Central Africa

According to a Monday statement, the Congo Republic has issued its first eurobond in almost two decades. The central African oil company has been working on easing its debt burden and servicing costs. Proceeds from the bond will be used for refinancing part of the domestic debt maturing between February 2026 and November 2025. In a press release, Finance Minister Christian Yoka stated that "This operation demonstrates the new Congolese energy: that of a nation combining fiscal discipline with exemplary governance and ambition." The bond has a coupon of 9.875% and will mature in November 2032. Yoka said that Brazzaville's...

Issa Bakary, the opposition leader in Cameroon, said that he was escorted by his loyal soldiers to a safe location for his safety. This could be a sign of a division within the army after a disputed vote. Tchiroma has been holed-up in his Garoua house since the presidential election of October 12, in which he declared victory. He did not specify the number of soldiers but his claim that the members of the military are loyal to him may indicate a split in the security forces of the country. Tchiroma posted a Facebook message saying, "I thank the loyalist...

On Sunday, hundreds of opposition supporters blocked roads and set fire to tyres as protests intensified in the commercial capital of Cameroon a day ahead of the presidential election results. The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the supporters of Issa tchiroma, an opposition candidate. They claim he defeated veteran leader Paul Biya during the vote on October 12, and accuse authorities of rigging the election. After partial results were reported by local media, protests erupted in several cities as Biya (92) was expected to win. The government rejected the opposition's claims of irregularities, and encouraged people...

His campaign reported that authorities in Cameroon have detained 30 people linked to Issa tchiroma's presidential campaign. This has heightened tensions before Monday's results announcement. Anicet Ekane is the leader of the MANIDEM Party and Djeukam tchameni is a prominent member of the Union for Change. Both had supported Tchiroma’s candidacy. In the nation that produces cocoa and oil, there have been increasing clashes between security and Tchiroma supporters. Tchiroma called for more nationwide protests to take place on Sunday at 1400 GMT. Paul Atanga Nji confirmed at a Saturday press conference that arrests were made in connection with an...

Angola’s capital, Luanda, saw protests over the hike in diesel prices turn violent on Monday. Local media reported that looting and clashes between police and protesters led to several deaths and arrests. In a bid to reduce costly subsidies and strengthen public finances, the oil-producing nation in Southern Africa raised diesel prices by a third this month. The minibus taxi associations increased fares up to 50%, and began a 3-day strike on Monday. On its website, the Novo Jornal reported that three people were killed during the protests. One of them was a policeman. Novo Jornal reported that the police...

Angola’s oil-backed loan to China is expected to drop from $7.5 billion to $8 billion by the end the year. This comes as the government tries to reduce its dependence on resource-backed finance. Dorivaldo Téixeira, Director, Debt Management Unit, Finance Ministry, said late on Wednesday that "all debt collateralised by the oil revenue is concentrated in agreements made with China. These have been reduced gradually in recent years." Angola is trying to reduce the amount of loans backed by resources it has in order to cope with a challenging external environment, which has seen a rise in interest rates and...

Angola has increased the price of diesel by a third as part its drive to reduce costly subsidies and strengthen public finances. Since 2023, the International Monetary Fund has encouraged the African oil producing country to gradually remove fuel subsidies. The economy of the country is facing pressure due to a drop in global crude oil prices earlier this year. It also faces repayments on external debt of $9 billion by 2025. This includes a Eurobond that matures in November. Diesel prices have risen from 300 kwanzas to 400 kwanzas per litre, which is the second increase this year. The...

In a joint statement, the Angolan government and Chevron said that 17 people, including four serious injuries, were injured when a fire broke in the early morning hours of Tuesday on the deep-water Benguela, Belize, Lobito, Tomboco oil platform. Investigations are currently underway to determine the cause of a fire that occurred on the basement level of the multi-storey production platform of Block 14 in the Block 14 concession, some 60 miles (97 kilometers) off the coast of Cabinda. Angola's National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels issued a statement referring to the injured. Chevron stated that the incident took...

Angola runs stress tests to assess the impact of a drop in oil prices on the government's finances, said Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa on Friday. She added that this situation makes a request for a loan program from the IMF more likely. After U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs, Brent oil futures briefly fell below $60. This was the lowest level for four years. The contract closed at $66.91 per barrel on Friday. Daves de Sousa said in an interview at the International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in Washington that "we are rolling out stress tests...

Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd, the state-owned energy company, reported a decline in profits in 2024, compared with a year earlier, due to global volatility, lower oil prices, and geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. The firm also warned of future market challenges. Petroliam Nasional (or Petronas) reported a profit of $55.1 billion after taxes in 2024, compared to $80.7 billion in 2023. In 2024, revenue fell from 343.6 billion to 320 billion Ringgit. Capital investments in 2024 were 54.2 billion Ringgit compared to 52.80 billion Ringgit in the year 2023. Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz, Petronas' Chief Executive Officer, said that...

On Thursday, a top Swiss court found that a former Gunvor employee had corrupted officials in the Republic of Congo for oil contracts. This is the first time that a corruption case in Switzerland's commodities trading industry, worth $80 billion, has been brought to court. This follows the conviction of Trafigura, a rival trading firm, and a former executive in a corruption case involving Angolan Oil Deals last month. The Swiss Federal Criminal Court released a statement on Thursday that the ruling concerned bribes worth over $35 million, intended at least in part for Congolese officials, over an 18-month period...

S witzerland’s top criminal court found Trafigura, a former executive and a company guilty of corruption on Friday in a case involving the payment made to an Angolan government official in exchange for oil contract. The court ordered that the trading house pay $148 million as fines and compensation, and sentenced Mike Wainwright, a former employee of itss to 32 months imprisonment. Of this time 12 months must be served. You can appeal the decision to the same court. This is the first case in Switzerland where a company was charged with corruption of an official from abroad. It's also...

