VenturesNow

Zimbabwe awaits IMF programme in Q3 after currency changes

Published

8 months 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

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery exports first fuel to Cameroon

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria said on Wednesday that it had exported its first petrol to Cameroon, marking a significant milestone that may help stabilise gasoline costs throughout the region and open the door for regional energy integration.

When fully operational, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s 650,000-barrel refinery in Lagos is intended to alter the trade of refined products in the Atlantic basin and compete with refineries in Europe.

According to a statement by Neptune Oil, an energy company based in Cameroon, both businesses were looking into new projects to create a dependable supply chain that would assist in stabilising fuel costs and opportunities throughout the area.

According to Neptune Oil, there were no middlemen involved in the petrol delivery deal.

It is anticipated that the refinery’s operations will spur growth in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, increasing investments in cement manufacture, plastic and rubber production, chemical and pharmaceutical goods, and oil refining.

VenturesNow

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

Published

3 days 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.