<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="481" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/C6VS24TK4RID7KMFH4R3XKNNKY.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416655" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/C6VS24TK4RID7KMFH4R3XKNNKY.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/C6VS24TK4RID7KMFH4R3XKNNKY-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/C6VS24TK4RID7KMFH4R3XKNNKY-136x90.jpg 136w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) peacekeepers patrol areas affected by the recent attacks by M23 rebels fighters near Rangira in North Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, March 29, 2022. REUTERS/Djaffar Sabiti</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, April 22 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The seven countries of the East African Community (EAC) have agreed to set up a regional military force to try to end decades of bloodshed caused by militant activity in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya said.



Despite billions of dollars spent on one of the United Nation&#8217;s largest peacekeeping forces, more than 120 rebel groups continue to operate across large swathes of east Congo almost two decades after the official end of the central African country&#8217;s civil wars.



The EAC, which Congo joined last month, called on local armed groups to join a political process to resolve their grievances or &#8220;be handled militarily&#8221;, the office of Kenya&#8217;s president said in a statement following an EAC meeting in Nairobi on Thursday.



Foreign armed groups, which include an Islamist insurgency with origins in Uganda and ties to Islamic State (IS), &#8220;must disarm and return unconditionally and immediately to their respective countries of origin,&#8221; the president&#8217;s office said, without providing further details about the force.



Tanzania already contributes 835 troops to the U.N.&#8217;s peacekeeping mission, while Kenya contributes 250.



The U.N. has previously accused neighbouring Uganda and Rwanda of backing rebel groups in the mineral-rich region, accusations the two countries firmly deny.



Recent attempts to stop the violence militarily have proven unsuccessful, and in some cases backfired, security analysts and human rights groups say.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-u-s-imposes-sanctions-over-illicit-exports-of-gold-from-congo">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/u-s-imposes-sanctions-over-illicit-exports-of-gold-from-congo/">U.S. imposes sanctions over illicit exports of gold from Congo</a></h2>



Congo imposed martial law in its eastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces in May and began joint operations with Uganda&#8217;s army in November against the Islamist group, known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).



The ADF often murders civilians in retaliation for military campaigns against it, human rights groups and security analysts say. It killed more than 1,200 people in 2021, up almost 50% on the previous year, according to the U.N.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL4N2U8494&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Congo&#8217;s President Felix Tshisekedi was meanwhile expected to meet with representatives of another group, the M23, in Nairobi on Friday.



The Congolese army clashed with the M23 in several days of heavy fighting last month, after which the group declared a unilateral ceasefire.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2VZ203&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Congolese lawmaker Juvenal Munobo, a member of parliament&#8217;s defence and security commission, expressed reservations about the regional force on Twitter.



&#8220;We know these countries have interests in the Congo. I think the solution is to invest in (Congo&#8217;s army),&#8221; he wrote.



Unrest in Congo has caused one of the world&#8217;s worst and longest-running humanitarian emergencies, with more than 27 million people facing food shortages, and nearly 5.5 million forced to flee their homes, according to the U.N.



(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Susan Fenton)

Resurgent M23 rebels attack displace hundreds in eastern Congo

East African Community agrees on regional force to try to end Congo unrest

Can Nigeria’s local markets meet government’s borrowing appetite?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GettyImages-1236313690-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416649" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GettyImages-1236313690-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GettyImages-1236313690-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GettyImages-1236313690-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GettyImages-1236313690-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GettyImages-1236313690-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/GettyImages-1236313690-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a panel discussion at the COP26 UN Climate Summit in Glasgow on November 3, 2021. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, April 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;China has committed to joining Zambia&#8217;s creditor committee, International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday, amid complaints from Zambia&#8217;s finance minister about delays to its debt restructuring.



People&#8217;s Bank of China governor Yi Gang said that China intended to co-chair the committee, two sources with knowledge of the International Monetary and Finance Committee meeting told Reuters.



Zambia became the first pandemic-era default in 2020 and is buckling under a debt burden of almost $32 billion, around 120% of GDP.



&#8220;We were very pleased to hear from Governor Yi Gang&#8230; a very specific commitment to join the creditor committee on Zambia and work expeditiously for debt resolution,&#8221; said Georgieva at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings.



She added that he had also committed to the Common Framework debt restructuring process, launched by the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.



Zambia&#8217;s finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said at public events on Thursday that the debt restructuring process had &#8220;stalled&#8221; and that the Zambian team had &#8220;come here to complain&#8221;.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2WJ4XX&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



An IMF spokesperson said that they did not have any more details of Yi&#8217;s statement, noting that it was at a closed door meeting.



&#8220;This augurs well, for coordination, in resolving debt for various African countries,&#8221; Zimbabwe&#8217;s finance minister Mthuli Ncube&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MthuliNcube/status/1517147119244636165" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;of the Chinese position.



Ethiopia and Chad also signed up to the Common Framework more than a year ago and have yet to receive debt relief.



&#8220;China is a very significant lender to many of these low-income countries, and China needs to participate, along with the Paris Club and private creditors,&#8221; U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at a press conference before Georgieva&#8217;s.



