Musings From Abroad

Canada freezes out foreign house ownership for two years

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2022

Foreigners wishing to buy homes in Canada will have to wait for a while as the North American country has imposed a two-year ban on foreign property purchases in a bid to curb a market that has left home grown buyers in despair due to unfavourable competition.

The ban which also comes with other measures aimed at protecting homegrown business people, was announced on Monday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office, highlighted the huge price increases across Canada’s real estate market where prices have soared by more than 50 per cent in the past two years.

In announcing the ban on foreign home buying and higher taxes for people who sell their homes within a year, the government said both measures, however, hold exceptions, including for permanent residents and foreign students.

According to a recent report in Bloomberg, “home prices in Canada have surged more than 50 per cent over the past two years and the housing market had a record monthly increase in February as buyers acted before rate increases by the Bank of Canada, taking the benchmark price of a home to the equivalent of US$693,000.”

What the ban means for would-be homeowners in Canada, especially migrants from Africa, is they would not be able to purchase houses in the next two years.

And even when the ban expires, owning a home will be more stringent as the country plans to do away with the practice of “blind bidding” where offers are kept secret when someone is selling a home, only for higher bids to spring up to knock out the smaller bids.

The secret bidding is being blamed for accelerating price gains with properties often selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars over the asking price, leading to a bidding war often won by foreign investors.

Musings From Abroad

Uganda turns to China for $150 million loan after World Bank halts funding

Published

20 hours ago

November 29, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

East African country, Uganda will now seek to borrow $150 million from China’s Export-Import Bank (Exim), following lending restrictions by the World Bank for its anti-homosexuality law.

The action highlights the country’s growing dependence on Chinese lenders after the World Bank’s decision earlier this year stopping all new loans to the country.

Uganda is negotiating a loan to finance the construction of a pipeline to help export its crude oil to foreign markets with the Chinese export credit organisations SINOSURE and Exim Bank.

The money, the finance ministry says, is “to finance the supply, installation, commissioning, and support of the national data transmission backbone infrastructure.”

A law prohibiting LGBTQ was passed by the Ugandan legislature in May. Several stringent regulations were incorporated into the legislation, which drew strong criticism from the international community, including the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and major corporations like the World Bank.

Before lending to Uganda was suspended by the World Bank, it was the country’s largest development partner.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act imposes severe penalties, including death, for a variety of homosexual offences.

Musings From Abroad

Russia’s free grain to hit 6 African countries this week

Published

3 days ago

November 26, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s promise to send free grain to six African countries in July, Russian shipments of donated grain are due to begin landing in Africa within days.

The supply will give fresh impetus to Russia’s bid to bolster its influence on the continent after criticism over its invasion of Ukraine and withdrawal from a deal that facilitated the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea linked to pushing up global food and fertilizer prices.

The Russian Agriculture Ministry stated earlier this month that the shipments would amount to 200,000 metric tonnes by the end of the year, with Somalia and Burkina Faso scheduled to be the initial recipients. According to Putin’s July statement, Zimbabwe, Mali, Eritrea, and the Central African Republic are also expected to receive between 25,000 and 50,000 metric tonnes of grain each.

Two of the top exporters of grain and vegetable oil worldwide are Russia and Ukraine. Russia’s bombardment of Ukrainian ports and stores has affected the world’s supply of both commodities during the war. Russia in July also quit a year-old agreement that had allowed Ukraine to ship grain from its Black Sea ports, which, according to a study by a South African agency, helped feed about 95 million people but fell short in ensuring that fertilizer-originating from Russia could flow freely to global markets. Had that happened, food could have been produced to feed about 199 million people.

However, Putin, in order to fulfil what he claimed was Moscow’s crucial role in ensuring global food security, stated that Russia was prepared to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa on both a commercial and assistance basis.

While most African countries have adopted a non-aligned posture in the war, Russia’s influence in the continent has been on the rise lately, particularly with regard to defence relations.