial integrity,&#8221; the State Department said in a statement.



&#8220;Secretary Rubio stressed the United States is deeply troubled by escalation of the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC, particularly the fall of Goma to the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group,&#8221; the State Department said in a statement.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-context">CONTEXT</h2>



Congo accused Rwanda of sending its troops over the border, while Rwanda said fighting near the border threatened its security, without directly commenting on whether its troops were in Congo.



U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to the Congolese and Rwandan presidents on Tuesday over the escalating conflict that has killed several U.N. peacekeepers, a U.N. spokesperson said earlier.



(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

7WPZDEJJ4VPPJOVLSDZQJHV4X4

Rubio tells Rwandan president US wants ceasefire in Congo

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="534" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/BBDPQPV6XFMSXA4NZNPNRY52FM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-579816"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People queue to withdraw money from a bank in Harare, Zimbabwe&#8217;s capital, March 8, 2017. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



HARARE, Jan 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zimbabwe&#8217;s inflation rate rose sharply in January in both U.S. dollar and local currency terms, spurred by food and housing prices.



In dollar terms inflation accelerated to 14.6% year on year after rising by 2.5% in December. On a local currency basis inflation rose to 10.5% month on month in January compared to an increase of 3.7% in December, statistics agency data showed on Tuesday.



Independent economist Prosper Chitambara said last year&#8217;s severe regional drought and additional taxes introduced this month had likely contributed to the inflation increase.



&#8220;It could be the new taxes that have taken effect this month. The huge cost is passed on to consumers. Before the next harvest season we are likely to see an upward trend of inflation as drought continues to exert inflationary pressures,&#8221; Chitambara said.



In his latest budget Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube introduced a 0.5% tax on fast food and a 10% tax on all sports betting proceeds, which took effect this month.



Another independent economist, Tony Hawkins, said U.S. dollar inflation had been &#8220;grossly understated&#8221; and authorities in the Southern African country were playing catch-up.



Zimbabwe launched a new gold-backed currency in April last year, but it was sharply devalued in September and foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar are still used for most local transactions.



Since the devaluation, the Zimbabwe Gold currency has fallen further. It was trading around 26.3 to the dollar on Tuesday, according to the central bank&#8217;s website.



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning, Sfundo Parakozov and Christina Fincher)

BBDPQPV6XFMSXA4NZNPNRY52FM

Zimbabwe inflation rises sharply, spurred by food and housing

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="455" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/H5UJYCYVIVJ5NOW5DBSYMDIX3Q.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-579812"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A shopper makes her selection at a grocery store in Johannesburg July 7, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



PRETORIA, Jan 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s statistics agency has updated its consumer inflation basket for the first time since 2022, including items like rosé wine, air fryers and streaming services to reflect changes in spending habits.



Patrick Kelly, head of price statistics at Statistics South Africa, said it was difficult to gauge what impact the update would have on upcoming inflation releases given subtle shifts in the weighting of some items.



Consumer inflation currently sits at the bottom of the central bank&#8217;s target range, which has allowed it to cut interest rates at its last two meetings. Another rate cut is expected this week.



The update involved adding 71 products to the basket, removing 53 and reorganising 29 through merging, splitting or reclassification, the statistics agency said on Tuesday.



There are now 391 items in the basket, down from 396 previously.



Housing and utilities, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transport continue to have the biggest weightings in the basket.



Statistics South Africa&#8217;s Kelly said the weight of the food and non-alcoholic beverages category had risen while it had fallen for housing and utilities, suggesting the overall impact on headline inflation was likely to be muted.



The changes were informed by the results of a 2022/23 household income and expenditure survey.



The survey showed real average annual household income fell to about 204,000 rand ($10,900) in 2023 from 206,000 rand in 2015.



It also highlighted persistent racial disparities more than three decades after apartheid ended, with more than 45% of Black African households spending less than around 25,000 annually, showing they experience the worst financial constraints.



