<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="573" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-820x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-601968" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-820x573.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-768x537.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/QS64ZYEOH5M5XIIVOXIAGD6OTY-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Delegates walk past the MTN logo at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 conference in Cape Town, South Africa February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, March 26 (Reuters) &#8211; MTN Group and Airtel Africa have struck a deal to share mobile phone network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria, they said on Wednesday, aiming to save on investments while still increasing service coverage.



Mobile operators in Africa are seeing sustained demand for digital and financial services, but building and maintaining networks are expensive, especially for fast 5G connections.



&#8220;There are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher (operational) efficiencies and improve returns,&#8221; MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said in a statement.



Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said the agreement would avoid duplication of expensive infrastructure.



Sharing infrastructure allows operators to extend their network coverage more quickly, especially in rural or less densely-populated areas where it might not be economically viable to build separate networks.



Following the conclusion of agreements in Uganda and Nigeria, MTN and Airtel Africa will explore various opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia, the companies said.



Among the deals under consideration are radio access network sharing, the largest portion of the cost in network deployment and operation; commercial and technical agreements for fibre infrastructure sharing; and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks, they added.



&#8220;This engagement does not preclude the parties from collaborating with other operators in any respective market,&#8221; the companies said.



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Mark Potter)

Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 conference in Cape Town

MTN Group and Airtel Africa agree to share networks in Uganda and Nigeria

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-524999" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/7ZNSSGJXYVLLPCVOFDAM5N2QZ4-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A view shows part of Dangote oil refinery in Ibeju Lekki district, on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria August 7, 2019. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;U.S. jet fuel imports are set to hit a two-year high in March after Nigeria&#8217;s Dangote refinery pushed barrels to North America,&nbsp;which should lower prices of the aviation fuel in the peak summer travel season, trade analysts and storage brokers said.



The shipments by the 650,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) Dangote refinery, Africa&#8217;s largest, highlight its potential to reshape global fuel trading dynamics by creating a new swing supplier in the Atlantic Basin.



It has already shown signs of success in competing with European refiners on gasoline exports, and the jet fuel shipments to the United States could challenge domestic producers&#8217; economics in the largest fuel consuming nation.



Six vessels carrying about 1.7 million barrels of jet fuel from the Dangote refinery arrived at U.S. ports this month, data from ship-tracking service Kpler showed. Another vessel, Hafnia Andromeda, is set to arrive at the Everglades terminal on March 29 with a load of about 348,000 barrels of jet fuel, the data showed.



Total U.S. jet fuel imports so far in March stood at around 226,000 bpd, the most since February 2023, the data showed.



The Dangote refinery started production last January after years of construction delays, and ramped up to about 85% of capacity in early February, allowing it to sell more fuel to international markets.



Dangote is unlikely to be a regular jet fuel supplier to the U.S., but a maintenance-related shutdown of the Phillips 66 PSX.N Bayway refinery in New Jersey helped open a rare arbitrage opportunity for flows from Nigeria to the U.S., Sparta Commodities analyst James Noel-Beswick said.



The window is likely to close soon or shrink significantly due to elevated U.S. inventories of the aviation fuel, Noel-Beswick added.



Demand to lease storage tanks for jet fuel in Houston and New York Harbor in April is averaging around 700,000 barrels on storage broker TankTiger&#8217;s platform, five to six times the average monthly demand, TankTiger Chief Operating Officer Steven Barsamian said.



The surge in demand, partly due to the influx of supply from Nigeria, is likely to lower jet fuel prices in the U.S. ahead of peak summer travel season, Barsamian said.



Despite lower prices, air travel over the summer could be dampened by economic headwinds from a stock market selloff and waning consumer confidence, Sparta&#8217;s Noel-Beswick said.



U.S. jet fuel stocks ended February at 45.2 million barrels, the highest for the month since 1999, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed.



U.S. refiners&#8217; yield of jet fuel hit a record last year, reflecting stronger demand relative to other transportation fuels, the EIA said on Monday. The agency expects U.S. jet fuel consumption to touch a record in 2026.



