East Africa

Zambia announced on Thursday that it had agreed with U.S. Agency Millennium Challenge Corporation to increase the use of $491'million agriculture grant programme' to support key critical minerals infrastructure. Signed in 2024, the "farm to market" grant was initially intended to boost agricultural development in Africa’s No. 2 copper producing country. The Zambian finance ministry released a statement that said, "The realignment of the railway will support Zambia's agriculture and critical minerals economy along the Lobito Corridor -- a major economic corridor for Zambia." The 'Lobito Corridor' is a rail connection between Angola's Atlantic port of Lobito and the top...

About 30 women dressed in matching green dust coats grading sugar snap peas for dinner tables in Europe. The atmosphere in the?facility? is positive, but for the farmers the start of the fresh produce exporting season has been difficult due to an increase in freight costs caused by the Iran War. Kuminda, which aggregates the produce of about 5,000 small farmers, had just finished preparing its first exports of sugar snap peas, and mange tout for this year. RISE IN FREIGHT PRICES Exporters must absorb rising costs, or they risk derailing a recovery of Zimbabwe's horticulture industry. Last year the...

Shipping company MSC announced on Saturday that it would implement a fuel surcharge for all cargo from the Mediterranean (including West Mediterranean and Adriatic Sea, East Mediterranean and Greece) and Black Sea, to the Indian Subcontinent, the Red Sea and East Africa. This will be effective March 16, 2019. The surcharge was set at $30 per twenty-foot equivalent unit for dry containers and $50 per TEU refrigerated containers from the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Red Sea. The world's largest ocean container carrier said that dry containers traveling from the Mediterranean, Black Sea, and East Africa would be charged at $60...

The shipping company MSC announced on Thursday that it would implement a fuel surcharge for 'all cargo' from Northern Europe (including UK, Scandinavian and Baltic) to the Red Sea and East Africa. This will be effective March 16, 2019. MSC will charge $40 per twenty-foot equivalent (TEU), from Northern Europe, including the UK to the Red Sea for dry containers and $60 for refrigerated ones. The world's largest ocean container carrier said that dry containers from Northern Europe (including the UK) to East Africa would be charged at $65 per TEU while refrigerated ones would be charged at $100 per...

The port operator reported that Maputo's biggest port saw a 1% drop in volume in 2024, mainly because of post-election protests which forced the closure of borders and roadblockages. After a disputed vote on Oct. 9, Daniel Chapo's Frelimo Party, which has been ruling Mozambique in its current form since 1975, won the election by a narrow margin, protests by the opposition erupted across this southeast African nation. More than 300 people have died in the unrest after a crackdown carried out by security forces. Maputo Port Development Company's (MPDC) statement said that the port volume for 2024 fell to...

Tanzania prepares to honour its contracts with an Adani Group unit in spite of a U.S. indictment of its billionaire chairman Gautam Adani on accusations of bribery and fraud, a senior authorities at the ports authority stated. Adani was prosecuted for scams last week and arrest warrants were provided for him and his nephew for their declared roles in a. $ 265 million plan to pay off Indian officials to protect. power-supply offers. Adani Group has rejected the accusations. In May, Tanzania participated in a 30-year concession agreement. with Adani Ports, an unit of Adani Group, to operate a container....

The Iran War is shaping up as one of the largest?supply shocks' in the history the aluminum market. According to the International Aluminium Institute, the Gulf's production of this metal, used in sectors such as transportation, packaging and solar panels, plummeted in April to its lowest level for over a decade. The regional run-rates fell by 2 million metric tons annually between March and April. In missile strikes, two Gulf aluminium smelters were damaged. Al Taweelah, the Emirates Global Aluminium plant in Al Taweelah will require a year to repair. At least one other manufacturer - Qatalum has reduced its...

A senior official revealed that the Africa Finance Corporation, the lead developer of the U.S.-backed Lobito mineral transport corridor, is in discussions with at least 10 African and foreign financiers including Citigroup to raise $3-5 billion for this project. The AFC has begun preparing for the construction of a key transport project, which will combine existing and new railway lines to link copper and cobalt mining areas with?Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito. The project is a part of Washington’s effort to curb Chinese influence and secure access to strategic metals, minerals, and coal in Africa. AFC is currently in discussions...

The Iran War is triggering a global crisis on the?aluminium markets, with potentially devastating effects in sectors such as construction, packaging and transport. Even if war ended tomorrow, it would take Emirates Global Aluminium up to one year to recover from damage caused by a missile attack?on the Al Taweelah Smelter last month. Aluminium Bahrain, which is the largest single-site production facility outside of China, was also hit. However, the extent of the damage is not known at this time. Alba and Qatar Aluminium had both reduced production prior to the attack due to power shortages. The Strait of Hormuz...

