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...

Foreign firms are competing for access to gold deposits in war torn Sudan. Mining companies are hopeful that Sudan holds a large amount of untapped gold reserves, while the government is desperate to find new revenue streams following the secession of South Sudan in 2011, which led to the loss of around three quarters of its oil reserves and a fifth of its population. Gold exports reached US$2.2bn last year and the government recently issued a...