Author: Albert Nangara

• Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said the government was also facilitating the establishment and the expansion of local organic fertilizer production plants with support from the EXIM Bank.
• It is also interested in increasing the manufacture of local products within the country and as such has pledged to support local producers via an allocated budget. Asides this, the finance minister assured that 50 per cent of all imports would be halted.
• The National Insurance Commission, is spearheading the development of agricultural insurance for farmers through the Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP).

Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has presented the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government to Parliament.

This is in accordance with Article 179 of the 1992 Constitution and section 21 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).

The Ministry of Finance said the budget focuses “on Government’s strategies to restore and stabilise the macro economy, …

When buying any product what do you really look at on the labels? How often do you check where the products were made? Who knows, maybe some of the products are made on Mars.

One thing for sure is you will come across a tag which reads: ‘Made in Zimbabwe,’ ‘Proudly manufactured in Zimbabwe’ or simply ‘Grown in Zimbabwe.’

Exports continue to grow this year thanks to the increasing popularity of Zimbabwean products in regional markets.

According to statistics recently released by ZIMSTAT, Zimbabwe’s exports grew by 12.8 per cent, from US$3.75 billion to US$4.22 billion, between January and August this year.

This growth has been anchored by export growth in emerging and non-traditional markets in countries such as United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Belgium, and Italy.

The figures show that Zimbabwe’s products to United Arab have grown to US$1.38 billion in 2022. Exports to China also grew to around …

The Cashew Industry Association (AICAJU) does not identify with the current model, which assigns the government the leading role in setting prices. “AICAJU reinforces its position already expressed previously, and once again appeals to the need to let the market work, since this is what will dictate the real reference price,” reaffirms the association’s Julina Harculette.

In 2021, Harculette said, the Mozambican cashew industry processed around 32,663 tons of cashew nuts last year when the reported total production was 146,000 tons, an increase of 6.52 per cent against the previous year. In 2020, 30,664 tons of cashew were processed in Mozambican cashew industries.

According to Tridge, Europe is the world’s largest importer of cashew nut kernels, accounting for 35-40 per cent of global cashew import value. The value of European cashew nut imports increased by an average of 2 per cent a year in the 2017-2021 period, and volumes increased …

• In terms of forecast, inflation is expected to be around 18 per cent at the end of 2022. The trend of price deceleration in the economy is expected to continue.
• However, according to bank of Angola the prolongation of the conflict in Eastern Europe and deceleration of the world economy with a negative impact on oil prices can be identified as possible risks.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its report “World Economic Outlook update” of July 2022, signaled that inflation has been above expectations around the world, especially in the USA and in the main European economies, which has triggered more restrictive monetary policies.

Intensified unprecedented inflationary pressure was persistently driven by the rise of energy and food commodity prices.

In the second quarter, the annual headline and underlying inflation rates in USA stood at 9.1 per cent and 5.9 per cent. This was above expectations which were around …

• Meikles seeks approval to delist from London Stock Exchange.
• The proposal will be among key issues to be discussed during the firm’s annual general meeting (AGM) next month, according to a notice to shareholders released on November 14, 2022.

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE)-listed diversified group Meikles Limited said it is seeking shareholder approval to delist from the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The proposal will be among key issues to be discussed during the firm’s annual general meeting (AGM) next month, according to a notice to shareholders released on November 14, 2022.  Meikles will hold its 85th AGM virtually on December 5.

“That the company cancels the listing of its 4 556 899 ordinary shares on the official list of the financial conduct authority and the trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange,” the company said in the notice under special business.

“That the directors of the company …

• Africa’s trading environment and infrastructure are modernising as fast as the opportunities are presenting themselves.
• Dubai Ports in Tanzania seeks to transform trade in Africa partly through investing heavily in the digital infrastructure to help Africa keep up with demand.
• DP World also rolled in tools to reduce container vessel waiting times at some ports from five days to a matter of hours, which is particularly valuable for traders of perishable goods, and those taking advantage of the enormous e-commerce market in Africa

Have you ever asked yourself “why is Africa important to the world?”

Africa is important because the continent is rich in natural resources ranging from arable land, water, oil, natural gas, minerals, forests and wildlife. The continent also holds a huge proportion of the world’s natural resources, both renewables and non-renewables. But that is not the only reasons, the continent is important today because of its contribution …

• Government has reduced the e-levy rate from 1.5 per cent to one per cent of the transaction value, finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has announced presenting the 2023 budget statement.
• The Ghanaian government has announced its decision to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2.5 per cent. This will move the tax policy from its current percentage of 12.5 per cent to 15 per cent.

Ghana is set to reduce the rate of the Electronic Transfer Levy to one per cent from 1.5 per cent.

As part of the review of the e-levy act, however, the GHS 100 daily threshold meant to cushion vulnerable people will be removed.

This was announced by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta on Thursday, November 24, 2022, during the 2023 budget presentation.

“Review the E-Levy Act and more specifically, reduce the headline rate from 1.5 per cent to 1 per cent of the transaction value …

• Last year, trade between Angola and Italy was valued at US$400 million.
• Vice-president of the Angola-Italy Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAI), Hélder Cardoso, said strengthening of financial collaboration between Angola and Italy is with a view to diversifying Angola’s exports.
• In the first quarter of 2022, the USA, France, Italy, China and the United Kingdom were the countries that stood out in terms of the origin of foreign direct investment in the oil sector.

In 2021, trade between Angola and Italy was valued at US$400 million, thus corresponding to an increase of more than US$100 million dollars compared to the same period last year.

From the total, US$280 million derived from the country’s oil exports to Italian soil, while US$180 million represents imports of agricultural equipment and the country’s manufacturing industry in this European country.

This information was revealed by Hélder Cardoso, vice-president of the Angola-Italy Chamber of Commerce …

The commission also approved the Dairibord Zimbabwe/Tavistock Estates deal and the acquisition of 100 per cent shareholding in DSI Underground by Sandvik Holdings.

“The transaction was classified as a horizontal merger since the parties are competitors at the same level and in the same relevant market. Examination of the proposed acquisition by Sandvik of 100 per cent of the shares in DSI sought to establish whether the merger will be contrary to public interest through substantially lessening competition or creating a monopoly situation that will be contrary to public interest in the Zimbabwean market,” read the report on the acquisition.

According to CTC, Sandvik-the acquiring firm, is a public limited company incorporated in Sweden and is into high-tech and global engineering. In Zimbabwe, Sandvik operates through its subsidiary, Sandvik Mining and Construction Zimbabwe (Pty) Ltd (“Sandvik Zimbabwe”), and supplies drill rigs, underground trucks and loaders, aftermarket-parts, service and rock tools, …

By 2030 alone, between 6,000 and 10,000 megawatts of dedicated renewable energy plants would need to be built to power 3,000 to 5,000 megawatts of electrolyzer capacity, according to figures shown in the presentation. Electrolyzers use electricity to make hydrogen from water.

Green hydrogen production technologies are seeing a renewed wave of interest. This is because the possible uses for hydrogen are expanding across multiple sectors, including power generation, manufacturing processes in industries such as steelmaking and cement production, fuel cells for electric vehicles, heavy transport such as shipping, green ammonia production for fertilizers, cleaning products, refrigeration, and electricity grid stabilization, according to the World Bank.

South Africa possesses exceptional conditions for the development of a competitive green hydrogen industry due to its geographical and institutional environments, giving it the potential to become a development pole at the national and regional levels.…