(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New YorkEditing by Nick Zieminski)

FILE PHOTO: A view shows part of Dangote oil refinery in Ibeju Lekki district

US jet fuel imports surge as Nigeria’s Dangote refinery pushes barrels west

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IY46OUZRCVPDBKKHN5YXHO5L3Q.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-599358" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IY46OUZRCVPDBKKHN5YXHO5L3Q.jpg 720w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IY46OUZRCVPDBKKHN5YXHO5L3Q-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IY46OUZRCVPDBKKHN5YXHO5L3Q-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A fly rests on sun-dried cocoa beans at a warehouse in Kwabeng in the Eastern Region, Ghana, February 28, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABIDJAN, March 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ivory Coast&#8217;s Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) is expected to increase the state-guaranteed price paid to its cocoa farmers by at least 11% ahead of the mid-crop season starting in April, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.



The world&#8217;s top cocoa grower will set its farmgate price at between 2,000 and 2,300 CFA francs ($3.35-$3.85) per kg, up from 1,800 CFA francs, the sources from the market regulator told Reuters.



One of the officials said President Alassane Ouattara had instructed the regulator to set the farmgate price in line with the market.



Despite cocoa futures on the ICE exchange hitting four-month lows last week, the regulator still plans to increase the guaranteed price paid to farmers, the official said.



The second official added that the hike was justified because the regulator was able to make good sales at a time when the market was fairly bullish.



Both sources also said Ivory Coast was about to experience its worst mid-crop output in the last 10 years due to an unusually long dry season.



They acknowledged concerns raised by exporters and pod counters who expect the mid-crop to drop to between 280,000 and 300,000 metric tons of cocoa.



Rains started falling in some growing regions at the end of February but the officials said it wasn&#8217;t enough to reverse the current trend.



This is why the regulator decided to reserve the mid-crop harvest for locally based grinders, the sources said, adding that the CCC had sold them contracts for 275,000 metric tons.



Despite negative predictions, export contracts are not expected to be postponed, the sources said. Last season, the regulator had to roll over contracts for around 150,000 tons due to a poor main crop and the exclusive sale of the mid-crop to grinders.



The country&#8217;s annual production is expected to be similar to last year&#8217;s 1.75 million metric tons.



&#8220;Today, our main concern is next season. It&#8217;s still a long way off, but we&#8217;re already thinking about it to anticipate the future,&#8221; one of the officials said.



($1 = 596.7500 CFA francs)



(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Editing by Anait Miridzhanian, Kirsten Donovan)

IY46OUZRCVPDBKKHN5YXHO5L3Q

Ivory Coast to increase cocoa farmgate price by at least 11%, sources say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3347" height="2431" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/HS3BK3GUSZPOFDDR27NKM35YCQ.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-599180"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Nigeria&#8217;s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu attends John Dramani Mahama&#8217;s swearing-in ceremony for his second term as Ghana&#8217;s president, in Accra, Ghana January 7, 2025. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko/File Photo </figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, (Reuters) &#8211; Nigerian President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency on Tuesday in oil-producing Rivers State and suspended the state governor, his deputy and all lawmakers.



Tinubu, in a television broadcast, said he had received security reports in the last two days of &#8220;disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militants without the governor taking any action to curtail them.&#8221;



&#8220;With all these and many more, no good and responsible president will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the constitution to address the situation in the state,&#8221; added Tinubu.



Police said earlier they were investigating the cause of a blast in Rivers state that resulted in a fire on Nigeria&#8217;s Trans Niger Pipeline, a major oil artery transporting crude from onshore oilfields to the Bonny export terminal.



Rivers, in the Niger Delta, is a major source of crude oil and militants have in the past blown up pipelines, hampering production and exports.



The state has been embroiled in a political crisis pitting factions of the opposition People&#8217;s Democratic Party (PDP) against each other. The state lawmakers had also threatened to impeach the governor and his deputy.



Tinubu&#8217;s state of emergency enables the federal government to make regulations to run the state and also allow authorities to easily deploy security forces to bring order if needed.



Tinubu nominated a retired vice admiral as caretaker to run the affairs of Rivers State for an initial six months.



The president said he had sent a copy of his proclamation to the National Assembly, which can endorse or reject his decision.



&#8220;For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate,&#8221; said Tinubu.



