The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has taken over a factory and other assets belonging to Polema Industries Limited and its Chief Promoter, Chief Emmanuel C. Obi over an indebtedness of over half a billion naira.

A statement from AMCON said this followed the order of Hon. Justice F.O.G. Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, Abuja who granted AMCON possession over the company and its assets.

It stated that Justice Ogunbanjo also ordered that all the bank accounts of the company as well as that of Obi be frozen.

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The International Monetary Fund on Monday said there was urgent need for international financial support to Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan countries of Africa, as the nations need $110 to manage the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

 In its report entitled Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cautious Re-opening, the fund stated that the immediate priority in the region remained the preservation of health and lives.

the IMF stated that as the region starts to recover, authorities should gradually shift from broad fiscal support to more affordable, targeted policies, concentrating particularly on the poorest households and those sectors hit hardest by the crisis.

 It said the fund had supported 29 countries in the region with about $10bn in funding through its Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust facility, but stressed that this was not enough.

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The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, COPEC, has justified its decision to check the amount of fuel dispensed to consumers at various fuel stations.

The Association of Oil Marketing Companies, OMCs, has criticized the act accusing COPEC of usurping the powers of the National Petroleum Authority, NPA, and the Ghana Standards Authority, GSA, which are mandated to ensure that OMCs expense the right amount of fuel for any purchase.

COPEC however maintains that its actions have in the past led to some defaulting OMCs being fined, which in turn ensured value for money to consumers.

According to COPEC, its occasional checks at fuel stations forms part of its role as a civil society organization interested in promoting the interest of consumers.

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South Africa’s High Court on Monday sided with Eskom in a dispute over the amount energy regulator Nersa allowed the state utility to claw back from customers for electricity supplied in the 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 financial years.

Nersa’s 2018 decisions to allow Eskom to recoup 32.69 billion rand ($1.9 billion) via a mechanism known as the regulatory clearing account (RCA) for those three years have been set aside, and it must now come up with new decisions.

Monday’s ruling could lead to higher power tariffs, as the court said it appeared Nersa had disallowed Eskom money for lower-than-forecast revenue based on a “fundamental factual error”. It said disallowing some coal costs was not rational.

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South Africa’s rand weakened in early trade on Tuesday ahead of a series of data releases, including first quarter economic growth figures, trade and budget balance, which are all expected to show a struggling economy with bleak prospects.

At 0630 GMT, the rand was 0.3% weaker at 17.3125 per dollar, giving up Monday’s small gains as investors awaited the data for direction.

The currency has struggled for direction in the sessions following last Wednesday’s emergency budget speech, which painted an unsurprisingly bleak picture of the finances of the continent’s most developed economy and little market reaction.

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The petroleum ministry on Tuesday said Egypt has discovered a gold deposit in the southeast of the country containing more than 1 million ounces.

The ministry in a statement said the deposit lies in the concession area of the Shalateen Mining Company, adding that there could be investments exceeding $1 billion over 10 years to exploit the deposit.

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Central bank data on Tuesday showed that Growth in private sector credit in South Africa in May slowed to 6.35% year on year from a revised 7.18% in April.

Expansion in the broadly defined M3 measure of money supply also slowed, to 10.26% in May from 10.47% in April.

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South Africa’s MTN is branching into the online shopping space by providing its customers with the option to pay for online purchases using mobile money payment instead of a bank card.

The spread of COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of mobile financial services, which are increasingly being recognised as a means to mitigate the use of bank notes and coins amid the pandemic.

MTN in a statement on Monday said with demand for e-commerce growing rapidly in South Africa, MTN will launch mobile money (MoMo) Pay for online shopping this week.

It has an agreement with major partners to enable over 4,000 e-commerce websites to accept MoMo and will also partner with small-medium enterprises with e-commerce channels.

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South African media and e-commerce group Naspers on Monday reported a 4.5% drop in profit for the year to March 31, mainly as a result of investments to drive growth in its food delivery business.

Core headline earnings per share (HEPS) the main profit measure in South Africa on Monday said it fell to $6.57 from $6.87 a year earlier. The company had estimated that HEPS would drop by 10-16%.

The results were announced after the stock market closed with the technology giant’s shares up 0.3%.

The South Africa-based media powerhouse, with businesses spread across Brazil, China, India, Russia and Europe, said its revenues for the full year jumped 17% to $22.1 billion, driven mainly by its food delivery and classifieds segments.

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China on Tuesday said it was concerned about India’s decision to ban Chinese mobile apps such as Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat and was making checks to verify the situation.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses.

India on Monday banned 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since a border crisis erupted between the two countries this month.

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