Anglophone West Africa

 Nigeria

• According to the Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics Q3-2022 report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s total trade stood at N11.6tn in Q3-2022 vs N10.5tn in Q3-2021. Total exports stood at N5.9tn (-19.9% q/q and +15.5% y/y) of which re-exports were N25.0bn (+160.2% q/q and -86.1%, y/y), while total imports stood at N5.7tn (+4.2% q/q and +6.2% y/y).
• Chevron Nigeria Limited, operator of the joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and CNL has secured a $1.4bn financing to fund the NNPC/CNL JV infill drilling programme to run from 2022 to 2026.
• According to Bloomberg reports, MRS Holdings Ltd provided NNPC $300.0m to buy two shallow-water licenses divested by Chevron.
• According to the Chief Investment Officer, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti, at the 11th Practical Nigerian Content forum in Uyo, Nigeria’s crude oil production printed at 1.6mbpd as of this week, from 937,000bpd in Sep-2022. This increase can be attributed to the Federal Government’s strong approach to the fight against crude oil theft, as well as pipeline recoveries.
• The Nigerian government, in a bid to boost trade with Southeast Asia and maximise the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, has announced plans that will enable the $336 billion exporter, Vietnam to use Nigeria as a gateway into the African market.
• In addition, media reports revealed that promoters of the African Continental Free Trade have said that the agreement can grow trade value in Nigeria to the tune of $12.0bn between 2023 and 2027.
• The Senate has passed a bill for a second reading to amend the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Act to regulate the processes of granting corporate tax holidays, import duty waivers, and investment incentives to investors and businesses in Nigeria. The bill seeks to whittle down the powers of the Federal Government to grant tax holidays and incentives to businesses.

 Ghana

• Earlier in the week, Ghana asked local bondholders to accept losses on interest payments as it restructures its debt to qualify for a loan from the International Monetary Fund. 
• According to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, the West African country will replace existing local- currency debt with four new bonds maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032, and 2037. Furthermore, The annual coupon on all these new bonds will be set at 0.0% in 2023, 5.0% in 2024, and 10.0% from 2025 until maturity. Coupon payments will be semi-annual.
• According to Bank of America Corp, Ghana’s debt restructuring and a funding deal with the International Monetary Fund could result in a recovery value of between 50 cents and 55 cents on the dollar for the nation’s 2032 bonds, which is attractive relative to current levels.
• In addition, the Finance Minister reiterated that there will be no haircut on the principal of bonds, and external debt restructuring parameters will be presented in due course.
• Ghana's long-term local currency issuer default rating was downgraded by Fitch to C from CC. The downgrade of Ghana’s bond follows the government's announcement of a formal invitation to exchange local-currency debt.
• According to Bloomberg, Ghana’s local-currency debt score was cut to default by S&P Global Ratings as the government opts for restructuring in hopes of qualifying for a loan from the International Monetary Fund.
• According to Sovereign Analysts in the S&P Emerging Markets Sovereign rating team, Ghana has $10.0bn in external debt servicing over the next three years, with multilateral financing possibly offering up to $6.0bn, thus leaving a gap of $4.0bn that Ghana may seek as debt relief from external creditors; debt relief offers should be in 20-25% reduction range.
• According to a statement from the Government, Ghana is establishing a financial stability fund with a target size of 15.0bn cedis ($1.2bn) to provide liquidity to institutions that fully participate in the nation’s debt exchange announced earlier this week.
• According to Ghana’s Parliamentary Speaker, Alban Bagbin, the Ghanaian parliament has approved the budget statement and economic policy of the government for the year through December 31, 2023.
• According to the Chamber of Corporate Trustees, The debt-exchange proposal put forward by
   Ghana’s minister of finance "is inferior to market expectation and will destroy the savings of Ghanaians and further undermine market confidence. 
• According to S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index for Ghana’s private sector in November, the country’s PMI rose 2.1% to 44.9pts from 44.0pts in Oct-2022 but still remained below water, its 11^th consecutive month of contraction.
• The Governor of the Bank of Ghana iterated that Inflation in the country is expected to ease after reaching its peak in the first quarter of next year, subject to continued monetary policy tightness and the deployment of tools to contain excess liquidity in the economy.

Francophone West Africa (WAEMU)

Ivory Coast

• The countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) are experiencing growth of 5.7% in 2022, a decrease of 0.4ppts y/y, the bloc revealed on 5-Dec.
• According to Boomberg reports, cocoa farmers sent 118,800T of cocoa to ports last week. Furthermore, based on government data and Bloomberg calculations, since the start of the season on 01-Oct, total cocoa arrivals are 826,000T vs an estimate of 789,150T in 2021.

 Senegal

• Senegal’s long-term foreign currency debt rating was affirmed by S&P at B+. Long-Term Local Currency Debt Rating was affirmed by S&P at B+. Outlook remains stable.

