VenturesNow

Zimbabwe awaits IMF programme in Q3 after currency changes

Published

2 weeks ago

April 21, 2024

Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube, has revealed that a staff-monitored programme with the IMF would not start until the third quarter of 2024.

The minister noted that the delay is due to the country’s launch of a new currency called Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG). An IMF program would help the southern African country get back in touch with the world’s financial community by showing that it has a history of good economic policies.

Zimbabwe said last year that it hoped to have a plan in place by April 2024, but that date was pushed back because of the ZiG this month.

“We have moved the (staff-monitored programme) to the third quarter due to the new currency. We should not rush these things,” Ncube said on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF spring meetings in Washington.

In a bid aimed to make gold-backed ZiG stable and stop the vicious circle of high inflation. The ZiG needed more time to be fully operational before talks with the IMF could move forward, according to Ncube.

Zimbabwe’s third new currency in ten years has already had trouble being accepted by suppliers and users in the black market. Black market sellers are offering 20 ZiG for every dollar, but the value of one ziG is 13.31 dollars.

“Whoever is trading on the alternative market is doing money laundering,” said Finance Secretary George Guvamatanga at the media briefing, saying the government would crack down on this.

Ncube also revealed that the country was making progress in talks about paying off its debts. Zimbabwe hasn’t been able to access foreign financial markets in over 20 years, but they recently agreed to pay off their $6 billion in debt.

“As part of the traditional methods of clearing arrears, Zimbabwe would need a sponsor… and we need about $2 billion,” said Ncube.

He also said that Zimbabwe would be focused on the arrears owed to the World Bank and the African Development Bank while they looked for more sponsors.

VenturesNow

ExxonMobil ‘optimistic’ over Mozambique LNG project

Published

7 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a company spokesman on Thursday, ExxonMobil is “optimistic and pushing forward” with its postponed Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique and anticipates a final investment decision before the end of next year.

In offshore Area 4 in northern Mozambique, ExxonMobil and its partner Enivare are developing the Rovuma LNG project. Exxon is in charge of building and running the onshore liquefaction and associated facilities, while Eni is focused on the Coral floating LNG and upstream activities.

ExxonMobil was also impacted by the development of shared and common facilities, such as an LNG jetty and offloading facility when TotalEnergies declared force majeure in 2021 in response to an offensive by militants linked to the Islamic State that threatened its Area 1 Mozambique LNG project.

“We recognise there are challenges and there are. We recognise that those challenges can be overcome if we work together,” Arne Gibbs, general manager at ExxonMobil Mozambique, told an energy conference in Maputo.

“My message is quite simple … We are optimistic, we are pushing forward,” he said of a project expected to enter a front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase in a few months.
Originally planned for 15 million metric tons per year (mtpa), the project has been changed to a modern, electric, modular facility capable of producing 18 mtpa of LNG, which is more flexible and emits fewer harmful pollutants, according to Gibbs.

“It was important to change our design to a project that is ready-made, that is fit for purpose for the current business environment, including the attention to CO2 emissions and GHG (greenhouse gases),” he added.

Credit Agricole declared in March that it would not lend money to two significant LNG projects, including Rovuma, on the grounds that it had made a pledge to abstain from further fossil fuel ventures.

According to Gibbs, the business acknowledged that the intervention of a regional military force and Rwanda’s military assistance to Mozambique had resulted in a notable improvement in the security environment.

In February, Exxon announced that it was keeping an eye on security developments in the province of Cabo Delgado, where terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State have been launching new attacks this year.

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s Insurance Corporation raises maximum deposit coverage from N500k to N5m

Published

11 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The maximum deposit insurance coverage levels for Deposit Money Banks has been raised by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) on Thursday from N500,000 to N5 million.

At a news conference in Abuja, NDIC Managing Director Bello Hassan declared this effective immediately. He said, “For Deposit Money Banks, the increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N5,000,000, would provide full coverage of 98.98% of the total depositors compared with the current cover of 89.20%. Regarding the value of deposits covered, the revised coverage would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 25.37% compared with the current cover of 6.31% of the total value of deposits.

“The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N200,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.27% of the total depositors compared with the current level of 98.76% and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 34.43% compared with 14.38% of the total value of deposit, currently covered.

“The increase of the maximum deposit insurance coverage from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would provide full coverage of 99.34% of the total depositors compared with the current 97.98% and would increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance to 21.04% compared with 10.77% of the total value of the deposit, currently covered.”

Additionally, Hassan said that increasing the maximum deposit insurance coverage for primary mortgage banks from N500,000 to N2,000,000 would cover all depositors, or 99.99% of them, and increase the value of deposits covered by deposit insurance from the current 40.60% cover to 43.10% of the total deposit value.

Additionally, the Corporation increased the maximum pass-through deposit insurance coverage for each Mobile Money Operator subscriber from N500,000 to N5,000,000.