($1 = 18.6665 rand)



(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi; Editing by Alexander Winning and Christina Fincher)

H5UJYCYVIVJ5NOW5DBSYMDIX3Q

South African statistics agency updates its inflation basket

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="562" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2196255677-820x562.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-579752" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2196255677-820x562.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2196255677-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2196255677-131x90.jpg 131w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2196255677-768x526.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2196255677-1536x1053.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2196255677-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA &#8211; JANUARY 27: In this photo illustration, the DeepSeek app is displayed on an iPhone screen on January 27, 2025 in San Anselmo, California. Newly launched Chinese AI app DeepSeek has surged to number one in Apple&#8217;s App Store and has triggered a sell-off of U.S. tech stocks over concerns that Chinese companies&#8217; AI advances could threaten the bottom line of tech giants in the United States and Europe. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek could face curbs from the U.S. government as it upends the U.S. AI ecosystem, though enforcing restrictions on an open-source technology could be a challenge, experts said.



DeepSeek’s sudden rise has questioned the effectiveness of Washington’s efforts aimed at curbing China’s access to high-end tech over national security concerns.



For DeepSeek, which relied heavily on open-source code, the additional export restrictions that the U.S. government could impose are limited, said Lawrence Ward, a partner at U.S.-based law firm Dorsey &amp; Whitney with a specialization in national security law.



In terms of the company’s potential use of certain Nvidia chips, it might face civil and criminal penalties, but enforcing those penalties may be “difficult if not impossible,” Ward said.



On Monday, the U.S. lawmakers called for actions to slow down the Chinese tech startup, with some calling DeepSeek “a serious threat.”



There are no easy solutions to restrict the use of an open-source model, especially one that is being widely tested and used by organizations and individuals, said Paul Triolo, partner at Albright Stone Group.



One option would be for the Commerce Department to craft rules that require tech giants such as Apple and Google to take down DeepSeek’s app, restricting its downloads in the U.S. market, Triolo said, adding that it would, however, be challenging to pull the app off other platforms such as Github.



DeepSeek in December released a free, open-source large language model, which it claimed was built in just two months and at a fraction of the cost borne by other major players. Last week, the company released a reasoning model that reportedly outperformed OpenAI’s latest offerings in many third-party tests.



DeepSeek, whose AI chatbot has become the most downloaded free application on Apple’s App Store in the U.S., said it created the model despite the sweeping controls imposed in 2022 by the U.S. on China’s access to the most advanced Nvidia chips.



The Hangzhou-based startup said it used the less-advanced Nvidia H800 chips to build the model, which was available until the U.S. government widened the ban in October 2023.



“If DeepSeek had equipment that it shouldn’t have, it could certainly lead to further investigation,” said Daniel Newman, CEO of Futurum Group, who expects the U.S. government to look into DeepSeek’s hardware which might have violated export curbs.



U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the advancement of Chinese AI app DeepSeek “should be a wake-up call” for America’s tech companies, while lauding the low-cost model as “very much a positive development” for AI overall. “Instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less, and you’ll come up with, hopefully, the same solution,” Trump said. 



DeepSeek’s claimed cost efficiency and effectiveness of its model sent U.S. tech stocks into a tailspin as investors questioned the amount of money big tech firms have been investing in AI models and data centers. U.S. companies could now leverage the public codes to refine their own models and possibly bring down computation costs.



Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., the chair of the House Select Committee on China, said on Monday the U.S. government should work to place stronger export controls on technologies critical to DeepSeek’s AI infrastructure.



“The situation is somewhat unprecedented, and it is not likely that anyone in Washington has a clear idea what to do about it &#8230; we are clearly in uncharted waters at many levels,” Triolo said.



The company said on Monday that it temporarily limited new sign-ups to users with mainland China’s phone numbers following a large-scale malicious cyberattack that caused outages on its website.



On Jan. 20, the day when the the company’s R1 reasoning model was launched to the public, DeepSeek’s founder Liang Wenfeng attended a closed-door symposium for businessman and experts, chaired by Chinese premier Li Qiang, according to state media Xinhua.



CNBC’s Dylan Butts, Hui Jie Lim contributed to this report.

Newly Launched Chinese AI App DeepSeek Causes U.S. Tech Stocks To Tumble, Amid Its Rapid Rise To #1 In Apple’s App Store

U.S. lawmakers in ‘uncharted waters’ as DeepSeek tests limits of American trade restrictions

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3109" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/JJTN6U4RXVOGBC6M5G6ATJZLDY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-579747"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A shopper walks to a Woolworths store in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 2, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 28 (Reuters) &#8211; South African upmarket retailer Woolworths Holdings warned of a decline of up to 27% in its first-half profit on Tuesday due to weaker-than-expected performances in its clothing businesses at home and in Australia and New Zealand.



