<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="487" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/rand2-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-568119" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/rand2-1.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/rand2-1-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/rand2-1-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">South African bank notes featuring an image of former South African President Nelson Mandela are displayed at an office in Johannesburg, File. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s rand strengthened in cautious trade on Friday, as investor focus shifted towards U.S. President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s inauguration on Monday.



At 0808 GMT, the rand traded at 18.755 against the dollar, about 0.4% stronger than its previous close.



&#8220;Trump&#8217;s policies and U.S. Treasury movements will dominate sentiment in the short term, with limited market activity expected until after his inauguration,&#8221; said Andre Cilliers, currency strategist at TreasuryONE.



A sturdy labour market, sticky inflation and uncertainty over the potential impact of Trump&#8217;s tariffs and tax plans have led the U.S. Federal Reserve to project two interest rate cuts this year.



However, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Thursday three or four rate cuts are still possible if economic data weakens further.



On the stock market, South Africa&#8217;s Top-40 index was up about 0.6%.



Its benchmark 2030 government bond also strengthened, with the yield down 5.5 basis points to 9.15%.



(Reporting by Sfundo Parakozov. Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Mark Potter)

rand2 (1)

South African rand firms ahead of Trump inauguration

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423556" style="width:840px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IQMT7SFA2RNQLAQHUEOA2VEMMQ-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Illustration photo shows a two-rand coin above a South African flag April 12, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 15 (Reuters) &#8211; South African assets gained on Wednesday, after a key U.S. inflation report showed consumer prices rose slightly more than expected last month in the world&#8217;s biggest economy.



At 1449 GMT, the rand traded at 18.7550 against the U.S. dollar, about 1% firmer than its previous close.



The dollar last traded about 0.45% weaker against a basket of currencies.



The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.4% last month while economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI gaining 0.3%. In the 12 months through December, the CPI advanced 2.9%, in line with expectations.



As markets remain wary of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump&#8217;s policies on tariffs, the latest data points to still elevated inflation, strengthening the case for the Federal Reserve&#8217;s cautious stance on interest rates.



&#8220;Volatility is expected to persist&#8230; with the rand&#8217;s value largely influenced by external factors such as U.S. trade and monetary policies,&#8221; said Zain Vawda, market analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA.



On the stock market, the blue-chip Top-40 index was last up about 1.9%.



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond was also stronger, with the yield down 13 basis points at 9.175%. 



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya and Tannur Anders; Editing by Frances Kerry and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Illustration photo of South African rand

South African rand, stocks surge after US consumer inflation data

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IOK54TH7FJKRLMOMWWYDBQD7VM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-575384"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People shop at Cherries Hypermarket in Abuja, Nigeria March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Jan 15 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s inflation rate rose for the fourth straight month in December, advancing to 34.80% in annual terms from 34.60% in November, data from the statistics agency showed on Wednesday.



The agency said in a report that the uptick in December was due to increased demand associated with the festive period. Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed the most to price pressures.



Inflation rose sharply after President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira currency and cut subsidies in 2023 to try to lift economic growth and shore up public finances.



It started to ease in July last year as the impact of the naira devaluation began to fade, before a series of petrol price increases again spurred inflationary pressures, exacerbating the worst cost of living crisis in decades in Africa&#8217;s most populous nation.



Food inflation was 39.84% year-on-year in December, compared with 39.93% the previous month, due to price rises for items such as yam, sweet potatoes, beer, corn, rice and fish, the National Bureau of Statistics said.



The central bank hiked interest rates six times last year to try to get inflation under control.



Nigeria&#8217;s government expects inflation to fall to 15% this year, helped by lower imports of petroleum products, Tinubu said during a budget speech in December.



(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha and Mohd Shamsuddin. Editing by Alexander Winning and Mark Potter)

IOK54TH7FJKRLMOMWWYDBQD7VM

Nigerian inflation rises for fourth straight month in December

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="473" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-820x473.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-575323" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-820x473.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-300x173.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-156x90.jpg 156w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-768x443.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-1536x886.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYNXMPED4U1W6-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A train launched to operate on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and financed by Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya May 31, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI/ABU DHABI, Jan 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenya has started discussions with the United Arab Emirates to secure financing to complete a regional railway, President William Ruto said, after China cut infrastructure funding to the project.



The railway connecting the Kenyan port of Mombasa with landlocked neighbours, as part of China&#8217;s Belt and Road Initiative, ended in the Rift Valley in 2019, 468 kilometres (290 miles) short of the border with Uganda, after Beijing withdrew support.



&#8220;We are exploring a partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates to extend the Standard Gauge Railway to connect Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan,&#8221; Ruto said on X late on Tuesday, after meeting UAE officials in Abu Dhabi.



Both sides will carry out a feasibility study on the extension of the railway, he said, &#8220;due to its capacity to foster regional integration and promote trade&#8221;.



Ruto&#8217;s office did not respond to Reuters&#8217; request for more details.



Ruto, who took over in September 2022, has pursued closer ties with the UAE, and Kenya is also finalising a $1.5 billion commercial loan from the UAE for budget support.



The East African nation and the UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement on Tuesday, aiming to boost trade volumes by removing barriers, simplifying customs processes and promoting investments.



&#8220;Kenya is going to be a gateway for sure for East Africa,&#8221; Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE&#8217;s minister of trade, told Reuters on Tuesday.



