STORY: Here’s what’s been making the business headlines in sub-Saharan Africa this week.
1. Kenya’s shilling weakened on Thursday (June 27) and Friday (June 28) as markets awaited the outcome of protests against a now-shelved tax increase plan.
President William Ruto’s climbdown on a controversial finance bill has left the country’s efforts to meet International Monetary Fund targets in doubt, investors and analysts have said, and could make borrowing more costly.
2. An executive of Nigeria’s Dangote refinery has accused oil majors of blocking its access to locally produced crude by selling it above market price or claiming it was unavailable.
Devukumar Edwin said the $20 billion refinery has been forced to rely on expensive imports as it struggles to find enough crude to meet its 650,000 barrel-per-day capacity.
3. Drought-prone Namibia will start construction of its long-awaited second desalination plant in January 2025, its minister of agriculture said on Wednesday (June 26).
:: April 16, 2010
The world’s third largest uranium producer is seeing a surge in exploration activities and acquisitions which, alongside its ambitious green hydrogen plans, has increased water demand.
4. China North Industries Corp has agreed to buy struggling cobalt miner Chemaf SA’s assets in Democratic Republic of Congo, the latter said on Thursday (June 27).
:: Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo
Chinese miners, most of which are state-backed, have become the biggest investors in Congo as the world’s second-largest economy aggressively pursues copper and cobalt supplies for its rapidly expanding electric vehicle industry.
5. And finally, South Africa’s Cilo Cybin on Tuesday (June 25) became the first medical cannabis company to list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s Alternative Exchange.
The company said the global medical cannabis market is projected to grow to around $40.5 billion by 2032 from $12.6 billion in 2023 and said it would use funds from the listing to “tap into the growing global investor appetite.”