The company, which also owns food stores in South Africa, said its headline earnings per share were expected to decline by 22% to 27% for the 26 weeks ended Dec. 29 from 203.3 cents in the prior period ended Dec. 24, 2023.



By 0721 GMT, shares in Woolworths were down 2.74% at 56.88 rand.



Group turnover and concession sales for the period rose by 5.7%, and in constant currency by 6.2%, buoyed by the retailer&#8217;s food business, which it said delivered market-leading sales growth of 11.4% and 7.3% on a comparable-store basis.



However, group sales growth for the last eight weeks of the period, particularly over Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the festive season, eased to 4.3%, partly due to a shift in the trading calendar for the period versus the prior period, Woolworths said.



Growth in its food business was &#8220;driven by positive underlying volume growth from improved availability, ongoing innovation, and our enhanced value proposition&#8221;, the retailer said.



Fashion, beauty and home sales in South Africa rose by 2.5%, with sales growth in the last eight weeks constrained to 0.9%.



This was impacted in part by temporary delays in product flow arising from late supplier deliveries, as well as processes and system changes in its distribution centre related to its value chain.



In Australia and New Zealand, where it owns the Country Road fashion chain and where the clothing trading environment remains heavily promotional, driven by price-sensitive consumers, sales declined by 6.2%. However, in the last eight weeks of the period, the decline slowed to a 2.7% fall.



Both fashion businesses in the two markets are undergoing significant transformation, with Country Road reconfiguring its operating model following the sale of and separation from David Jones.



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

JJTN6U4RXVOGBC6M5G6ATJZLDY

S.Africa’s Woolworths flags lower half-year profit on weak clothing sales

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="695" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Z5PBDCODG5PA5OPNKZ5BGEW7TA.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-579730"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Shoppers leave the Shoprite store in Daveyton, South Africa May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 28 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Shoprite Holdings&nbsp;SHPJ.J, South Africa&#8217;s biggest supermarket retailer, said on Tuesday its half-year sales from continuing operations grew by 9.6%, as both upmarket and discount customers stocked up on food during the festive season.



Shoprite, with more than 2,700 stores excluding OK Franchise across 10 countries, said sales in the six-month period ended Dec. 29 came in at 128.6 billion rand ($6.84 billion).



The group&#8217;s core business, Supermarkets South Africa, contributing 83.7% to group sales, achieved sales growth of 10.4%, with like-for-like sales growth of 6.1%.



Shoprite&#8217;s rest of Africa supermarkets business, which operates in nine countries, saw a 4.1% increase in sales.



In the three-month quarter ended December, which included the Christmas and Black Friday period, Shoprite saw sales grow by 8.7%.



($1 = 18.8013 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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S.African retailer Shoprite posts half-year sales growth on festive demand

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="357" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400669" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg 612w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1-300x175.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance</figcaption></figure>



Jan 28 (Reuters) &#8211; The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Tuesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-markets">GLOBAL MARKETS</h2>



U.S. stock futures steadied, the dollar ticked higher and tech stocks in Asia slid on Tuesday following a wave of selling as apparent advances by a Chinese AI startup cast doubt on U.S. dominance and spending in one of the market&#8217;s hottest sectors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-world-oil-prices">WORLD OIL PRICES</h2>



Oil prices ticked up but hovered near a two-week low on Tuesday after weak economic data from China and warming weather forecasts elsewhere soured the demand outlook.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-africa-markets">SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS</h2>



South Africa&#8217;s rand slipped on Monday ahead of a week packed with domestic and international data releases, with eyes set on interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).



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



Kenya&#8217;s shilling was unchanged against the dollar on Monday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-congo-security">CONGO SECURITY</h2>



Rwandan-backed rebels marched into eastern Congo&#8217;s largest city Goma on Monday, and the U.N. said they were supported by at least some regular Rwandan troops, in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict for more than a decade.



