Business

  Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s annual headline inflation for the year ending September 2017 increased from 5.2% to 5.3% in the year ended August 2017, according to official numbers released by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) on Sept.29. Officials said the increase was attributed to a rise in …

Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP |  The cocoa crop of Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer, increased 28.5 percent to a record 2.15 million tonnes in the 2016-17 season, the national Coffee and Cocoa Council said Friday. Exports increased by 23.3 percent to 1.9 million tonnes, helping to raise the …

  Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE |  The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has declared 11.23% interest rate on members’ savings for the financial year 2016/2017, lower than the 12.3% paid out for FY2015/2016. Officials said the lowering of interest rate was because of a bad economy that affected its …

Ottawa, Canada | AFP | Netflix will spend Can$500 million (US$400 million) over the next five years to make original films and television shows in Canada, the company and Heritage Minister Melanie Joly announced Thursday. This amounts to about five percent of the video streaming service’s estimated total US$7 billion production …

Kampala, Uganda | PPU | President Yoweri Museveni has met the European Union (EU) Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and presented a raft of concerns raised by East African Community (EAC) member states on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA). Leading a delegation of EAC trade ministers to the meeting at the EU …

Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Two government ministers, Matia Kasaija – Finance and Mary Karooro Okurut – General Duties, have called on taxpayers to willfully meet their tax obligations to enable government offer services without hurdles. The ministers were speaking at the opening of the three day Taxpayers Appreciation Week …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni is in Belgium on a three-day working visit that will include talks with European Union (EU) about the EU-EAC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Museveni took over chairmanship of the East African Community (EAC) from Tanzania’s  John Pole Magufuli in May with a promise …

Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | President Yoweri Museveni will be among the 1,000 participants for the 2017 Mineral Wealth Conference taking place from Sept. 4-5 at the Kampala Serena Hotel. Speaking to journalists in Kampala today (Sept. 26), Elly Karuhanga, the president of Uganda Chamber of Mines and Petroleum – …

  November event expected to attract 500 high profile delegates | THE INDEPENDENT | Rwanda’s national flag carrier, RwandAir, has finalised preparations to host the 49th Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Summit of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) this November. The three-day event from Nov.12 to 14 will be held …

Experts debate fate of finance-starved long-term funder UDB Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | “Should the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) seek capital from the government only? How should it work around Uganda’s short-term investment culture? Should it operate like a private sector bank or continue as the government’s band-aid effort …