Economy

Malawi’s Real GDP May Hit 5% in 2017—IMF

Published

9 years ago

26/03/2017

By Dipo Olowookere

A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Mr Oral Williams, visited Lilongwe from March 8–23, 2017, to conduct discussions on the ninth and final review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement.

At the end of the visit, Mr Williams said, “Malawi, with the help of development partners, effectively addressed the worst humanitarian crisis in the country’s history.”

He pointed out that the crisis was caused by the second consecutive year of the El Niño-induced drought that placed an estimated 6.7 million people—or 40 percent of the population—at risk of food insecurity.

The intervention helped stabilize maize prices, as evident in recent weeks, and alleviated the adverse impact of the drought on the vulnerable population. The authorities have expressed gratitude for the support of the IMF and development partners for their sizable contributions in addressing the humanitarian crisis, he said.

According to him, “Malawi’s economy was hit hard by the negative impacts of the drought, but the economic outlook is improving with better prospects of agricultural output including the maize harvest.”

“Real GDP growth after two consecutive years of drought, fell below 3 percent in 2016 but is expected to pick up in the range of 4 to 5 percent in 2017.

“The consumption-led recovery is expected to be driven mainly by a rebound in the agriculture, wholesale and retail, and telecommunications sectors.

“Annual inflation has now fallen to 16.1 percent (year-on-year) in February 2017—its lowest level in recent years.

“Both food and non-food inflation rates have contributed to the downward trend, reflecting prudent monetary and fiscal policies and the stabilization of food prices on account of humanitarian response,” Mr Williams said.

He said further that, “Tight monetary policy, which kept short-term money market rates positive in real terms and stronger fiscal management, was key to restoring confidence in the exchange rate that has remained stable. Commitment to the flexible exchange rate regime and the automatic fuel pricing mechanism continued to help Malawi to respond to external shocks as evidenced by the foreign exchange reserve cover that stabilized at about three months of imports.

“The team reached staff level understandings with the authorities to ensure that recent improvements in macroeconomic policy and outcomes are sustained. Solidifying the gains in macroeconomic stability by limiting spending to available resources and safeguarding external and financial sector stability will continue to be the key policy objectives in the near term. Prudent fiscal policy, when combined with monetary policy geared toward maintaining positive real interest rates, should facilitate the achievement of the program’s objective of single digit inflation. Discussions also focused on measures to ensure that progress in public financial management reforms is sustained.

“Discussions also focused on the broad parameters of the FY17/18 budget. In so doing, the team emphasized the need consolidate recent improvements in revenue mobilization to contain current expenditures and reorient the budget toward development spending in order to improve resilience and to address critical infrastructure gaps. The team also underscored the need to clear past arrears, implement expenditure commitment controls to prevent their re-emergence and to safeguard debt sustainability in light of the increase in the level of domestic debt.

“Completing bank reconciliations for FY15/16 is critical for presenting the review to the IMF Executive Board. Based on progress to date, it is anticipated that a request to complete the ninth review under the ECF-supported program could be submitted for consideration by the Executive Board in June 2017. The team would like to thank the authorities for their hospitality and constructive cooperation.

“The team met with President Arthur Peter Mutharika, Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Charles Chuka, other senior government and RBM officials, a broad range of national stakeholders outside government, as well as representatives of Malawi’s development partners.”

Economy

Dangote Values Refinery at $39bn, Seeks $1bn in Private Placement

Published

1 hour ago

11/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Dangote Petroleum Refinery is seeking to raise about $1 billion through a private placement that values the company at $39.1 billion.

According to reports, the refinery is offering 3 billion ordinary shares at $0.35 per share. Investors must subscribe for at least 1 million shares, equal to $350,000, with additional subscriptions accepted in multiples of 500,000 shares. The shares will be subject to a 365-day lock-up period from allotment.

It was reported that demand for the offer has already exceeded $2 billion, suggesting that the placement may be oversubscribed.

The operation is already attracting the interest of local investors. Recall that Nigerian billionaire, Mr Femi Otedola, has committed $100 million, while Afrobeats superstar, Mr David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, also announced he would participate.

The proceeds will be used for expansion projects and general corporate purposes as the refinery deepens its role in Nigeria’s fuel supply market.