&#8220;I&#8217;ve called on China to specifically for example participate right away in a meeting for Zambia, that wishes to undergo debt restructuring. And I am hopeful that China will agree to play a more constructive role.&#8221;



China and Chinese entities held $5.78 billion of Zambia&#8217;s debt at the end of 2021, according to the most recent Zambian government data.



(Reporting by Rachel Savage and Jorgelina do Rosario; Additional reporting by Daniel Burns, David Lawder and Andrea Shalal, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

BRITAIN-UN-CLIMATE-COP26

China committed to joining Zambia creditor committee -IMF’s Georgieva

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="510" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JD2IZHEJJJLTNPNS6LFXDDAY2Q-820x510.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416645" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JD2IZHEJJJLTNPNS6LFXDDAY2Q-820x510.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JD2IZHEJJJLTNPNS6LFXDDAY2Q-300x186.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JD2IZHEJJJLTNPNS6LFXDDAY2Q-145x90.jpg 145w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JD2IZHEJJJLTNPNS6LFXDDAY2Q-768x477.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JD2IZHEJJJLTNPNS6LFXDDAY2Q-1536x955.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/JD2IZHEJJJLTNPNS6LFXDDAY2Q-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: Brazilian Real and U.S. dollar notes are pictured at a currency exchange office in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in this September 10, 2015 photo illustration. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, April 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;After huge rallies fed by blockbuster commodity price surges, the tide may be turning for currencies such as the Aussie dollar and Colombian peso as fears of a global growth slowdown take hold in markets.



As inflation and higher borrowing costs crimp business and consumer spending, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank this week slashed global growth forecasts by nearly a percentage point and flagged the risk of further drops stemming from China&#8217;s COVID lockdowns and sanctions on Russia&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2WG0QF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>.



The warnings knocked prices of oil and metals, though tight supply of most commodities has so far capped losses. Brent crude futures remain above $100 a barrel while the Refinitiv CRB commodity index is still up nearly a quarter this year&nbsp;.SNCMP.



Eight of the top 30 currency performers this year in a group monitored by Societe Generale are commodity-linked. In a smaller G10 grouping, four of the top five are from commodity exporting countries, Refinitiv data shows.



Societe Generale strategist Kenneth Broux reckons however, that the rally is &#8220;running on fumes&#8221; with a big test for commodity currencies coming from U.S. real yields &#8211; or inflation-adjusted 10-year Treasury yields &#8211; turning positive this week for the first time in two years.



Central banks are also polishing their hawkish credentials, especially the U.S. Federal Reserve.



A BofA investor survey this week predicted the Fed would hike rates more than seven times this year, up from four times in a March survey.



Anticipation of the resulting growth slowdown may be already taking the edge off commodities and commodity currencies such as the Australian dollar, which rose 10% versus the greenback between end-January and late-March.



The Brazilian real&nbsp;BRL=&nbsp;has gained 18% this year and the Colombian peso 8%&nbsp;COP=.



&#8220;Long Latin American energy exporters and short Asian importers&#8221; has been this year&#8217;s most concentrated foreign exchange trade, the head of a U.S. bank&#8217;s currency desk said.



April has brought a turnaround, however. The Chilean peso for example, has shed almost half its first-quarter gains as copper prices ease, while signs of a Chinese slowdown have weighed on the Aussie and Kiwi dollars.



Morgan Stanley&#8217;s proprietary FX positioning tracker, calculated off client option market positions, reflects the shift, said James Lord, the bank&#8217;s global head of foreign exchange.



&#8220;Usually exchange rates tend to be very correlated and tend to go in the same direction, but we have seen a huge decoupling between commodity exporting and importing currencies since the start of the year,&#8221; Lord said.



On Morgan Stanley&#8217;s scale of minus 100 to plus 100, where 0 is neutral, positioning on commodity currencies reached 75 in March, the highest according to data going back to 2014. The score has since eased, albeit to a still-bullish 62.



&#8220;Commodity exporters&#8217; currencies may start to weaken from here because global growth is slowing,&#8221; Lord said, noting that extreme positioning means there were &#8220;a lot of flows that can go the other way&#8221;.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lot-of-optimism">LOT OF OPTIMISM</h2>



The catalyst could be China.



The yuan, crucial to the trajectory of commodities, has fallen to a two-month low against a basket of currencies&nbsp;.RXYH&nbsp;and a Reuters poll shows analysts are &#8220;short&#8221; yuan for the first time since October.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2WI1YC&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>.



With swathes of China under COVID lockdowns, a gauge of hedge fund positioning compiled by the U.S. CFTC shows a sharp decline in Aussie dollar net longs &#8211; currently $2.1 billion versus six-year highs of about $6.5 billion in January&nbsp;AUDNETUSD=.



Brazilian real net longs have held up better, though they too are off early March&#8217;s record highs of nearly $1 billion&nbsp;BRLNETUSD=. Hedge funds have also stopped buying the kiwi and the Canadian dollar, the data shows&nbsp;NZDNETUSD=,&nbsp;CADNETUSD=.



If growth does slows sharply, currencies&#8217; exalted valuations will be hard to justify &#8211; the Norwegian crown&#8217;s value on a trade-weighted basis is near its highest, relative to its median value, for the last 50 years.



The Aussie and Kiwi dollars are also well above historic averages on a trade-weighted basis, according to Refinitiv data.