East Africa

Kenya

• The Central Bank of Kenya has announced plans to reintroduce charges for transactions between mobile-money wallets and bank accounts. The charges were earlier waived in Mar-2020 as part of the emergency measures to facilitate the use of mobile money during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• According to Stanbic IHS Markit, Kenya’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) increased to 50.9pts in Nov-2022 from 50.2pts in Oct-2022 as output returned to growth while new orders rose for the third straight month. Output rose to 50.6pts in Nov-2022 compared to 48.9pts in the prior month.
• According to the World Bank, poverty levels in Kenya should resume their pre-coronavirus pandemic decline as the nation’s economy continues to rebound. The proportion of the population living on less than $2.2 a day is expected to fall to 25.8% this year, from 26.7% in 2021 and lower than the 26.5% recorded in 2019 before the pandemic struck.
• According to the Central Bank of Kenya, the country’s current account deficit widened to 5.5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as of Oct-2022 from 5.2% in Oct-2021. This reflects that higher import bills, particularly for oil, offset increased receipts from tea and services exports and remittances. The Central Bank projects a current account deficit of 5.6% of GDP in FY-2022 from earlier estimates of 5.9%.
• According to the National Treasury, Kenya plans to get a $750.0mn concessional loan funding from World Bank before Jun-2023. The loan will be part of the Sh280.7bn ($2.3bn) planned external borrowing in the current fiscal year.
• According to the Court of Appeal of Kenya, a plan to levy a minimum tax of 1.0% on a company’s gross turnover is unconstitutional and would be an unfair tax burden. This supports the earlier ruling by the Senate to dismiss the levy.

 Rwanda

• Rwanda has signed a grant agreement worth $22.3mn (Rwf24bn) with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aimed to address issues of water shortages and leakages in different parts of the country. The agreement will finance a project set to contribute to a stable water supply by optimising water pressures and reducing leakage occurrences.
• The government of Rwanda has launched a 14-year circular economy action plan that requires $211.2mn funding to be implemented in managing waste and adopting clean production techniques.

 Tanzania

• Tanzania’s President, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has cancelled the Independence Day celebrations scheduled for Friday and directed that the budget be used to build dormitories for children with special needs. The 61^st Independence Day event celebration was estimated to cost $445,000. However, the money will be diverted to build eight dormitories in primary schools around the country.

 Uganda

• The Bank of Uganda decided to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 10.0%, owing to signs of disinflation in the country. Notably, headline inflation in Nov-2022 slowed to 10.6% for the first time since Jan-2022. The Bank projects inflation to drop to 6.0% - 8.0% next year before stabilising around 5.0% by the end of 2023.
• According to the Ministry of Health, Uganda has received 1,200 doses of the first batch of vaccines for trials on the Ebola virus from the World Health Organisation (WHO). Notably, the virus has infected 142 people, while 56 have been declared dead since the outbreak in Sep-2022.

Southern Africa

South Africa

• Statistic South Africa released the nation’s Q3-2022 GDP report. It revealed that South Africa’s Q3-2022 GDP rose 4.1% y/y from 0.2 y/y growth recorded in Q2-2022. GDP rose by 1.6% on a quarter-on-quarter basis versus the -0.7% q/q contraction recorded in Q2-2022.
• The statistics office also revealed that South Africa’s manufacturing production rose by 1.0% y/y in October, a decline from 2.9% y/y recorded in September. It came far below analyst expectations of 5.6%.
• According to the Central Bank, the nation’s government securities rose from R37.8bn in Oct-2022 to R39.0bn in Nov-2022. Accommodations to Banks rose from R2.4bn to R2.8bn.
• The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) passed five money bills on Tuesday during its hybrid plenary sitting. The five bills passed include the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, the Adjustments Appropriation Bill, and the Special Appropriation Bill.

 Angola

• Bloomberg reports revealed that Standard Chartered, backed by Germany’s Export Credit Agency (ECA) Euler Hermes, closed two deals worth $249.0mn in the country. The first was a $100.0mn loan to Angola’s finance ministry to construct the road between Mussende and Cangandala. The second is a $149.0mn loan for constructing an animal vaccine production facility in Huambo.
• According to Bloomberg reports, Sonangol reduced the price of Angola’s Cabinda, Dalia, Girassol and Saxi crudes.
• The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources revealed that a reforestation campaign in mangroves started Saturday at Barra do Cuanza commune in Luanda. The campaign is part of the project towards conserving coastal and marine ecosystems and plans the planting of 8,000 white, red, and black mangroves.

 
 Zambia

• Rating Agency Fitch has affirmed the county’s Long-term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating at "RD". Fitch also affirmed the county’s Long Term Local Currency rating as "CCC".
• The S&P Global Purchasing Managers Index for the Zambian private sector rose from 49.0 in Oct-2022 to 49.1 in Nov-2022, indicating contracting economic activities.

 Zimbabwe

• The Chairman of the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ), Tafadzwa Musara, revealed that the body would pay wheat farmers 80.0% in USD. The country expects to harvest at least 380,000 tonnes of wheat this year.
• The apex bank revealed that the country’s gold production rose to 33,308.9kg in the first eleven months of 2022 from 25,360.9 kilograms a year earlier. In November, small-scale miners produced 88.7% of the total 3,848.3kg (+15.3% y/y).
• The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe maintained its policy rate at 200.0% following the recent deceleration in monthly inflation.
• Media reports revealed the government plans to spend $5.6bn to recapitalise ZUPCO in 2023 to enhance service delivery and modernise the mass public transport system.
• The Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) chief director, Professor Obert Jiri, revealed that farmers had, as of December 5, planted 163,116 hectares of maize, sorghum, and pearl millet marking a 42.0% jump from the 115,060.0ha that had been produced during the same period last year, buoyed by the rains that fell across the country recently.