(Reporting by Camillus Eboh, writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Gareth Jones and Sandra Maler)

HS3BK3GUSZPOFDDR27NKM35YCQ

Nigeria declares state of emergency in Rivers State over pipeline vandalism

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-596161" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2203090787-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">ACCRA, GHANA &#8211; MARCH 3: Cassiel Ato Forson, Ghana&#8217;s finance minister, speaks during the National Economic Dialogue on March 3, 2025, in Accra, Ghana. The National Economic Dialogue brings together representatives from government, business, and civil society for a dialogue around the theme &#8220;Resetting Ghana: Building the Economy We Want Together&#8221; and takes place ahead of the reading of Ghana&#8217;s national budget in Parliament on March 11. (Photo by Ernest Ankomah/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, March 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Baah Forson said on Tuesday that the West African nation faced significant external debt service costs over the next four years.



&#8220;The next four years we&#8217;ll be made to call upon to pay $8.7 billion representing 10.9% of GDP, with heavy concentration in the year 2027 and 2028,&#8221; Forson told parliament in his first budget speech.



He that Ghana will have to pay $2.5 billion in 2027 and $2.4 billion in 2028.



&#8220;In spite of all these upcoming domestic and external debt service obligations, no buffers were built to cushion this unprecedented debt service burden,&#8221; Forson said.



The West African nation is emerging from its deepest economic crisis in a generation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, higher global interest rates and years of excessive borrowing.



President John Dramani Mahama, who took office in January, has vowed to boost the economy and create jobs. He faces the fallouts of a cost-of-living crisis, an ongoing bailout from the International Monetary Fund and a sovereign debt default in the cocoa and gold-producing nation.



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Sofia Christensen and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Tomasz Janowski)

National Economic Dialogue Held In Ghana

Ghana faces significant external debt service, finance minister says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-495905" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/VHFMCME3UZO7DANJAKAOCLCA2U-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Nigeria&#8217;s President Bola Tinubu looks on after his swearing-in ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, March 11 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s government has started vetting potential candidates to lead its more than 100 diplomatic missions, with appointments expected &#8220;very soon&#8221;, 18 months after President Bola Tinubu recalled all ambassadors, sources familiar with the matter said.



Nigeria, Africa&#8217;s most populous country and a key Western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in West Africa, has operated without ambassadors since September 2023.



The minister of foreign affairs has previously blamed a lack of funds for the delay in naming new diplomats.



A government source told Reuters that the issue &#8220;is being resolved&#8221; and &#8220;that means the appointment will be announced very soon.&#8221;



Nigeria&#8217;s security services were conducting background checks on possible appointees and had started sharing their findings with the relevant agencies within the presidency and legislature, an intelligence official told Reuters.



A spokesperson from the presidency referred questions to the foreign affairs ministry, which declined to comment. The sources declined to be named as they are not authorised to speak on the matter.



Since coming to power in May 2023, Tinubu has prioritised fixing Nigeria&#8217;s struggling economy, with foreign policy taking a back seat, said a former ambassador who served in Africa and the United States.



The government has this year budgeted 302.4 billion naira ($198.30 million) to run its foreign missions.



The former Nigerian ambassador said he was informed by government officials that the issue of the absence of ambassadors in their countries had come up in discussions between Tinubu and some foreign leaders.



&#8220;Assurance had been given that they will soon be appointed,&#8221; said the former ambassador, who declined to be named.



($1 = 1,525.0000 naira)



(Reporting by Ope Adetayo, additional reporting by Ben Ezeamalu in Lagos; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

FILE PHOTO: Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu looks on after his swearing-in ceremony in Abuja

Nigeria to appoint ambassadors, 18 months after worldwide recall, sources say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/6XIG4R3DRFK2ZPWEVWERAVU4PA.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590617"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The new logo of the Nigeria oil company is seen at the NNPC Mega Gas Station in Abuja, Nigeria August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, March 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s state oil company NNPC Ltd has begun discussions with the Dangote Oil Refinery to extend its contract for supplying crude oil in the naira currency, the company said.



The original six-month agreement, which ends later this month, was implemented in October after local refineries, including the Dangote facility, reported difficulties securing crude supplies.



The initiative aimed to alleviate those supply issues by allowing refineries to purchase crude in naira through NNPC Ltd. Under the existing arrangement, NNPC Ltd says it has supplied 48 million barrels of oil to the Dangote Oil Refinery.



While the initial plan included supplying seven other smaller refineries, only the Dangote refinery ultimately benefited from the agreement, and even it did not receive the initially agreed-upon volumes.



NNPC Ltd said that &#8220;discussions are ongoing towards&#8221; a new contract. The details of the potential new contract, including volume, pricing, and duration, are yet to be disclosed.



