Africa news in brief
09 November 2018 | Economics
Burundi to set up capital market for firms this year
Burundi plans to establish a securities exchange before the end of this year for companies to raise funds after a slowdown in commercial bank lending, a senior central bank official said.
Economic growth output in the East African nation has slowed down since a political crisis in 2015 sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term.
The aid-dependent central African nation has lost direct financial support from key donors, such as the European Union, over accusations of human rights violations and a crackdown on opponents, which Burundi rejects.
Arsène Mutoni, the head of the central bank’s Capital Market Regulatory Department told Reuters, there were several pension funds and insurance firms that were ready to back companies which will seek capital on the market.
-Nampa/Reuters
Gabon to scrap corporate tax
Gabon plans to scrap corporate tax as part of a revised hydrocarbons law, and has launched a new offshore oil and gas exploration licensing round, oil minister Pascal Ambouroue said on Wednesday.
In March, Gabon, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said it planned to revise its hydrocarbons code, under which the state holds a minimum 20% stake in oil projects, in a bid to attract new investment.
It will also end the 35-% corporate tax rate, he said.
“The purpose is to attract more and more investors,” Ambouroue told a media briefing at the Africa Oil Week conference in South Africa’s Cape Town.
He said the new code would become law before the end of December.
-Nampa/Reuters
Kenyan shilling steady
The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar on Wednesday supported by inflows from Diaspora remittances amid thin demand from oil and merchant importers, traders said.
At 0903 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.86/95 per dollar, the same as Tuesday’s close.
-Nampa/Reuters
Burundi plans to establish a securities exchange before the end of this year for companies to raise funds after a slowdown in commercial bank lending, a senior central bank official said.
Economic growth output in the East African nation has slowed down since a political crisis in 2015 sparked by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term.
The aid-dependent central African nation has lost direct financial support from key donors, such as the European Union, over accusations of human rights violations and a crackdown on opponents, which Burundi rejects.
Arsène Mutoni, the head of the central bank’s Capital Market Regulatory Department told Reuters, there were several pension funds and insurance firms that were ready to back companies which will seek capital on the market.
-Nampa/Reuters
Gabon to scrap corporate tax
Gabon plans to scrap corporate tax as part of a revised hydrocarbons law, and has launched a new offshore oil and gas exploration licensing round, oil minister Pascal Ambouroue said on Wednesday.
In March, Gabon, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said it planned to revise its hydrocarbons code, under which the state holds a minimum 20% stake in oil projects, in a bid to attract new investment.
It will also end the 35-% corporate tax rate, he said.
“The purpose is to attract more and more investors,” Ambouroue told a media briefing at the Africa Oil Week conference in South Africa’s Cape Town.
He said the new code would become law before the end of December.
-Nampa/Reuters
Kenyan shilling steady
The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar on Wednesday supported by inflows from Diaspora remittances amid thin demand from oil and merchant importers, traders said.
At 0903 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.86/95 per dollar, the same as Tuesday’s close.
-Nampa/Reuters
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