Current exchange rates are pricing a lot of bullishness, said Francesca Fornasari, head of currency solutions at Insight Investment, noting for instance &#8220;when it comes to the Aussie, there is a lot of optimism baked in about China, commodity markets and the central bank rate trajectory.&#8221;



(Reporting by Sujata Rao and Saikat Chatterjee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

FILE PHOTO: Brazilian Real and U.S. dollar notes are pictured at a currency exchange office in Rio de Janeiro

Growth slowdown fears temper bullishness on commodity currencies

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa: Building a Sustainable Future

Earth Day poses important questions for the African continent as it seeks to balance the need for sustained economic growth to improve the quality of life of its people, on the one hand, while protecting the environment, on the other. This means balancing the important Ps, namely People, Profit and our Planet &#8211; Earth.



Africa is a continent of extraordinary potential, expected to enjoy the second-fastest economic growth in the world over the next ten years – faster than North America, Latin America, Europe and the global average. It also has the fastest-growing population, with Africa expected to account for 47% of the world’s population growth over the next 10 years, and 53% of the growth in the global working-age population.



When these demographic fundamentals are combined with the continent’s abundance of natural resources and improving governance, it is easy to see how Africa, under the right conditions, could match the economic transformation of China in the coming decades.



Yet Africa, while contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, is also expected to be among the worst-affected regions.



According to projections from the Sixth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Africa faces an increase in life threatening temperatures above 40°C, from 10 to 140 days a year, depending on the scenario and region.



Conditions will be drier in most regions, and there will be more droughts, but also more flooding. A current 1-in-100-year flood event could become 1-in-10 or -20 years by 2050, and 1-in-5 years to annually by 2100, even under moderate warming.



Much of Africa is already water-stressed, at current temperature levels. To make matters worse, a recent report from the UN University noted that little of Africa&#8217;s wastewater is treated, and access to water for drinking and hand-washing is worsening for hundreds of millions of people.



It is clear that to both stimulate the economic growth required to offer dignity and prosperity for all its people, and to do so in a manner that is environmentally sustainable, Africa must find ways to decouple economic growth from over-exploitation of natural resources like water and reduce the use of fossil fuels.



These are complex and far-reaching challenges requiring a whole-of-society response that is not subject to fickle economic or political cycles. Fortunately, Africa has adopted, and is making steady if uneven progress towards implementation of, Agenda 2063, which includes Goal 7: Environmentally Sustainable, Climate Resilient Economies and Communities, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and sustainable future for all.



While governments can contribute to creating an enabling environment, the private sector and communities themselves have a critical role to play.



This is among the reasons that Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) has made sustainability integral to its business strategy – so much so that it has been incorporated into the short and long-term incentives of our leadership. We understand that our business can flourish only if our continent flourishes too.



The CCBA Group is committed to reducing carbon emissions in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. We are also contributing to The Coca-Cola Company’s global ambition of reducing absolute carbon emissions and decoupling growth from increased greenhouse gas emissions.



This is an absolute target, meaning it will apply regardless of our volume growth, and reflects an ambitious decoupling of our greenhouse gas emissions from our sales growth.



The biggest contributions to our carbon footprint reduction will come from investing in renewable energy to improve energy efficiency in our plants, rethinking our packaging by making it more recyclable and increasing the use of recycled material, shifting to energy efficient cooler systems, rethinking how and where we source our ingredients, and also improved fuel efficiency in our fleet. Our efforts in waste management and water replenishment also contribute significantly to reducing our overall footprint across the value chain.



Water Stewardship is another integral focus area for us, and we are aligned to The Coca-Cola Company’s Water Strategy 2030. Broadly, the strategy ensures that we have regenerative operations, healthy watersheds and enhanced community resilience. In 2020, we achieved a replenishment rate of 76%, with the aim to get to 100% over the long term. In all our operations, we aim to improve water usage efficiency by at least 2 percent annually, treat our waste-water and, re-use or recycle treated waste water for other beneficial uses.



We are prioritising investment in water replenishment initiatives in our plants that are located in high water security risk regions, with clear plans to increase water use efficiency in all our plants.



Importantly in Africa, we also have a keen focus on water access, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) &nbsp;projects to give communities access to clean water.&nbsp;



The Coca-Cola Foundation’s Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) benefited 6 million people in Africa through various water access and sanitation projects, while delivering additional health, climate and empowerment benefits. Over 3 million of those who benefitted from RAIN are in countries where CCBA operates.



Through Coca-Cola’s global World Without Waste initiative, we have also committed to recover the equivalent of every can and every bottle that we sell for recycling and reuse by 2030.



The recyclability of our packaging is already at more than 95%, tracking ahead of The Coca-Cola Company’s global target of 100% by 2025.



We are improving the recyclability of our packs through a strong emphasis on shifting to homogeneous and clear bottles and have made significant progress on this already.



Over 20% of our revenues are already coming from returnable or refillable packs. We are strategically looking to increase the use of homogenous returnable packs in our portfolio – which has the added benefit of being more economical for our consumers to help drive affordability, and also more economical for ourselves.



