Saudi Arabia is tripling its value added tax (VAT) as part of austerity measures to support its coronavirus-hit economy.

The government in Riyadh also said it will suspend its cost of living allowance to shore up state finances due to the income plummet as the impact of the pandemic has forced down global energy prices.

The kingdom first introduced VAT two years ago as part of efforts to cut its reliance on world crude oil markets.

Saudi Arabia's state news agency said VAT will increase from 5% to 15% as of 1 July, while the cost of living allowance will be suspended from 1 June.

The allowance of 1,000 riyals ($267; 245 euros) per month to state employees was introduced in 2018 to help offset increased financial burdens including VAT and a rise in the price of petrol.

Cocoa arrivals at ports in top grower Ivory Coast reached 1.784 million tonnes between Oct. 1 and May 10, exporters estimated on Monday, down 5.7% from 1.891 mln tonnes over the same period last season.

About 14,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to Abidjan port and 17,000 tonnes to San Pedro between May 4 to May 10 for a total of 31,000 tonnes, down from 33,000 during the same week last season.

South Africa will increase the amount of debt on sale at its weekly auctions by nearly 2 billion rand ($109 million) to cover a budget deficit set to increase sharply due to the coronavirus stimulus package announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In a market announcement published on Friday on Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the National Treasury said it would increase the amount on offer at weekly government bond auctions by a combined 1.93 billion rand as part of plans it outlined in its February budget.

The treasury said the amount on offer at the fixed-rate government bond auction will rise by 1.57 billion rand to 6.1 billion rand as of May 19, while the weekly inflation-linked bond auction amount will increase by 360 million rand to 1.4 billion rand from May 15.

The finance ministry of Zambia said the country has applied to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a COVID-19-related rapid credit facility as it starts the process of shortlisting financial advisers to help reduce its debt load

Zambia was already wrestling with a growing public debt even before the new coronavirus outbreak forced lockdowns across the globe, delivering a big blow to demand for raw materials. Zambia is Africa’s second biggest copper producer.

The finance ministry in a statement said Zambia has also closed a call for tenders for financial advisers over its debt and started the process of shortlisting and selecting the winner.

The IMF in April forecast Zambia’s economy would contract by 3.5% in 2020, down from growth of 1.5% in 2019, because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy.

South African mobile operator Vodacom Group reported a 8.9% rise in annual earnings on Monday, buoyed by an improved second half performance in its domestic market and the sustained growth of its international businesses.

Headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the full-year ended March rose to 945 cents from 868 cents a year earlier.

HEPS is the main profit measure in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items. Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone, declared a final dividend of 405 cents per share.

AngloGold Ashanti reported improved first-quarter cash flow on Monday but said it had lost 11,000 ounces of production because of coronavirus-related stoppages at its operations.

The miner withdrew its annual production guidance in March however, free cash flow before growth capital increased 231% year on year to $94 million.

Chief Executive Kelvin Dushnisky in a statement said cash flow is strong, leverage is down, and all operations are running

AngloGold has resumed operations at affected mines, with South African mines able to produce at 50% capacity after the government lifted an order for most underground mines and furnaces to be put on care and maintenance as part of a nationwide lockdown.

The Ghana Union of Traders’ Association (GUTA), has asked government to come out with its modalities for the disbursement of the GHS 600 million loan support scheme for small and medium scale enterprises, (SMEs).

The Association says the nature of the operations of its members, their huge numbers and capital needs, require that they have a fair idea of the government’s plan and further details to help them decide.

In a statement issued by the Association, its President, Dr. Joseph Obeng, said they wish to bring to the attention of the government the fact that the stimulus package as it is being communicated to them is very confusing and not directed to the intended target, threshold, adequacy of the fund and modalities of disbursement.”

They further noted that, though government’s support is well intended, it will not make the needed impact since the specific target for the disbursement, as well as the threshold, is not known.

An Economist, Lord Mensah has urged the Committee to further reduce the policy rate to bring some more relief to businesses and individuals hit by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Ghana starts its meetings from today, Monday May 11, 2020.

He explains that reducing the policy rate will help bring interest rates down and reduce the cost of borrowing.

The Bank of Ghana reduced the policy rate by 150 bases point to 14.5 percent last month.

The Ghana Association of Bankers has announced a cut in its benchmark interest rate by 200 basis points to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 on businesses and individuals.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has laid down guidelines for firms in the healthcare sector before they can access the N100bn loans by the CBN.

The CBN recently introduced the N100bn credit intervention for the healthcare industry as part of its measures to cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy.

It stated in its latest guidelines that the PFI must appraise and conduct due diligence on the application; and upon approval by the PFI’s credit committee, the application would be submitted to the apex bank with relevant documents attached.

It added The CBN would process and disburse funds to the PFI for onward release to the project.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has assured investors of the security of their investments in the country despite dwindling revenue from the sale of crude oil globally.

A statement by the CBN on Sunday quoted Emefiele as saying in Abuja that investors interested in withdrawing their funds from the country were guaranteed the safety of their money, notwithstanding the drop in the revenue from crude oil.

He noted that the CBN had put in place measures to ensure an orderly transfer of funds for those that might be interested in doing so.

He said the foreign exchange available would be devoted to strategic importation or service obligations that are the priority.