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



Ghana&#8217;s central bank left its main interest rate unchanged on Monday, saying that inflation was expected to start falling again and that detailed talks on monetary policy were difficult before the new government publishes its economic policy plans.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mali-mining">MALI MINING</h2>



Mali&#8217;s government and Barrick Gold will start a new round of negotiations on Tuesday to resolve a deepening dispute over the alleged nonpayment of taxes by the Canadian miner and the seizure of its gold stocks by authorities in the country, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sudan-war">SUDAN WAR</h2>



After a week of whirlwindgains for the Sudanese army and allies in the capital Khartoum, leaders hailed a turning point in the civil war, speaking to reporters from inside the army&#8217;s main headquarters that had been besieged since April 2023.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-africa-power">AFRICA POWER</h2>



Several African nations committed on Monday to open up their electricity sectors to attract investors and light up homes of 300 million people currently lacking power in the next six years.



((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom))

World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance

African Markets – Factors to watch on Jan 28

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3031" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/73EXY37Q6NO7LAJCPMU3KDMKFY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-579711"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Boxes of Jungle Oats, one of South Africa&#8217;s Tiger Brands original products, are displayed on a shelf at a Pick n Pay store in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo </figcaption></figure>



Jan 28 (Reuters) &#8211; Tiger Brands, South Africa&#8217;s biggest food producer, said on Tuesday it would sell its 24.4% stake in food producer Empresas Carozzi back to Chilean parent Carozzi for $240 million to focus on its domestic business.



Tiger Brands is in the middle of a turnaround plan that includes adjusting its product pricing, cutting costs and reducing the number of brands and products it sells.



Carozzi, a more-than-125-year-old company that sells everything from sauces and dressings to powdered beverages and pet foods, already owns 75.6% of Empresas Carozzi.



Tiger Brands bought the stake in Empresas Carozzi in 1999 to expand its presence in Latin America.



Due to its new strategy to grow business at home, further expansion into Latin America was &#8220;no longer a strategic priority,&#8221; the South African company said in a statement.



It said it would invest proceeds of the stake sale into its core business and any excess cash will be returned to shareholders through share buybacks or special dividends.



(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi; Editing by Savio D&#8217;Souza)

73EXY37Q6NO7LAJCPMU3KDMKFY

SA’s Tiger Brands to sell Empresas Carozzi stake for $240 mln, focus at home

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3333" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/YYERAJUE3JOPHHY65DDUCKZGTE.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-579414"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">World Bank President Ajay Banga speaks at the meeting on methane and non-CO2 greenhouse gases at the United Nations COP29 climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DAR ES SALAAM, Jan 27 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Policymakers around the globe should not react in haste to announcements by U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration, and be prepared to argue their case, World Bank President Ajay Banga told Reuters.



Trump&#8217;s first week in office has seen a flurry of executive orders and policy plans, ranging from tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China to a review on all existing foreign assistance.



&#8220;My only advice to everyone is don&#8217;t be in too much of a hurry to respond or judge,&#8221; Banga told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania&#8217;s commercial capital of Dar Es Salaam.



Policymakers should wait to see what policies are actually executed, Banga added.



&#8220;I have dealt with him (Trump) in the past. He is a very practical man, he understands numbers, he understands leverage and he understands advantage. You have to go to him and explain to him what you bring.&#8221;



The U.S. and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war on Sunday after the White House said its third-largest U.S. trading partner in Latin America had agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants.



Washington&#8217;s draft measures &#8211; now on hold &#8211; had included imposing steep and rising tariffs on all Colombian imports, a travel ban and visa revocations on Colombia government officials.



The World Bank could feel the effects of any travel restrictions.



&#8220;If their visas don&#8217;t work, that&#8217;s a problem,&#8221; said Banga.



Asked about Friday&#8217;s &#8220;stop-work&#8221; order issued by the U.S. State Department on all existing and future foreign assistance, Banga said the Washington-based lender was &#8220;not yet&#8221; affected as it operated differently to bilateral aid.



Asked about return to office plans for World Bank staff, Banga said he had no plans to change the mandate beyond the current four days a week.



&#8220;I expect World Bank employees to be back four days a week&#8230;There&#8217;s no plan to increase that to five.&#8221;



Trump has ordered federal workers to return to the office five days a week.



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri, writing by Karin Strohecker, editing by Christina Fincher)

YYERAJUE3JOPHHY65DDUCKZGTE

World Bank president cautions against hasty reaction to Trump policies

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1800" height="1200" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/VFKU2JNBTBIDVNPMOMLDRAUIO4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-560171"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Pedestrians walk in front of Ghana&#8217;s central bank building in Accra, Ghana, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, Jan 27 (Reuters) &#8211; Ghana&#8217;s central bank kept its main interest rate at 27.00% for the second meeting in a row on Monday, after inflation rose last month.



