Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese billionaires are boasting about their Marxist bonafides. The Communist Party is tightening its grip on state-owned companies. And foreign companies are being asked to invite party cells into their offices. Under President Xi Jinping, the country’s ruling party is muscling back into business, expanding …
Read More »S.Africa economy in dire straits as political stakes rise
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa’s finance minister received some faint praise last week — not for the economy’s performance, but for admitting the country is in a dire position that is set to get worse. Malusi Gigaba delivered a mid-term budget that laid bare South Africa’s …
Read More »Zimbabwe bans fruit, vegetable imports to save scarce forex
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe has banned the importation of fruit and vegetables to save scarce foreign currency in the face of a worsening economic crisis, state media reported Tuesday. Agriculture Minister Joseph Made told The Herald that President Robert Mugabe had directed that the importation of horticultural products be …
Read More »Airbnb rentals boom across Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Rent-a-room giant Airbnb said Tuesday that it had provided accommodation for 1.2 million visitors to Africa over the last year — double the previous year as tourism expands across the continent. The website now offers more than 100,000 accommodation options in Africa, global public affairs …
Read More »Deloitte: Uganda economy can expand with better SME financing
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Audit firm Deloitte says Uganda’s economy could expand further once cheap financing to small and medium enterprises is offered. “With sufficient financing and access to business advisory services to foster continual improvement of operational efficiency and productivity, SMEs can become more competitive and resilient, …
Read More »Angola’s new leader vows to revive moribund economy
Luanda, Angola | AFP | Angola’s new president unveiled a programme of corporate tax sweeteners on Monday intended to boost foreign investment and ease the oil-rich country’s dependence on the lacklustre price of crude. “We expect to adopt tax incentives for businesses that invest in the country,” President Joao Lourenco said …
Read More »US-world divide spills out at IMF-World Bank meetings
Washington, United States | AFP | The growing split between the United States and the rest of the world spilled into the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington this week. The US administration showed a diminished view of the Bretton Woods institutions that shaped …
Read More »IMF worried over Venezuela, ‘no solution in sight’
Washington, United States | AFP | The International Monetary Fund expressed grave concerns Friday over Venezuela’s unending political crisis, seeing no end to the economic downturn and suffering of the population. Venezuela “remains in a full-blown economic, humanitarian, and political crisis with no end in sight,” the Fund said in a …
Read More »Global economy chiefs told to reform while going is good
Washington, United States | AFP | Finance chiefs from around the world were warned Thursday to get their houses in order while the global economy is strong and to be ready for possible shocks in the future. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine …
Read More »Samsung Electronics CEO resigns, even as record profits expected
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | The CEO of Samsung Electronics Kwon Oh-Hyun resigned Friday, saying the South Korean tech giant was facing an “unprecedented crisis”, even as it expected profits to hit an all-time high in the third quarter. Kwon’s resignation comes as the company struggles to overcome a bribery …
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