Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

After slowing to 3 percent in 2015, economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to fall further to 1.6 percent in 2016, the lowest level in over two decades. The sharp decline in aggregate growth reflects challenging economic conditions in the region’s largest economies and commodity exporters.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Dan Ghura visited Abidjan from September 21 to 27, 2016 to continue discussions on a new three-year economic program that could be supported by the IMF through arrangements under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

A new $500 million World Bank loan will help create jobs in Upper Egypt by enhancing the business climate and improving infrastructure and the delivery of services. The Upper Egypt Local Development Program, approved by the World Bank Group’s Board of Directors on 29 September, will focus on two lagging regions, Qena and Sohag, which are amongst the poorest in the country but have a large unrealized growth potential.

An IMF staff team headed by Michel Lazare visited Mozambique from September 22-29, 2016 to assess recent economic developments and discuss government policies to restore confidence and underpin economic stability. The mission also initiated discussions on the terms of reference for an international and independent audit of the companies EMATUM, Proindicus and MAM, with the objective of strengthening transparency, governance, and accountability to avoid recurrence of past debt problems.

Ships in the Port of Rades, Tunisia.

A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Maxwell Opoku-Afari, IMF Mission Chief for São Tomé and Príncipe visited São Tomé from September 14 to 28, 2016 to conduct the second review of the country’s economic program supported by the IMF’s three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

Budget Committee MEPs reversed all the cuts proposed by the Council to the draft 2017 EU budget to meet the needs of the migration crisis and slow economic growth, in a vote on Wednesday.

The post-crisis recovery in entrepreneurial activity remains mixed across countries, but new data released on 28 September by the OECD provides tentative signs of a turning point, with trends in enterprise creation rates pointing upwards in most economies.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission team led by Mr. Edward Gemayel visited Bishkek from September 15 to 28 for discussions on the third review under the IMF-supported Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on September 28, 2016 completed the twelfth and final review of Pakistan’s three-year economic reform program supported by an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. The Board’s decision enables the immediate disbursement of the final tranche in an amount equivalent to SDR 73 million (about US$102.1 million).