Trade between Kenya and the UAE has more than doubled over the last decade, Ruto&#8217;s office said. The UAE is the sixth biggest export market for Kenyan goods, and its second biggest source of imports.



The value of the trade stood at 445 billion shillings ($3.44 billion) in 2023, with the UAE buying agricultural products, while Kenya gets petroleum products, machinery and chemicals.



The UAE&#8217;s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates National Oil Company were among three Gulf firms Ruto&#8217;s government picked in 2023 to supply Kenya with oil on longer credit terms, in a shift from an open tender system.



($1 = 129.2500 Kenyan shillings)



(Reporting by Duncan Miriri in Nairobi and Rachna Uppal in Abu Dhabi; Editing by Barbara Lewis)

A train launched to operate on the SGR line constructed by the CRBC and financed by Chinese government arrives at the Nairobi Terminus in Nairobi

Kenya turns to the UAE for railway funds after China cut financing

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="566" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-820x566.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-575299" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-820x566.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-300x207.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-130x90.jpg 130w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-768x530.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-1536x1060.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CPZWR5HQKJL7PCMFS7ZRBGYOBE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Delivery bikes ride along a waterlogged road on the beach front, after heavy rains, in Durban, South Africa, May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Rogan Ward</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa has temporarily closed a key border crossing with Botswana due to heavy rainfall and flooding, the country&#8217;s border authority said.



The Grobler&#8217;s Bridge crossing in northern South Africa is used for trade, especially by miners in the Copperbelt region straddling Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo moving cargo to the port of Durban.



&#8220;Following consultations with our Botswana counterparts and thorough deliberation by the Port Management Committee, it has been decided that the temporary suspension of operations is necessary to prioritise safety,&#8221; the Border Management Authority said in a statement.



The agency urged travellers and truck operators to use alternative routes.



The crossing links Botswana with South Africa&#8217;s northern Limpopo province, which witnessed heavy rainfall last weekend.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alexander Winning and Angus MacSwan)

Delivery bikes ride along a waterlogged road on the beach front after heavy rains, in Durban

Rains force South Africa to close border crossing with Botswana

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1005" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/WHL3PMZZNBJG7KMG7OAQESM3PM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-574986"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People attend a demonstration against Kenya&#8217;s proposed finance bill in Nairobi, Kenya, June 25. REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI/LAGOS/MAPUTO/JOHANNESBURG, Jan 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has been part of countless demonstrations over the years, but the anti-government protests that hit the country last June and July defied all expectations.



Mwangi said he witnessed something unprecedented &#8211; a powerful awakening of the Kenyan youth who leveraged social media to mobilise against a finance bill which proposed a raft of tax hikes.



&#8220;The biggest mobilisers of the protest were the Gen Zs. They were on TikTok, Instagram and on X. The majority of the people in the streets were young people,&#8221; Mwangi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.



&#8220;For the first time in history, Kenyans were united for one purpose, to defeat the finance bill,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was us waking up to the power we have and becoming active citizens to demand accountability and meaningful change in our country.&#8221;



The nationwide protests forced President William Ruto to make a historic U-turn by scrapping his reviled law, sacking cabinet ministers and pledging a slate of measures to cut wasteful spending of public funds.



Africa, home to the world&#8217;s youngest population, has seen a wave of youth-led protests fuelled by frustrations over rampant corruption, poor governance, high living costs and rising unemployment.



Gen Z and millennials protested in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria and Mozambique in 2024, and some analysts expect this activism to intensify in 2025 as grievances persist.



Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa for the International Crisis Group, said frustrations partly arise from Africa&#8217;s struggle to recover from economic shocks like COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, which has driven up food and fuel prices.



There is also growing resentment among a generation increasingly aware of its rights, empowered by the internet to take action for change, said Mutiga.



&#8220;The young want more than their parents. They are more informed. They are more politically active,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s possible that you&#8217;ll see more protests in 2025.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-youth-disillusionment">YOUTH DISILLUSIONMENT</h2>



Africa has the fastest growing, youngest population of any continent, with 70% of sub-Saharan Africa&#8217;s people under the age of 30.



Fueling their growing wave of disillusionment are scarce job opportunities. Some 53 million youth &#8211; more than one in five &#8211; in sub-Saharan Africa are not engaged in any form of employment, education or training, says the U.N.&#8217;s International Labour Organization.



A 2024 survey of African youth found three-quarters of respondents said it was difficult to find a job, and two-thirds were dissatisfied with their governments&#8217; efforts to create employment opportunities.



The survey, which polled more than 5,600 Africans ages 18 to 25 in 13 countries, also found that four in five were worried about corruption, most notably in the government, private sector and the police.



&#8220;Most are dissatisfied with efforts to tackle corruption and there is widespread support for a range of policies to address it,&#8221; the Africa Youth Survey said.



Political analysts and observers said it was not surprising to see youth beginning to push back against their governments.



Aslak Orre, a senior researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute, a development research institute based in Norway, said young people across the region were exasperated with poor economic growth, few jobs, high public debt and austerity measures.



&#8220;And for that, they blame the politicians from a different generation, who they see as working for themselves rather than the public good,&#8221; Orre said.



In Mozambique, a disputed October election that extended the Frelimo party&#8217;s 49-year rule sparked more than three months of protests against corruption, living costs and unemployment.



&#8220;We are demanding change,&#8221; said Ronaldo António, a 25-year-old street vendor in Maputo, during December protests when crowds marched, whistled and chanted, blocking traffic with trash bins, stones and tyres.



