Africa Briefs

Moody's not anticipating Angolan debt defaultMoody's assumes the Angolan government does not intend to default on its debt after ambiguous wording in official statements, the ratings agency said in a research report.Moody's said the new kwanza regime and the government's desire to renegotiate debt underscored existing pressures on Angola's credit ratings, which include falling economic growth and liquidity risks.The agency expects Angola's debt-to-GDP ratio to rise and for higher inflation to weigh on growth, although it said the country's current account was likely to improve over time.Moody’s said it had discussed the recent policy changes with the Angolan government. – Nampa/ReutersEgypt's budget deficit down to 4.4%Egypt's budget deficit for the first half of the 2017/18 fiscal year starting in July dropped to 4.4% from 5% last year, a finance ministry said.Egypt has been looking to tighten control of its finances as it pushes ahead with ambitious economic reforms tied to a $12 billion three-year International Monetary Fund lending programme it agreed in late 2016.The country revised up its economic growth forecast for fiscal 2017/18 to 5.3%-5.5% from 4.8% previously.Egypt is targeting a 20% rise in total investment for 2018/19, up from 646 billion Egyptian pounds (US$36.58 billion) targeted for 2017/18. – Nampa/ReutersVolkswagen to double output in KenyaGerman automaker Volkswagen (VW) plans to double output at its Kenyan assembly plant and could build a second model there, Kenya's presidential office said without giving a timeline.VW set up the vehicle assembly plant in 2016, resuming production in Kenya after a four decade break. The plant has started by assembling VW's Vivo model.President Uhuru Kenyatta was told by VW's South Africa chief Thomas Schaefer "the firm was exploring producing a second model in Kenya, possibly a hatchback - small SUV - while doubling production of the VW Polo Vivo to at least 300 vehicles".VW has long experience operating in emerging markets. But Kenya's car market is dominated by low-priced, second-hand imports from countries, such as Japan. Other brands assembling vehicles in Kenya include Isuzu, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Peugeot. – Nampa/ReutersCongo GDP growth seen at 5% in 2018Congo's Central Bank on Friday raised its economic growth forecast for 2018 to 5% from 4.4% last month, but lowered its 2017 growth estimate to 3.5%.Congo's economy is expected to get a boost from a rebound in commodities prices after a dip since 2015 dented revenues and reduced growth to 2.5% in 2016.The mining and oil sectors account for some 95% of export revenues in Congo, Africa's top copper producer. – Nampa/ReutersMorocco begins liberalisation of dirhamMorocco started a gradual and controlled liberalisation of its currency the dirham yesterday.The North African country has had a fixed exchange rate regime for the dirham since the 1970s. It is pegged to the euro and the US dollar.Officials have stressed that there would be no devaluation of the dirham. The finance ministry said in a statement on Friday that Bank Al-Maghrib, the country's central bank, will "continue to intervene on the exchange market to ensure liquidity".Earlier this year, Moroccan media said full liberalisation of the dirham would take up to 15 years. – Nampa/AFP

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