(Reporting by Isaac Anyaogu; editing by David Evans)

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Nigeria’s NNPC, Dangote Refinery in talks to extend naira-based crude supply deal

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="469" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-564821"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People walk on the street around Kwame Nkrumah circle in Accra, Ghana, December 2, 2016. Picture taken December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, March 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s&nbsp;economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter of last year,&nbsp;dragged down by a weaker performance of the industry sector, the&nbsp;country&#8217;s statistics agency said on Monday.



Gross domestic product grew by 3.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, the data showed, compared with a revised 7.5% in the third quarter.



Economic growth for the year 2024 was at 5.7%.



Growth in the&nbsp;fourth quarter&nbsp;was&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;driven by&nbsp;the services sector, which grew 6.3%,&nbsp;and&nbsp;agriculture,&nbsp;which rose 2.9%, government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim said,&nbsp;adding that the industry sector only&nbsp;expanded by 0.2%.



The West African country is emerging from its deepest economic crisis in a generation, with turmoil in the vital cocoa and gold industries.



Ghana&#8217;s consumer inflation rate slowed for the second month in a row in February, to 23.1% from 23.5% in January.



However, it remains well above Bank of Ghana&#8217;s 8% target with a margin of error of 2 percentage points either side.



President John Dramani Mahama, who returned to office in January, has promised to cut taxes and expenditure to attract investments and lift growth.



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Toby Chopra)

I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4

Ghana’s growth slows in fourth quarter of 2024

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3334" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/7PQPUDNLRFNEHOE2URISJZW7ZY.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-584693"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view of the Mild Hydrocracking Unit (MHC) at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria, July 20, 2024. REUTERS/Marvellous Durowaiye/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, March 6 (Reuters) &#8211; Canada&#8217;s Africa Oil Corporation will double its Nigerian output and the size of its reserves there once it completes its deal for full ownership of Prime Oil next Tuesday, a senior company executive said.



Africa Oil will increase to full ownership its shareholding in Dutch entity Prime Oil &amp; Gas Coöperatief, whose main assets include indirect stakes in deep-water producing Nigerian fields operated by TotalEnergies and Chevron.



&#8220;On closing of that deal we will significantly change the scale of our business, we will double production, we double reserves and significantly boost our liquidity position,&#8221; Oliver Quinn, chief commercial officer at Africa Oil told Reuters.



Once the deal is complete, Africa Oil expects to produce around 35,000 barrels per day, he said.



&#8220;They are very significant value barrels because they have very low lifting cost of under $10, so the margin on the barrels is high and typically sell at premium to Brent,&#8221; said Quinn.



With its partners, Africa Oil said an infill drilling campaign was planned this year to maintain output in mid-life fields.



Besides Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, the company is also present in Namibia&#8217;s prolific Orange Basin via a 40% stake in Impact Oil and Gas with exposure to the Venus discovery.



Operator TotalEnergies expects to take a final investment decision in 2026 and propel Namibia to becoming an oil exporter at the turn of the decade.



&#8220;Our focus is to add to the cash generation machine, which runs through the decade while on the backend Namibia Venus comes onstream and then we have significant growth in that asset,&#8221; Quinn said.



(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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Africa Oil Corp bullish on Nigeria growth, Namibia long game

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3496" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/CR5EVVJ5Y5PO3E7GJQQP4SZ5Y4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-593310"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A MultiChoice logo is displayed outside the company&#8217;s building in Cape Town, South Africa February 2, 2024. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, Nigeria, (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s competition commission is suing the local unit of MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, Africa&#8217;s biggest pay television company, and its chief executive, John Ugbe, for violating regulatory directives, the watchdog said on Wednesday.



The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) asked MultiChoice Nigeria last month to maintain its pricing structure for its pay-TV business DSTV and GOtv pending the conclusion of a review of its proposed price hike.



Despite the directive, the company proceeded with its price increase on March 1, 2025, in clear defiance of the commission&#8217;s directive, the FCCPC said.



&#8220;Following this blatant disregard for regulatory oversight, the FCCPC has filed charges against MultiChoice Nigeria and John Ugbe at the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, on three counts of offences &#8230; for willfully obstructing the commission&#8217;s inquiry by implementing a price hike contrary to directives,&#8221; the competition agency said in a post on X.



