Africa > West Africa > Business / Trade

Business / Trade in West Africa

  • China welcomes Guinea to take part in Belt and Road Initiative

    CHINA, 2017/09/07 China welcomes Guinea to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, a move that will benefit the peoples of both nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping told his Guinean counterpart Alpha Conde on Tuesday. Conde is in the southeastern coastal city Xiamen to attend the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Nations on the sidelines of the ninth BRICS summit.
  • Africa: USA-Africa - No Policy? Bad Policy? or Both?

    BOTSWANA, 2017/08/30 "Africa is terra incognita for the Trump Government: a continent it cares little - and understands even less - about. With no dyed-in-the-wool Trumpian Africa hands available, the government appears ready to cede Africa policy making to career civil servants and a few mainstream Republican appointees." - Matthew T. Page The headline to Page's article in Quartz Africa states that "Donald Trump could be getting his US-Africa policy right by simply not having one." His view is actually additional nuanced, in judging that no policy would likely be only "less bad" than explicitly "bad policy" that may result from better White Home interest in Africa.
  • Africa: 'Market Information Gap Threatens U.S.$400 Billion Intra-Africa Trade'

    BOTSWANA, 2017/07/14 Access to data across African economies, which has been hindered by the fragmented nature of the respective markets, is currently threatening a $400 billion intra-Africa trade potential. Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) said the present transactions price at $170 billion remained their due to wide gap in market data, which presently needs to be closed to foster accelerated trade integration. Meanwhile, the size of intra-African trade could be doubled from the current level of about $170 billion per year to almost $400 billion by addressing the issue of availability of market data on the continent.
  • Russia And Nigeria Deepen Economic, Political Ties

    RUSSIA, 2017/07/09 Russia and Nigeria have taken steps to deepen their economic and political ties, next Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Geoffrey Onyeama, held diplomatic talks with his counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, during an official working visit to Moscow on May 29-31. Lavrov held talks with Onyeama and his delegation on May 30. The foreign ministers discussed issues pertaining to the steady development of bilateral ties in political, trade, economic and humanitarian areas. They concentrated on prospects of cooperation in the nuclear industry, hydrocarbon processing, infrastructure projects and exports of Russian industrial products to Nigeria.
  • Tripartite Free Trade Area plods along slowly in Africa

    BOTSWANA, 2017/06/24 Trade between African nations has long been outstripped by intra-regional trade in other parts of the world – for Africa as a whole, intra-regional trade is between 10% and 13% of total trade. This is far lower than in regions such as the EU, where about 60% of trade is between member states, and the Association of South-east Asian Nations, which has a rate of about 25%. Intra-regional trade in North America is put at about 40%. However, the ratification of the Tripartite Free Trade Sector(TFTA) – potentially later in 2017 – could help change that and push the development of additional intra-regional trade increase. A pan-regional free-trade zone, the TFTA stretches from Cairo to Cape Town and encompasses 26 African nations. Africa’s Tripartite Free Trade Area would reduce regional tariffs and create a pan-African single market, to aid development and cash in on a growing middle class in the continent. But with member countries often belonging to multiple economic areas, progress is both complex and slow, as Kit Gillet reports.  
  • Importers threaten to increase prices of goods if government implements tax to fund African Union

    BOTSWANA, 2017/06/15 Importers have threatened to increase the prices of goods if the government implements the 0.2% import tax to fund the AU. Mr Samson Awingobit Asaki, Executive Secretary of the Importers and Exporters Association, told the Ghana News Agency that the implementation of the tax would increase the cost of operation for importers. Mr Asaki added that at the same time as it happens like that, they would have no other choice than to transfer the cost onto the prices of goods for the consumers.
  • Benjamin Nentanyaho to Draw Israel's Attention Trade in West Africa

    ISRAEL, 2017/06/06 Long before the civil war, Israel had cemented its feet on Liberian soil. The Executive Mansion, until the demise of Samuel Doe, stood as a testament to Israeli handiwork as the seat of the Liberian presidency for decades. "The visit of PM Netanyahu will draw the attention in the Israeli business community to the opportunities in this region, and will bring along additional Israeli companies to have trade and investments in the region, Actually, the initial one is by presently here."
  • Prime Minister Netanyahu - Israel Coming Back to Africa

    ISRAEL, 2017/06/06 The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu has cautioned Heads of States and Government at the ECOWAS 51st Ordinary Summit session held at the Farmington Hotel in Harbel that there is so much that need to be done for the betterment of the people of the ECOWAS region. High on the schedule at the conference was political, economic and security concerns within the region. Having slammed the rising wave of terrorism in Africa and the world, the Israeli PM said the terrorists worship death by murdering indiscriminately but added a collaborative effort can defeat them.
  • Historically, oil, gas and petroleum products have dominated US imports from sub-Saharan Africa

    UNITED STATES, 2017/03/07 To develop effective trade patterns, Africa must embrace structural and regulatory reforms and enhance financial integration to accelerate efforts that have led to increased exchanges with emerging nations in the rest of the world and between its own nations and regions. African nations must foster macro-economic stability and improve the investment environment to strengthen the role of pan-African banks in facilitating trade finance and boosting capital markets. Success in stimulating trade and increase depends on the policy and investment climate, depth of financial integration and commitment to reform.
  • Ghana's insurance sector expands as reforms boost liquidity and reduce credit risk

    GHANA, 2017/01/14 Given the open regulatory framework, continued interest from foreign investors and current low penetration rate, there is strong potential for increase in the Ghanaian insurance sector. The industry is working to design and market products for uninsured populations, inclunding the emerging middle class and those in the informal sector. For its part, the regulator is making efforts to increase capacity part the additional than 50 insurance providers, which would allow underwriters to take on larger, riskier policies.