We have already made significant progress towards our collection and recycling rate of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. Our biggest challenge on recycling is accelerating the collection of plastic bottles to increase PET bottles feedstock for recycled PET supply to enable higher recycled content in our bottles.



To date, in South Africa we are at 17% recycled PET content, and we have 15% recycled PET content in 2&nbsp;litre bottles in Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Zambia.



One example of how we are getting communities involved is in Kenya. Here we leveraged our partnerships to launch the Recycling PET Bottles initiative, getting 400 schools to participate in the collection of PET bottles. A total of over 90 000kg, or 4.5 million PET bottles, were collected and recycled as a result of this initiative.



We know we cannot change the world alone, and are therefore working in partnership with fellow producers, retailers, consumers and governments so that, together, we create an environment that ensures we can achieve more.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="779" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-779x800.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415663" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-779x800.jpg 779w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-292x300.jpg 292w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-88x90.jpg 88w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-768x789.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-1496x1536.jpg 1496w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Tshidi-pic-2-scaled.jpg 1995w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px" /><figcaption>Tshidi Ramogase is the CCBA Group Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability Director</figcaption></figure>

Tshidi-pic-2

Earth Day is a reminder to Africa to grow in harmony with the environment  

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-416636" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Powell says taming inflation ‘absolutely essential,’ and a 50 basis point hike possible for May</figcaption></figure>



Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell affirmed the central bank’s determination to bring down inflation and said Thursday that aggressive rate hikes are possible as soon as next month.



“It is appropriate in my view to be moving a little more quickly” to raise interest rates, Powell said while part of an International Monetary Fund panel moderated by CNBC’s Sara Eisen. “I also think there is something to be said for front-end loading any accommodation one thinks is appropriate. &#8230; I would say 50 basis points will be on the table for the May meeting.”



Powell’s statements essentially meet market expectations that the Fed will depart from its usual 25 basis point hikes and move more quickly to tame inflation that is running at its fastest pace in more than 40 years. A basis point equals 0.01 percentage point.



However, as Powell spoke, market pricing for rate increases got somewhat more aggressive.



Expectations for a 50 basis point move in May rose to 97.6%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. Traders also priced in an additional hike equivalent through year’s end that would take the fed funds rate, which sets the overnight borrowing level for banks but also is tied to many consumer debt instruments, to 2.75%.



Stocks also fell, sending the Dow industrials down more than 400 points and the Nasdaq, with its rate-sensitive tech stocks, lower by more than 2%. Treasury yields pushed higher, with the benchmark 10-year note most recently at 2.9%.



At its March meeting, the Fed approved a 25 basis point move, but officials in recent days have said they see a need to move more quickly with consumer inflation running at an annual pace of 8.5%.



“Our goal is to use our tools to get demand and supply back in synch, so that inflation moves down and does so without a slowdown that amounts to a recession,” Powell said. “I don’t think you’ll hear anyone at the Fed say that that’s going to be straightforward or easy. It’s going to be very challenging. We’re going to do our best to accomplish that.”



“It’s absolutely essential to restore price stability,” he added. “Economies don’t work without price stability.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-bond-market-fireworks-highlight-recession-worries">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/bond-market-fireworks-highlight-recession-worries/">Bond market fireworks highlight recession worries</a></h3>



The Fed had resisted raising rates through 2021 even though inflation was running well above the central bank’s 2% longer-run target. Under a policy framework adopted in late 2020, the Fed said it would be content with letting inflation running hotter than normal in the interest of achieving full employment that was inclusive across income, racial and gender demographics.



Until several months ago, Powell and Fed officials had insisted that inflation was “transitory” and would dissipate as Covid pandemic-related factors such as clogged supply chains and outsized demand for goods over services abated. However, Powell said those expectations “disappointed” and the Fed has had to change course.



“It may be that the actual [inflation] peak was in March, but we don’t know that, so we’re not going to count on it,” he said. “We’re really going to be raising rates and getting expeditiously to levels that are more neutral and then that are actually tight &#8230; if that turns out to be appropriate once we get there.”



These will be Powell’s last remarks before the May 3-4 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest rates. He is the latest Fed official to say rapid action is needed to take down inflation.



Along with the rate hikes, the Fed is expected soon to start reducing the amount of bonds it is holding. The central bank’s balance sheet now stands at close to $9 trillion, primarily consisting of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities.



Discussions at the March meeting indicated the Fed eventually will allow $95 billion of proceeds from maturing bonds to roll off each month.



Powell noted that the other than pernicious inflation, the U.S. economy is “very strong” otherwise. He characterized the labor market as “extremely tight, historically so.”



Earlier in the day, he referenced former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, who battled inflation in the late 1970s and early ’80s with a series of rate hikes that ultimately led to a recession. Volcker “knew that in order to tame inflation and heal the economy, he had to stay the course,” Powell said.



The Volcker Fed ultimately took the benchmark rate to nearly 20%; it currently sits in a range between 0.25% and 0.50%.

