Browsing: China

Returning from a global legal onslaught, Chinese owned Opera has moved on to solidify its hold of Africa with the installation of new servers in Mombasa which it says makes browsing four times faster.

The browser with more than 350 million monthly active users has faced legal tackles mainly from US and Europe on how it handles app-based loans. Google play also announced that it will take measures against the company based on how it runs Okash, an online money lending app.

Opera has announced the successful installation of its new local servers in Mombasa, Kenya, through iColo.io MBA1 data center facility which has helped increase the browsing speed significantly. The company said its new server was saving a total of 4400 hours of time waiting for webpages to load.

These servers significantly increase browsing speed up to four times faster than before, meaning that millions of Kenyans who …

Uganda’s Cabinet agreed to borrow about €108 million from China for the construction of oil roads.

Uganda’s government will borrow the money from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to finance the construction of Hohwa-Nyairongo-Kyarusesa-Butoole and Masindi-Biiso, Kabaale-Kiziranfumbi roads.

“Upgrading and constructing the national oil roads will facilitate the efficient development of the strategic national oil resources,” said Denis Katungi, Uganda Media Centre communications and media relations manager.
Mr Katungi did not give more information on the interest rate the government will pay on the loan or the loan period.

Also Read: Uganda’s economy growing but not braced for shocks, says World Bank

He also added that the upgrade will add to the network of road infrastructure required for the movement of construction materials, consumables and workers from other parts of the country to the oil region.

Early last year, Uganda’s government signed a contract with China Railway Seventh …

South African rand has taken a steady stance on Monday, after China intervened to soothe the virus tension and combat the outbreak economic backlash, via its rate cut approach, according to information from Reuters.

Reuters reported that, China’s central bank cut the interest rate on its medium-term lending on Monday as policymakers sought to cushion the drag on business from the outbreak that has immensely disrupted activity.

As of 0245 EAT, the rand was standing at 0.55 per cent firmer at 14.8966, adding to gains from Friday’s session spurred by largely positive reception of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation speech promising faster economic reformer.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported the rand slipped to 14.6570 per dollar on Monday 28 January, its weakest since Dec. 12, with the selloff largely driven by investors dumping emerging-market assets.

Further, the rand and other emerging market currencies had weakened amid investor fears …

The China Coronavirus outbreak has shaken the world with fears of its spread looming.

Global markets have witnessed investors pulling their resources while calculating the economic impacts of the outbreak.

As China dines with Africa on the economic lines of trade, investment, and industrialization, there are rising concerns of whether the continent can contain the virus, which has already taken over 170 lives, with 7,000 confirmed cases and spread in about 15 countries.

Economic ramifications

There are growing concerns about the impact of the outbreak on Africa’s economies, earlier this week, a broad sell-off was witnessed in the global markets, affecting South Africa’s rand performance.

Theafricareport indicated that Johannesburg Stock Exchange plunged by as much as 2.6 per cent on Monday 28, the steepest decline in more than eight months.

South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, and Tanzania are some of the vibrant partners of China, whose economies rely on …

The Tanzanian government has taken serious precautions towards curbing the China coronavirus outbreak that has taken over 170 lives and more than 7000 new cases confirmed.

According to the Tanzanian Foreign Affairs Minister Palamagamba Kabudi, who was quoted by The Citizen, Tanzanians in China, particularly those with plans to travel abroad, have been urged to take attentive precautions related to guidelines issued by the Chinese government.

On the other hand, Tanzania’s national carrier, Air Tanzania told Reuters that it will resort to postpone its maiden flights from commercial capital Dar es Salaam to China.

The state-run carrier has been promoting and planning its charter flights to its historic development partner next month ahead of the expected launch of scheduled direct flights to the key Asia tourist hotspot.

Air Tanzania managing director Ladislaus Matindi told Reuters that, the company is taking precautions for the safety of its passengers, despite acquiring a …

Central Bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee has lowered the Central Bank Rate for loans to 8.50 per cent from 9.00 per cent, despite the removal of interest rate capping in the country.

READ ALSO:Why Kenya’s Central Bank has retained base lending rate at 9%

The MPC met on November 25, 2019, to review the outcome of its previous policy decisions and recent economic developments.

The meeting came at the backdrop of a domestic macroeconomic stability, the recent repeal of interest rate caps, and heightened global uncertainties and volatility in international markets.

READ:No more lending controls in Kenya as rate cap ‘dies’

READ ALSO:World Bank, IMF biggest winners in Kenya’s interest rates cap repeal

The MPS which is chaired by CBK governor Patrick Njoroge however noted that month-on-month overall inflation remained well anchored within the target range in September and October 2019, largely due to relatively stable …

Every month, Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway moves an average of 200 cargo trains from the coastal city of Mombasa to Nairobi’s inland container depot. With it, it moves at least 1,000 containers to Nairobi. This has left a bitter taste among residents of Mombasa, who have over the years depended on the undertakings around the port for jobs.

SGR, which has been billed as the biggest transport infrastructure project in the Kenya’s history, is expected to haul about nine million tonnes of cargo to make a profit of Sh5.08 billion a year, averaging Sh424 million per month, compared with 990,488 tonnes carried in the first year when SGR made a loss of Sh10 billion.

The SGR has so far made Sh10.9 billion from cargo and passenger business since it started operating, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ economic indicators report released in December 2018.

The cracks on the …

Global mobile giant Huawei has unveiled the DigiTruck project, in partnership with Belgium nonprofit organization Close the Gap, to provide digital skills training to rural and remote communities in Kenya. The DigiTruck is Huawei’s latest effort driving their digital inclusion initiative Tech4ALL.

With the rapid development of the global digital economy, the World Bank’s latest report points out that Southern Africa’s demand for digital skills in 2030 is as high as 230 million people, which is in stark contrast to the current prevailing lack of digital skills in Africa.

In Kenya, for example, despite being the ICT hub in Africa, Internet users account for less than 50% of the total population, not only because more than 75% of the population live in remote areas, lacking stable power supply, but also because many people do not realize the real value of digital skills, who have never been exposed to smartphones or …

The Japanese city of Yokohama prepares to host African leaders and business delegation during the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) will be held in Yokohama from 28th to 30th August 2019.

This is a Summit-level international conference on Africa’s development which was initiated by Japan since 1993. What is striking about TICAD is that rather than being a stage for bilateral relations between Japan and African countries, it uses a multilateral framework involving the participation of international organizations.

It is also broadly accessible to diverse stakeholders, including those from private enterprise, academia, and civil society, with the number of participants at TICAD VI held in Nairobi, Kenya exceeding 10,000. TICAD is also a place where African ownership is given serious regard.

In addition, follow-up meetings at ministerial level are held annually to enable the respective ministries to properly stay abreast of the status of ongoing projects resulting …

Less than a fortnight after a thousand visitors from the Middle East toured Tanzania, the country has just received the first batch of expected 1,000 tourists from the Far East.

Landing at the Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) on Sunday 13^th May, 2019 evening, more than 350 tourists from China kicked off their itinerary by sampling Northern Zone attractions, including the Ngorongoro crater and Serengeti National Park.

They were received at the airport terminal by the Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, who described the entourage as yet another indication that Tanzania is becoming a lucrative destination for visitors and investors from overseas.

The 10,000 visitors from China will be touring Tanzania through the `Tour Africa – New Horizon` program coordinated by Touch Road International Holding Group, which in addition to opening doors for tourists from the Far East, is hatching a new initiative where some visitors are going to identify potential …