State utility company Eskom has been struggling to maintain its national power supply as its coal-powered plants continue to age and break down. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, the World Bank’s director for South Africa, revealed that the loan would be awarded to the government rather than Eskom.

“It’s a policy development loan which supports critical reforms,” Marie-Nelly explained, adding, “There’s a particular focus on transmission, because it is a stumbling block in terms of bringing new (capacity) that is going to be built mainly by the private sector.” Although no specific date was given, Marie-Nelly mentioned that the loan is “going to come very soon.”

The post South Africa in Talks With World Bank Over $1 Billion Loan appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The deal is composed of two parts, MTN Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said on a video call on Monday. It consists of a commercial agreement on payments and remittance in which it is agreed that MTN will leverage Mastercard’s technology infrastructure as it looks to expand its fintech capabilities. The size of Mastercard’s stake in MTN’s fintech business will be determined once the deal is completed, Mupita revealed.

With Africa’s young and tech-savvy population making increasing use of their smartphones for a growing array of activities, a market opportunity has presented itself to Mastercard and MTN whereby the companies can provide this target market with new financial and banking services. Much of the fintech investments to date have been in mobile payment systems.

The post Mastercard to Buy $5.2 Billion Stake in MTN appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Eskom, which generates most of its power using aging coal-fired power plants that are prone to breakdowns, aims to gradually shed about 6,000 megawatts (MW) of power in order to prevent the collapse of the national power grid. Stage 6 load shedding will leave South African households without power for at least six hours per day. The last time that Eskom reached Stage 6 was in December 2019.

With the ongoing power cuts hampering economic growth in Africa’s most industrialized nation, public frustration has spiked after the cash-strapped utility announced its intention to seek a 32% rate hike.

During an urgent board meeting on Saturday, Eskom’s board decided that it would approach independent power producers on Monday to procure an additional 1,000 MW. De Ruyter has also made 500 million rand available for the utility to purchase additional diesel.

The post South African Power Utility Eskom Ramps Up Nationwide Power Cuts appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

State utility company Eskom has been struggling to maintain its national power supply as its coal-powered plants continue to age and break down. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, the World Bank’s director for South Africa, revealed that the loan would be awarded to the government rather than Eskom.

“It’s a policy development loan which supports critical reforms,” Marie-Nelly explained, adding, “There’s a particular focus on transmission, because it is a stumbling block in terms of bringing new (capacity) that is going to be built mainly by the private sector.” Although no specific date was given, Marie-Nelly mentioned that the loan is “going to come very soon.”

The post South Africa in Talks With World Bank Over $1 Billion Loan appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

The deal is composed of two parts, MTN Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said on a video call on Monday. It consists of a commercial agreement on payments and remittance in which it is agreed that MTN will leverage Mastercard’s technology infrastructure as it looks to expand its fintech capabilities. The size of Mastercard’s stake in MTN’s fintech business will be determined once the deal is completed, Mupita revealed.

With Africa’s young and tech-savvy population making increasing use of their smartphones for a growing array of activities, a market opportunity has presented itself to Mastercard and MTN whereby the companies can provide this target market with new financial and banking services. Much of the fintech investments to date have been in mobile payment systems.

The post Mastercard to Buy $5.2 Billion Stake in MTN appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.

Eskom, which generates most of its power using aging coal-fired power plants that are prone to breakdowns, aims to gradually shed about 6,000 megawatts (MW) of power in order to prevent the collapse of the national power grid. Stage 6 load shedding will leave South African households without power for at least six hours per day. The last time that Eskom reached Stage 6 was in December 2019.

With the ongoing power cuts hampering economic growth in Africa’s most industrialized nation, public frustration has spiked after the cash-strapped utility announced its intention to seek a 32% rate hike.

During an urgent board meeting on Saturday, Eskom’s board decided that it would approach independent power producers on Monday to procure an additional 1,000 MW. De Ruyter has also made 500 million rand available for the utility to purchase additional diesel.

The post South African Power Utility Eskom Ramps Up Nationwide Power Cuts appeared first on theprimarymarket.com.