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In this episode, Wenjie Chen, Deputy Division Chief of the Regional Studies Division at the International Monetary Fund's African Department, discusses the IMF Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa titled 'A Tepid and Pricey Recovery'. The International Monetary Fund's global economic outlook for 2024, released this January, cites a resilient global economy with positive projections for the year ahead. Africa is expected to be the second fastest-growing economic region in the world in 2024, following Asia. Despite this positive forecast, there are concerns about the rising costs for African countries to meet their debt obligations and a funding squeeze that hinders the region's economic growth potential. In this episode, Wenjie Chen, Deputy Division Chief of the Regional Studies Division at the International Monetary Fund's African Department, discusses the IMF Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa titled "A Tepid and Pricey Recovery," released in April 2024. She highlights key findings from the report and contextualizes the IMF's recommendations for harnessing Africa's economic growth potential amid inevitable shocks.
In this episode, Nancy Jacklin sits down with Siddharth Tiwari, former Executive Secretary of the G20 Eminent Persons Group and Head of Operations in the African Department for the IMF. They discuss the IMF's evolving relationship to low income countries and what the IMF is doing in terms of capacity-building and policy support for LICs.
Barry Eichengreen, professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley, and Chima Simpson-Bell, economist in the African Department at the International Monetary Fund, joined Taylor Pearce, senior economist at OMFIF, to discuss the rise of gold as a central bank reserve asset. OMFIF's Global Public Investor 2023 report revealed a resurgence in demand for traditional reserve assets, including gold. The podcast explores the structural trends behind the increase in gold accumulation and offers insight into emerging markets' motivations for acquiring it. It also examines the findings of the IMF publication on central banks' post-financial crisis gold reserve growth.
Rahul Tandon hears about Brazil's president Lula da Silva's remarks on countries moving away from the dollar as he meets with the Chinese president Xi Jinping. The two leaders are expected to sign twenty trade agreements. The International Monetary Fund has projected that the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa will grow by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and accelerate to 4.2 per cent in 2024. Abebe Selassie, Director of the African Department at the IMF tells us more. To France, where the Constitutional Court is due to make a key decision any minute now on President Macron's controversial pension reforms. Macron wants to raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64 but his plan has faced massive opposition from unions and ordinary people. US firms are waiting to pump 'billions of dollars' of cash into the Northern Ireland economy if there's more political stability there. That's according to President Biden who is visiting the island of Ireland to mark 25-years since the Good Friday Agreement.
The International Monetary Fund warned that Bitcoin is not a cure-all for Africa's economic woes after the Central African Republic adopted the cryptocurrency as legal tender. The head of the IMF's African Department, Abebe Aemro Selassie, says that a robust payment system with financial transparency and a governance framework must be in place when adopting cryptocurrencies. He says it is really important to not see such things as a panacea for the challenges that countries face.
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday expressed concern about the civil unrest in Lagos and some other parts of Nigeria, following the shooting of some #EndSARS protesters Lekki Tollgate on Tuesday night.The Director of IMF’s African Department, Mr. Abebe Aemro Selassie, said the civil unrest in Lagos, which contributes significantly to Nigeria’s overall Gross Domestic Product could have a negative consequence on the economy.He called for timely resolution of the crisis to prevent the economy, which is still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, from slipping further into a tailspin.--- This episode is sponsored by · Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WASupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support
The global pandemic has put intense pressure on economies across sub-Saharan Africa. Many governments are struggling to maintain macroeconomic stability while also meeting the basic needs of their populations. Papa N'Diaye heads the IMF's economic outlook for the region. In this podcast, he says sub-Saharan Africa's economy will see its worst contraction on record this year, bringing real per capita incomes back to 2013 levels. Papa N’Diaye heads the Regional Studies Division in the IMF’s African Department.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to cost Nigeria and other oil exporters in Africa a total of about $34bn in revenue. According to the International Monetary Fund, the projected decline in revenue is attributable to the dwindling global crude oil prices. IMF’s Director, African Department, Abebe Selassie, disclosed this at the Africa Ministerial Roundtable on COVID-19 impact on the energy sector in Africa. The fund noted that African governments would be under intense budget pressure and rise in debt burden, adding that such burden would be higher among oil exporting countries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The International Monetary Fund said Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa will lose about $200bn in incomes by the end of 2020. IMF had already, in its latest Regional Economic Outlook, projected that the economies of Sub-Saharan African countries would contract by 1.6 per cent this year. The projected $200bn loss in income for Nigeria and other countries in the region was disclosed in a podcast posted on IMF website on Tuesday. Head of the Regional Studies Division in IMF’s African Department, Papa N’Diaye, noted that the region was facing unprecedented health and economic crisis that threatens to reverse much of the development progress it has made in recent years. He said there will be large income losses from this crisis. By the end of 2020 the region will face income losses of about $200bn relative to what they were expecting six months ago. --- This episode is sponsored by · Afrolit Podcast: Hosted by Ekua PM, Afrolit shares the stories of multi-faceted Africans one episode at a time. https://open.spotify.com/show/2nJxiiYRyfMQlDEXXpzlZS?si=mmgODX3NQ-yfQvR0JRH-WA Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newscast-africa/support
Sub-Saharan Africa is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis that threatens to reverse much of the development progress it's made in recent years. The latest Regional Economic Outlook shows the economy will contract by 1.6 percent this year; the worst reading on record. Papa N'Diaye is Head of Research in the IMF’s African Department that publishes the outlook. In this podcast, N'Diaye says by the end of 2020, the region will face income losses of about $200 billion relative to what they were expecting 6 months ago.
