Africa Business News

Malaysian Government on Friday said 1Malaysia Development Berhad, the state fund at the centre of a massive corruption scandal, still had an estimated 32.3 billion ringgit ($7.80 billion) in outstanding debt as of September.
Malaysia said in 2018 the government would have to pay about $13 billion of 1MDB’s dues.
The report said Malaysia has also recovered a total of 13.4 billion ringgit ($3.24 billion) in assets linked to 1MDB’s financial trail as of the end of September.

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The U.S. State Department gave Congress notification it plans to sell 18 sophisticated armed MQ-9B aerial drones to the United Arab Emirates in a deal worth as much as $2.9 billion.
A $600 million deal to sell four unarmed but weapons-ready MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones to Taiwan was the first to be formally notified to Congress on Tuesday.
A U.S. State Department spokesman told Reuters as a matter of policy, the United States does not confirm or comment on proposed defense sales or transfers until they are formally notified to Congress.

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The Moroccan government, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Thursday said they will postpone plans to hold the World Bank Group-IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakesh in October 2021 until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual meetings are usually held for two consecutive years at the World Bank and IMF headquarters in Washington, and then in a member country every third year.
The World Bank and IMF held virtual meetings in April and October this year due to the pandemic. No decision has been made yet on whether the spring 2021 meetings will take place in person or online.

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The head of the United Nations said he was deeply alarmed by fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, where federal troops have been exchanging fire with the powerful ethnic faction that led the ruling coalition for decades.
Prime Minister’s Abiy Ahmed’s government is mobilising troops from around the country and sending them to Tigray, after two days of clashes between government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
U.N. Secretary General António Guterres in a message on Twitter seen on Friday said the stability of Ethiopia is important for the entire Horn of Africa region. I call for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

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The International Development Finance Club, a group of 26 national and regional development banks, said its members supplied $197 billion in green finance in 2019, representing a quarter of their total lending.
The IDFC in a report published on Friday said while a 47% increase on 2018, the figure for 2019 remains below a high reached in 2017.
In total, $867 billion has been invested since 2015, when the Paris Agreement was struck to limit global warming.
The role of state-backed lenders in driving the global response to climate change is increasingly under the spotlight given their deep pockets and ability to pave the way for increased private-sector investment by sharing risk.

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The head of Ethiopia's Tigray region has described clashes between regional and federal troops as a state of war.
Debretsion Gebremichael said the region would be fully mobilised for the war effort adding  that special forces from the Amhara region had joined federal troops in fighting Tigray government forces.
Mr Debretsion said that fighting is taking place in Ethiopia's western Tigray region, which borders Amhara.
He said Tigray forces had seized almost all the weaponry from the Ethiopian military's Northern Command.
He also alleged that some federal soldiers had crossed the border into Eritrea on Wednesday.

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The state-owned Suna news agency has reported that Sudan has closed the border between its eastern Kassala State and Ethiopia, following rising tensions between Ethiopian federal authorities and the Tigray region.
The announcement was made by Governor Fateh al-Rahman al-Amin who said the border will remain closed until further notice, the agency reports.
The governor said he would travel to Wad Al Helew, a village in Kassala State bordering Ethiopia and Eritrea, to assess the situation.
He stressed that Sudanese authorities would not allow any individuals or groups to enter the state with weapons.

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Cross River State governor, Professor Ben Ayade on Thursday presented the 2021 appropriation bill to the State House of Assembly.
The sum of N192,511,985,550 representing 67 percent of the entire budget is earmarked for recurrent expenditure while N88,196,500 representing 33 percent is for capital expenditure.
The governor explained that due to the cumulative impact of the disasters that characterised the year 2020, 67 percent of the budget goes for recurrent expenditure.
Ayade said he is set to meet the immediate and physical needs of Cross River residents in the aftermath of the COVID-19 and #EndSARS aftermath.

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The Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu has again stressed the need for Nigerians to embrace the community policing strategy which he says is the best strategy to combat crime in the country.
The IGP disclosed this in owerri the Imo state capital during a one day working visit to the state to access the level of damage done by hoodlums who hijacked the peaceful #EndSARS protest.
The IGP stated that in a few weeks from now, youths will be recruited into the police force from ward levels to work with traditional rulers in a bid to secure every community.

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The Chinese government has temporarily suspended entry into China by Nigerians and other nationals in Nigeria holding valid Chinese visas or residence permits.
The Embassy of China and Consulate in Nigeria announced this in a public notice on Thursday, adding that it will no longer issue a certified health declaration form for non-Chinese nationals in the country.
The communique showed that entry by holders of diplomatic, service, courtesy or C visas will not be affected.
The Chinese authorities said the suspension is a temporary response necessitated by the current situation of Covid-19.

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