The facility has a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day and began fuel production in 2024. It produces diesel, aviation fuel, naphtha and premium motor spirit.

Standard Bank Group has also said it plans to play a leading role in the refinery’s future public listing, after the facility completed test runs at 700,000 barrels per day. It aims to reach 1.4 million barrels per day by 2028.

The fundraising is likely to renew expectations of a future public listing with a major stakeholder, Mr Aliko Dangote, saying the refinery could be listed, though no timeline was disclosed in the memorandum.

The current placement is seen as an early step that could expand ownership ahead of any future initial public offering (IPO).

Mr Dangote plans to sell between 5 and 10 per cent of the refinery on five major African exchanges: the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the BRVM, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE).

It has appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital, Vetiva Capital Management and FirstCap to lead the planned initial public offering of its refinery business on the Nigerian Exchange.

Economy

Investors Lose N3.1bn as NASD Exchange Remains Red

Published

5 hours ago

11/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange entered a third straight day of losses after it fell by 0.12 per cent on Wednesday, June 10.

The depletion trimmed the market capitalisation further by N3.1 billion to N2.590 trillion from N2.593 trillion, and cut the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 5.19 points to 4330.12 points from 4,335.31 points.

11 Plc lost N22.21 during the session to finish at N221.00 per share versus the previous day’s N243.21 per share, MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N6.90 to N158.10 per unit from N165.00 per unit, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc decreased by N2.81 to N78.32 per share from N81.13 per share.

On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc went up by N9.27 to N183.08 per unit from N173.81 per unit, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc added N1.92 to its value to close at N23.80 per share compared with the preceding day’s N21.88 per share, and Food Concepts Plc gained 10 Kobo to exchange at N2.58 per unit, in contrast to Tuesday’s closing price of N2.48 per unit.

At the close of business, the volume of securities traded by investors contracted by 92.6 per cent to 117,374 units from 1.6 million units, and the value of securities moderated by 80.5 per cent to N12.2 million from N62.3 million, while the number of deals increased by 4.9 per cent to 43 deals from 41 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc finished the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 65.2 million units exchanged for N4.4 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million

Economy

Naira Crashes to N1,362.05/$1 at Official Window After N1.50 Loss

Published

6 hours ago

11/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira fell against the United States Dollar by N1.50 or 0.11 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) to sell at N1,362.05/$1 on Wednesday, June 10, compared with the N1,360.55/$1 it traded on Tuesday.

Also, the local currency lost N4.33 against the Pound Sterling in the official window yesterday to trade at N1,827.33/£1 versus the preceding day’s N1,823.00/£1, and depreciated against the Euro by N1.74 to quote at N1,575.35/€1, in contrast to N1,573.61/€1 of the previous session.

However, at the GTBank forex desk, the Naira gained N3 against the US Dollar to sell at N1,370/$1 versus N1,373/$1, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,380/$1.

Updated data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that foreign reserves surged further due to additional inflows from various sources. Nigeria’s gross external reserves increased to $50.439 billion, its highest level since March 2026, reflecting sustained inflows from oil revenue and other FX sources.

Also, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said increased confidence in the Naira, supported by lower and more stable inflation, would encourage households, businesses and investors to hold more local currency assets and reduce reliance on foreign currencies.

The global lender, in a recent assessment, stressed the importance of strengthening the CBN’s operational framework and aligning liquidity management operations more closely with monetary policy objectives.

In the cryptocurrency market, there were recoveries from recent losses as US headline inflation rose an expected 0.5 per cent in May, but the beat on the core rate — which cuts out food and energy costs — pleased markets. The core rate, though, rose just 0.2 per cent in May against forecasts for 0.3 per cent.

The print reinforces the view that the US Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at 350-375 basis points at its June 17 meeting, but is likely to increase rates by 25 basis points by the end of the year.

Cardano (ADA) went up by 2.4 per cent to $0.1647, Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 2.3 per cent to $62,794.09, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 1.8 per cent to $596.23, Ethereum (ETH) grew by 1.7 per cent to $1,658.12, and Solana (SOL) also soared by 1.7 per cent to $65.23.

Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $0.0849, Ripple (XRP) expanded by 0.4 per cent to $1.11, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.05 per cent to $0.3218, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) lost 0.10 per cent to close at $0.9989, and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) declined by 0.01 per cent to $0.9997.