Global taxi service operator struggles over unmet expectations Uber drivers, or partners as the company likes to call them, in Kampala held a meeting with Uber managers on Oct. 18 to address teething challenges the global transporter is facing since it launched in June. Top of the list during the …
Read More »Theresa May lays groundwork for post-Brexit India trade deal
New Delhi, India | AFP | Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would become the ultimate free trade champion as she laid the groundwork Monday for a potential post-Brexit deal with India, the world’s fastest growing major economy. In her first bilateral trip outside Europe since taking office in July, …
Read More »Nuclear to the rescue?
Uganda, Russia reach understanding to harness huge Uranium deposits to produce thousands of mega watts from nuclear energy It’s now official; Uganda’s plan to develop nuclear as a source of electricity is on course. On Oct. 13, a Russian government delegation was in Uganda to meet President Yoweri Museveni. The …
Read More »China replaces finance minister Lou Jiwei
Shanghai, China | AFP | China Monday replaced finance minister Lou Jiwei, state media reported, with some analysts predicting more fiscal stimulus in the world’s second-largest economy. Lou was relieved of his duties and replaced by 59-year-old Xiao Jie, the deputy secretary-general of the State Council, or cabinet, Xinhua news …
Read More »ANALYSIS: Lessons from Crane bank woes
With the Crane Bank being placed under Central Bank management and several other commercial banks being asked to recapitalise, the banking sector in Uganda seems to be under a lot of stress lately. What seems to have brought down Crane Bank does not seem to be a Crane Bank problem …
Read More »Algeria awards China contract to revamp refinery
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s state energy company Sonatrach on Sunday awarded the China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) a 380-million-euro ($420-million) contract to renovate its Algiers refinery. CPECC, which is affiliated to the China National Petroleum Corporation, will rehabilitate the refinery after Sonatrach severed an initial deal …
Read More »Sudan security agents seize newspapers
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudanese security agents seized all copies of three newspapers Sunday, a journalists’ association said, just days after they covered a fuel price hike in reports seen as critical of the government. Members of the powerful National Intelligence and Security Service, or NISS, took copies of …
Read More »New York fines Chinese bank $215 mn for money laundering violations
New York, United States | AFP | New York’s state bank regulator fined the giant Agricultural Bank of China $215 million on Friday for violating anti-money laundering laws and obscuring suspicious transactions involving Russia, China, Afghanistan and other countries. Citing a deliberate failure to scrutinize dubious money transfers, the Department …
Read More »Japan gives $2.8m grant to support businesses in Northern Uganda
The Japan government has given Uganda $2.875 million grant to improve access to income earning opportunities for poor and vulnerable households in Northern Uganda. The grant will benefit 120 existing community groups that were established under the NUSAF2 Project, and support 240 new ones. Groups are to have 10 to …
Read More »African Development Bank okays $600 million loan for Nigeria
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | The African Development Bank has approved the first installment of a $1 billion loan to Nigeria to help President Muhammadu Buhari combat a “crisis situation”. In a Wednesday press release, the AfDB said that the $600 million loan was the “first tranche of a US …
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