Africa Economics Weekly Investments under threat in Nigeria and South Africa Foreign investments into the biggest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa took a blow this week. We think that the announcement of a major food retailer’s exit from Nigeria may be representative of the... 7th August 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Fund times: Angola, South Africa and the IMF The Angolan authorities are seeking to expand the country’s IMF programme, which would help to ease balance of payments strains. But it’s far from a done deal as the Fund may require a restructuring... 31st July 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly IMF increasing funding limits, SA’s economic recovery The IMF’s decision to expand access limits could open the way for African economies to receive more multilateral support, but the Fund clearly wants countries to move to programmes with conditionality... 24th July 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Ethiopia’s dam, South Africa’s fiscal conundrum Tensions over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have ratcheted up over the past week, raising the risk of conflict with Egypt, which would do severe damage to both the country’s near- and long-term... 17th July 2020 · 7 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Naira devaluation, uncertainty in CIV, industrialisation Nigeria appears to have devalued the official naira exchange rate this week but the move has, if anything, further dented hopes for a shift towards a market-driven and unified exchange rate regime... 10th July 2020 · 6 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly SA trade data, oil producers in the line of fire South Africa’s external sector probably shifted from being an economic tailwind to a headwind in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Africa’s oil producers are facing mounting pressure from OPEC to comply... 3rd July 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Grim budget in SA, Nigeria’s FX buzz and debt woes South Africa’s emergency budget highlighted that the government plans to turn to harsh austerity to try to deal with the legacy of higher debt, but this is unlikely to be politically sustainable in... 26th June 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Naira unity, China debt talks, South Africa’s budget Nigeria’s government is rumoured to seek the merger of the country’s main exchange rates, but a unified and market-determined naira still seems far away. A speech by Chinese president Xi Jinping shed... 19th June 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Nigeria’s finances, debt relief uptake on the rise Nigeria’s revised budget for 2020 is nearing a final hurdle of approval, but the deficit will probably exceed the government's expectations. And despite the recent rise in oil prices and easing... 12th June 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Angolan debt, South African court ruling Angola’s debt problem returned to the fore this week as the government announced that it is seeking debt relief under a G20 initiative and to reprofile oil-related debts, but we think that more will... 5th June 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Private creditor debt talks, SA budget constraints The past week has brought private sector debt relief a step closer for the region, although we suspect that talks will drag on. Similarly, the road ahead for an ambitious infrastructure spending plan... 29th May 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly SA’s slump, SOE problems, naira still struggling The activity figures coming out of South Africa continue to make for depressing reading and the economic slump is causing growing problems at SOEs. Eskom remains the main risk for the public finances... 22nd May 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Nigeria’s budget proposal, SA economy reawakening The amendments to the 2020 budget approved by Nigeria’s cabinet this week suggest that the government is not yet fully facing up to the fiscal damage caused by the coronavirus. Elsewhere, flickers of... 15th May 2020 · 6 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Survey blues in South Africa, Nigeria’s budget woes Figures published in South Africa this week gave an early indication of the scale of economic devastation caused by the country’s lockdown. The risks to our forecast for a 6.5% fall in GDP this year... 7th May 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Debt relief, Nigeria’s exchange rates Debt relief proposals for low-income African economies that would include commercial creditors are taking shape, although our sense is that restructurings are most likely to be relatively modest and... 1st May 2020 · 5 mins read
Africa Economics Weekly Lockdown to ease in SA, fallout from oil price collapse The fiscal package announced by South Africa's government this week will probably ease some of the economic pain from efforts to contain the coronavirus, although much of the damage has already been... 24th April 2020 · 5 mins read