106999520-16419153682022-01-11t153007z_1471999278_rc23xr9k3c5b_rtrmadp_0_usa-fed-senate-powell

Powell says taming inflation ‘absolutely essential,’ and a 50 basis point hike possible for May

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-94942899-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-411734" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-94942899-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-94942899-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-94942899-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-94942899-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-94942899-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/GettyImages-94942899-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>UNITED STATES &#8211; APRIL 25: Situmbeko Musokotwane, finance minister of Zambia, left, speaks as Mustafa Mkulo, finance minister of Tanzania, center, and Charles Koffi Diby, finance minister of the Ivory Coast, listen during a press briefing in Washington, D.C., U.S., Saturday, April 25, 2009. The global economic crisis may force as many as 90 million more people into extreme poverty this year and make it harder to meet goals to improve health and education, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund said yesterday. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, April 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia&#8217;s debt restructuring process has &#8220;stalled&#8221; as it awaits the formation of a creditor committee, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Thursday at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings.



&#8220;We&#8217;ve been waiting for the committees to sit,&#8221; Musokotwane told IMF African Department director Abebe Selassie in a &#8216;Governor Talk&#8217; interview broadcast by the fund.



&#8220;And while we are here I hope we can get some clarity from you and your colleagues from the World Bank on how we can move forward. Because for now it is stalled,&#8221; he continued.



Zambia was the first country to default in the pandemic era, in November 2020, as it buckled under debt of more than 120% of GDP. The debt hit $31.74 billion at the end of 2021, 17% higher than six months earlier, according to official Zambian data.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2VQ55B&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Zambia reached a staff level agreement with the IMF on a $1.4 billion, three-year credit facility in December 2021.



Musokotwane, who also described the restructuring as a &#8220;stalemate,&#8221; told parliament on March 25 that the creditor committee would be announced &#8220;within the next few weeks&#8221; and has said he hopes for a formal IMF deal by mid-year. <a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2VS1ZH&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-british-firm-plans-to-invest-100-million-in-zambia-mine-expansion">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/british-firm-plans-to-invest-100-million-in-zambia-mine-expansion/">British firm plans to invest $100 million in Zambia mine expansion</a></h3>



Selassie had asked what the international community could do to address what he described as the &#8220;unresolved&#8230; debt challenge&#8221;.



At a second event on Thursday, Musokotwane criticised the Common Framework debt restructuring process, which was launched by the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.



&#8220;Unfortunately we are now in the fourth month from the time when we thought we would quickly move to the discussion with creditors. Nothing has happened,&#8221; he told a side event hosted by the Atlantic Council, a think-tank.



&#8220;So we&#8217;ve come here to complain and also discuss with the leaders of the G20, the leaders of the Common Framework.&#8221;



Musokotwane said Zambia had fulfilled its commitments and contrasted the Common Framework process with what he said was the clearer Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief programme first set up by the IMF and World Bank in 1996.



Having signed up for the Common Framework more than a year ago, Ethiopia and Chad have also yet to receive debt relief.



(Reporting by Rachel Savage; Editing by Emma Rumney and Mark Potter)

Situmbeko Musokotwane, finance minister of Zambia, left, spe

Zambia debt restructuring ‘stalled’ – finance minister

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="520" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KTGFKTEVNFMJXA74BTSOHVSX2U-820x520.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416625" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KTGFKTEVNFMJXA74BTSOHVSX2U-820x520.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KTGFKTEVNFMJXA74BTSOHVSX2U-300x190.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KTGFKTEVNFMJXA74BTSOHVSX2U-142x90.jpg 142w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KTGFKTEVNFMJXA74BTSOHVSX2U-768x487.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/KTGFKTEVNFMJXA74BTSOHVSX2U.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>A general view of a mudslide which destroyed several houses during flooding in Mzinyathi near Durban, South Africa, April 17, 2022. REUTERS/Rogan Ward</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, April 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The death toll from severe flooding in South Africa&#8217;s KwaZulu-Natal province last week has been revised down to 435 from 448, Police Minister Bheki Cele said on Thursday.



Cele said the number of missing people was not confirmed.



The floods, among the worst to hit KwaZulu-Natal province, have left thousands homeless and caused at least 10 billion rand ($656 million) of damage to infrastructure.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2WF06T&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



In giving the lower death toll, Cele told a televised briefing that four of the bodies found were murder related and nine had died from natural causes other than the floods.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-south-african-military-deployed-to-flood-ravaged-province">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/south-african-military-deployed-to-flood-ravaged-province/">South African military deployed to flood-ravaged province</a></h3>



Search and rescue efforts were still under way on Wednesday.



In Ekuthuleni near Durban, rescue workers dug through rubble for almost 10 hours before pulling out the body of Mxolisi Madziba from under tree trunks.



A relative told Reuters TV that the news of his death was very painful but the family was relieved that he can now be buried properly after searching for a week in mortuaries across the city.



($1 = 15.2520 rand)



(Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Alison Williams)

KTGFKTEVNFMJXA74BTSOHVSX2U

Death toll from South African floods revised down to 435

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-45.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416621" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-45.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-45-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-45-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-45-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: A photovoltaic solar panel farm is seen in Porto Feliz, Sao Paulo state, Brazil February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



SITOLO, Malawi, April 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A solar mini-grid in rural Malawi is powering maize mills, a sunflower oil facility and will help a welder in a nearby village expand his business, showing that centralised grid systems are not Africa&#8217;s only route towards low-carbon power.



