RMB releases list of 2021 Top 10 investment-attractive African countries
December 9, 2021--Operating environments, fiscal scores and development plans-key to investment-attractiveness in a Covid world
RMB's Where to Invest in Africa 2021 report positions Egypt as Africa's top investment destination, with Morocco following and South Africa in third place.
Based on their operating environments, other high-scoring countries have moved up the rankings-notably Rwanda and Botswana, now in fourth and fifth position respectively.
The positive global sentiment that saw the year 2020 in was short-lived when SARS-CoV-2 began ravaging the globe. The nature of the virus and lockdown legislation demanded a new sociological construct that still tilts the scales of the work-life balance. Recession hit- putting amongst others the spotlight on salient aspects of human interaction. COVID-19 brought into sharp focus the vast disparities in access to basic health and wellbeing services across countries. It was also a catalyst for the adoption and utilisation of technology as a means to interface.
South Africa: SA Economy Shrinks By 1.5 Percent in the Third Quarter
September 7, 2021--South Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by 1.5% in the third quarter of 2021, Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) said on Tuesday.
During this period, the trade, catering and accommodation industry decreased by 5.5%, contributing -0.7 of a percentage point to GDP growth.
The statistics agency said decreased economic activities were reported for wholesale, retail and motor trade, and catering and accommodation services.
Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said between July and September, the manufacturing industry decreased by 4.2% in the third quarter, contributing -0.5 of a percentage point to GDP growth.
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Source: allafrica.com
Will today's launch of day trading transform Nairobi Securities Exchange?
November 22, 2021--Nairobi Securities Exchange launches day trading in listed shares today 22 November. The programme starts with unleveraged intra-day trading and will expand to cover leveraged day trading once rules are in place. The aim is to boost liquidity and trading activity on this leading African stock exchange.
Geoffrey Odundo, CEO of the NSE, commented in this report in Business Daily: "Day trading is a welcome move for local investors who have previously lobbied for the activation of the intraday trading, as they seek to take advantage of intraday price movements and increase their profit margins. We are confident of a bullish market performance going forward."
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Source: africancapitalmarketsnews.com
Nigeria: GDP Grew By 4.03 Percent in Third Quarter-NBS
November 19, 2021--The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday revealed that Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.03 per cent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2021, compared with the 5. 01 per cent recorded in the preceding quarter of same year.
The Statistician General of the Federation (SGF)/Chief Executive, NBS, Dr. Simon Harry, who revealed this at a media briefing, said the negative impact of the COVID-19 continued to impact on economic performance.
He said despite the slower growth, the Q3 performance was considered a tremendous improvement over both Q1 and Q2 of the year, adding that there had been steady growth of the economy.
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Source: allafrica.com
North Africa Economic Outlook 2021: Growth expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels on rebound in oil, vaccines and trade
November 5, 2021--Real gross domestic product growth in North Africa was largely negative in 2020, at -1.1% with a -5.1 percentage point drop over 2019, the African Development Bank's 2021 edition of the North Africa Economic Outlook reports.
Released on November 3, the report finds that in 2020, North African economies experienced three shocks: the Covid-19 pandemic, a collapse in oil prices and a steep drop in tourism. Growth was also cut short due, in part, to sharp contractions in the region's main trading partners. This output loss was found to be less severe than projected on account of prompt interventions by governments to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.
Egypt managed to achieve positive growth (+3.6%), one of the few countries in the world to do so in 2020. On the other hand, Libya's economy contracted by -60.3%, Tunisia’s by -8.8%, Morocco’s by -7.1%, Algeria’s by -4.6%, and Mauritania's by 3.6%.
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Source: African Development Bank
Are foreign investors buying on Nairobi Securities Exchange?
November 3, 2021--Trading by foreign investors was picking up at Kenya's Nairobi Securities Exchange last month, just as the NSE20 index of blue chip prices retreated. A report by stockbroker AIB-AXYS Africa forecasts a strong last quarter: "Banking, manufacturing stocks and the NSE's sole listed telco Safaricom are tipped to lead in market performance in the last quarter of the year as the effects of the easing of curfew restrictions filter through into the economy".
During the first 3 weeks of October, foreign participation in the NSE trading was 64% of the total trading, up from 48.5% in August and 49.9% in September. The average was 64.7% in 2020.
In terms of value traded on the NSE, the Statistical Bulletin Q3 2021 from the regulator Capital Markets Authority (CMA) shows equities turnover in the quarter to September was KES 31.4bn ($282m), down 17% from KES 38bn in Q2.
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Source: africancapitalmarketsnews.com
Nigeria: With Digital Currency, Nigeria's GDP Projected to Rise By $29bn in 10 Years-Buhari
October 26, 2021-- President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday declared that with the introduction of digital currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to rise by $29 billion in the next 10 years.
He also stressed for emphasis that Nigeria was the first country in Africa and one of the first in the world to introduce digital currency to her citizens.
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Source: allafrica.com
Africa: China's Reach Into Africa's Digital Sector Worries Experts
October 22, 2021--Chinese companies like Huawei and the Transsion group are responsible for much of the digital infrastructure and smartphones used in Africa. Chinese phones built in Africa come with already installed apps for mobile money transfer services that increase the reach of Chinese tech companies.
But while many Africans may find the availability of such technology useful, the trend worries some experts on data management.
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Source: allafrica.com
Africa's mobile economy in numbers
October 22, 2021--Here are some estimates of the growth potential of the mobile economy in sub-Saharan Africa, according to industry association GSMA. The GSMA report The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa was published Sept 2021 with figures up to December 2020.
By end of 2020, 495m people were subscribed to mobile services in Sub-Saharan Africa, 46% of the population and up 20% on 2019.
Primary source of growth in new users is young people owning a mobile phone for the first time, as 40% of population are under 15 years old.
It is estimated there will be 120m new subscribers by 2025 to 615m (share of population 50%). This is 4.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over 2020-2025. Out of the new subscribers, 22m will be in Nigeria and 15m will be in Ethiopia.
SIM Connections will rise from 930m in 2020 to 1.12bn by 2025, which is CAGR 4.8%
Mobile internet: In 2020, 303m were connected to mobile internet (28% of the population), and the estimate is there will be 170m more by 2025 (40% of the population) to 474m, CAGR 9.3%.
Mobile technologies and services generated over $130bn (8% of GDP) and this will be $155bn by 2025.
Transactions on mobile money platforms were $490bn end 2020.
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Source: africancapitalmarketsnews.com
Nigerian Stocks Climb By N237 Billion As Big-Cap Stocks Strengthen Gains
October 22, 2021--The all-share index jumped 454.40 points to 41,704.11, while market capitalisation rose to N21.8 trillion at the end of trade.
Nigerian stocks advanced by 1.1 per cent or N237.1 billion on Thursday as investors continued to take a risk-off stance in equities, helping to build a positive atmosphere around the market as the earnings season shapes up gradually.
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Source: allafrica.com