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Zimbabwe’s new currency under strain, months after launch

Published

2 months ago

September 21, 2024

Five months after its launch, Zimbabwe’s new currency is under strain as grain imports deplete foreign reserves, threatening the government’s ambition to make it the only currency by 2026.

Zimbabwe Gold, backed by gold, is the country’s sixth stable currency effort in 15 years. Since its introduction in April at 13.6 ZiG per U.S. dollar, it has lost about 80% of its value on the illegal market.

On Thursday, the central bank said it had injected $64 million into the foreign exchange market this month to meet dollar demand.

“Over the past weeks, the Reserve Bank witnessed a build-up in pipeline demand for foreign currency at banks, reflecting transitory foreign currency supply and demand mismatches, thus, exerting undue pressure on the foreign exchange market,” central bank governor John Mushayavanhu said in a statement.

Despite a $50 million Reserve Bank infusion in July, he said the bank would continue to assist to stabilise the ZiG. Prosper Chitambara, an independent economist, said the devaluation showed villagers’ reluctance to accept the new currency.

By raising local currency levies, Gwanyanya suggested the government may boost ZiG use. “Government more than any other should show a preference for its currency and there is need for urgent intervention by injecting more foreign currency on the market,” stated.

“The ZiG has been getting weaker so it does not make business sense to transact with it. I do not have faith in the ZiG. We have been here before with the Zimdollar,” Maynard Maketo, a street hawker selling candy and recharge cards said.

Pricecheck, an exchange rate tracking website, reports that the ZiG trades between 20 and 26 ZiG to $1 on the underground market and 13.9 on the official exchange.

In downtown Harare, grocery seller Carol Munjoma only accepts U.S. money.

“Where I buy these groceries, they do not accept ZiG. So to protect my business I charge in U.S dollars. The ZiG would have to be stable to be accepted here,” the mother of two said.

Mushayavanhu, the central bank chief, stated to Reuters in July that officials will maintain their commitments to develop trust in the new currency, which Gwanyanya also shared.

“It is too early to consider that this may be the death of the ZiG,” said Gwanyanya.

Related Topics:Currency Featured Zimbabwe

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Kenya seeks $750m from World Bank, obtains $200m from AfDB— Official

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The head of debt management for the finance ministry told Reuters that Kenya had obtained a $200 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and was negotiating a fresh $750 million loan with the World Bank.

After being forced to abandon proposed tax rises costing more than 346 billion shillings ($2.68 billion) in June due to fatal demonstrations, the East African nation’s administration, which has been grappling with significant debt, has been frantically seeking fresh funding.

The Finance Ministry’s public debt management office director general, Raphael Owino, told Reuters that the IMF’s October clearance of the seventh and eighth reviews, which opened the door for a $606 million loan tranche, had aided the ministry’s talks for more loans.

“The World Bank is coming on board, riding on the back of IMF receipts,” Owino said. “The AfDB is already on board.”

The discussions for more assistance, which came under the World Bank’s “Development Policy Operations” (DPO) with the government, were confirmed by a representative at the organization’s Kenya office.

“The amount of the current (loan) is yet to be determined. The amount will also depend on the implementation of the policy reforms agreed upon,” the spokesperson told Reuters, adding that past DPO loans averaged about $750 million.

In May, the World Bank approved the latest round of DPO loans, totalling $1.2 billion.

According to a statement made last month by Finance Minister John Mbadi, Kenya has set a foreign borrowing goal of 168 billion shillings for the fiscal year ending in June 2025.

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Dangote refinery begins petroleum sales to West Africa

Published

1 day ago

November 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an indication to traders that the activities of its mega-refinery might soon disrupt regional fuel markets, Nigeria’s private Dangote Petroleum Refinery has started exporting refined petroleum products to neighbouring West African nations.

According to a Bloomberg story on Tuesday, a tanker had transported a consignment of petrol from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery to seas off the coast of Togo, a nearby West African nation. The article cited data from Vortexa, Kpler, Precise Intelligence, a port report, and a ship-tracking tool.

According to the source, a CL Jane Austen recently departed west after loading over 300,000 barrels from Dangote.

Recall that Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, the chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Authority, stated last month that the nation is thinking of purchasing petroleum products from the Dangote refinery in order to reduce the approximately $400 million it spends each month on more costly exports from Europe.

Speaking at the OTL Africa Downstream Oil Conference in Lagos, the chairman of NPA, Ghana, said that by eliminating freight expenses, buying from Nigeria instead of Europe will lower the cost of other products and services.

“If the refinery reaches 650,000bpd a day capacity, all that volume cannot be consumed by Nigeria alone, so instead of us importing as we do right now from Rotterdam, it will be much easier for us to import from Nigeria and I believe that will bring down our prices,” Hamid said.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that the refinery would start exporting fuel to Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. Four more African nations—Niger Republic, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Central Africa Republic—had also begun talks with the refinery, it was said.

According to a very reliable source who spoke directly to one of our reporters, the management of the refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day was in the advanced stages of negotiations with the nations to begin lifting petroleum.

“I can confirm to you that talks are actually at the advanced stage with Ghana, Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, while the initial discussion is coming up with Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic,” the source said.

The petroleum product shipment is currently floating off the coast of Lome, which is a well-liked location for ship-to-ship transfers, according to the source.

Furthermore, the final destination of the cargo of the CL Jane Austen is uncertain.

Despite being off Togo, the region is frequently utilised for ship-to-ship transfers, thus the gasoline may eventually be transported elsewhere.

“While the shipment is tiny in the context of the global gasoline market, it signals the ramp-up of Dangote’s production and the potential to export significant volumes of gasoline beyond Nigeria, which could upend regional markets.”

Last month, the refinery sent its first shipment of petrol by sea to Lagos, a neighbouring commercial centre.

Under the regulatory statute, the Federal Government last month terminated the state-owned oil company’s monopoly on purchasing gasoline from the plant for domestic use, but it has permitted the ongoing importation of fuel from the US and Europe.