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Japan overtakes China in bid to provide Kenya with fresh loans

Published

3 years ago

April 21, 2022

Japan has leapfrogged China in a bid to provide Kenya with fresh loans for developmental projects for the second year running.

While China has cut fresh financial commitment to the East African nation, Japan, on the other hand, has now moved to the top of the list of bilateral lenders to the country.

In November last year, President Xi Jinping of China had disclosed during the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) that China would reduce investments in Africa by a third in three years.

Xi’s China had committed $40 billion to Africa, a 33.3 percent drop from the $60 billion in the last two FOCAC summits, which take place every three years.

A report by the Kenyan Treasury on Thursday, noted that the country’s budget estimates for the financial year starting July, listed Japan as the largest source of bilateral loans and grants, leapfrogging China which has been the biggest financier for nearly a decade.

“Beijing is projected to lend Kenya Ksh29.46 billion ($254.9 million) for the fiscal year 2022/23, a sharp cutback from Ksh140.03 billion ($1.2 billion) in the 2015/16 budget.

“That marks the second year in a row that China will trail Japan in bilateral loans, having committed Ksh21.25 billion ($183.9 million) in the current year ending June against Tokyo’s Ksh36.49 billion ($315.7 million).

“However, China remains the biggest bilateral creditor by far due to big-ticket deals it has inked with Kenya in the last decade to fund and build mega infrastructure projects such as roads and a modern railway.

“Kenya owed China $6.95 billion last December compared with $1.42 billion to Japan,” according to the latest data by the Treasury.

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Egypt’s November inflation drops to 25.5%, near 2-year low

Published

10 hours ago

December 11, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to figures released Tuesday by statistics agency CAPMAS, Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate fell more than anticipated to 25.5% in November, the lowest level since December 2022.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused international investors to pull billions of dollars out of Egyptian treasury markets, inflation started to rise sharply in early 2022.

In September 2023, headline inflation reached a record high of 38.0%. It dropped to 26.5% by October 2024.

In a Reuters survey last month, 15 economists’ consensus prediction was for annual inflation to gradually decline to 26.4%.

According to CAPMAS statistics, headline inflation decreased from 1.1% in October to 0.5% in November every month.

Compared to October, when they fell 1.1%, food costs fell 2.8% over the month, making them 23.3% more than they were a year ago.

An increase in the money supply has been a major contributor to inflation. According to central bank data, Egypt’s M2 money supply increased by 29.54% in October compared to the same month last year.

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Nigeria creates N20bn consumer credit fund for domestic automakers

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an attempt to increase demand for cars built domestically, the Nigerian government has established a N20 billion consumer credit facility programme.

The goal of the programme, which is run by the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (Credicorp), is to keep customer interest rates to single digit.

The fund aims to remove obstacles that consumers face when purchasing cars on credit, according to Credicorp Managing Director/CEO Engr. Uzoma Nwagba, who spoke at the official launch/agreement signing between Credicorp and the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) in Abuja.

Nwagba said that the credit economy contributed to the creation of jobs and wealth for Nigerians as well as to the enhancement of residents’ quality of life.

According to him, the government is dedicated to helping the industry in order to guarantee its expansion and survival. According to him, the N20 billion fund was only the start, and if the initial support proves effective, the government intends to create a larger fund.

Earlier, Mr. Joseph Osanipin, the Director General of NADDC, stated that the industry’s expansion depends on the demand side of the car market being improved.

According to Osanipin, credit programs enable consumers to acquire brand-new cars of their choosing, but in the majority of prosperous nations, people do not pay cash for cars and other autos.

According to him, the program, which covers all types of autos such cars, vans, tricycles, and motorbikes, is available to all Nigerians and involves automakers that produce or assemble their goods entirely domestically.