Business & Tech News
Oil Island Dispute: A tiny Island of 30 hectares and barely 1km in length has become the centre of an International Court of Justice(ICJ) court case. Mbanié, an Island off the coast of Gabon is situated in oil rich waters and has become the quest for both Equatorial Gunea and Gabons oil production expansion plans. The dispute around the territory goes back decades to 1972, when the Gabonese army took control of the Island and driving Equatorial Guinea soldiers from Mbanié. Gabon has since set up its own military presence on the virtually uninhabited island. In 2016, after prolonged mediation by the United Nations, the countries signed an agreement that let the ICJ, become the sole arbiter to settle the dispute. The dispute had been dormant until the early 2000s, when the prospect of oil in the area rekindled interest in the Gulf of Guinea, and saw a renewed territorial conflict emerge.
Angolan Asset Freeze Upheld: London’s High Court found in favour of Angolan telecoms company Unitel, and upheld an asset freeze order previously issued against Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos on Monday. Dos Santos had appealed the order that had seen around $779 million of her assets frozen globally as part a lawsuit lodged at London’s High Court. Dos Santos had been lauded as Africa’s first female billionaire, is the daughter of past president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who was president of Angola for 38 years until 2017.
Libyan Bank Governor Dispute Resolved: Libya’s parliament reached an agreement on approving the nomination of Naji Mohamed Issa Belqasem as the new Central Bank Governor. This should see the end of a crisis which has slashed the country’s oil output. In a televised session of parliment, the Libyan House of Representatives also approved Mari Muftah Rahil Barrasi as the deputy governor.
The approvals could remove the main political obstacle in solving a crisis over control of the Central Bank of Libya and the associated oil revenues that has sharply reduced Libya’s oil production and exports. Belqasem was previously the central bank’s, director of banking and monetary control, while Barrasi was appointed as deputy governor in 2023. The Central Bank’s board of directors is set to be formed within 10 days.
Interest Rate Cut in Mozambique: Yesterday saw Mozambique’s central bank cut its main interest rate for the fifth consecutive meeting, with the central bank stating that their inflation outlook remained favourable. The central bank reduced its MIMO interest rate by a fairly aggressive 75 basis points to 13.50%. The southern African nation’s inflation has seen a slow-down to only 2.75% year on year in August from 2.97% in July, according to the Mozambique’s statistics agency data. The Bank of Mozambique confirmed in a statement that it expects to continue lowering the MIMO rate over the medium term.
Fuel Price Decrease in South Africa: As of today (1 October 2024) the price of 93 unleaded grade petrol will drop by R1.06 a litre, and 95 octane fuel will drop by R1.14 a litre. The diesel price will drop from R1.12 a litre to R1.14, while the wholesale price of illuminating paraffin will be lowered by R1.11 a litre. The main factors inducing the price drop are the strengthening rand dollar exchange rate with reduction in global oil prices the other. “The Rand (ZAR) has seen 20 month highs against the US Dollar in the last few weeks and strengthened from 18.05 to 17.68 rand per USD during the past month. This led to reduced contributions to the Basic Fuel Prices of all products by over 21 cents per litre,” the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources said in a statement. This is seen as a major boost for the flagging economic growth in the large but stagnant African economy.
Market News
Markets: US markets closed upwards yesterday with the Nasdaq closing 0,26% up, the S&P500 closed 0,42% up and the Dow Jones 0,04% up. in Asia markets this morning, the Nikkei gained some momentum again and closed 1,94% up, to close at 38654 while the Hang Seng has climbed a further 2,43% in early trade this morning, and is currently at 21133.
Currencies: The US Dollar is currently trading at 1.1132 against the Euro, at 1,3378 against the Pound, and at 144,40 against the Yen. The rand has lost a bit of ground against the dollar and is currently trading at R17.24.
Commodities: Gold has traded fairly flat today and is currently trading at $2,645, while Platinum has remained below the $1000 level and is currently trading at $986, and Palladium is currently trading at $1005. Brent crude prices are trending downwards this morning and is currently trading at $71.74 with WTI also trading downwards at $68.23 currently.
Other News in Africa Today
Pangolin Poachers Apprehended: In a Sting operation by South Africa’s Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit, two Botswana nationals, Rhine Morgan Kemsley, 35, and Mothusi Malcom Lefa, 49, were arrested yesterday in Sandton, Johannesburg, and were arrested on suspicion of Illegal possession of an endangered species, and illegal dealing in endangered species.
Acting on information received, the police stopped a vehicle with the two suspects and a box containing a live pangolin, a protected species, in the vehicle. The two suspects have been remanded in custody and will appear in court on charges relating to the illegal possession of the pangolin. The pangolin has been securely located to a nearby veterinary clinic for safe-keeping until a decision on its relocation is made.
