Friday, March 29

Economic Growth

Uganda National Oil Company
  • The Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) is directly importing petroleum products from Vitol Bahrain, aiming to reduce reliance on Kenyan firms and mitigate high fuel prices. 
  • UNOC’s direct importation and sale of fuel to OMCs in Tanzania and Uganda is a significant step towards fostering stronger regional ties, promoting economic growth, and ensuring energy security. 

Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) has started the sale of petroleum products to oil marketing companies in both Uganda and Tanzania.

This is part of a broader strategy to test the waters before UNOC embarks on a direct importation agreement with the global oil titan, Vitol Bahrain. This maneuver signals a new era in East Africa’s energy dynamics, especially following a cooling of relations between Uganda and Kenya over fuel supply mechanisms.

Breaking New Ground: Uganda National Oil Company Direct Importation Deal

For years, Uganda’s fuel supply chain was heavily dependent on Kenyan OMCs. However, …

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Green Giant project
  • The joint development of the Green Giant Project will expedite the construction of the first 200MW phase of the investment.
  • Mini-grids account for more than half of all new connections in DRC.
  • The agreement represents a significant milestone in the collaborative efforts between SkyPower, AFC, and the DRC.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and SkyPower Global have entered into a joint development agreement for the first phase of SkyPower’s Green Giant project in the mineral-rich country.

The move is meant to promote the use of renewable energy in the Eastern African state. This 200MW Phase one is a crucial step towards achieving the landmark 1,000MW Solar Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) signed between SkyPower and the DRC’s state-owned utility, Société Nationale d’Electricité (SNEL).

The partnership brings together SkyPower’s extensive experience in developing large-scale solar projects and AFC’s successful track record of de-risking and funding well-structured power …

COP28 Renewables target
  • A staggering $8 trillion would be invested in installing renewables to achieve COP28 renewable targets. 
  • The report finds that COP28 renewable targets must continue growing enormously beyond the decade's end.
  • Without this, the pledge to triple COP28 renewable targets will ring increasingly hollow.

The investments channelled towards the development of renewables will need to grow fivefold if the Sub-Saharan African countries are to achieve COP28 Renewable Targets.

A new think tank Climate Analytics report shows that $8 trillion of investment is needed for new renewables and $4 trillion for grid and storage infrastructure to deliver the 2030 tripling goal agreed at COP28 – or combined, $2 trillion a year on average.

This is twice as fast as the current global average. 2023 global investment reached $1 trillion, around half of the annual investment needed between 2024 and 2030.

The insights show that using climate finance to mobilise $100 billion a…

South Sudanese celebrating the birth of a new nation. The country is doing well economically defying effects of the pandemic. www.theexchange.africa

South Sudan may be the newest nation in the world but this does not mean that its economy is still too young to be noticed when its trajectory moves upwards.

The Eastern African nation is edging out giants in the region including Kenya and Uganda to become the fastest growing economy in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus has ravaged economies around the world but for South Sudan, the country is defying the effects to register a 4.1 per cent GDP growth ahead of Ethiopia and Tanzania with close to 2 per cent and Kenya with 1 per cent.

A report by the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa (UNECA) shows that the country of 11 million is outshining its regional peers which will see many countries fall below pre-2020 projections.

Read: Facebook, Google internet to exploit Africa’s online riches

The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimated the country’s …

Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines

China Development Bank

The Zambian government announced an agreement with the China Development Bank (CDB) to defer a loan repayment that fell due in October 2020.  The terms of the deal include a halt on interest payment for six months, with payment of interest expected to resume in April 2021. The principal due was also postponed and will be rescheduled over the entire loan period. Chinese lenders are not known for their flexibility which is why the deal comes as a welcome shock.

I’m glad to learn that China Development Bank has reached a debt deferral agreement with Zambia. This fully shows that in addition to official creditors, other Chinese financial institutions are also actively resolving the debt issue of Zambia and other African countries.

Wu Peng, Director-General, Department of African Affairs, MFA, China on Twitter

 

The government did not, however, disclose the size of the debt or the

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