The Iran War is triggering a global crisis on the aluminium market that could have devastating effects in sectors such as construction, packaging and transport. Even if war ended tomorrow, it could take Emirates Global Aluminium up to one year to recover from damage caused by a missile attack on its Al Taweelah Smelter last month. The largest production site outside of China, Aluminium?Bahrain has also been?hit, though the extent of damage is not yet known. Alba and Qatar Aluminium had already reduced production prior to the attack due to power shortages. The Strait of Hormuz is severely restricted, and...

The Finance Ministry reported that Uganda's economy grew by 8.5% in the December quarter, up from 5.4% in the same period last year. This was due to strong consumer demand, high construction activity and other sectors. In a late-night post on 'the X platform,' the ministry said that construction on a $5 billion pipeline that will help Uganda export crude oil to 'international markets has reached 80%. The 1,443 km (897 miles) long (EACOP), will begin from the oilfields in western Uganda and end at the port of Tanga, on Tanzania's Indian Ocean coastline. After a long delay, the 'east...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, said on Monday that Ukraine was interested in importing Mozambican liquefied gas, because it "struggles" to meet its energy requirements after years of Russian attacks against its production infrastructure. Prior to the war, Ukraine produced almost all its own gas. Andriy Pyshnyi, Central Bank governor of Ukraine, said that the Russian attacks have caused Ukraine to lose about half of its gas production. In the?autumn of last year, Russia intensified their attacks on Ukrainian gas facilities. Most are located in the?frontline areas in northeast and central Ukraine. Zelenskiy, who met with the President of...

Kenya Pipeline Company shares?traded slightly?higher on Tuesday in?early _trade after listing on Nairobi stock exchange. At 0715 GMT, the shares traded at 9.4 shillings compared to the Initial Public Offering price of?9 shillings. Kenyan government sold a 65% stake in pipeline company raising 823.07 million dollars. This was the 'first major IPO' for the East African nation in nearly 20 years. The IPO received a high level of interest despite concerns about lower valuations by some banks, a longer offer period, and media reports about?investor apathy. The government said that it would use between 15 and 20 billion shillings from...

John Mbadi, the Finance Minister, said that Kenya Pipeline's Initial Public Offer (IPO) received a 105.7% subscriber rate. Mbadi stated that Kenyan individuals and institutions will receive 67.32% of the shares offered from this sale. The IPO was'shadowed' by lower valuations from?some banks and an extension of the offer. The government offered a 65% share in Kenya Pipeline Company in order to raise 824.67 million dollars. This is the first major deal in the region since 2008 when shares in Safaricom were sold, which raised more money in dollar terms. Mbadi said on Wednesday that the government will only accept...

The lead adviser for the transaction, who has been advising on this deal since last week, said that institutional investors have shown a strong appetite to invest in Kenya's oil pipeline company. This is contrary to reports of investor apathy. The sale, which ran from 19 January to 24 February, saw the government offer a 65% share in Kenya Pipeline Company in order to raise 106.31 billion shillings (825.31 million dollars) in the largest ever IPO for East Africa in local currency. The IPO returns are being reconciled by the deal team and results will be released on March 4....

Gridworks, an?investor owned by the British government in Africa's electric networks, signed agreements on Monday to 'develop and invest' in transmission projects valued at around $400 million, during a visit by Britain's Foreign Minister. Yvette's Cooper's visit to Ethiopia is part of the UK government's efforts to create jobs in order to curb the rising number of migrants seeking to enter the United Kingdom from the Horn of Africa. These two projects are the first public/private partnerships in Ethiopia’s transmission network. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmad's government is slowly opening up Ethiopia’s state-dominated economy for more private investment. One project 'connects...

Kenya sold a 65% share in its oil pipeline firm on Monday. The company hoped to raise $825 million through the largest IPO ever for East Africa. This sale is part a campaign by the government of President William Ruto to divest state companies in order to raise money for new infrastructure and sovereign wealth funds. The government is also selling its stake in the?telecoms company Safaricom. Documents indicating the IPO price for Kenya?Pipeline Company showed that the government set the price at nine shillings a share. The sale will run until February 19 and the shares will be listed...

The U.S. Justice Department asked on Tuesday a federal appeals?court to dismiss its appeal against a lower court order that blocked President Donald Trump from requiring 20?Democratic?states?to cooperate with immigration enforcement in order to receive billions of dollar's worth of grant funding for transportation. A U.S. Judge in Rhode Island decided that the U.S. Department of Transportation did not have the authority to force the states to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for transportation funding and that the condition was against the U.S. Constitution. California Attorney General Rob Bonta led the legal challenge which included also the District...