&#8220;We eat chicken feet and necks while government officials are eating the chickens,&#8221; he added.



In Ghana, ahead of Dec. 7 presidential and parliamentary elections, young people mounted street protests against the nation’s debt crisis and high inflation, which have triggered the worst economic crisis in a generation.



Ghanaian filmmaker Kwame Addae, 26, said he voted for businessman Nana Kwame Bediako, even though he knew the newcomer would not win against seasoned politician and former president John Mahama.



&#8220;We are tired of the status quo, and I wanted someone like him (Bediako) that was thinking of the digital economy as a means to provide jobs and move us to a modern Ghana,&#8221; said Addae, adding that Bediako’s political message resonated with young voters.



Activists noted that the protests across Africa had particularly significant impact because young people can skillfully wield digital activism.



In Mozambique, Ângelo do Rosário, who is known as Maxh on social media, said he used his 1.2 million Facebook and more than 300,000 TikTok, Instagram and YouTube followers respectively to encourage young Mozambicans to demand their rights.



&#8220;(We demand) quality education in Mozambique, the availability of a decent health service and all of this the people believe is the result of the bad governance we have in Mozambique,&#8221; said Rosário.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-police-killings-abductions">POLICE KILLINGS, ABDUCTIONS</h2>



The protests across the continent have not been without consequence.



Hundreds of young people have been detained or killed in clashes with police, and scores of protesters remain missing.



In Kenya, some prominent rights groups have accused authorities of a cover-up of dozens of alleged police killings, unexplained abductions and illegal detentions related to the Gen Z protests.



Kenya&#8217;s National Commission on Human Rights, a government-funded body, recorded 82 cases of enforced disappearances in the period between the protests, from June and December. Of those, 29 people remain unaccounted for. At least 40 people have been killed.



In Mozambique, at least 278 people have been killed in police crackdowns against protesters, and more than 2,000 families have fled and sought refuge in neighbouring Malawi.



In November, Nigeria charged 76 people, including children, with treason and inciting a military coup after deadly August protests erupted against economic hardship and spiralling inflation.



Nigerian activist Rinu Oduala &#8211; one of the organisers of prominent #EndSARS protests against police brutality in 2020 &#8211; warned that youth uprisings are unlikely to die down anytime soon.



&#8220;Protests by young people aren&#8217;t a crime, we are doing it out of love for our countries and hope for a better future &#8211; they must be seen as calls for change and what&#8217;s rightfully ours,&#8221; said Oduala, 24, who has more than 800,000 followers on X.



&#8220;But the lesson is clear: ignoring youth voices will be a huge political risk to any government going forward,&#8221; she added.



(Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla; Bukola Adebayo @BUKAdebayo; Samuel Comé and Kim Harrisberg @KimHarrisberg. Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters.)

WHL3PMZZNBJG7KMG7OAQESM3PM

Africa’s youth protests: A storm brewing for 2025?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="357" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400669" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg 612w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1-300x175.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance</figcaption></figure>



Jan 13 (Reuters) &#8211; The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Monday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-global-markets">GLOBAL MARKETS</h2>



Stocks slid broadly in Asia on Monday while the dollar hit 14-month peaks in the wake of an unambiguously strong payrolls report that pushed up bond yields and tested lofty equity valuations just as the earnings season gets under way.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-world-oil-prices">WORLD OIL PRICES</h2>



Oil prices extended gains for a third session on Monday, with Brent rising above $81 a barrel to its highest in more than four months, as wider U.S. sanctions are expected to affect Russian crude exports to top buyers China and India.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-south-africa-markets">SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS</h2>



The South African rand weakened to an eight-month low on Friday after U.S. non-farm payrolls data reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will pause its rate-cutting cycle later this month.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-kenya-markets">KENYA MARKETS</h2>



Kenya&#8217;s shilling firmed slightly against the dollar on Friday, data from the London Stock Exchange Group showed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-zambia-banking">ZAMBIA BANKING</h2>



Zambia&#8217;s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sanctioned Standard Chartered for mis-selling a Chinese property company&#8217;s bonds to one of the bank&#8217;s local wealth clients at the height of the Asian country&#8217;s real-estate crisis, according to a source.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-somalia-diplomacy">SOMALIA DIPLOMACY</h2>



Somalia&#8217;s president visited Ethiopia on Saturday, his office said, the strongest sign yet of improving relations between the two neighbours after a year of tensions over Addis Ababa&#8217;s plans to build a naval base in a breakaway Somali region.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chad-election">CHAD ELECTION</h2>



Chad&#8217;s ruling party won two-thirds of the seats in the legislative election which was boycotted by many in the opposition last month, provisional results showed on Sunday, reinforcing President Mahamat Idriss Deby&#8217;s hold on power.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sudan-security">SUDAN SECURITY</h2>



Sudan&#8217;s army said on Saturday it had entered the central city of Wad Madani and was pushing out its paramilitary rivals the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a step which if completed successfully would be its biggest gain in nearly two years of war.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tanzania-justice">TANZANIA JUSTICE</h2>



A prominent Tanzanian activist has been released after being &#8220;kidnapped&#8221; on Sunday by three armed men on the streets of Kenya&#8217;s capital Nairobi, her husband said, accusing Tanzania&#8217;s national intelligence service of responsibility.



