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AfriEdge: Business Insights Edition 1

#InvestInAfricaNow

December 2, 2024

Connecting Worldwide Investors With Business Opportunities In Africa

Welcome to the AfriEdge Weekly Business Insights Newsletter - Edition 1. Below is the summary of the information covered in this edition:

United States

U.S. MBA 30-year Mortgage Rate rose to 6.90% from 6.86%. U.S. Initial Jobless Claims fell to 213k from 219k. U.S. Continuing Jobless Claims rose to 1,908k from 1,872k.
U.S. Manufacturing PMI is expected to rise to 48.8 in November from 48.5 in October, Services PMI is expected to rise to 57.0 in November from 55.0 in October and Composite PMI is expected to rise to 55.3 in November from 54.1 in October.

Currency

Euro drops to 1.0333 on Friday, its lowest levels since November 30, 2022. Second straight weekly decline for Sterling.

Commodity

Brent Crude settling at a two-week high. Gold above crucial levels of USD 2,700 per ounce.

Africa

Rwanda – The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 6.50%, halting the rate cuts made in May and August.
Benin – Benin is implementing a "carbon-monetisation strategy" backed by 2.5 mn carbon credits, mainly from energy and regenerative agricultural projects.
Egypt – Egypt launched its first IPO in three years, selling a 30% stake in United Bank for up to USD 104 mn. Egypt's trade deficit narrowed slightly from USD 4.88 bn in August to USD 4.27 bn in September. Moody's forecasting 5% growth in Egypt's economy in 2025, an estimated 4% growth this year.
Kenya – In October, remittances grew by 23% y/y to USD 437.2 mn. Over the 12 months leading up to October 2024, total remittances grew by 15.3% to USD 4.804 bn, from USD 4.165 bn recorded in the same period the previous year.
Uganda – Uganda announced new oil exploration areas, the Moroto-Kadam, Lake Kyoga, and Hoima basins, a combined area of 17,244 sq. kms. The value of Uganda's coffee exports jumped 76.3% in October from a year ago.
Tanzania – The East African nation is expected to receive around USD 2.5 bn in FDI this year and USD 3 bn in 2025, up from USD 2.2 bn in 2023.
Ethiopia – Ethiopia plans to export about 100 MW of electricity to Tanzania via Kenya once the countries finalise a deal enabling cross[1]border electricity trade.
South Africa – South Africa's CPI y/y fell to 2.8% in October from 3.8% in September. South Africa's Central Bank reduced interest rates by 25 bps to 7.75% from 8.00%. South Africa's Central Bank Prime Rate fell by 25 bps to 11.25% from 11.50%.