What’s in the news: Business, economy and investing in Africa on November 17, 2016
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which gives a range of exports from Sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya duty-free access to the US, is unlikely to be a top priority for the incoming US administration given its negligible impact on US jobs. This according to Mark Bohlund, Bloomberg Intelligence Africa.
East African markets are expected to close the year stable, buoyed by strong regional growth combined with recovering global commodity prices.
The South African Reserve Bank is set to hold its repo rate at 7% next week and through next year, with inflation due to peak in December and then slow to within its target range, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US $10-million equity investment in the Technology and Innovation in Developing Economies (TIDE) Fund I to boost production and growth in Africa.
Nigeria has been ranked number one in Africa and ninth in the world when it comes to internet usage with a total of a total of 63 million users.
Egypt’s central bank held interest rates steady at at 14.75% for deposits to 15.75% for lending, and at 15.25% for the CBE credit and discount rates. Analysts expect these rates to remain unchanged for three to six months. Meanwhile, dollar inflows into Egypt have significantly increased post floatation of the Egyptian currency.
