Kenya

Three NSE stocks join Morgan Stanley small-cap index

The Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) index has added three NSE counters—Kenya Power, Carbacid Investments Plc, and Bamburi Cement Plc—to its small-cap index, increasing the stocks’ visibility to foreign investors. 

The inclusion of the three stocks brings the number of Kenyan companies on the MSCI small-cap index constituents to seven, including BAT Kenya Plc, Diamond Trust Bank Kenya, KenGen, and Kenya Re. Safaricom Plc, Equity Group, KCB Group, East Africa Breweries Plc, and Co-operative Bank of Kenya are the five listed firms on the MSCI main frontier market index. 

(Business Daily)

Uganda

Vandalism of power lines brings Greater Masaka to its knees

Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited spends, on average, more than Ksh600 million every year to repair vandalised towers on the existing lines across the country. Uganda electricity distribution company Umeme has blamed vandalism for the rampant blackouts in the Greater Masaka area. 

The areas most affected by power blackouts are Kyotera, Rakai, Kalungu, Bukomansimbi, and Lwengo. Although technical faults and bad weather contribute to power outages, Umeme said theft of copper cables and aluminium wires and vandalism of electric poles are the main causes of blackouts in the country. Vandals are said to be making a fortune through the sale of stolen copper wires to unscrupulous scrap dealers, while other items are sold to private electrical suppliers, mainly in Kampala.

(Monitor)

Tanzania 

Tanzania overtakes Kenya as Uganda’s largest source of imports in Africa

Tanzania has overtaken Kenya as Uganda’s largest source of imports, denoting a shift in trade, especially within Africa. Kenya has traditionally been Uganda’s largest trading partner but data indicates that East Africa’s largest economy is now second after Tanzania in terms of Uganda’s largest source of imports from within Africa.

Data from the Bank of Uganda indicates that during the year ended June 2024, Uganda imported goods worth $4.17 billion from COMESA and the rest of Africa combined, of which almost half were from Tanzania. According to the Uganda Revenue Authority, the country imports mostly gold, rolled iron or non-alloy steel, groundnuts and carboys, bottles, and flasks from Tanzania.

The Bank of Uganda further indicates that during the year to June 2024, Uganda spent $1.77b on imports from Tanzania, more than triple the $450.46m recorded in the year to June 2023. Kenya, which for years had been Uganda’s leading source of imports in Africa, is now in second position, with a contribution worth $816.71, a slight reduction from the $860.71 m recorded in the year to June 2023.

(The Citizen)

Ethiopia 

Taxpayers to foot massive ETB 845b bill for bad CBE loans

A staggering ETB 845 billion in bad loans extended to state-owned enterprises by the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) had legislators fuming as officials from the Ministry of Finance proposed the issuance of an unprecedented ETB 900 billion in bonds to bail out the banking behemoth. The state-owned CBE’s non-performing loans (NPLs) have been piling up since the EPRDF era, with much of the arrears coming from bad loans provided to state-owned enterprises and large-scale public projects over the last three decades.

Many of these projects, including the Yayu Fertiliser Complex, a dozen mega sugar estates, and several others under the former Metals and Engineering Corporation (MetEC), have failed. As a result, CBE has been unable to collect on the debts owed to it, casting doubt over the standing of what is the country’s largest commercial bank by far. The Finance Ministry is, however, looking to begin settling the bonds after a three-year grace period, with the final payment set to be made within 10 years.

(The Reporter)

Rwanda

Startups awarded as Africa youth talks end in Rwanda

Five startups received cash awards for innovative solutions designed to address local challenges on Sunday during the closing of the YouthConnekt Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. The five winners presented their innovations at the forum, a pan-African initiative connecting young people for social and economic transformation.

The winners had been finalists in the Hanga PitchFest 2024, a project where competitors vie for a share of FRw 110 million (about $80,645) in grants. Sinc Today Ltd. won the first prize of FRw 50 million. The startup seeks to transform Africa’s events industry with a one-in-all platform for event discovery and management, easy ticket purchasing and sustainability and inclusivity to combat waste and boost visibility. Geuza Ltd. Emerged first runner-up and won FRw 20 million. The company’s focus is to empower people with disabilities across Africa through affordable assistive devices like crutches, walkers, and prosthetics made from recycled electronic waste.

(Business Daily)

South Sudan

Financial act guarantees citizens greater transparency in public spending

On Tuesday, during the launch of the Fourth High-Level Forum on Fiscal Devolution and Revenue Management, Finance Minister Dr Marial Dongrin pointed out that the passage of the amended Public Financial Management and Accountability Act will empower citizens by providing clearer oversight of government expenditures and reinforcing the integrity of public financial management.

“The Public Financial Management and Accountability Act is not just a document. It’s a promise to our people that we are building a South Sudan that operates on principles of integrity, efficiency and prosperity by improving mechanisms for revenue collection, enhancing transparency and public spending, promoting sound fiscal policies,” Dr Dongrin stated.

The minister emphasised that the current transitional period and constitution-making process present a significant opportunity to embed the principles of fiscal responsibility and equitable revenue distribution into South Sudan’s national laws.

(Eye Radio)