Africa
Report finds 11% of Rwandans remain financially excluded
Women and younger people more likely to be financially excluded; share of population excluded falls from 28% to 11%
IMF staff identify ‘priority areas’ for SSA reform
Staff members in the IMF African department chart the progress of financial development in sub-Saharan Africa, the challenges that remain and how they might be addressed
Uganda raises rates again to tackle inflation risks
Bank of Uganda hikes its policy rate to head off inflationary pressures but analyst warns the move will be ineffective unless overnight rates on the interbank market respond
African central banks must heed changes to inflation drivers, study argues
IMF working paper argues policy-makers in sub-Saharan Africa may have to pay more attention to inflation now demand shocks exert greater influence on prices
Fischer warns developing countries may not be ready for inflation targeting
Fed vice-chair tells audience of African central bankers no framework is ‘suitable for all countries for all times’ and cautions against adopting inflation targets before financial markets are ready
Central banks have 'track record' to manage new African SWFs, says World Bank expert
Ekaterina Gratcheva argued at a forum in Basel this weekend that central banks' institutional history makes them suitable managers for sovereign wealth funds
Fed taper could hit African sovereign credits hard, World Bank warns
Cross-continent trade agreement could help provide bigger markets and greater efficiencies, but African economies face tough times ahead with borrowing costs set to rise
South-South development co-operation in transformation
China's approach in South-South development co-operation focuses on using ‘what China owns and knows best' by combining trade, investment and development co-operation
Chinese outward direct investment: overtaking other EMEs
With China’s labour costs rising rapidly, enterprises are facing pressure to seek out low-cost locations – they either have to move westwards seek new opportunities in the global economy
WEF panel in Africa values sound public policy over money
Outgoing African Development Bank president Donald Kaberuka says good policy crucial to development; World Bank vice-president Makhtar Diop says financing costs unfairly high
Central banks face weight of expectations in sub-Saharan Africa
The art of central banking has changed dramatically in frontier markets. Monetary policy, financial regulation, capital flows and exchange rate are now centre stage, writes Louis Kasekende
Banque de France paper tackles ‘elasticity of poverty’
Researchers examine the extent to which growth in different sectors translates into a reduction in poverty for countries in Africa; commodity-driven economies particularly bad for the poor
Book notes: Emerging Africa, by Kingsley Moghalu
Sub-Saharan Africa is no basket case, but neither is it poised to follow China and India on their meteoric economic rise, Kingsley Moghalu argues in his forthright book
Lower productivity behind growth slowdown in African middle-income countries, IMF paper finds
Slowdown in total factor productivity 'largely responsible' for weaker growth in small middle-income African economies, authors argue
Mauritius reappoints former governor
Rameswurlall Basant Roi returns after eight years following the reported ousting of Rundheersing Bheenick in December; new deputy also appointed
Mobile money accounts trump number of adults in Kenya, IMF data show
African bank depositors increased five-fold between 2004 and 2013, IMF's fifth annual Financial Access Survey shows; includes data on mobile money for first time
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe sets up ‘bad bank'
'Bad bank' will assume a growing number of NPLs from troubled lenders; NPLs in Zimbabwe amounted to 18.5% of banks' assets in June, according to central bank
Southern African economies appear to be converging
Bank of Botswana economists find SADC countries are moving in the same direction, but probably more by accident than by design
Malaysian deputy promotes Islamic finance as means of channelling funds to SMEs
Muhammad bin Ibrahim tells African policy-makers to ‘start where it matters most’ and promote Islamic financial products that assist low income groups and SMEs
PBoC launches $2 billion Africa investment fund
The People’s Bank of China will provide $200 million each year for a decade to finance development projects in Africa, as governor Zhou Xiaochuan criticises past investment deals
Paul Collier on central bank leadership, flawed policy and SWFs in Africa
More African central banks are moving towards inflation targeting, but Paul Collier tells Tom Bowker they should not mindlessly follow Western policy and may need to live with volatile inflation.
Mutebile says African central banks should adopt inflation targets
Bank of Uganda and International Monetary Fund encourage central banks in Sub-Saharan Africa to transition to more ‘modern’ monetary policy frameworks
Bank of Zambia tries to talk down forex market ‘panic'
Bank of Zambia aims to arrest ‘panic' in foreign exchange market amid reversal of portfolio flows; hiked reserve ratio requirement on Monday in attempt to strengthen currency