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Benjamin Fox

African debt: Not in the limelight, but no longer in the shadows

More than one hundred financiers met in Washington DC for the annual African debt and capital markets summit on the fringes of the IMF spring meetings a few weeks ago. A decade ago, the number of attendees could have been counted on the fingers of one hand. In 2015, the interest reflects a market that is rapidly rising. Led by Kenya’s $2 billion (Sh192.6 billion at current exchange rates) eurobond issue, sub-Saharan African countries issued over $9 billion (Sh866.7 billion) of sovereign debt last year. This is a far cry from the $1 billion (Sh96.3 billion) raised by the entire continent in 2000. Market analysts are unsure if the eurobond issues planned by Côte d’Ivoire and Tanzania this year will be outliers or trigger a further increase in the African debt market. Or whether market and an uncertain outlook for commodities such as oil, copper and gold will intimidate African governments and companies thinking about taking on more debt. Why the rush So, why the rush to go to market
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
African debt: Not in the limelight, but no longer in the shadows
How transparency laws could help region gain wealth from oil riches
How transparency laws could help region gain wealth from oil riches
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
Ernst & Young: Four obstacles in Kenya’s path to prosperity
Ernst & Young: Four obstacles in Kenya’s path to prosperity
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
Cash deficit: Treasury walks tightrope on debt as Kenya’s public spending soars
Cash deficit: Treasury walks tightrope on debt as Kenya’s public spending soars
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
Hooray for ‘blending’, the new model in infrastructure financing?
Public works projects used to be one of the primary tasks of a government. Building roads, bridges and power stations named after them was one of the few tangible legacies that ministers could leave from their time in office.
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
Hooray for ‘blending’, the new model in infrastructure financing?
How Europe’s Sh113trillion stimulus could affect emerging economies
The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced plans for a €1.1 trillion euro (Sh113.8 trillion) stimulus package in a last-ditch attempt to breath life into the European economy
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
How Europe’s Sh113trillion stimulus could affect emerging economies
World Bank: Kenya growth rate to beat glum global forecast
The global economy faces a turbulent twelve months according to the World Bank, which lowered its growth forecasts for the world and sub-Saharan Africa in a report published last week
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
World Bank: Kenya growth rate to beat glum global forecast
Kenya yet to do all it can to be East Africa’s online land of opportunity
The online world is now so omnipotent that it is easy to forget how recent a phenomenon it is. Over the last 15 years, the number of regular Internet users has increased from around 150 million to more than four billion, becoming truly global in the process
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
Kenya yet to do all it can to be East Africa’s online land of opportunity
Counting the cost of the oil price crash
January is always a tough month for the wallet. The Christmas revelry is over and the unexpected extra bills only deepen the sense of financial gloom. The first week of 2015 has also been expensive for the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), which like the rest of the international financial community, has had to contend with its own hangover from 2014.
By Benjamin Fox 10 years ago
Counting the cost of the oil price crash
Kenya scores high on Internet freedom
Kenya is one of just two African countries whose Internet services are classified as free, according to an annual report by the Freedom House think tank.
By Benjamin Fox 11 years ago
Kenya scores high on Internet freedom
Property market: A boom with too few beneficiaries
If prices are anything to go by, Nairobi is at the centre of a property boom that is without precedent in Kenya.
By Benjamin Fox 11 years ago
Property market: A boom with too few beneficiaries
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