((Compiled by Nairobi Newsroom))

istockphoto-1076949610-612×612-1-2

African Markets – Factors to watch on Jan 13

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-505639" style="width:840px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-1161864863-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A South African one rand coin sits on South African rand banknotes in this arranged photograph in Pretoria, South Africa, on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019. The rand ended a tumultuous week on a positive note, gaining against the dollar for a second day and heading for its first weekly advance in four as technical indicators suggested recent declines are overdone. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 13 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s rand hovered near a nine-month low early on Monday against a buoyant dollar, amid an uncertain outlook for further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.



At 0721 GMT, the rand traded at 19.1525 against the dollar, about 0.3% softer than its previous close. It hit 19.2050 per dollar on Friday, its weakest level since late April.



The dollar was last trading about 0.21% stronger against a basket of currencies, after surging to its highest in over two years at the expense of emerging market currencies such as the rand.



Data on Friday showed U.S. job growth unexpectedly accelerated in December while the unemployment rate fell, underscoring the strength of the world&#8217;s largest economy and leaving traders heavily scaling back bets of Fed rate cuts in 2025.



On the stock market, the Top-40 index was down about 1%.



South Africa&#8217;s benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 5.5 basis points to 9.32%.



(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Alison Williams)

South African Rand Rebound Snaps Streak of Weekly Losses

South African rand hovers near 9-month low against buoyant dollar

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3694" height="2271" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/J5PMZMRCRFI65GQ2B62NYABQDM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-574712"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Standard Chartered bank logo is seen at their headquarters in London, Britain, July 26, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia&#8217;s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sanctioned Standard Chartered for mis-selling a Chinese property company&#8217;s bonds to one of the bank&#8217;s local wealth clients at the height of the Asian country&#8217;s real-estate crisis, according to a source.



The source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the UK-headquartered bank, which is currently looking to sell its wealth and retail banking businesses in Zambia, was facing &#8220;enforcement action&#8221; for two breaches of SEC rules following a months-long investigation.



The first was that it had failed to disclose &#8220;material information&#8221; about the bonds it sold in March 2022. Those bonds, issued by state-backed Chinese developer Sino-Ocean, defaulted just over a year later and are now, like many in the sector, almost worthless.



In addition, the SEC found Standard Chartered had also used &#8220;exclusionary&#8221; contract clauses, which meant the client held all responsibility for the risks, which goes against Zambia&#8217;s securities rules.



In a statement to Reuters, Standard Chartered said: &#8220;We respect the outcome of the Securities Exchange Commission in Zambia, however, in accordance with appropriate local procedures we will respectfully be exercising our right to appeal.&#8221;



&#8220;We are fully aware of this matter, and we are reviewing the necessary details to clarify the situation. It is our priority at the Bank to ensure compliance with regulatory standards across all of our markets.&#8221;



The SEC, which started its investigation of the case in April, said it was not able to comment on the matter when asked by Reuters. Under Zambia&#8217;s Securities Act, Standard Chartered now has 30 days to lodge its appeal.



Zambia&#8217;s SEC has the power to fine, or publicly or privately &#8220;censure or reprimand&#8221; lenders, although it can&#8217;t formally order them to compensate customers for mis-selling.



Reuters wasn&#8217;t able to establish what penalty the regulator is planning to impose on Standard Chartered.



The lender announced in November it was looking to sell its Zambian wealth and retail banking businesses alongside those in nearby Botswana and Uganda.



It has operated in Zambia for nearly 120 years making it the country&#8217;s oldest bank.



It is currently reducing its overall footprint in Africa, however, having also sold its Tanzania business and subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone in the last couple of years.



(Additional reporting by Chris Mfula in Lusaka. Editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Mark Potter)

J5PMZMRCRFI65GQ2B62NYABQDM

Zambia’s SEC sanctions Standard Chartered over China property bond mis-selling, source says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="510" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/XRLACNHRABPBTGGTHZVRWOCVEE.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-573980" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/XRLACNHRABPBTGGTHZVRWOCVEE.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/XRLACNHRABPBTGGTHZVRWOCVEE-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/XRLACNHRABPBTGGTHZVRWOCVEE-128x90.jpg 128w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nigeria&#8217;s former Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison-Madueke addresses delegates at the opening of the Nigeira Oil &amp; Gas 2014 conference in Abuja, File. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Jan 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria and the United States signed an agreement on Friday to repatriate about $52.88 million in assets forfeited by former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and her associates.



The agreement opens the way for the first repatriation to Nigeria of assets outside the West African country linked to Alison-Madueke.



Nigerian Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi said the agreement with the U.S. enables &#8220;the repatriation of approximately $52.88 million arising from the forfeiture of the Galactica assets, linked to the former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and her associates.&#8221;



The agreement follows a 2017 civil complaint filed by the U.S. Justice Department aimed at recovering about $144 million in assets allegedly obtained through bribes to the former minister.



The lawsuit alleged that two Nigerian businessmen conspired with others to pay bribes to Alison-Madueke, who oversaw the country&#8217;s state-owned oil firm NNPC Ltd.



Alison-Madueke, whose whereabouts are unclear but was last known to be in Britain, has previously denied corruption charges against her.



She was minister under former president Goodluck Jonathan from 2010 until May 2015.



The funds will be used to support rural electrification projects through the World Bank, with $50 million allocated to increasing access to renewable energy, Fagbemi said.



The remaining $2.88 million will be disbursed as a grant by Nigeria to the International Institute for Justice to support counter-terrorism capacity across Africa, he said.