MultiChoice Nigeria could not be reached immediately for comment.



MultiChoice Group last year reached a settlement with Nigerian tax authorities for its local subsidiary and agreed to pay a total tax amount of about $37.3 million.



(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Nigerian competition agency sues MultiChoice over price hike

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="403" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/LMJDQ7KDKVO35EYSDSPC5IUATQ.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-593883"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Vehicles drive past a BP (British Petroleum) petrol station in Liverpool, Britain, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo </figcaption></figure>



DAKAR/NOUAKCHOTT, March 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A gas leak has been detected at a well of the BP-operated&nbsp;BP.L&nbsp;Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project offshore Senegal and Mauritania, the British company and Mauritania&#8217;s environment ministry said on Wednesday.



BP said the environmental impact from the leak was expected to be negligible, and that the incident would not disrupt production activities.



The project developed by BP and U.S.-listed Kosmos Energy KOS.N produced its first gas at the start of the year.



&#8220;As part of (a) planned commissioning test, we discovered low-rate subsea gas bubbles at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) A02 well,&#8221; the company told Reuters via email. &#8220;We have a plan to stop the bubbles.&#8221;



Mauritania&#8217;s environment ministry said in a statement it was &#8220;conducting in-depth investigations to effectively manage the situation and prevent any environmental impact&#8221; in close collaboration with the country&#8217;s oil and fisheries ministries and Senegalese authorities.



Ahmed Vall Ould Mohameden, Mauritania&#8217;s oil ministry adviser, said incidents of this kind often occur at the start of production.



&#8220;Last week a plane carrying equipment to plug the leak was sent to the site to repair it,&#8221; Mohameden told Reuters.



GTA, a floating facility straddling the maritime border between Senegal and Mauritania, is expected to produce 2.3 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year in its first phase.



(Reporting by Diadie Ba and Anait Miridzhanian in Dakar and Kissima Diagana in Nouakchott; Editing by Bate Felix, Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey)

LMJDQ7KDKVO35EYSDSPC5IUATQ

BP and Mauritania say leak detected at gas project off West Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="480" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/INAPBQZQGJPG5GDPQMQDC6PZIU.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-593780"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A woman street vendor carries water for sale in Kanda neighbourhood of Accra, Ghana November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA, March 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s consumer inflation rate&nbsp;GHCPIY=ECI&nbsp;slowed for the second month in a row in February, to an annual 23.1% from 23.5% in January, the statistics service said on Wednesday.



Government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim told a news conference that the latest decline was due to both food and non-food price rises easing.



&#8220;In the last four months, you&#8217;ve seen consistent decline in food inflation on a month on month basis, declining by 2.0 percentage points between November 2024 and February 2025,&#8221; Annim said.



Nevertheless, the annual inflation rate in February was the third-highest in the last 10 months, he added.



The West African country is emerging from its deepest economic crisis in a generation, with turmoil in the vital cocoa and gold industries.



Its inflation remains well above Bank of Ghana&#8217;s 8% target with a margin of error of 2 percentage points either side.



The central bank said in January that it would take longer for inflation to return to within the 6%-10% range.



(Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Bate Felix and Hugh Lawson)

INAPBQZQGJPG5GDPQMQDC6PZIU

Ghana consumer inflation slows for second month in February

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ZGP5BDQKUZLKTKT6I23C653ZKA-1.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590677"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A farmer holds cocoa beans while he is drying them at a village in Sinfra, Ivory Coast April 29, 2023. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABIDJAN, Feb 25 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ivory Coast&#8217;s customs have seized around 2,000 metric tons of falsely declared cocoa beans worth around $19 million at its main port in Abidjan, two customs sources and one judicial source said on Tuesday.



Cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, is usually smuggled over Ivory Coast&#8217;s western border to Guinea and Liberia where traffickers pay above the local farmgate price for the commodity.



However, last week Ivorian customs discovered that a cocoa exporter had made a false declaration to pay less tax on the shipment at the port.



They seized 110 containers that according to the document were supposed to contain rubber, a customs officer familiar with the case told Reuters.



&#8220;To my knowledge, this is the first time we&#8217;ve made such a seizure. 2,000 tons, or around 15 million pounds, is a huge amount,&#8221; another officer said.



The tax on this shipment should have been 19.5%, including the 14.5% tax on cocoa exports and the 5% registration tax. In that case, the Ivorian state would have collected 2.9 million pounds in taxes.



