Author: Nephthali Messanh Ledy

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced on Monday March 1 to 3 years in prison, 2 of which were suspended. He was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling in the “wiretapping” case by the courts in his country. Long accused in this case also involving his lawyer Thierry Herzog and the former high magistrate Gilbert Azibert, the 66-year-old former French president thus becomes the second former president convicted under the Fifth French Republic after Jacques Chirac. In December 2020, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) had requested 4 years of imprisonment, two of which were closed against him,…

Nigeria will receive 3.92 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine this Tuesday, March 2, according to an announcement made by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) in charge of the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in the country. “We are fully prepared to receive and deliver the vaccine to eligible Nigerians as we have started training health workers and making sure chain facilities are ready at all levels,” said Faisal Shuiab, the head of the Agency. “We have a powerful chain system that can store all types of Covid-19 vaccine at the required temperature. We are therefore confident that we…

Congo’s public debt reached 100% of GDP in 2020, according to a statement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It “remains unsustainable,” comments the institution, which expects a decline in 2021, to around 87% of GDP. The country has received debt service relief from official creditors for 2020 and the first half of 2021 as part of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (ISSD), recalls the IMF in its statement released on February 26, 2021. “The authorities have made progress in discussing debt restructuring agreements with their external creditors. However, they need to step up their efforts and quickly complete…

Tunisia’s real GDP contracted by 8.2% in 2020 according to data announced on February 26, 2021 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is the most pronounced economic slowdown since the country became independent in 1956, the organization said. This unprecedented economic slowdown is the result of the Covid-19 pandemic which has “hit hard” the country. According to estimates announced by the IMF, the unemployment rate reached 16.2% at the end of September 2020, and inflation has slowed due to the contraction in domestic demand and the fall in international fuel prices. “The current account deficit narrowed to 6.8% of…

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced on February 21, 2021, a cabinet reshuffle in which the strategic Ministry of Energy changed heads. After taking office in June 2020, Abdelmadjid Attar returns his portfolio to his predecessor Mohamed Arkab (57), who thus becomes Algeria’s Minister of Mines and Energy. The one who had already been Minister of Energy from April 2019 until his replacement by Attar therefore regains control of an energy industry which suffers from a lack of investment, the export volumes of oil and gas having fallen by around 30% in 2020. In addition, Ferhat Ait Ali is replaced at…

States in the UMOA zone will be able to issue FCFA 3.768 billion (about USD 7 billion) in stimulus bonds on the market in 2021, according to an announcement made on Monday, February 15 by the UMOA-Titres agency. Set up with the aim of allowing States to finance their massive economic recovery plans following the Covid-19 pandemic, these bonds are “eligible for refinancing with the BCEAO at the level of its traditional counters but also with a Special window known as the Relance window where investors can mobilize liquidity at the minimum bid rate at the BCEAO windows (currently 2%)…

In office for three weeks, US President Joe Biden telephoned his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for the first time on Wednesday evening, according to an announcement made by The White House. On the menu, several topics including the business practices that divide their two countries, and the issue of human rights. According to The White House, Joe Biden has expressed his “deep concerns” about Beijing’s “unfair and coercive” economic practices. He also mentioned the repression in Hong Kong, the human rights violations of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang, and the increasingly imposing place taken by Beijing in the region, in…

The overall inflation rate stood at 4.3% in January 2021 against 5.4% in December 2020 in Egypt, according to data contained in a report published this Wednesday, February 10 by CAPMAS, the national agency for statistics. Inflation is therefore falling to its lowest level since September 2020. Food and beverages, the largest component of the inflation basket, fell 0.5% and 1.6% year-on-year, the same source said. As a reminder, the annual average of inflation stood at 5% in 2020, its best rate since 2006. This had been commented by the IMF as being a consequence of the investments made in…

Africa attracted a total of USD 38 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2020, down 18% from 2019, according to recent data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and development (UNCTAD). In the rankings, Egypt maintains its leading position with a total inflow of $ 5.5 billion, down 38% year on year. The leading investment destination in Africa is followed by Nigeria, the continent’s largest economy, with a total of USD 2.6 billion in FDI in 2020, compared to USD 3.3 billion attracted a year earlier. “Falling crude oil prices, coupled with the closure of petroleum development sites…

The Ecobank group announced in a statement released on the Nigerian Stock Exchange that its local subsidiary has obtained a bilateral subordinated loan of 50 billion naira (nearly 132 million USD) over 10 years. “Bilateral financing provides stable medium-term liquidity to Ecobank Nigeria’s balance sheet and has positively improved its balance sheet ratios, in particular the capital adequacy ratio of around 300 basis points. The proceeds of the transaction will be deployed to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small businesses, ”said the statement from Lomé-based Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. When he took office in July 2020, the chairman…

The government of Togo aims to set up a digital bank to offer digital financial services. This, within the framework of its financial inclusion strategy which aims, among other things, to strengthen the framework for state intervention in favor of financial inclusion and to improve the geographical coverage of financial services. “Our ambition in Togo is to set up a digital bank. It’s not just to digitize financial services, but to set up a 100% digital banking structure to support our economy and allow us to cover our entire geographic territory because we have digital divides. despite the progress in…

The Sunu Assurance group has initiated a process to take over the subsidiary of the Allianz group in Congo-Brazzaville. The operation remains subject to regulatory approval, according to several sources. This acquisition will follow that of the German group’s subsidiaries in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Togo and the Central African Republic, which has enabled Sunu to strengthen its presence in these different markets. As a reminder, Allianz had already announced its intention to separate from entities considered to be the least profitable in order to refocus on high added value markets. The insurer has also entered into an agreement with…

After the missed 2020 meeting, Togolese economist Kako Nubukpo, well known for his stance vis-à-vis the CFA franc, once again announces the Eco General Assembly. The event will be held in Lomé, the Togolese capital, from April 28 to 30, 2021. “African expertise must be present collectively at the rendezvous of history, because what unites us is more important than what divides us”, writes the dean of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Lomé on Twitter . In his analysis, the former Minister of Foresight of Togo recalls that “the current reforms (of the CFA franc) concern symbolic…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced on December 24, 2020 that it had withdrawn the licenses of eight payment service providers for inability to meet capital requirements and non-compliance with specifications. Taken since November 30, 2020, the decision was published in the official journal of December 4, 2020, said the institution based in Lagos. The companies concerned are Easifuel Ltd, Transaction processing system, Grand Towers, Paymaster, E-Revenue Gateway, Eartholeum Network, Globasure Ltd and 3Line Card Management. In a press release issued in August 2020 announcing the granting of licenses to 3 payment service banks (PSBs), the regulator indicated that…