Development experts say village-level solar power is a more promising way of bringing electricity to Africa&#8217;s remotest areas than conventional grids, which often do not reach them, tend to prioritise more privileged neighbourhoods and are often powered by polluting fossil-fuel generation.



&#8220;I see myself prospering with this electricity project,&#8221; welder Bartholomew Soko told Reuters TV in the village of Ndawambe. He plans to start making door frames, television stands and drying racks for plates, as well as the bicycles he already repairs.



&#8220;If electricity is extended to other rural areas, it would help people with disabilities be self-reliant,&#8221; Soko, who was injured in a car accident and uses a wheelchair, added.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-india-s-coal-imports-are-shifting-thermal-more-than-coking-russell">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/indias-coal-imports-are-shifting-thermal-more-than-coking-russell/">India’s coal imports are shifting, thermal more than coking: Russell</a></h3>



In Malawi, more than three quarters of the country&#8217;s roughly 20 million population does not have access to electricity &#8212; a higher proportion than the continental average of roughly half.



The cost of solar power has fallen by more than three quarters globally over the past decade.



The Sitolo project connects more than 700 people across three villages, and local farmers no longer have to trek long distances to get their maize milled or sunflower seeds pressed.



Brenda Limbikani, a sunflower farmer, said local people never used to grow sunflowers. &#8220;But with this oil-pressing machine, more people have planted the crop,&#8221; she said. &#8220;This year the number of farmers growing sunflowers is more than ever.&#8221;



(Reporting by Eldson Chagara; Writing by Frank Phiri and Alexander Winning. Editing by Tim Cocks and Jane Merriman)

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Malawi solar mini-grid shows promise as way of electrifying rural Africa

Where Americans Can Move To Avoid Climate Change

What’s driving sentiments in Nigerian equities?

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="800" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-800x800.png" alt="" class="wp-image-416616" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-800x800.png 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-300x300.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-90x90.png 90w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort-768x768.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort.png 1081w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></figure>



Africa, 20 April 2022: Mastercard is expanding the reforestation work of the Priceless Planet Coalition to include 15 new restoration projects – including three in Africa &#8211; for a total of 18 globally. These projects will help accelerate progress toward the Coalition’s goal of restoring 100 million trees. Consumer desire to support initiatives that drive positive change for the environment is growing around the world; according to the Mastercard Economics Institute*, consumer donations to environmentally focused charities grew 48.4% globally in 2022 when compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, overall outpacing donation growth to other organizations.



Reforestation is widely acknowledged as one of the most impactful and cost-effective ways to positively counteract climate change. The Priceless Planet Coalition project portfolio includes a diverse geographical representation with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Madagascar and Malawi among the 15 new sites globally. The restoration in Madagascar will serve as a flagship project, with a target of 2 million trees. In Malawi, 1.25 million trees are planned, and in Democratic Republic of Congo 1 million.



In addition to these three new African sites, the project portfolio of the Priceless Planet Coalition also includes representation in the&nbsp;Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa&nbsp;region (Kenya, UAE),&nbsp;Asia Pacific&nbsp;(Australia, Cambodia, China, India, Philippines);&nbsp;Latin America&nbsp;(Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala);&nbsp;Europe&nbsp;(France, Portugal, Spain and Scotland); and&nbsp;North America&nbsp;(Mexico, United States). The expansion builds on the Coalition’s existing planting progress underway in Australia, the Amazon in Brazil, and restoration of a total of 890,400 trees is already underway in Kenya’s Makuli-Nzaui landscape of Makueni County, with community-led work supported by the Green Belt Movement, founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai.



The Priceless Planet Coalition is not only focused on planting trees, but on re-growing forests in places with the greatest need and the most potential to have positive impact on climate, community and biodiversity goals. Guided by its restoration partners, Conservation International and World Resources Institute, the Coalition employs science-based best practices to identify new project sites, select the appropriate tree species and ensure long-term forest health through ongoing monitoring, while also providing economic opportunities for local communities.&nbsp;



“The Priceless Planet Coalition is focused on addressing the urgent global climate crisis by restoring the right trees in the right places,” says&nbsp;Jorn Lambert, Chief Digital Officer, Mastercard.&nbsp;“By collaborating with our global network of Coalition partners, we are able to further scale our forest restoration work and create collective action for the planet.”



Uniting in climate action



The Priceless Planet Coalition unites companies, communities and consumers in climate action and now includes more than 100 partners globally, including sustainably minded merchants, fintechs and global banks. Each partner is helping to fund the forest restoration through consumer engagement and donation campaigns that encourage people to take climate-friendly actions or make direct contributions through a donation platform. Recent partners to join the Coalition in Sub-Saharan Africa include Premier Bank in Somalia, NMB Bank Plc in Tanzania, Faisal Islamic Bank in Sudan, and Salaam African Bank in Djibouti. Faja Lobi is the implementation partner in DRC, with Wells for Zoë in Malawi and Conservation International Madagascar in Madagascar.



“There’s growing acknowledgement that investing in the preservation and restoration of the natural world around us is critical also to tackling climate change,” says&nbsp;Bo Lidegaard, historian, diplomat, former climate change negotiator, and advisor to the Coalition. “The Priceless Planet Coalition is designed in a way to maximize impact for the planet, rooted firmly in the best science and quality planning and monitoring.”



