Nigeria's central bank governor designate, Emefiele resumes work on Monday

Emefiele, CBN gov designate Godwin Emefiele, Nigeria’s central bank governor designate is expected to formally assume duty at the headquarter of the regulator bank in Abuja on Monday. The resumption of Emefiele at the regulatory bank will mark the end of an era, especially the end of tenure of controversial erstwhile governor, Lamido Sanusi who was suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan in February in what many observers of the system said was...

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Nigerian interbank rates rise on liquidity tightening

Adesola, Standard Chartered Ceo Nigerian interbank lending rates rose this week to an average of 10.75 percent from 10.25 percent last week, as the central bank aggressively mopped up liquidity to curb inflation and speculation in the local currency. "The central bank has consistently issued Open Market Operation (OMO) debt notes this week to soak liquidity from the banking system," one dealer said.Traders said the bank issued about 170 billion...

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Ghana names Barclays, StanChart and Deutsche Bank as Eurobond advisors

Ghana named Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered Plc as transaction advisers for its 2014 Eurobond of up to $1.5 billion, the finance ministry said on Friday."Although the transaction team is expected to start work immediately on the preparatory activities, government will continue to monitor the market for a suitable execution window," said the statement by deputy finance minister Cassiel Ato Fors...

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Africa must tackle poverty to share benefits of strong growth-IMF's Lagarde

Africa is "taking off" with strong, steady growth but poverty is unacceptably high so that governments need to build infrastructure and institutions and educate people to share the benefits more widely, the IMF's head said on Thursday.Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow by around 5.5 percent this year - well above the global average - with some of its poorest countries expanding by closer to 7 percent, Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director, told an IMF conference in the Mozambican capital Maputo.But the IMF chief...

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Nigerian naira eases on dollar shortage

The Nigerian naira eased slightly against the U.S. currency on Wednesday, after dealers took positions in anticipation of dollar sales by oil companies which did not materialise.The local unit closed at 162.80 to the greenback, after initially climbing to 162.40 naira, ending weaker than Tuesday's close of 162.72 naira.Dealers had expected dollar sales from oil companies, which started last week to continue to support the naira, but they failed to appear.Multinational oil companies in Africa's biggest economy sell dollars to banks on monthly basis...

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Western Union expands global digital presence, launches in Nigeria

WUMT The Western Union Company, a leader in global payment services, on Wednesday announced the launch of a new web site in Nigeria. The Nigeria launch represents the first receive-enabled Western Union web site, globally. "Western Union is growing its network and increasing consumer access to our services worldwide," said Khalid Fellahi, senior vice president and general manager, Western Union Digital. "The launch supports our global retail Agent...

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MasterCard extends zero liability policy to ATM transactions

Master card MasterCard Inc, the world's second largest debit and credit card company, said it was extending its zero liability policy in the United States to include all PIN-based and ATM transactions. Zero liability protection means the account holder will not be held responsible for unauthorized transactions.Earlier, the zero liability protection did not apply if an account holder's personal identification number (PIN) was used for unauthorized...

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Nigeria to raise 138 bln naira in Treasury bills

Nigerian currency Nigeria plans to issue 137.97 billion naira ($848.00 million) worth in treasury bills on June 4 with maturities ranging from three months to one year, the central bank said on Wednesday. The bank said it would auction 22.97 billion naira worth in three-month treasury bills, 30 billion naira of six-month paper and 85 billion naira of the one-year debt note.Auction results are expected the following day, the bank said in a statement.Yields...

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Kenya central bank shows ready to defend struggling shilling

Kenya Shilings Kenya's central bank has signalled its intent to defend the ailing shilling by selling dollars and says it has deep enough foreign reserves to cushion the currency against shocks.The shilling has been on the back foot this year, hurt by lower than expected dollar inflows into the tourism and tea sectors. More recently, a spate of bombings has added to worries that if a slump in tourism continues and deepens it could shave a percentage...

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Etisalat given $500 mln grant by Abu Dhabi for Maroc Telecom deal

Add caption Abu Dhabi gave Etisalat a $500 million grant towards its 4.14 billion euro ($5.64 billion) purchase of 53 percent of Maroc Telecom, the company's prospectus for a planned bond issue shows.The grant provides further evidence of the emirate's support for its companies' foreign expansion and could attract complaints from rival operators.Fellow Abu Dhabi-based company Etihad Airways benefited from a $3 billion interest-free loan from the...

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Nigerian naira trades flat against U.S.dollar

Naira & dollar Nigeria's naira traded flat against the U.S currency on Monday, as dollar sales by two oil companies helped ease the pressure of demand for the greenback, dealers said. The local unit closed at 162.45 naira to the dollar.The Nigerian units of Chevron sold $43 million to lenders and Royal Dutch Shell sold an undisclosed amount, boosting dollar liquidity in the interbank forex market."We expect the naira to trade within present...

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Visa pushes for more access to barely-tapped Ethiopia

Visa Card Visa Inc., which is piloting Ethiopia's first international debit card, is seeking to persuade the government to ease tight restrictions on banks in an effort to boost the use of electronic payments. Ethiopia has one of Africa's fastest-growing economies but few people in the Horn of Africa nation of 90 million have bank accounts and the range of services is limited.The government bars foreign banks, saying it needs to protect...

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Nigeria interbank rates slide as central bank retires treasury bills

Nigerian interbank lending rates fell to an average of 10.25 percent this week, compared with 12.41 percent last week, as the central bank kept its benchmark rate unchanged but paid off matured treasury bills, boosting liquidity.The central bank kept its policy rate on hold at 12 percent for the 16th time in a row on Tuesday, as it sought to maintain a stable currency and historically low inflation in the face of "eroded fiscal buffers".The bank sold 397 billion Nigerian naira ($2.5 billion) worth of open market securities (OMO) on Thursday to...

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Cameroon cocoa exports reach 146,417 T by end-April

Cocoa pods  Cameroon had exported 146,417 tonnes of cocoa beans by end-April since the start of the 2013/14 season in August, down from 199,147 tonnes during the same period the previous season, according to National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) data. The world's fifth largest cocoa producer shipped 3,043 tonnes of beans in April, down from 3,207 tonnes in March and 5,849 tonnes in the same month a year ago, the data showed.The NCCB said...

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