In Oct. 2022 a Nigerian court ordered a final seizure of two properties and cars owned by Alison-Madueke.



(Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and MacDonald Dzirutwe, Editing by William Maclean)

FILE PHOTO: Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison-Madueke addresses delegates at the opening of the Nigeira Oil & Gas 2014 conference in Abuja

US to return $52.88 mln in assets forfeited by ex-Nigerian oil minister

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3333" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/3DW6LEO47VMC3CWA77J2OKJYYU-1.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-573919"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The logo of British multinational oil and gas company Shell is displayed during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, (Reuters) &#8211; Shell will write down around $400 million over an oil discovery offshore Namibia that it deemed commercially unviable in a blow to the southern African country&#8217;s efforts to become a crude producer.



Shell told Reuters that discovered oil and gas resources in offshore block PEL39 in Namibia &#8220;cannot currently be confirmed for commercial development.&#8221;



Shell and its partners, QatarEnergy and Namibia&#8217;s national oil company, first discovered hydrocarbon in block PEL39 in 2022, which together with another discovery TotalEnergies made in a nearby block sparked huge global interest in Namibia which has no oil and gas production.



Shell has drilled nine wells in the licence over the past three years, making several other discoveries.



More recently, Portuguese oil company Galp also made a major discovery in a different offshore licence.



But the British company encountered technical and geological difficulties for the development of the resources.



&#8220;While we recognise that extracting the discovered resources presents challenges, the extensive data collected shows that there remain opportunities. Together with our partners, we are continuing to explore potential commercial pathways to development, while actively looking for further exploration opportunities in Namibia,&#8221; Shell said in a statement on Thursday.



CEO Wael Sawan told analysts on Oct. 31 that Namibia&#8217;s acreage was &#8220;very challenging,&#8221; and that the lower permeability of the rock made extracting oil and gas harder.



Sources told Reuters that the offshore discoveries also had a high natural gas content, further complicating their development.



Namibia&#8217;s Ministry of Mines and Energy said in a statement on Thursday that Shell&#8217;s decision will not significantly impact Namibia&#8217;s oil and gas development.



&#8220;It is not a setback. We are positive that the remaining potential of PEL39 and other exploration campaigns will translate into commercial developments,&#8221; the ministry said.



Galp, Chevron, Rhino Resources and Azule Energy, a joint venture between Italy&#8217;s Eni and BP, are all planning to drill exploration wells in Namibia this year. TotalEnergies plans to make a final investment decision on the development of its Venus discovery by year-end.



Shell said in a trading update ahead of fourth quarter results on Jan. 30 that it expects to take an exploration write-off of around $400 million, without providing details.



It will take another $300 million write-off related mainly to exploration licences in Colombia, the company added.



(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Sandra Maler)

3DW6LEO47VMC3CWA77J2OKJYYU

Shell writes down Namibia oil discovery in blow to country

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="628" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GFFKBSSER5LL7JUFKFZRKRAD64-1.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-573905"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ghana&#8217;s President-elect John Dramani Mahama speaks during the swearing-in ceremony for his second term at the Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, Jan 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s new government could seek extra funding from the International Monetary Fund during its current, three-year programme with the lender in order to cushion the economy, finance minister designate Cassiel Ato Forson said on Thursday.



President John Dramani Mahama, who was sworn into office this week after beating the ruling party candidate in December&#8217;s election, picked the former minority leader in parliament to serve in the key post of finance minister.



&#8220;We are committed to work with the IMF, but we also want to ensure that we can raise financing; additional finance, working with IMF and other domestic, international partners,&#8221; Forson, told reporters, ahead of a meeting with an IMF team that is currently visiting Accra.



&#8220;The reliance on Treasury bills and others has not been very helpful,&#8221; said Forson, who also served as a deputy finance minister before.



The IMF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Forson, a 46-year old chartered accountant who holds a Masters degree in taxation from Oxford and a doctorate in finance from a local university, said the new administration would also cut public spending to help lower inflation further.



&#8220;There is a lot of wastage in the system and we will cut them,&#8221; he said, adding that the move will also help the government to restart domestic bond issuance by mid-year.



The West African gold and cocoa producer defaulted on most of its external debt in 2022, leading to a painful restructuring which is at its tail end.



Mahama&#8217;s government would conclude the process by striking a deal with its non-Eurobond commercial creditors, Forson said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revisiting-imf-deal">REVISITING IMF DEAL</h2>



The new president, who previously occupied the office in 2012-17, had pledged to renegotiate the terms of Ghana&#8217;s bailout deal with the IMF during the campaign.



But market participants have taken the view he had limited room for manoeuvre and was unlikely to abandon the current IMF programme in spite of that campaign rhetoric.



His promise mirrored those of other reformist candidates elected into office in emerging markets last year, including Sri Lanka&#8217;s Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who rode on a promise of reconsidering the terms of an IMF programme and debt restructuring.



Mahama has pledged to swiftly assemble a government able to rapidly address growing discontent by boosting the economy and creating jobs.



He also picked John Abdulai Jinapor to serve as energy minister and Dominic Akuritinga Ayine to the post of attorney general and justice minister, the presidency said on Thursday.



The new government has inherited an economy emerging from its worst crisis in a generation.



Ministerial nominees have to be approved by Parliament, where Mahama&#8217;s National Democratic Congress (NDC) party holds a two-thirds majority.



