Business round-up

MINICOM projects brighter economic future The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MINICOM) has said the future of the economy is bright based on progress registered after a slowdown in economic activity in 2009. Records from the Ministry, indicated that the country`s exports increased from US$193 million in 2009 to US$254 million in 2010. The rise is attributed to a boost in coffee exports, which rose by 50 percent to US$56.1 million while the mining industry revenues totalled to US$67.8 million in 2010. Emmanuel Hategeka, the Permanent Secretary in MINICOM said the increase was a result of higher prices on the international market, which occasioned a strong recovery in the global economy. He said there is substantial progress on the business environment Index that exceeded the target of 56 percent to 60 percent. Hategeka said that tourism receipts rebounded from US$174 million in 2009 to US$200 million this year. Central bank set to reject Blue’s license application The central bank said it would not allow Blue Financial Services to re-open its subsidiary in the country despite the microfinance saying it plans to re-launch its operations. After operating for only three years, Blue, a micro-lender with its headquarters in South Africa, was stripped of its operating license in Rwanda, after struggling with huge losses and fraud charges. According to Media reports, the company’s CEO, Johan Meireng, is considering options to re-open the Rwanda and Cameroon operations. Francois Kanimba, the Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, was surprised and strongly believes the move would not be possible. Terming it as a rumour, Kanimba said he does not expect the company to re-open since its assets were liquidated after failing to perform to required expectations. MTN, TIGO reaping from Rwandatel misery Upon the announcement by Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) of the withdrawal of Rwandatel’s mobile phone license, MTN Rwanda and TIGO have ripped benefits as clients make a choice between the two remaining telecom players. RURA’s decision was effective midnight Friday April 8. This implies that Rwandatel’s network connection for mobile and 3G data were effectively switched off. This also means that Rwandatel subscribers cannot make calls, use their lines to receive or surf the internet. Resultantly, MTN Rwanda swiftly started offering free SIM cards with Rwf500 loaded airtime. Yvonne Makolo, MTN’s Senior Marketing Executive, said that the company was trying to facilitate Rwandatel subscribers to stay connected. She said that the in-coming clients were offered a free MTN SIM card in exchange to a Rwandatel card, explaining that that their contacts would also be immediately transferred to the MTN SIM card. However, she could not reveal the number of SIM cards transferred, insisting it would be announced soon. Poor strategies daunt EPA talks, EALA says It has been reported that failure to strike the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) by the East African Community (EAC) with European Union (EU) is as a result of poor strategies and tactics employed by EAC negotiators, who are also accused of not being well informed about the interests of the region in the agreement. Peter Kiguta, the Director General of Customs and Trade in the EAC Secretariat, told the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA), that the two parties failed to agree on how issues on development cooperation should be addressed to their mutual satisfaction. He said that in addition to putting in place institutional arrangements to implement the agreement, there is also need for the EAC Secretariat to undertake training and research to build the negotiators’ capacity to define EAC’s position better. He also noted that EAC partner states’ limited financial capacity is also a challenge thus leading to inconsistencies and affecting the continuity of the negotiations. BRD profits up 20% Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) announced an increase in net profits, from Rwf1.2b in 2009 to Rwf1.5b in 2010. The bank attributed the performance to continued government financial support and management efforts. The Bank also registered growth in its loan book with cumulative loan approvals increasing by five percent to Rwf27 billion from Rwf25.7 billion in 2009. BRD recently took over Rwanda Housing Bank, with a vision to create a strong mortgage refinancing facility. According to CEO Jack Kayonga, the mortgage refinancing facility will provide much needed financial resources to financial institutions to enable them lend to end users hence increasing lending to housingKCB to Introduce Visa Debit Cards Kenya Commercial Bank-Rwanda announced its plans to introduce Quick Serve Visa Electron Debit Cards. The service will be a simple and convenient way to pay for goods and services. KCB Rwanda’s Managing Director, Maurice Toroitich, said that the card would be introduced in the second quarter of this year and will be used in more than 20 million outlets worldwide. He added the innovation will lead to optimisation of the Bank’s Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) infrastructure by enabling cardholders to access services at any of their ATMs in Rwanda and in the region. Customers will use the cards buy goods and services at any Visa branded outlet like supermarkets, petrol stations, drug stores, hotels and air ticketing. Ends