Building a sustainable digital economy



Through innovation and trusted partnerships, Mastercard is committed to building a more inclusive and sustainable world with a digital economy that works for everyone, everywhere. The company accelerated its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2021/november/advancing-the-future-of-sustainable-commerce/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">net zero timeline</a>&nbsp;to 2040 and recently expanded its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2022/esg-goals-and-employee-compensation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">compensation model for all employees</a>, linking it to three priorities across Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Through its Global Sustainability Innovation Lab, Mastercard is also developing a range of products to enable more sustainable commerce, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2022/february/mastercard-expands-consulting-with-practices-dedicated-to-crypto-open-banking-and-esg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">services</a>&nbsp;to help its customers bring more eco-conscious solutions to consumers around the world.



To learn more about the Priceless Planet Coalition, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pricelessplanet.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PricelessPlanet.org</a>.



*The Mastercard Economics Institute analysis looked at aggregated and anonymized transactions made to charities within the Mastercard network, focusing on markets with robust data quality accounting for history and volume of the market.



END

Priceless-Planet-Coalition-expands-forest-restoration-effort

Mastercard expands the Priceless Planet Coalition’s forest restoration effort

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="546" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LVMVISQKKZL3NN6CWXWCTWREGU-820x546.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416610" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LVMVISQKKZL3NN6CWXWCTWREGU-820x546.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LVMVISQKKZL3NN6CWXWCTWREGU-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LVMVISQKKZL3NN6CWXWCTWREGU-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LVMVISQKKZL3NN6CWXWCTWREGU-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LVMVISQKKZL3NN6CWXWCTWREGU-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/LVMVISQKKZL3NN6CWXWCTWREGU-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: A worker sprays water over piles of coal at Mundra Port Coal Terminal in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 2, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave</figcaption></figure>



LAUNCESTON, Australia, April 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;India&#8217;s coal imports are starting to reflect shifting world trade and pricing dynamics in the wake of Russia&#8217;s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.



India, the world&#8217;s second-biggest coal importer behind China, has long been viewed as a price-sensitive buyer of the polluting fuel, and given the surge in prices after Russia&#8217;s Feb. 24 attack on Ukraine, it was always likely that trade flows would be affected.



Russia is the world&#8217;s third-largest coal exporter and it&#8217;s expected that many buyers, especially in Europe and Japan, will stop importing fuel from Russia in coming months as part of economic efforts to isolate Moscow.



India hasn&#8217;t been a major buyer of Russian coal, but it will still be affected by the loss of Russian cargoes as other importers seek to replace Russian volumes with supplies from exporters such as Australia, Indonesia and South Africa.



These three exporters are India&#8217;s major suppliers and are likely to see increasing demand for cargoes in coming months.



South African cargoes are likely to flow to Europe as it seeks to replace Russian coal, while Australian volumes are likely to increase to traditional buyers in north Asia, such as Japan and South Korea.



India&#8217;s overall coal imports look set to be relatively robust in April, with commodity consultants Kpler estimating arrivals will total 15.92 million tonnes.



This is down from March&#8217;s 21.79 million tonnes, but up from 12.77 million in February.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/eu-countries-hunt-for-global-coal-stocks-as-russian-ban-looms/">EU countries hunt for global coal stocks as Russian ban looms</a></h3>



March was something of an outlier for coal imports across Asia, as volumes surged after Indonesia ended an abrupt one-month ban on exports, which had impacted its shipments in January and February.



Looking at the breakdown of India&#8217;s imports reveals flows are already shifting.



It&#8217;s important to separate the main types of coal, namely metallurgical, or coking, coal used to make steel, and thermal coal used to generate power or in some industrial processes such as making cement.



India&#8217;s imports of coking coal have been steady in recent months, reflecting strong demand for steel, both for domestic consumption and for export.



April imports of coking coal are estimated by Kpler at 4.66 million tonnes, down from 6.17 million in March but in line with February&#8217;s 5.01 million and January&#8217;s 4.91 million.



Australia, the world&#8217;s top exporter of coking coal, remains the top supplier, with imports of 3.17 million tonnes likely in April, down from 3.96 million in March and 3.51 million in February.



The slight drop in coking coal imports from Australia shows the resilience of this trade, given that the price of Australian coking coal on the Singapore Exchange&nbsp;SCAFc1&nbsp;has sky-rocketed in recent months, reaching a record high of $635 a tonne on March 10.



It has since slipped back to $483.33 a tonne at the close on Wednesday, but this is still more than four times the $111 it was trading at on the same day last year.



India has few options to secure alternative supplies of coking coal, with Russia perhaps being the best hope, although it&#8217;s worth noting that April arrival of this grade of coal from Russia are estimated at just 238,933 tonnes, down from 620,748 in March and 383,016 in February.



This means that India has little choice when it comes to coking coal but to buy what it can from Australia, with alternatives such as Canada and the United States likely to prove just as pricey, especially when the higher freight costs are included.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-thermal-dynamics">THERMAL DYNAMICS</h2>



For thermal coal, it appears India is trying to shift to cheaper supplies from Indonesia, with Kpler estimating April arrivals from the Southeast Asian nation at 7.37 million tonnes.