Forson pledged to overhaul the management of the crucial cocoa sector, which has been facing challenges in recent years.



&#8220;We need to look at the issues of funding, diseased crops and production very well. The whole sector needs an overhaul,&#8221; he said.



Forson was charged in connection with the loss of public funds through an ambulance supply deal when he was deputy finance minister, before being acquitted by the courts.



(Additional rewriting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Portia Crowe and Duncan Miriri; Editing by Karin Strohecker and Alex Richardson)

GFFKBSSER5LL7JUFKFZRKRAD64

Ghana could seek more IMF funding, incoming finance minister says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1080" height="720" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KHGGXMJKWZP7HCVFIAWSDLU6LM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-573702"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar speaks during a press conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, March 6, 2024. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Jan 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria and China plan to deepen cooperation in areas such as clean energy, defence and finance, with China pledging support for Nigeria&#8217;s issuance of Panda bonds to fund infrastructure, the two countries&#8217; foreign ministers said on Thursday.



Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi also outlined efforts to address regional security challenges.



Wang was visiting Nigeria as part of a wider four-nation tour of Africa, an annual journey seen as aimed at advancing Beijing&#8217;s already considerable influence on the continent.



His visit to Nigeria follows recent high-level exchanges, including intergovernmental committee talks in Beijing last June and Nigerian President Bola Tinubu&#8217;s state visit to China in September.



These meetings have culminated in the elevation of bilateral relations to a &#8220;comprehensive strategic partnership&#8221;, Wang told a press conference.



Wang said China will &#8220;favourably study and consider&#8221; a request by Nigeria to expand a currency swap agreement.



On regional peace and security, Wang said that at the United Nations Security Council China would always vote in favour of Africa, adding it would continue to support Nigeria in rallying countries in the region.



&#8220;We will work with Africa to address insecurity and achieve long-term stability through development,&#8221; he said.



(Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Frances Kerry)

KHGGXMJKWZP7HCVFIAWSDLU6LM

Nigeria, China deepen ties with pledge on security, finance and economic growth

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_IIYWQDB4WFNKFJIYVD4GQSNLGM-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-573699" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_IIYWQDB4WFNKFJIYVD4GQSNLGM-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_IIYWQDB4WFNKFJIYVD4GQSNLGM-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_IIYWQDB4WFNKFJIYVD4GQSNLGM-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_IIYWQDB4WFNKFJIYVD4GQSNLGM-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_IIYWQDB4WFNKFJIYVD4GQSNLGM-1.jpg 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A local farmer sprays a pesticide on her maize field in Chikwawa District, Malawi March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Eldson Chagara/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



CHIKWAWA, Malawi, Jan 9 (Thomson Reuters Foundation)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Maxwell Nsona stood in the dried-out bed of the Nthumba River in Malawi&#8217;s southern Chikwawa district and recalled how this wide ribbon of footprint-studded sand turned into a raging torrent during heavy rains a decade ago.



The fear is that this could happen again as a country brought to its knees by southern Africa&#8217;s worst drought in decades braces for a rainy season that meteorologists say could bring widespread flooding and landslides.



People, animals and the very land across huge swathes of southern Africa have been depleted and desiccated with millions of people going hungry and economies faltering.



The drought has been fuelled by El Niño, a climate phenomenon that can exacerbate drought or storms &#8211; weather conditions that are made more likely by climate change.



Rain is desperately needed in Malawi, but with deliverance from drought comes danger and that is because the impending La Niña weather phenomenon, which involves the cooling of ocean surface temperatures, could bring increased rainfall, but it also threatens flooding, soil erosion and landslides.



It is not as though Nsona and his fellow farmers from Pende village have been idle either.



They have done what they can to prepare for what they know is coming in a country that regularly experiences the deadly, and ever more frequent, pendulum swing from life-threatening droughts to devastating floods.



For example, they built dykes along the river and reinforced the banks with rocks and by planting trees and other vegetation.



&#8220;We made a resolution to find a solution after floods had displaced a chief and killed three people almost 10 years ago,&#8221; said the 50-year-old father-of-three, who has lived in the region his whole life and grows maize, millet and cotton.



&#8220;We tried to redirect it back to its course using hoes and shovels &#8230; We also built a 150-metre dyke using an excavator, but it was washed away when cyclones Ana and &#8230; Freddy hit this area,&#8221; he said, explaining that two relief agencies helped them with the construction.



Cyclone Ana hit Malawi in 2022, and Freddy, one of the deadliest storms to hit the continent in two decades, ripped through Malawi just over a year later.



Another storm season has already begun, with devastating consequences.



On Dec. 14, peoples&#8217; cell phones beeped with a warning from the Department Of Disaster Management Affairs: Cyclone Chido was on its way and could bring torrential rains and flooding.



The message, sent in local languages, told people to head for the hills, if they could.



Just two days later, after laying waste to the French overseas territory of Mayotte off Africa&#8217;s east coast, Chido barrelled into Malawi, killing at least 13 people, destroying homes and leaving many communities without food, water and healthcare.



ROTTING MANGOES



Malawi declared a state of disaster in March 2024 as the drought decimated crops, leaving around 5.7 million people &#8211; 20% of the population &#8211; facing acute food insecurity.



At the end of the year, rains started in some parts of Malawi, a country where more than 80% of people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, but these downpours have also caused problems among people who have been left with few resources as crops wilted in the fields.



