Ghana's Debt Restructuring Talks, Naira Hits Record Low, Kenya's Expenditure Estimates, and Angola's Banking Sector Growth

Oil prices experienced a decline on Thursday, primarily driven by concerns over weakening global demand due to the ongoing economic slowdown. This overshadowed the potential decrease in supply resulting from Saudi Arabia's committed output cuts. During the early morning hours at 0640 GMT, Brent crude futures dropped by 6 cents, or 0.1%, settling at $76.89 per barrel. Simultaneously, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slightly decreased by 6 cents, or 0.1%, reaching $72.49.

GHANA: GOVERNMENT PRESENTS DEBT RESTRUCTURING PROPOSAL TO EXTERNAL CREDITORS

Ghana has formally presented a proposal to restructure its external debt to external creditors. It is important to note that this initial "working proposal" is not legally binding. This step signifies a significant move by the government to engage the Official Creditor Committee, which includes the Paris Club, in considering the country's debt restructuring program. Furthermore, it indicates the commencement of a more intricate negotiation process, which is likely to involve the exchange of several proposals. The Common Framework process, established by the G20 in 2020, aims to facilitate joint sovereign debt restructuring negotiations by involving creditor nations like China and other lenders in external debt reworking.

NIGERIA: NAIRA HITS RECORD LOW AMID SPECULATION OF DEVALUATION

Nigeria's currency, the Naira, has reached an all-time low after the central bank conducted a dollar auction at a rate nearly 30% weaker than the tightly controlled official market. Heavy demand for the greenback from industries and importers prompted the central bank of Nigeria to sell dollars at 645 Naira each, intensifying speculation about a potential devaluation following the recent inauguration of a new president. In official trading on the Nigeria Exchange, the currency initially dropped by as much as 0.7%, the sharpest decline in almost six months, before recovering to 467.04 Naira per dollar as of 2:40 p.m. local time — marking a record low.

KENYA: GOVERNMENT'S EXPENDITURE TO INCREASE BY $1.5 BILLION

Kenya's spending plan for the fiscal year ending in June 2024 has been raised by Sh215.02 billion ($1.5 billion), indicating potential increased tax burdens for households and businesses. The budget summary reveals that President William Ruto's new administration has set the total expenditure for the financial year 2023/2024 at Sh3.599 trillion, comprising Sh2.477 trillion for recurrent expenses and Sh689.1 billion for development. This represents a 6.4% or Sh215.02 billion increase compared to the budget set by former President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration, who relinquished power last September. On Wednesday, the parliamentary Budget and Appropriations Committee recommended an additional allocation of Sh80.7 billion, which would raise the budget for the financial year 2023/2024 to Sh3.679 trillion.

ANGOLA: COMMERCIAL BANKING PROFITS RISE 21% IN Q1

During the first quarter of 2023, the net profits of 19 commercial banks, out of the total of 20 that have published their balance sheets, increased by 21% to reach 174.2 billion Kz. Notably, BAI, BFA, and Standard Bank Angola led in terms of profitability. It is worth mentioning that the results of household accounts did not contribute to the return to profits for BPC. Two banks, namely Económico and Standard Chartered Bank Angola, have yet to publish their balance sheets for Q1 of 2023 on their websites.