Business Finance Headlines

AfDB, Lome-based BOAD ink €70m deal to support the private sector in 8 West African countries

The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced Tuesday December 12 an agreement with the Lome-based West African Development Bank (BOAD), a line of credit agreement of €70 million to bolster the regional bank’s support to the private sector in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The agreement, AfDB notes, was signed in Lomé on […]

Emerging Markets Finance Headlines Morocco

Teachers’ wage hike to cost government $900 million

The Moroccan government will have to spend 900 million dollars (9 billion dirhams) in 2024 and 2025 on the new deal struck with teachers to end their long strike, education minister Chakib Benmousa said. After negotiations with teachers’ unions, the government had agreed to a wage hike of 1500 dirhams and an increase in other […]

Africa Emerging Markets Finance Headlines International

AfDB loans Côte d’Ivoire €165m to finance key programs of country’s National Development Plan 2021-2025

The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced Monday the approval by its board of directors of two loans valued at €165 million earmarked for the implementation of the Diversification, Industrial Acceleration, Competitiveness and Employment (DAICE) Program, an important aspect of the country’s National Development Plan 2021-2025. The first loan is worth €120 million and the second […]

Finance Headlines Mauritania

World Bank, Mauritania ink soft loan agreements worth $85m to finance multiple projects

Mauritania and World Bank signed Monday in Nouakchott two soft loan agreements worth $85 million for the financing of two projects. The first deal is about additional funding for the project to support decentralization and the development of intermediate towns (Moudoun Project), to the tune of $25 million. The project seeks to improve access to […]

Asia Business Finance Headlines International

China’s plans to boost renminbi use in Africa face serious headwinds — CEIP study

While China has announced plans to boost the use of the Chinese currency renminbi in Southern Africa, part of Beijing’s efforts to diminish use of the dollar, a new study by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) highlights a number of major obstacles that stand in the way of BRICS’ de-dollarization efforts. In a visit […]

Emerging Markets Europe Finance Headlines International Morocco

Morocco’s Guelmim-Oued Noun region, part of EBRD’s Green Cities Program

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has included Guelmim-Oued Noun region into its Green Cities Program and will thus contribute with a €12 million loan to improve drinking water supply in rural areas and upgrade four existing wastewater treatment plants. “This is a trigger investment that will initiate the region’s participation in the […]

Africa Business Finance Headlines International

Mali, Niger scrap two tax deals with France, part of campaign to de-westernize

Mali and Niger have announced they have nullified two historic tax treaties with France, noting that Paris’s hostility towards both West African nations is the reason for the move. According to a joint statement published on Tuesday (5 December), the cancellation of the two treaties, which was meant to avoid double taxation and help in […]

Columns Finance Headlines Maghreb

Algeria’s public finances vicious circle

Algeria’s appropriation bill for 2024 continues on track of prioritizing social peace at the expense of sustainability of public finances, auguring ill for the medium- and long-term macroeconomic balances of the country. The Algerian state will spend 38 billion dollars on its inflated public sector payroll, which takes the largest chunk of budget distribution. Civil […]

Africa Asia Columns Emerging Markets Finance Headlines International Morocco

UAE backs Morocco-Nigeria pipeline

Morocco and the UAE signed a deal to invest in the Atlantic gas pipeline that will channel Nigerian gas to North Africa and ultimately to Europe. The deal was part of a series of memorandums of understanding signed during a state visit by King Mohammed VI to Abu Dhabi. It signals the UAE readiness to […]

Egypt Emerging Markets Europe Finance Headlines International Morocco

COP28: Morocco among three beneficiaries of €1 Bln Blue Mediterranean Initiative

Morocco is among the three Arab countries selected for the Blue Mediterranean Partnership which aims to support transition to a sustainable blue economy in the southern Mediterranean region. The announcement has been made by the donors and partners of the initiative at COP-28 currently held in UAE. Besides, the North African Kingdom, Egypt and Jordan […]