Meanwhile, the tax on rubber exports is only 1.5%.



A source close to the judicial authorities said this fraud was possible due to the high level of corruption in the administration and the complicity of various departments.



&#8220;We seized this case &#8230; and we are still investigating. We can&#8217;t say anything at the moment,&#8221; said a prosecutor close to the case.



($1 = 0.7918 pounds)



(Reporting by Ange Aboa; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by David Evans)

ZGP5BDQKUZLKTKT6I23C653ZKA (1)

Ivory Coast customs seize 2,000 tons of falsely declared cocoa beans, sources say

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="640" height="427" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ZGP5BDQKUZLKTKT6I23C653ZKA.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-590550"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A farmer holds cocoa beans while he is drying them at a village in Sinfra, Ivory Coast April 29, 2023. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



PARIS, Feb 24 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Cocoa production in Ivory Coast in the 2024/25 season is on course to remain around last season&#8217;s disappointing level after adverse weather and crop conditions continued, the country&#8217;s agriculture minister said.



A sharp fall in output in Ivory Coast, the world&#8217;s biggest supplier of the chocolate ingredient, and number two producer Ghana in 2023/24 triggered a surge in international prices to record highs last year.



&#8220;It&#8217;s the same trend,&#8221; Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani told Reuters on Monday regarding prospects for 2024/25 production, adding it was too early to give a firm forecast.



The minister&#8217;s assessment was in line with a Reuters analyst poll this month that gave an average expectation of 1.80 million metric tons for 2024/25 versus 1.76 million in 2023/24.



Echoing comments by farmers, Adjoumani said recent rain had improved prospects for the April-to-September mid-crop, which follows the country&#8217;s October-to-March main crop.



Faced with adverse climate effects and disease in ageing cocoa trees, Ivory Coast was engaged in replanting and agroforestry measures that should boost production potential within two years, he added in an interview at the annual Paris farm show.



Rocketing international prices have also fuelled smuggling of cocoa beans from Ivory Coast, whose fixed price for growers is much lower despite an increase last year.



There has been talk that around 100,000 to 200,000 tons of cocoa has been illegally exported to neighbouring countries such as Guinea this season, but a crackdown by the government has curbed the traffic, Adjoumani said.



In other agricultural markets, Ivory Coast could become self-sufficient in rice from next year after investment in seeds and farm machinery helped accelerate growth in production to 1.5 million tons last year, narrowing the gap with consumption of 2.1 million tons, he said.



(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; editing by David Evans)

ZGP5BDQKUZLKTKT6I23C653ZKA

Ivory Coast’s cocoa crop to hold near last season’s, minister says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="720" height="473" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/QPQQ77FJE5JRTNVTB23SO7K7RM.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-568246"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A view shows Nigeria&#8217;s Central Bank headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria November 22, 2020. Picture taken November 22, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde//File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Feb 20 (Reuters) &#8211; Nigeria&#8217;s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 27.50%, its governor Olayemi Cardoso said on Thursday.



The decision follows six rate hikes last year totalling&nbsp;875 basis points&nbsp;to try to get inflation under control.



Earlier this week the statistics agency unveiled a much lower annual inflation rate of&nbsp;24.48%&nbsp;in January after a rebasing exercise.



The naira currency&nbsp;has been relatively stable since December, potentially reassuring the central bank.



(Reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and Chijioke Ohuocha; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Johannesburg and MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Editing by Alexander Winning)

QPQQ77FJE5JRTNVTB23SO7K7RM

Nigeria’s central bank keeps main interest rate unchanged

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="5000" height="3333" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/PIKWK2FQQVOJXDDJQ5VEJMBXA4.avif" alt="" class="wp-image-587900"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People shop at a hypermarket in Abuja, Nigeria March 15, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Feb 18 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s annual inflation rate stood at 24.48% in January, the statistics agency said on Tuesday, well down from the previous month&#8217;s figure after the country&#8217;s price index was rebased for the first time in more than a decade.



The National Bureau of Statistics said the rebasing &#8211; in which the items in the reference &#8216;basket&#8217; used to calculate inflation were reweighted and the comparison period was updated from 2009 to 2024 &#8211; was necessary to reflect changes in consumption patterns.



&#8220;The price estimate from NBS will be much more reflective of the current inflationary pressure experienced within the economy,&#8221; Statistician-General Prince Adeyemi Adeniran told a press conference.



