Fitch Advisory

03/12/2025

The President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the Bank of Ghana to complement its efforts to reduce lending rates with concrete measures that improve access to credit for businesses. While acknowledging the decline in interest rates, he emphasized that affordable credit is meaningless if businesses cannot secure it, highlighting a persistent constraint on private sector growth.

The call was made during a joint sensitization program on the Borrowers and Lenders Act and the Collateral Registry. The initiative aims to demystify legal frameworks and registration procedures, which are seen as essential for mitigating risk, preventing disputes, and building lender confidence to ultimately stimulate investment.

This underscores a critical need to translate macroeconomic stability into tangible financial tools that can support business operations, expansion, and overall competitiveness in the recovering economy.

28/11/2025

Access Holdings Plc, the parent company of Access Bank Plc, is seeking shareholder approval to raise approximately N40 billion through a private placement. This move follows the group's successful N351 billion capital raise in December 2024, which had already positioned its banking subsidiary as the first to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria's new minimum capital requirement for international banks.

The capital injection will be achieved by creating nearly 2 billion new ordinary shares. The board is authorised to allot these shares to investors at a price of N20.25 each, a discount to the current market price, as it continues to strengthen its capital base.

24/11/2025

At the historic G20 Summit in Johannesburg, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva praised global resilience amid shocks but warned subdued growth, exceptionally high debt (especially in poorer nations), and AI’s “tsunami” impact on jobs (up to 60% affected in advanced economies) demand urgent action.

She called for stronger domestic reforms, decisive debt resolution under the new G20 October Declaration, modernised trade rules, and massive investment in digital infrastructure and skills, while announcing a 50% increase in IMF permanent quota resources to boost lending capacity.

Georgieva stressed AI could add nearly 1 percentage point to global growth if harnessed inclusively, urging governments to close readiness gaps and ensure “AI is a force of prosperity for all,” with special focus on Africa and emerging markets.

20/11/2025

Moroccan construction group SGTM (Société Générale des Travaux du Maroc) has received regulatory approval for a 5.04 billion dirham ($545 million) initial public offering on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. The IPO, scheduled from December 1-8, represents the second-largest in the history of the Moroccan bourse.

This landmark offering supports Morocco's New Development Model, which aims to deepen capital markets and increase private sector participation. The listing underscores the Casablanca exchange's growing role in mobilizing capital for infrastructure and strategic sectors.

The IPO highlights investor confidence in Morocco's construction industry and capital markets. It marks a significant step in developing local financial markets and providing funding for large-scale national development projects.

12/11/2025

The African Development Bank Group and Luxembourg have reaffirmed their cooperation ahead of the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund. The meeting between AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah and Luxembourg's Finance Minister Gilles Roth highlighted shared priorities for sustainable and inclusive growth across Africa's most vulnerable economies.

Luxembourg, which contributes 1% of its gross national income to development assistance, increased its ADF-16 contribution by 10% to €12.7 million. The country's expertise in sustainable finance positions it to help mobilize private capital for Africa's development needs in climate, infrastructure, and technology.

The African Development Fund has financed nearly 3,000 projects worth over $45 billion since 1972. The upcoming ADF-17 replenishment aims to mobilize additional resources for transformative projects that create jobs, build resilience, and unlock Africa's economic potential.

29/10/2025

The Nigerian Stock Exchange closed slightly lower on Tuesday, with the All-Share Index declining by 0.09%. This minor dip occurred despite a 4% increase in trading volume, indicating active market participation alongside cautious sentiment.

Market performance was mixed across sectors. The Insurance Index led gainers, rising 1.15%, while the Oil & Gas index saw a modest 0.08% gain. However, key indices tracking the market's top-tier stocks declined, with the Premium Board Index falling 0.21%.

Investors traded 525 million shares valued at N25.4 billion, with Sovereign Trust Insurance emerging as both the top gainer and most traded stock by volume. The session's mixed results come despite the market maintaining a strong year-to-date gain of over 50%.

15/10/2025

A leading energy economist and former President of The Nigerian Economic Society, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju has warned that Nigeria risks being left behind in the global energy transition if it fails to strategically monetize its oil and gas reserves. Despite being a top African oil producer, over 87 million Nigerians lack electricity access, creating an "unacceptable paradox" where the country is the continent's largest crude exporter yet the biggest importer of refined products.

