African currencies under pressure but Ghana’s cedi to hold firm as Kenya’s slips to Ksh165 to the dollar
The Ugandan shilling is expected to trade in a stable range as dollar inflows from commodity exporters match low importer demand. Commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,800/3,810, compared with last Thursday’s close of 3,795/3,805.
In Africa’s first ‘safe city’ surveillance reigns but crime levels are rising as CCTV cameras don’t work
Nairobi launched its massive traffic surveillance system in 2014 as the country was grappling with a terrorism crisis. A series of major attacks by al-Shabab militants, including the September 2013 attack at Nairobi’s Westgate shopping complex in which 67 people were killed, left the city reeling and politicians under extreme pressure to implement solutions. A modern, digitized surveillance system became a national security priority. And the Chinese tech hardware giant Huawei was there to provide it.
Hopes of Kenya tapping into bond market knocked back by IMF’s concern the country ‘is at a high risk of debt distress’
Rising social discontent, mainly driven by the high cost of living, was further compounding the challenges which also include underperforming revenue collection, the IMF said.
Shanghai singles struggle to marry as China’s economy tanks, fertility rates plummet
Last year, President Xi Jinping said it was necessary to “actively cultivate a new culture of marriage and childbearing” to foster national development. Local governments have also announced various measures to encourage new families, including tax deductions and housing subsidies,
Tanzania lifts ban on Kenya Airways flights after talks between the East African neighbours
In a tit-for-tat move, Tanzania announced on Monday it had banned Kenya Airways flights after Nairobi refused to grant a request to Tanzania’s national carrier Air Tanzania to operate cargo flights between both nations.
Vodafone signs $1.5b Microsoft deal with 300 million businesses for AI, cloud and IoT services
Vodafone’s M-PESA mobile money platform, which operates in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and other African countries, shared the same objectives as Microsoft in the region, such as building digital literacy.
Tanzania withdraws approval for Kenya Airways flights, but the neighbours promise to resolve impasse
Kenya Airways said it was aware of the ban and was engaging aviation authorities in both countries to find a solution to avoid flight disruptions between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
As US, Britain are sucked into Gaza war, container rates soar on concerns of prolonged Red Sea disruption, inflation
Rates on the Shanghai-Europe route rose 8.1 per cent to $3,103 per 20-foot container on Friday from a week earlier, while the rate for containers to the unaffected US West Coast soared 43.2 per cent to $3,974 per 40-foot containers week on week, leading ship broker Clarksons said on Friday.
Shock measures: Argentina’s annual inflation soars to 211.4 per cent, the highest in 32 years
The data reflects the strong impact of a series of shock measures, including a 50 per cent devaluation of the nation’s currency, implemented by right-wing President Javier Milei in hopes of eventually bringing the country’s roaring inflation under control.
Global debt rush sparks hope for strained developing countries to regain market access this year
The prime contenders to test the market’s risk threshold and appetite for debt yielding 10 per cent are Angola, Kenya, Nigeria and El Salvador, say analysts at Morgan Stanley.