In November, heavy winds and rain struck Namwera, an area in Malawi&#8217;s old capital Zomba, damaging homes and blowing the drought-resistant mangoes that people rely on for food off the trees.



In the nearby district of Machinga, which was not affected by the storm, Hanna Wethiwa, 52, was busy picking fresh mangoes from trees outside her home in Lumera village.



She cut them up and boiled them over an outside fire before adding a powdered juice, which costs around 700 Malawi kwacha ($0.4077), as two of her six children waited eagerly nearby for their meal.



Apart from mangoes, Wethiwa has been relying on wild yams and grass seeds to survive, even though there are reports of people dying from food poisoning after eating wild tubers.



&#8220;This year has been the hardest because all of our crops dried due to the drought. We started eating sorghum-like grass seeds, which we fetched from the bush,&#8221; the mother-of-seven told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.



&#8220;We dry them, pound and cook porridge, but they did not last long because every household was relying on them.&#8221;



CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL HELP



At November&#8217;s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, Malawi&#8217;s Vice President Michael Usi, who was also representing the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group, told delegates climate change &#8220;is not a distant abstraction&#8221;.



He said floods, droughts, and unpredictable weather patterns were disrupting lives in Malawi and threatening the well-being of future generations.



&#8220;For a country like Malawi, the consequences are not only economic, but also deeply inhumane. The catastrophe compromises food security, public health and infrastructure development, exacerbates poverty and undermines our hard-won development gains,&#8221; he said.



Although Malawi&#8217;s greenhouse gas emissions are among the lowest in the world, Usi said the country was committed to reducing them further. He also said Loss and Damage funding must be made available to vulnerable countries.



Countries at the COP29 summit adopted a $300-billion-a-year global finance target to help poorer nations cope with impacts of climate change, but those countries said it was woefully insufficient.



In the meantime, officials in Malawi must do the best they can. Like Daniel Mandala, the district disaster risk management officer for Nsanje in southern Malawi, where areas around the Shire River are prone to flooding.



He is busy preparing for coming months by reviewing the district disaster contingency plan, which includes all emergency activities ranging from preparedness, response and recovery.



&#8220;Prevention is better than cure hence the (Nsanje district) council is also warning communities to relocate to safe places before the rains reach their climax,&#8221; he said, adding that people were being urged to take weather warnings seriously.



Mandala said flooding and storms had become more frequent and intense in Nsanje over the last decade.



&#8220;It is not necessarily difficult to manage annual disasters as we already know the areas to be affected and the estimated number of households to be affected,&#8221; he said.



&#8220;The only challenge is the magnitude of the flooding, which has increased, and the reluctance of some communities to move to upland when early warnings are issued in good time.&#8221;



($1 = 1,717.0200 kwacha)



(Reporting by Charle Pensulo; Editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile and Jon Hemming)

https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_IIYWQDB4WFNKFJIYVD4GQSNLGM

In parched Malawi rains promise deliverance but also danger

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GFFKBSSER5LL7JUFKFZRKRAD64.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-573655"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ghana&#8217;s President-elect John Dramani Mahama speaks during the swearing-in ceremony for his second term at the Black Star Square in Accra, Ghana January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, Jan 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s new President John Dramani Mahama has named leader of Parliament Cassiel Ato Forson as finance minister, as he seeks to assemble a government able to rapidly address growing discontent by boosting the economy and creating jobs.



Mahama, who was sworn in on Tuesday after winning an election in December, named John Abdulai Jinapor as energy minister and Dominic Akuritinga Ayine as attorney general and justice minister, a presidency statement said on Thursday.



The new government has inherited an economy emerging from its worst crisis in a generation.



Mahama, who served a first term in office from 2012 to 2017, has pledged to prioritise economic recovery and stability, improve the business and investment climate and fight graft.



On the campaign trail, he pledged to nominate all cabinet ministers within his first 14 days in office, and to keep cabinet the lean.



Ministerial nominees have to be approved by Parliament, where Mahama&#8217;s National Democratic Congress (NDC) party holds a two-thirds majority.



Forson, a 46-year old chartered accountant and lawmaker representing the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam constituency in Ghana&#8217;s Central Region, served as deputy finance minister during Mahama&#8217;s first term.



After Mahama and the NDC were voted out of power in late 2016, Forson led the party&#8217;s finance and economic team in Parliament, and in January 2023 was made the leader of the opposition in parliament.



He holds a PhD in finance from Ghana&#8217;s Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and a Master of Science in taxation from the University of Oxford.



(Additional rerting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Portia Crowe; Editing by Alison Williams, Frances Kerry, William Maclean)

Ghana’s president names Cassiel Ato Forson as finance minister

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="418" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-573641"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A teller counts Kenya shilling notes inside the cashier&#8217;s booth at a forex exchange bureau in Kenya&#8217;s capital Nairobi, April 20, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File photo</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Jan 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The Kenyan and Ugandan shillings, Ghanaian cedi and Zambia&#8217;s kwacha are all expected to ease against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, traders said.



KENYA



Kenya&#8217;s shilling&nbsp;KES=&nbsp;is forecast to weaken on increased demand for dollars from importers across all sectors of the economy.



Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 129.00/130.00 per dollar, compared with last Thursday&#8217;s close of 129.00/129.50.



&#8220;The shilling is on an upward (weakening) trend. Right now (dollar demand) is from a mix of all sectors in the economy,&#8221; a trader at one commercial bank said.