Africa is home to 30% of the world's minerals Africa is looking for more profits as global demand surges African leaders want to drive value for money at the COP30 Clar Ni Chonghaile & Kim Harrisberg To capitalize on this burgeoning market, the continent needs to address the power shortages and skills gaps. It also has to tackle trade barriers, industrial capacity limitations, and the lack of skilled workers. Hany Besada is a senior fellow and professor at Wits School of Governance, as well as a senior fellow at London School of Economics' Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa. Africa's mineral...

DLA Piper, a law firm, said that disagreements between governments and investors about resources have reached a ten-year high. This is due to resource nationalism, and the growing competition between China and the U.S. for vital minerals. The scramble to find minerals is reflected in the race to get the precious oil and gas revenue that is vital to state coffers. This is especially true for emerging economies. DLA Piper reported that the 32 disputes filed with the World Bank's arbitration body so far this year, which include everything from gold, uranium, and lithium to oil and gas, have already...

Mercuria Energy Trading and Eurasian Resources Group have agreed to prepay up to $100,000,000 to Eurasian Resources Group as part of a three-year copper supply agreement, they announced on Thursday. Prepayments is an advance paid by buyers to producers. It's often used to ensure future supplies or to provide working capital in the commodity trade. Mercuria will receive copper from ERG, a Luxembourg-based company that produces copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shukhrat Ibragimov, Chief Executive Officer of ERG, said: "The agreement marks an important step towards deepening our partnership with global partners in our efforts to realize...

The company said that rebels who occupy Twangiza Mining’s gold concession located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have stolen at least 500 kg of bullion from May. It also accused some of its employees of assisting the theft. The looted gold, at current prices is worth approximately $70 million. The mine is in South Kivu, where M23 rebels, backed by Rwandans, staged an offensive lightning fast this year which allowed them to capture more territory than they ever had before. The mine was seized in May. Twangiza Mining, in response to questions about losses after M23 took over the...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s February ban on cobalt exports has pushed the price of battery metal to a new low. The world's biggest producer wants to take it a step further by leveraging its unique geology to control a market that is notoriously volatile. Export quotas were set for this year, 2026, and 2027. The volume is less than half that of last year and the intention is to reduce global stocks which have accumulated after consecutive years of surplus. The Congo's state mineral regulator ARECOMS is entitled to adjust these quotas quarterly and to purchase any surplus...

International Copper Study Group (ICSG), a group of researchers, said that the global refined copper market will be in deficit by 2026. This is due to a slower growth of production. The copper price briefly reached a 16-month high on Wednesday, due to fears about possible shortages caused by a recent series of mine disruptions in Indonesia. Chile and Congo. In a statement released on Wednesday, the ICSG said that these incidents prompted it to lower its forecast of the global mine production growth in 2025 to just 1.4% instead of the 2.3% expected in April. These incidents will reduce...

Anglo American's CEO Duncan Wanblad stated on Wednesday that the company still views Africa as a part of its future because of its vital mineral resources. This is despite recent restructurings and asset sales in Africa. Anglo American is exiting its platinum and coal operations in South Africa where it was founded more than a century earlier. It will sell diamond miner De Beers and shift its focus on copper, an essential metal for the clean energy transformation. Kumba Iron Ore is the only major asset of South Africa. Wanblad, despite these exits, said Anglo intended to use South Africa's...

Local media reported that Namibia is considering whether to buy a stake in De Beers due to the continued decline of diamond prices, according the deputy prime minister. Anglo American has put the diamond giant up for sale as it restructures to focus its portfolio on iron ore and copper. Anglo announced on September 9th that it is pursuing a merger to create a heavyweight in copper. De Beers attracted at least six investors by June, and Angola’s state diamond company Endiama revealed on September 24 that it had bid to acquire a minority share in the company. Angola wants...

The mining minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo said that the country will adhere to the recently announced cobalt export quotas. Any revisions in the future would only be possible if the government deems it necessary. In an interview conducted on the sidelines a New York seminar, the mining minister of Zambia, Louis Watum Kabamba said that his country was more interested in investing in cobalt processing locally to increase its export value. "We can't let others decide for us. It is not important whether there will be or won't be a cobalt stockpile. "The most important thing is...

According to the U.N. Human Rights Office, M23, a rebel group backed by Rwanda, Congolese forces, and other armed organizations have committed grave rights violations, including some that may be considered war crimes in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A new report from the U.N. Human Rights Office Fact-Finding Mission stated that M23, Congolese forces, and other groups were responsible for gross violations to international humanitarian law ever since fighting broke out in North and South Kivu late last year. In a press release, U.N. Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk called for accountability for the victims. There was no...

Some farmers in eastern Congo, who fled their land during the violent advance of M23 rebels to escape M23, have received a shocking surprise when they return: their fields of cabbage and cauliflower have been occupied by newcomers including Rwandans. Tensions may arise, complicating efforts to bring peace to a region devastated by war, which produces strategic minerals like coltan and cobalt. In June, the Trump administration mediated a peace agreement between Rwanda and Congo. Last month, peace talks between Congo and M23 were supposed to result in a deal. However, they have been postponed. According to a senior rebel...

Maman Soki, a Congolese woman who is part of a small group that does heavy mining for survival in the wake of a terrorist attack by Islamic State rebels on her village which killed her daughter as well as her sister. The 49-year old widow fled her home with her son, her grandson, and her sister's kids in April to escape the jihadists, one of the many armed groups that occupied the mineral-rich area. Soki, along with two other women, now hauls 30 kg bags of debris up a steep muddy slope to earn a few dollars per day for...