He said the latest data should not be interpreted as reflecting a sharp slowdown in inflation. Last month, before the rebasing, the statistics bureau put December inflation at 34.80% year on year.



&#8220;It&#8217;s not saying prices have come down in the market to this rate, but the rate of change between 2024 January and 2025 January is what the inflation rate is all about,&#8221; Adeniran said.



The Consumer Price Index is meant to be rebased every five years, but that had not happened in Nigeria since 2009 due to a lack of resources.



The latest rebasing benefited from data and technical support provided by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of Nigeria, Adeniran said.



Nevertheless, Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa and Middle East at Standard Chartered, said financial markets had not expected the rebasing would make such a big difference to the headline inflation rate.



She said January&#8217;s lower figure potentially opened the door for an interest rate cut at the central bank&#8217;s monetary policy meeting this week.



The bank raised interest rates by 875 basis points last year, as inflation was driven up by President Bola Tinubu&#8217;s moves to end subsidies and devalue the naira currency. Tinubu&#8217;s administration hopes those reforms will shore up public finances and boost economic growth.



Khan said a 25-basis-point rate cut this week would have little market impact but would at least &#8220;acknowledge local sentiment that policy has been too tight&#8221;.



Food inflation, a key driver of the headline rate, was at 26.08% year on year in January after the rebasing.



(Reporting by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and Chijioke Ohuocha; Additional reporting by Libby George in London; Editing by Alexander Winning and Angus MacSwan)

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Nigeria’s inflation rate drops after statistics overhauled and updated

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/107392987-17114704652024-03-08t094552z_60519508_rc2ao0aauku6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-587761" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/107392987-17114704652024-03-08t094552z_60519508_rc2ao0aauku6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/107392987-17114704652024-03-08t094552z_60519508_rc2ao0aauku6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/107392987-17114704652024-03-08t094552z_60519508_rc2ao0aauku6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/107392987-17114704652024-03-08t094552z_60519508_rc2ao0aauku6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/107392987-17114704652024-03-08t094552z_60519508_rc2ao0aauku6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/107392987-17114704652024-03-08t094552z_60519508_rc2ao0aauku6_rtrmadp_0_cocoa-ivorycoast-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Cocoa pods are pictured at a farm in Sinfra, Ivory Coast April 29, 2023.  Luc Gnago | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Strong rains across Ivory Coast’s central regions are expected to strengthen cocoa trees and improve growing conditions for the April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.



Ivory Coast, the world’s top producer of the main ingredient in chocolate, is in the dry season that runs from mid-November to March when rains are scarce.



Farmers had been worried that the hot weather would delay the start of the mid-crop season and tighten bean supply before the country’s central regions received above-average rains last week.



Farmers said they were now happy because the moisture was expected to help young pods to survive. They added that another rain was needed before the end of the month to improve the yield of cocoa trees.



“Trees will do better. Many cocoa trees had become weak due to lack of water,” said Etienne Brou, who farms near the central region of Yamoussoukro, where 18.2 millimetres (mm) of rain fell last week, 11.3 mm above the five-year average.



Similar comments were made in the central region of Bongouanou, where rainfall was above average, and in the west-central region of Daloa, where rains were below average but farmers said the moisture level was sufficient to help cocoa trees.



Farmers from the western region of Soubre and the southern region of Divo, where rains were below average, and farmers from the southern region of Agboville and the eastern region of Abengourou, where rains were above average, said growing conditions remained good with plenty of cherelles turning into small pods.



Farmers in those regions added that if rains became regular from March, the mid-crop would be as abundant as last season.



“If we have good rains from March onwards, we’ll have enough beans for the mid-crop,” said Kouassi Kouame, who farms near Soubre, where 1.2 mm of rain fell last week, 7.2 mm below the average.



The weekly average temperature across Ivory Coast last week ranged from 27.8 to 33.2 degrees Celsius.

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Ghana consumer inflation slows for second month in February

Ivory Coast customs seize 2,000 tons of falsely declared cocoa beans, sources say

Ivory Coast’s cocoa crop to hold near last season’s, minister says

Nigeria’s central bank keeps main interest rate unchanged

Nigeria’s inflation rate drops after statistics overhauled and updated

Ivory Coast rains revive cocoa farmers’ hopes for healthy mid-crop

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