UGANDA



The Ugandan shilling&nbsp;UGX=&nbsp;is seen weakening on the back of strong demand by players in the interbank market looking to build healthy foreign exchange positions as the new year starts, traders said.



Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,694/3,704 on Thursday, compared to 3,673/3,683 a week ago.



&#8220;Normally as the year starts we tend to see elevated (dollar) demand,&#8221; said a trader at one commercial bank.



He said the shilling was likely to weaken to around 3,720 against the dollar.



GHANA



Ghana&#8217;s cedi&nbsp;GHS=&nbsp;is expected to remain softer against the dollar next week as demand remains subdued, traders said.



LSEG data showed the cedi trading at 14.70 to the dollar on Thursday, compared to 14.65 at last Thursday&#8217;s close.



&#8220;The cedi has been on the ropes recently, largely on the back of weaker FX flows. Demand from local corporates has also begun to ramp up, further contributing to the weaker cedi in the week,&#8221; said Sedem Dornoo, a senior trader at Absa Bank Ghana.



&#8220;It is likely that the local unit will remain under pressure in the coming week as demand continues to ramp up as several businesses kick start operations for the year,&#8221; he added.



ZAMBIA



Zambia&#8217;s kwacha&nbsp;ZMW=&nbsp;is likely to remain under pressure against the dollar as a severe drought continues to weigh on the local currency.



On Thursday, the currency of Africa’s second largest copper producer was trading at 27.9000 compared to 27.7750 last Thursday. It has hit a series of record lows since the start of the year.



&#8220;The drought has resulted in significant payments for imported electricity and reduced copper production – a key foreign currency earner – weighing on the kwacha,&#8221; Access Bank said in a note on Thursday.



(Reporting by George Obulutsa, Elias Biryabarema, Christian Akorlie and Chris Mfula; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

LYEEWJTJKRPK3GJPCKWFP3EK7E

AFRICA-FX – African currencies seen weakening

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="694" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/https___cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com_reuters_2RDQ23M7XBMRNLWULMA2ULYTGU.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-573616"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Royal Dutch Shell logo is seen at a Shell petrol station in London, January 31, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) &#8211; Shell SHEL.L will write down around $400 million over an oil discovery offshore Namibia that it deemed commercially unviable in a blow to the southern African country&#8217;s efforts to become a crude producer.



Shell&nbsp;told Reuters that discovered oil and gas resources in offshore block PEL39 in Namibia &#8220;cannot currently be confirmed for commercial development.&#8221;



Shell and its partners QatarEnergy and Namibia&#8217;s national oil company first discovered hydrocarbon in block PEL39 in 2022, which together with another discovery TotalEnergies&nbsp;TTEF.PAmade in a nearby block sparked huge global interest in the southern African country which has no oil and gas production.



Shell drilled nine wells in the licence over the past three years, making several other discoveries.



More recently, Portuguese oil company Galp also made a major discovery in a different offshore licence.



But the British company encountered technical and geological difficulties for the development of the resources.



CEO Wael Sawan told analysts on Oct. 31 that Namibia&#8217;s acreage was &#8220;very challenging,&#8221; and that the lower permeability of the rock made extracting oil and gas harder.



Sources told Reuters that the offshore discoveries also had a high natural gas content, further complicating their development.



The company said in a trading update ahead of fourth quarter results on Jan. 30 that it expects to take an exploration write off of around $400 million, without providing details.



It will take another $300 million write off related mainly to exploration licences in Colombia, the company said.



(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Chris Reese and Nick Zieminski)

Reuters

South African rand firms ahead of Trump inauguration

South African rand, stocks surge after US consumer inflation data

Nigerian inflation rises for fourth straight month in December

Kenya turns to the UAE for railway funds after China cut financing

Rains force South Africa to close border crossing with Botswana

Africa’s youth protests: A storm brewing for 2025?

African Markets – Factors to watch on Jan 13

South African rand hovers near 9-month low against buoyant dollar

Zambia’s SEC sanctions Standard Chartered over China property bond mis-selling, source says

US to return $52.88 mln in assets forfeited by ex-Nigerian oil minister

Shell writes down Namibia oil discovery in blow to country

Ghana could seek more IMF funding, incoming finance minister says

Nigeria, China deepen ties with pledge on security, finance and economic growth

In parched Malawi rains promise deliverance but also danger

Ghana’s president names Cassiel Ato Forson as finance minister

AFRICA-FX – African currencies seen weakening

Shell writes down Namibia oil discovery in blow to country

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Reuters

South African rand firms ahead of Trump inauguration

South African rand, stocks surge after US consumer inflation data

Nigerian inflation rises for fourth straight month in December

Kenya turns to the UAE for railway funds after China cut financing

Rains force South Africa to close border crossing with Botswana

Africa’s youth protests: A storm brewing for 2025?

African Markets – Factors to watch on Jan 13

South African rand hovers near 9-month low against buoyant dollar

Zambia’s SEC sanctions Standard Chartered over China property bond mis-selling, source says

US to return $52.88 mln in assets forfeited by ex-Nigerian oil minister

Shell writes down Namibia oil discovery in blow to country

Ghana could seek more IMF funding, incoming finance minister says

Nigeria, China deepen ties with pledge on security, finance and economic growth

In parched Malawi rains promise deliverance but also danger

Ghana’s president names Cassiel Ato Forson as finance minister

AFRICA-FX – African currencies seen weakening

Shell writes down Namibia oil discovery in blow to country

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters