Reuters Africa - Squid Business

Energy-hungry Germany’s Scholz courts Africa as crises elsewhere bite

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this weekend makes his third visit to sub-Saharan Africa in two years, as conflicts elsewhere highlight the growing importance of an energy-rich region in which Berlin has traditionally had little involvement. He will visit major energy producer Nigeria, as well as Ghana, with migration flows and instability in …

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Zimbabwe extends multi-currency system to 2030

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwe’s government will maintain its multi-currency system, anchored by the U.S. dollar, to 2030, it said on Friday. The government had previously said that the multi-currency system would end in 2025. This had triggered uncertainty in the banking sector, with some banks refusing to give loans past 2025. In a government gazette, …

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Violent protests break out in Mozambique after local elections

MAPUTO (Reuters) – Police suppressed violent protests in Mozambique on Friday as opposition supporters took to the streets to decry the results of local elections earlier this month which they say were rigged. Nine civilians and one police officer were injured in protests in the city of Nampula on Friday, a police spokesperson told reporters. …

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South African rand strengthens, mid-term budget in sight

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -The South African rand strengthened on Friday ahead of the mid-term budget next week which will provide insight into the health of Africa’s most industrialised economy. At 1615 GMT, the rand traded at 18.8075 to the dollar, about 0.8% stronger than its previous close. The dollar last traded around 0.15% weaker against a …

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Carbon offset firm South Pole cuts ties with Zimbabwe forest project

By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) – Carbon offset developer South Pole has terminated its involvement in a project in Zimbabwe which has generated millions of carbon credits from efforts to prevent deforestation around Lake Kariba, the Swiss firm said on Friday. South Pole said it was not confident the Kariba REDD+ project – owned and …

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Ivory Coast cocoa regulator scraps stockpile exemption for bean grinders

By Ange Aboa ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast cocoa sector regulator will not allow bean grinders to accumulate stocks beyond authorised limits during the main October to March harvest to ensure fair access amid fears of a supply shortage. Cocoa futures have hit record highs due to forecasts for a drop in production, particularly from …

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Kenya raises 2023/24 deficit forecast to 5.3% from 4.4% – revised budget

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya has raised its budget deficit forecast for the 2023/24 (July-June) financial year to 5.3% of GDP from 4.4%, a summary of revised spending estimates presented to parliament showed on Friday. The wider projection was due to the weakening of the Kenyan shilling against the dollar, Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung’u said, which …

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Explainer-What is pushing the Nigerian naira to record lows?

By Chijioke Ohuocha ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria’s naira is on the brink of breaching 1,000 per dollar after falling to an official record low of 999 last week, Refinitiv data showed, tracing its weakness on the unofficial market where it trades freely. President Bola Tinubu removed Nigeria’s foreign currency controls in June in a bid …

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Kenyan power producer KenGen posts 38% pretax profit jump

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya Electricity Generating Co Ltd (KenGen) said on Friday its pretax profit for the year to the end of June rose 38%, lifting the company’s share price. KenGen said its pretax profit rose to 8.53 billion shillings ($57 million) from 6.19 billion shillings a year earlier, helped by a 14% increase in …

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Ghana hit by power outages due to limited gas supply

ACCRA (Reuters) – Several areas of Ghana were hit by power outages due to a drop in electricity generation on Thursday after the West African country’s power transmission company warned of limited gas supply for power generation. The Ghana Grid Company said in a statement that a 550 megawatt gap at peak time, around 10% …

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