Browsing: Coronavirus

The world is on its heels as the coronavirus (COVID-19) has taken superpowers and developing nations hostage, limiting aerial movements, limiting large congregations, and drawing billions into containment plans. With all that in the fold, what has Tanzania installed to contain the virus outbreak ripples?

It is crucial to say China and Tanzania relations are historic, dating back to the 1960s. Prior to the virus outbreak, China and Tanzania had vibrant trading interactions, with bilateral trade volume reaching $3.976 billion according to the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania.

Both China and Tanzania (Ministry of Industries and Trade) have confessed to a serious downturn in trade following the coronavirus outbreak.

Meanwhile, Tanzania’s Ministry of Health Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, assured the nation that, Tanzania has no case of coronavirus and it is taking serious measures to keep the situation that way.

However, taking the health landscape into account, still—Tanzania lags …

When Nigeria announced its first positive coronavirus infection African countries are now on guard as this has been a wake-up call for nations to strength their surveillance as well as disease containment.

The first case of the coronavirus was confirmed on February 25, via an Italian carrier who works in Nigeria and flew into the nation’s commercial city, Lagos.

According to information from BBC, Nigerian authorities commented that the “patient zero” is who is being treated in a hospital within the city, is stable and with no serious symptoms.

On the larger scale, Egypt and Algeria have also confirmed cases of the virus, while Kenya—whose authorities were debating on flights cancellation to China have given a court order to suspend flights from China, on February 28.

On a global scale, more than 2,800 people have died and more than 83,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in more than 50 …

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 …

In addition to the tragic toll on human lives, the coronavirus outbreak in China brings potential economic and market implications for China and beyond. Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity team has been monitoring the situation and weighs in with some thoughts, comparing it to the outbreak of SARS in 2003.

We are closely monitoring the impact on emerging market economies and equity markets from the outbreak of the coronavirus in China and other parts of the world. The situation is at an early stage and is evolving quickly. Both market and macro implications depend on the severity and duration of this epidemic episode.

What We Know So Far

• Since the first cases of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) were notified to the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019, over 4,500 confirmed cases have been reported in China, with over 5,700 suspected cases and 106 deaths.¹Based on

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 …

South Africa’s rand has gained a slightly against the dollar early on Tuesday, after beginning the week on Monday on the back foot as investors calculated the economic impact of the coronavirus, which left stocks in Asia abandoned by investors.

Reuters reported that Africa’s most diversified economy currency firmed after hitting a more than six-week low in the previous session, and yet the coronavirus still weighs on the economic outlook.

At 0640 GMT, the rand traded at 14.5800 per dollar, 0.17 per cent than its previous close, while on Monday, at 0702 GMT the rand traded at 14.4800 versus the dollar, which is 0.59 per cent lower than its New York close on Friday 24th.

On the other hand, Reuters reported that the rand slipped to 14.6570 per dollar on Monday, its weakest since Dec. 12, with the selloff largely driven by investors dumping emerging-market assets.

Nedbank analysts wrote in …