The warning highlights the urgent need to aggressively exploit hydrocarbon resources before global demand peaks, as they risk becoming stranded assets. The analysis points to a complex global landscape shaped by geopolitical tensions, the weaponization of energy, and intense competition for critical minerals and clean tech supply chains dominated by powers like China.

The call is for a pragmatic, balanced approach that simultaneously scales up solar, hydro, and wind power while developing domestic value chains. This strategy is essential for Nigeria to achieve energy security, avoid capital flight, and position itself as a credible player in the new global energy order.

15/10/2025

The European Union, its member states, and financial institutions are mobilising an €11.5 billion investment package with South Africa under the Global Gateway initiative. This partnership focuses on the just energy transition, sustainable infrastructure, digital connectivity, and strengthening local pharmaceutical value chains, aiming to build the economy of the future.

The package includes support for critical projects like the Coega green ammonia initiative, which aims to position South Africa as a clean maritime fuel hub. It will also bolster local biomanufacturing capabilities to produce vaccines for the African continent, alongside investments in critical minerals, e-batteries, and renewable energy.

Additionally, a separate €618 million Team Europe package was announced to accelerate Africa's clean energy transition. This funding will support electrification, modernise power grids, and expand renewable energy access in several countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia.

10/10/2025

The World Bank has called on Nigeria to maintain the momentum of its economic reforms by tightening fiscal and monetary policies and enhancing public finance transparency. In its latest Nigeria Development Update, the institution acknowledged the country's "substantial stabilisation progress" but warned that the early benefits of reforms could be undermined without disciplined implementation and stronger institutional accountability.

Read more: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7382358485813862400

The World Bank has called on Nigeria to maintain the momentum of its economic reforms by tightening fiscal and monetary policies and enhancing public finance transparency. In its latest Nigeria Development Update, the institution acknowledged the country's "substantial stabilisation progress" but wa...

09/10/2025

The World Bank has upgraded Ghana's 2025 economic growth projection to 4.3%, reflecting a stronger-than-expected recovery driven by a robust services sector. The economy expanded by 6.3% in the second quarter, with the services sector surging 9.9% and contributing the highest share to GDP. This positive medium-term outlook is supported by fiscal consolidation and improved export earnings.

Despite this growth momentum, the World Bank maintains a cautious inflation forecast of 15.4% for year-end 2025, contrasting with Ghana's official September figure of 9.4%. The report also highlighted the cedi's significant appreciation and confirmed that Ghana has exited the "debt distress" category following successful restructuring, though refinancing pressures remain.

09/10/2025

Uganda is moving forward with its $4 billion oil refinery, with operations scheduled to commence between late 2029 and early 2030. The 60,000-barrel-per-day facility, developed in partnership with a UAE-based investor, aims to transform Uganda from a crude exporter into a regional hub for refined fuels and petrochemicals, reducing East Africa's reliance on imported energy.

The project will anchor a broader industrial ecosystem in Hoima District, supported by billions in infrastructure investments. Beyond producing fuel, the refinery is designed to capture the full value chain, including outputs like fertilizers and kerosene, to supply both domestic and neighboring markets such as Tanzania and the DRC.

This initiative is part of a wider "refining renaissance" across Africa, following the model of Nigeria's Dangote Refinery, as nations seek to enhance energy security and achieve greater economic sovereignty by adding value to their natural resources domestically.

09/10/2025

A significant N120.88 billion in committed private equity and infrastructure investment funds remains undeployed in Nigeria's capital market, according to latest data from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigeria. This represents nearly 30% of the total N409.06 billion in committed capital, highlighting a substantial gap between capital commitment and actual disbursement into the economy.

Infrastructure funds account for N57.7 billion of the idle capital, while private equity funds hold N63.17 billion unutilized. The data reveals that despite a 12.58% increase in infrastructure commitments from Q3 to Q4 2024, drawdowns remained flat, indicating potential challenges in project ex*****on or regulatory bottlenecks.

This undeployed capital represents a major opportunity to stimulate economic growth if channeled into viable projects and businesses. The situation underscores the need to address systemic barriers to capital deployment to bridge the country's significant investment gaps.