The slump in global oil prices since mid-2014 is taking its toll on Africa’s oil exporters. For instance, Angola has seen its realised and projected export earnings plummet and has been forced to revise down its fiscal revenue and spending plans by around US$14bn in its Budget 2015 proposals compared with estimates tabled in late 2014. Meanwhile, the state-owned oil company (Sonangol) published its preliminary results for 2014 at end-February...

Zambia is by far Africa’s largest copper producer and has benefited greatly from rising output and historically high global copper prices over the past five years. According to the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA), copper production increased from 570,000 tonnes in 2008 to over 800,000 tonnes in 2012. Most recently, copper production rose by a further 20% in 2013 as new mining projects financed by international mining companies came on line. The...

Gabon is the fifth largest liquid fuels producer in Sub-Saharan Africa, although its production is a fraction of that in the region’s two largest producers (Nigeria and Angola). However, recent developments in Gabon are promising and could pave the way for increased foreign investment and rising production levels over the next five years. The Gabonese government finally settled a long-running oil license dispute with Addax (a subsidiary of the...

Botswana’s economy is in reasonably good shape as economic growth continues to expand at a healthy pace. According to the latest available data, real GDP rose by 7.1% year on year in the third quarter of 2013, and is estimated to grow by around 6% for the year as a whole. Also, the government is on target to eliminate the budget deficit in fiscal year 2013/14 (April-March) and the current account is likely to post a surplus in 2013. The...

A new gas pipeline in Tanzania, which will run from Mtwara in the south east to Dar es Salaam, is scheduled for completion in 2014. The pipeline will include around a 500km stretch on land and a 30km long stretch through the Indian Ocean. The pipeline is part of a larger project, part funded by Exim Bank of China, which will include construction of gas processing plants at Madimba in Mtwara and Songo Songo Island in Lindi, as well as two new...

The government of Sudan devalued the Sudanese pound by around 25% against the US Dollar in November as the country continued to struggle with an economic crisis exacerbated by the secession of South Sudan in mid-2011. This is the second large devaluation of the past twelve months and one that had been pre-empted by a widening of the gap between the official and black market exchange rates. Exchange rate reforms are being encouraged by the IMF...