In 2018, African Union members established the African Continental Free Trade Area in an effort to boost regional trade. They agreed to eliminate tariffs on most goods, liberalize the trade of services and address obstacles to trade between African countries. The African free trade agreement has since been ratified by 22 countries and is likely to take effect later this year. The IMF’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa studies the potential impact of the agreement that will establish a market of 1.2 billion people with a combined GDP of US$2.5 trillion dollars. In this podcast, economists Reda Cherif and Geremia Palomba say this could be an economic game changer for the continent. Geremia Palomba is a Deputy Division Chief and Reda Cherif is a Senior Economist in IMF’s African Department.
While sub-Saharan Africa has lagged behind the rest of the world in access to finance, some countries in the region are bucking the trend thanks to advancements in financial technology known as Fintech. Mobile technology has made sub-Saharan Africa the global leader in mobile money transfer services, helping provide financial services to millions previously off the formal financial grid. A new IMF study shows Fintech is emerging as a technological enabler, improving financial inclusion and serving as a catalyst for innovations in other sectors. In this podcast, economist Amadou Sy, says Fintech could be a real game changer for the region. Sy is an Advisor in the African Department at the IMF, and headed this new research on the impact of Fintech in Sub-Saharan African Countries. Amadou Sy, is an Advisor in the IMF’s African Department.
This keynote speech was delivered on the first day of the Africa's rising debt conference by Dr Antoinette Monsio Sayeh, former Minister of Finance, Liberia, and former director of the African Department at the IMF.
Oil prices have bounced back somewhat but the IMF's latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa shows why energy exporters shouldn’t get too comfortable. "The level of oil prices that we see currently don’t imply growth rates in the future that are high enough, and that are anywhere near what we had seen before the oil slump.” Papa N’Diaye is head of research in the IMF’s African Department, and in this podcast, he says while the macroeconomic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa continues to strengthen–thanks to ongoing reforms and stronger global growth, growth rates still fall short of what the region really needs. N’Diaye oversaw the writing of this latest regional economic outlook. Photo: Now What? Growth rates in sub-Saharan Africa are too low to create enough jobs for its growing labor force. (iStock by Getty Images/peopleimages).
Bill Lee, Milken Chief Economist, says the USMCA is an example of the new bilateral approach to negotiations of the U.S. Mary Lovely, Peterson Institute Senior Fellow, says 70% to 100% of the tariffs in autos will fall on consumers. Kimberly Robinson, Bloomberg Law Legal Editor, comments on the political nature of Kavanaugh's speech. Abe Selassie, IMF Director of the African Department, highlights that by 2030 half of the annual increase of the global workforce will come from Sub-Saharan Africa. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Bill Lee, Milken Chief Economist, says the USMCA is an example of the new bilateral approach to negotiations of the U.S. Mary Lovely, Peterson Institute Senior Fellow, says 70% to 100% of the tariffs in autos will fall on consumers. Kimberly Robinson, Bloomberg Law Legal Editor, comments on the political nature of Kavanaugh's speech. Abe Selassie, IMF Director of the African Department, highlights that by 2030 half of the annual increase of the global workforce will come from Sub-Saharan Africa.
The IMF's latest regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa suggests the broad-based slowdown in sub-Saharan Africa is easing. In this podcast, co-author Jarek Wieczorek, says growth is up slightly from last year, but so is public debt. "If we maintain the trend we saw in the last 3 years, the debt will become unsustainable in many sub-Saharan African countries.” Contributors: Jarek Wieczorek, Head of the Regional Studies Division in the IMF’s African Department
The IMF's latest regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa shows growth has fallen to its lowest level in twenty years. In this podcast, co-author Céline Allard, says while some countries like Senegal and Kenya continue to experience growth rates higher than 6 percent, growth has slowed for two thirds of countries in the region bringing down average growth in 2016 to 1.4 percent. Contributors: Céline Allard, Head of the Regional Studies Division in the IMF’s African Department
The IMF's latest regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa shows growth at its lowest level in more than 20 years. But in this podcast, the African Department’s new Director, Abebe Aemro Selassie, says it’s a mixed story of struggling oil-exporters and strong performers. Contributors: Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the IMF’s African Department
Slumping Chinese demand has African economies scrambling to find alternate sources of revenue. In this podcast, we speak with Roger Nord, Deputy Director of the African Department in the IMF, and coauthor of A Fork in the Road, published in the June 2016 issue of Finance and Development magazine. Contributors: Roger Nord, IMF Deputy Director, African Department
The IMF's latest regional economic outlook for Sub-SaharanAfrica predicts a second difficult year as the region is hit bymultiple shocks. In this podcast, co-author Céline Allard, says thesteep decline in commodity prices and tighter financing conditionshave put many large economies under severe strain.Contributors: Céline Allard, Head of the Regional StudiesDivision in the IMF’s African Department
Mauricio Villafuerte, IMF Mission Chief for Chad says the country has made some remarkable economic reforms since 2010, paving the way for US$1.1 billion in debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Contributors: Mauricio Villafuerte : Mission Chief for Chad in the IMF’s African Department
More Rwandans are leaving their work on the farm to start small household businesses. By Alun H. Thomas: Senior economist in the IMF’s African Department