Top stories
Finance
Top stories
Business activity in Nigeria climbed to a three-month high in July 2025, with employment growth reaching its strongest level in 21 months, according to the latest PMI from Stanbic IBTC Bank.
Under the new regime, South Africa, Algeria and Libya are the worst hit, while Lesotho secures the largest cut, with tariffs slashed from 50% to 15% amid mounting trade pressure.
Mr Bigg’s and Debonairs reported a seventh straight half-year loss in H1 2025 as competition stiffened amid a cost-of-living crisis that has crimped consumer spending.
The signing ends a protracted standoff between policymakers—one not only jeopardised a critical fiscal support package but opened a $734 million hole in the 2024/25 budget.
The policy change, agreed with bankers on July 20, replaces the CBK’s earlier plans to anchor lending rates to its own Central Bank Rate, currently at 9.75%.
Zambian authorities say the extension will help entrench macroeconomic stability and support the continuation of economic reforms into 2026.
The telco giant’s performance, its highest half-year profit in at least eight years, comes just a day after it became the most valuable company on the Nigerian stock market, with its market value crossing the ₦9 trillion mark and surpassing Airtel Africa.
The bank’s decision comes as inflation declined for the sixth consecutive month in June, falling to 13.7%, supported by improved food supply, a stronger currency, and tighter fiscal control.
The capital raise is aimed at ensuring compliance with CBN’s minimum capital requirements for banks and aligns with its long-term strategic objectives.
ETI has now reported profits for the 13th year in a roll, despite persisting macroeconomics headwind and capital raising actions, the bank’s fundamentals remains strong.
Since its inception in 2008, the lender has extended a total of $22.2bn to Egypt, making the country one its top beneficiaries.
Three weeks after the expiration of the US tariff grace period, African countries are already feeling the strain—with Lesotho declaring a state of disaster and South Africa facing job losses in the hundreds of thousands.
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc on Tuesday became the most valuable company on the Nigerian stock market, after its market capitalisation crossed the ₦9 trillion mark for the first time, overtaking Airtel Africa.
Although slightly the delayed, the shift remains a critical step in widening Kenya’s financial inclusion as it eliminates the long-standing rule requiring investors to buy shares in lots of 100.
The copper-producer’s external debt obligations to the World Bank and other lenders has locked it out of global capital markets since 2000, when it first defaulted.
The fall in revenue comes as Ghana continues to face external risks shaped by fluctuating crude prices, geopolitical tensions, and global trade uncertainties.
Airtel Africa, Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator, recorded a 22.4% year-on-year revenue increase to $1.42 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, up from $1.16 billion in the same period last year.
Stanbic IBTC, Wema, and Access dedicated the largest proportion of their earnings to staff compensation in 2024, highlighting the growing cost of doing business and intensifying competition for skilled talent in Africa’s most populous country.
The deal, which was first proposed last November, was executed through the bank’s subsidiary, Access Bank UK Limited, and has received full regulatory approvals in Mauritius.
This comes as the West African nation repays a $700 million Eurobound debt as part of a sweeping debt restructuring programme that has helped cut the country’s public debt ratio to Gross Domestic Product to 43.8%