The West African gold and cocoa producer, which defaulted on most of its external borrowing in December 2022, is emerging from its worst economic crisis in a generation, helped by a $3 billion loan programme from the International Monetary Fund.



Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest Addison told reporters that the inflation profile remained elevated, &#8220;largely driven by food prices movement especially in the last quarter of the year.&#8221;



Ghana&#8217;s consumer inflation rose in December to 23.8% in annual terms, the highest rate in eight months. It remains well above the central bank&#8217;s 8% target with a margin of error of 2 percentage points either side.



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Alexander Winning)

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Ghana central bank holds policy rate for second meeting in a row

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="542" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-820x542.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-579392" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-820x542.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-1536x1015.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108090573-1737563583857-108090573-1737562015258-jM8zMyA-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



U.S. President Donald Trump has only been in office for a matter of days, but his impact on markets has already been significant.



U.S. stocks notched back-to-back weekly gains last week and although the rally paused on Friday, the S&amp;P 500 still hit a fresh record during the day.



It comes after the U.S. leader called for lower interest rates and cheaper oil prices in a Thursday address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Investors have also been betting on potential tax cuts and deregulation under the new president, sending stocks higher.



Not everyone is bullish looking ahead, however, with some — such as JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon — suggesting markets could be overpriced.



After a week of interviews with business leaders, lawmakers and investors in the Swiss ski resort, here’s what top industry names told CNBC:



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-larry-fink-ceo-and-chairman-blackrock"><a></a>Larry Fink, CEO and chairman, BlackRock</h2>



“I’m cautiously optimistic — that being said I have scenarios where it could be pretty bad,” Fink told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.



“I believe if we were to unlock all this private capital we’re going to have enormous growth, [but], at the same time, some of this is going to unlock new inflationary pressures,” he explained. “And I do believe that’s the risk that is not factored into the market.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Ted Pick, CEO, Morgan Stanley</h2>



Pick said he believed corporate earnings could lift growth in markets over the next 12 to 24 months as they “continue to be strong.”



“That is kind of the indicator … How many companies right now are really talking about recession, how many are talking about inflation? &nbsp;I feel like the earnings pull through looks pretty sanguine,” he said.



“More importantly, I know we like to look at the index, but the index is dominated by half a dozen technology companies — which, by the way are all doing great — but if you look at the deregulation possibilities in the energy sector, in the financial services sector, those sectors are still in multiples that aren’t that expensive,” Pick added.



“If you’re an investor and you think about allocating over the next 12 to 18 months, sure there could be a drawdown at the index level, but [do] you really want to be thinking about where do I have sector exposure?”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Christine Lagarde, President, European Central Bank</h2>



Lagarde told Karen Tso that there was divergence in monetary policy between the euro area and the U.S. due to a “different economic setting.”



She also said that she was not “overly concerned” about the risk that inflation abroad will be imported into Europe, adding that she expected the ECB will continue to gradually lower interest rates as the price growth rate moves toward target.



“We are certainly interested to see the U.S. grow, because growth in the U.S. has always been a favorable factor for the rest of the world,” Lagarde said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Nicolai Tangen, CEO, Norges Bank Investment Management&nbsp;</h2>



“I don’t think you should give any advice to the U.S., but if you look at the risk to financial markets, I think inflation is for sure one, all driven by tariffs,” Tangen said Tuesday. “Geopolitical tensions generally are negative for financial markets and for financial returns.”



Tangen added that “purely financially,” Trump’s arrival was going to be “very positive” for a lot of U.S. companies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Jamie Dimon, CEO, JPMorgan Chase</h2>



Dimon said he thinks U.S. asset prices are “kind of inflated” at their current levels.



“By any measure, they are in the top 10% or 15%,” Dimon told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Wednesday, referring to U.S. stock markets. “They’re elevated and you need fairly good outcomes to justify those prices.



“We’re all hoping for that, and having pro-growth strategies helps make that happen, but there are negatives out there and they can tend to surprise you,” he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>David Solomon, CEO, Goldman Sachs</h2>



Solomon said markets were in risk-on mode and that there was a sense of optimism in equities both because of the new U.S. administration and because of advances in technology.