While this is down from 9.79 million tonnes in March, it is up strongly from 3.54 million in February and 2.45 million in January.



At the same time, India&#8217;s imports of thermal coal from Australia are dropping, down to 908,795 tonnes in April, compared to 982,238 in March and well below the recent peak of 2.10 million in November last year.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/anglo-american-completes-exit-from-south-african-coal-miner-thungela/">Anglo American completes exit from South African coal miner Thungela</a></h3>



Imports from South Africa are also slipping, with April arrivals slated to reach 1.16 million tonnes, down from 2.86 million in March and 2.20 million in February.



Both South African and Australian thermal coal prices have surged since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with futures for benchmark Australian Newcastle cargoes&nbsp;NCFMc1&nbsp;ending at $326.35 a tonne on Wednesday, versus the record high of $440 on March 2, but more than four times the $93.75 from the same day in 2021.



Indonesian coal prices have also rallied, but nowhere near to the extent as those for Australian and South African, most likely reflecting more limited export markets for the lower-energy coal produced by the Southeast Asian nation.



Indonesian coal contracts in Singapore&nbsp;S42CFc1&nbsp;ended at $90.38 a tonne on Wednesday, down from the recent record high of $140 on March 3, and also just slightly less than double the $47.82 from April 20 last year.



It&#8217;s likely that Indian utilities will continue to seek out cheaper Indonesian thermal coal, as well as looking at heavily discounted Russian coal in coming months, while seeking to cut out unaffordable cargoes from Australia and South Africa.



(Editing by Himani Sarkar)

A worker sprays water over piles of coal at Mundra Port Coal Terminal in the western Indian state of Gujarat

India’s coal imports are shifting, thermal more than coking: Russell

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="504" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-44.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416606" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-44.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-44-300x189.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-44-143x90.jpg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/download-44-768x484.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption>Absa Group logo is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed same logo in this illustration taken, December 1, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, April 21 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Barclays&nbsp;BARC.L&nbsp;has sold a 7.4% stake in South African bank Absa&nbsp;ABGJ.J, it said on Thursday, raising 526 million pounds ($687 million) as it looks to bolster its capital levels.



Barclays, which said it would use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, said the placing would raise the bank&#8217;s core capital ratio by around 10 basis points, and result in a loss on sale of 43 million pounds through the income statement.



The move comes at a time when Barclays&#8217; capital levels are under scrutiny, after regulators earlier this month warned British lenders against gaming pension rules to bolster capital ratios.



Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine has further dented confidence in European banks&#8217; capital levels, as the resulting economic slowdown and delays in central bank rate hikes dent prospects of higher dividends.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2VA3IW&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



It also marks a further step in the British bank&#8217;s exit from Africa, after it announced the sale of Absa in 2016, ending a 90-year presence on the continent.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-read-more-stanchart-cuts-seven-minnow-businesses-in-africa-and-middle-east">Read more: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2022/stanchart-cuts-seven-minnow-businesses-in-africa-and-middle-east/">StanChart cuts seven minnow businesses in Africa and Middle East</a></h3>



Following the placing, Barclays will hold 63 million ordinary shares in Absa, representing around 7.4% of the company.



In an accelerated bookbuilding, the bank priced 63 million shares at 164 rand each.



Absa, which owns lenders in 10 African countries including Ghana, Kenya, Botswana and Tanzania, was formerly part of Barclays Africa Group until the British bank opted to streamline its African exposure as part of a strategy revamp led by former CEO Jes Staley.



Rival Standard Chartered earlier this month also said it was streamlining its Africa business, exiting seven countries as slower than expected economic growth in parts of the continent has hampered profits.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL2N2WC0L1&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Barclays was the global bookrunner on its share sale and Absa, Citigroup, Banco Santander and Societe Generale were co-bookrunners.



($1 = 0.7661 pounds)



(Reporting by Kirstin Ridley and Lawrence White, editing by Sinead Cruise and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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Barclays bolsters capital with $687 mln sale of Absa stake

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/B2LORCWYB5OAPJZJV2ED4FEPLM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-416602" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/B2LORCWYB5OAPJZJV2ED4FEPLM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/B2LORCWYB5OAPJZJV2ED4FEPLM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/B2LORCWYB5OAPJZJV2ED4FEPLM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/B2LORCWYB5OAPJZJV2ED4FEPLM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/B2LORCWYB5OAPJZJV2ED4FEPLM.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Supporters of Nigeria&#8217;s All Progressive Congress demonstrate at the Eagle square, in Abuja, Nigeria, March 26, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, April 20 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s ruling party All Progressives Party (APC) has set its presidential primaries for May 30-31, a spokesman said on Wednesday.



Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will step down after serving two four-year terms following a Feb. 23, 2023 ballot.



The country&#8217;s political parties are due to pick presidential candidates by June 3. Official campaigning will begin in September, according to the country&#8217;s electoral commission.



Current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Lagos state governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu are frontrunners in the race to be the next candidate.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2W90ZF&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



The primaries for governors, state house assembly, national house of representatives and the senate are slated to run from May 18 to 24.



This is a developing story&#8230;



(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Julia Payne; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Nigeria’s ruling party APC sets presidential primaries date

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