RSS
 

Archive for November, 2008

Nairobi ranked among 64 cities to drive global trade

14 Nov
Print E-mail

Image

Nairobi scored 5.59 out of a possible 10.6 points in security

November 14, 2008: Nairobi has been ranked as one of the 64 cities in the emerging markets that will drive the global economy in the next decade.

The survey by  MasterCard Worldwide is likely to raise business competitiveness in the city ahead of new efforts to improve the road network and the connection to the submarine fibre optic cable next year.

Central role

The cable, and the city are expected to play a central role in the planned massive investment of business process outsourcing facilities under vision 2030. The facilities are expected to create jobs especially for the youth, and provide foreign exchange earnings.

MasterCard Worldwide said that global economic growth is expected to be driven primarily by emerging economies at an rate of 12 to 1 compared to rich-world economies, a figure attributed to the International Monetary Fund.

The survey is meant to provide “guidance” to investors on some of the hot merging economies they can put their money in. Opportunities offered by the ranked cities include real estate, retailing and supermarkets, and the potential to provide sophisticated financial and business services.

Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing were the favourites while Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town led in Africa. Tunis, Cairo and Casablanca also featured with Nairobi ahead of Senegal’s Dakar.

Nairobi was awarded 39.12 percent points. In the category of the economic and commercial environment, it scored 6.21 out of 12.8.

In the category of economic growth and development, it scored 3.8 out of 13.8. Other categories included; business environment at 9.88 out of 16.6, financial service environment at 2.55 out of 10.6 and commercial connectivity at 3.85 out of 13 points.

Urban life

In the category of education and information technology connectivity, Nairobi scored 1.69 out of 12, quality of urban life at 5.55 out of 10.6 and risk and security at 5.59 out of 10.6 points.

“By evaluating 65 emerging market cities and their increasingly important roles in global commerce, the Index offers companies a road map for where commerce is headed next,” said Walt Macnee, president of global markets at MasterCard Worldwide.

Source:
BDAfrica
 
No Comments

Posted in trends

 

IMF tips Rwanda to pow by 8.5 p.c.

12 Nov

Robust activity in the construction, services and agricultural sectors are expected to place Rwanda among the highest growing economies in the Africa this year. An lMF mission to Rwanda between October 22 and November 4, 2008 attributes the country’s higher growth rate to a prudent fiscal policy stance backed by its strong revenue collection system and the rising commodity prices in the international market.

The IMF projects a gdp growth of 8.5 per cent for 2008 for the tiny central African nation. “Overall, we found out that policy performance under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) supported programme was satisfactory and all end-June quantitative targets were met;’ head of IMF-Rwan- da mission Ms Zuzana Murgasova, said in a press release last week.

However, in spite of a brighter outlook for this year the IMF mission notes that inflation has been rising sharply since the first quarter to peak at 21per cent by September following the surge in international food and fuel prices.

Rwanda, a country that is still fighting to shore up its international confidence R)110wing the 1994 genocide, is fast emerging as one of the best governed economies in the continent.

After joining its four neighbours – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi in the East African Community economic bloc last year-Rwandahas this year applied Mr Commonwealth membership and may end up in avast market if the ongoing efforts to merge SADC, EAC and COMESA succeed. In the press release issued in Kigali and e-mailed to Business Daily, the IMF mission said it expects Rwanda’s agricultural production growth to be buttressed by its governments ongoing policies to promote the sector’s productivity as the recent decline in world commodity prices reduces inflation to single digits in the second halfof2009.

The IMF team advised the country’s policy-makers to strive towards mitigating the shocks likely to come from sharp fluctuations in world commodity prices and in bringing back inflation to single-digit levels.

During its assessment, IMF mission which was conducting its Fifth Review of Rwanda’s perfbrmance met with the country’s top finance and economic officials as well as the representatives ofthe business community.

Source:
BD Africa

 
No Comments

Posted in trends