Solomon also told Andrew Ross Sorkin that he was noticing a focus on growth, in the U.S., as well as in his conversations with European clients at Davos.



“I think people are optimistic, and it’s not going to be a smooth, perfect path, but people are optimistic that we are going to run a more growth-prone agenda. We’re going to free up some investment, we’re going to unlock the private sector a little but more, and that’s got to be constructive,” he said.



“It’s hard to dispute the fact that equity multiples are high &#8230; I think the equity markets exhibit a sense of optimism at the moment, but they also exhibit a sense of optimism around growth and technology, in particular this AI wave. Of course it’s not going to be a straight line, but some of the technology we’re seeing, the opportunities for that technology to improve productivity meaningfully are extraordinary.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Khaldoon al-Mubarak, CEO, Mubadala&nbsp;</h2>



“Continuing on the trends we’ve seen in 2024 being a positive year in most markets … I see that continuing in 2025, I see a continuation of strong tailwinds in the in the core markets, the U.S., Asia, particularly the growth driven markets in Asia,” al-Mubarak told CNBC’s Dan Murphy Monday.



“I see a continuation of good tailwinds in technology and healthcare and financial services, life sciences,” he added. “So I would say, maybe almost the same words I used last year: cautiously optimistic. When I look at 2025, it’s going to be an exciting year.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Ray Dalio, Founder, Bridgewater</h2>



Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio told CNBC that price-earnings ratios were high in U.S. markets, but that there could be further scope to climb in artificial intelligence beneficiaries.



“We have gone pretty far already &#8230;I think it’s led by the sectors that are great sectors, the disruptors, AI and so on.”



“I don’t think it’s been carried down to the applications of AI, to the uses of AI &#8230; the applications of AI are under-discounted I think.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America</h2>



Moynihan told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Tuesday he thought U.S. markets had room to climb in 2025, and that the key concern for business and financial services would be regulatory policy, rather than inflation.



“Our research team thinks there’s room to go this year, they predict the market to go up. Not as much as last year, and the unusual thing is you had a couple years in a row of very strong growth, but that was coming off a couple years of very unusual times,” he said.



Moynihan added, “I believe that if you look at the key thing for businesses generally, including financial services and the banking businesses, it’s the regulation question.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Sergio Ermotti, CEO, UBS</h2>



Tariffs proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump could prevent disinflation and keep interest rates higher, the banking chief told Andrew Ross Sorkin on Tuesday.



“Inflation is much more sticky than we have been saying,”&nbsp;Ermotti said.



“Tariffs will probably not really help inflation to come down. And therefore I don’t see [interest] rates coming down as fast as people believe,” he said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>C. S. Venkatakrishnan, CEO, Barclays</h2>



Venkatakrishnan, whose British bank makes around 40% of its revenue in the U.S., said he was “optimistic” about U.S. deal activity this year.



“I think there are two things driving it. One is interest rates have reached a relatively stable level. Our own economists are calling for maybe one rate cut in the U.S. over the next year,” he told Andrew Ross Sorkin.



“They’re still high, but they’re stable, so you can at least plan better, because you don’t have the volatility in rates. The second is with the change in [U.S.] administration, it should be easier for mergers to take place.”



Venkatakrishnan added that he expected President Trump to relax regulation, which would be “generally good for business sentiment and good for business opportunity.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Rachel Reeves, UK Finance Minister</h2>



The U.K. needs to attract more oversees investment to boost economic growth, Reeves told CNBC.



“My message to U.S. investors and global investors too is: Britain is open for business, we want your investment.”



She also discussed Trump’s global tariff threats.



“I do understand that President Trump is concerned about countries that are running large and persistent surpluses on the trade balance with the U.S. That’s not the case for the U.K.,” Reeves said.



“We are not part of the problem here. So we, the U.K., increased trade with President Trump last time he was in office.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Christian Sinding, CEO, EQT</h2>



Sinding, CEO of Swedish private equity firm EQT, told CNBC’s Karen Tso and Steve Sedgwick on the ground that the market for M&amp;A and big business deals was “continuing to improve.”



“We had a record year in 2024 we did over $20 billion of investments,” he said. “We did more than $10 billion of exits, and that’s kind of building up to 2025, [when] I think a lot of the market participants are now ready to transact, whether it’s private equity or family offices or strategic buyers. And, of course, if you look at the global capital markets, the IPO market is wide open. The credit markets are strong, so we’re fairly positive looking into the next year.”

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Dimon, Dalio, Lagarde and more: Top CEOs and policymakers on what’s next for markets

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-579329" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/108092452-1737937237483-gettyimages-2194836499-cfoto-chineseg250123_npDEz-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Workers produce garments for export to overseas markets at Sihong Guoshun Garment Co., Ltd. in Weiying town, Sihong County, Suqian city, East China’s Jiangsu province, on January 23, 2025.. Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



China’s factory activity in January unexpectedly contracted, in part due to a slow season ahead of the Lunar New year, reversing the growth seen in the previous three months&nbsp;and keeping alive calls for stronger fiscal support to boost the economy.



The official purchasing managers’ index for January came in at 49.1, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed, compared with Reuters poll estimates of 50.1.



PMI had stayed above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction for the past three months, coming in at 50.1 in December, 50.3 in November and 50.1 in October, according to the official data.



The manufacturing PMI in January tends to be softer, as migrant workers return to hometowns ahead of the Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan. 29, said Hui Shan, chief China economist at Goldman Sachs.



The blue-chip CSI 300 reversed gains earlier in the day to trade slightly lower, following the data release.



Despite the softer manufacturing PMI, the overall demand outlook appears positive, said Bruce Pang, senior research fellow at the National Institution for Finance and Development, citing stronger readings in two price sub-indexes.



The indexes measuring price levels for purchasing and selling major raw materials improved in January — albeit still in contraction territory — Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the NBS said in a press release. A gauge of companies’ production and operation activity outlook expanded to 55.3, Zhao added, showing that most manufacturers were increasingly confident about business expansion after the holidays.



China’s non-manufacturing PMI, which measures services and construction activity, fell to 50.2 in January, compared to 52.2 in the preceding month.



The services PMI rose 50.3, less than the prior month, but still expanding given holiday-induced demand, especially in sectors benefiting from the seasonal travel rush, such as public transportation, hotels, food and beverage industries, NBS’ Zhao said.



The construction PMI fell to 49.3, as activity stalled in the lead up to the festival.



“The disappointing PMI data underscores the difficulty policymakers face in achieving a sustained recovery in growth,” Zichuan Huang, China economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.



While the economic activity might pick up in the coming months as policymakers are likely to step up stimulus and front-load deficit spending at the start of 2025, the economy is still struggling amid the structural headwinds and tariff threats from the new U.S. administration, Huang said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dwindling-profits"><a></a>Dwindling profits</h2>



China’s industrial profits in 2024 fell 3.3% from the previous year, extending declines to a third consecutive year. In December, however, profit jumped 11% from a year earlier, growing for the first time since July.



Corporate profits have been recovering from a sharp 27% year-on-year plunge in September — their steepest drop since March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. They had dropped 7.3% on year in November and 10% in October, as a slump in the real estate sector and bleak income prospects continued to weigh on consumer demand.



Industrial profits are a key indicator of the financial health of factories, utilities and mines in China.



The world’s second-largest economy met official annual growth target last year, expanding 5.0%, as a barrage of stimulus measures kicked in. Economists had pointed to the industrial output growth outpacing retail sales, underscoring the country’s supply-side strength while domestic demand remained weak.



The manufacturers for consumer goods saw steady growth in their profits, increasing 3.4% last year from a year ago, NBS statistician Yu Weining said in a statement, boosted by policy incentives for consumption and strong exports.



A PMI sub-index measuring China’s new export orders stood at 46.4 in January, its lowest level since February last year. The level was “not bad” given the seasonality factor during Chinese new year, Pang said, noting that “the frontloading of exports due potential trade tensions is still ongoing.”



Chinese exporters have been rushing to frontload shipments due to worries over potential tariff hikes. U.S. president Donald Trump has threatened to impose additional 10% tariffs as soon as Feb. 1. During his campaign trail he had suggested tariffs upward of 60% on Chinese goods.



China’s economic downturn has not yet seen a “turning point,” Goldman Sachs’ Shan said, given still-weak domestic consumption and uncertainty over the scale and timing of U.S. tariffs. “The bottom line is that we do need a large stimulus from the government to even have a chance to improve inflation and confidence,” she added.

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