Main Archives - Page 7 of 19 - AfricaBusiness.com

3Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Main

Global Climate Action is Accelerating and Early-Mover Companies Can Seize Significant Advantage

Timing, Pace, and Extent of Change Needed for Net-Zero Transition Are Still Widely Underestimated New Report from World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group Provides CEOs with a Guide for Navigating an Unprecedented Global Transformation Early Movers Can Drive Outsized Impact, and Gain Competitive Advantage on Multiple Dimensions Companies Can Save Cash and Carbon: Emissions Can Be Reduced by a Third or More at No Net Cost to Their Business After years of inadequate action in combating the threat of climate change, players in all sectors are waking up to the challenge. For instance, in 2019 only 29 countries representing 10% of global emissions had made net-zero pledges, while today, 92 countries representing 78% of global emissions have done so. On the corpo...

6Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Egypt News, Ghana News, Main, Morocco News, South Africa News

Africa is leapfrogging into the future of retail

The bi-annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), which is a study of the global retailing landscape has revealed Africa is poised to move away from traditional retail models and become the fastest-growing, richest, and most sophisticated market in the world. Prashaen Reddy, a partner at management consulting firm Kearney says that this is thanks to the explosive growth of young, urban, and digitally savvy consumers; increasing mobile phone penetration; the creation of digital payment and shopping networks; favorable governmental regulations and spending initiatives; and significant investment by both foreign and domestic companies. In the most stable times, retailers expanding their global footprint face a series of difficult decisions. Yet in the wake of COVID-19, together, these f...

12Dec

By Darryl BernsteinNo Comments

Main, South Africa News

ESG obligations leading to the risk of increased litigation for African businesses

By Darryl Bernstein, Partner and Head of the Dispute Resolution Practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg As African businesses begin to recover and build the resilience needed to successfully navigate COVID-19 disruption, a focus on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) strategies is proving to be essential for long-term success. In order to stay competitive, organisations based in Africa are engaging meaningfully with ESG to build robust sustainability strategies that meet stakeholder expectations and enable compliance with global and domestic mandatory and voluntary ESG standards and codes. ESG encompasses a broad range of issues across the spectrum of Environmental (climate change, biodiversity, waste, water and resource use, pollution), Social (human rights, labour practices, H...

18Nov

By Baker McKenzieNo Comments

Main

Ten reasons to consider African trade and investment opportunities in 2022

By Lerisha Naidu, Partner, Competition & Antitrust; Lodewyk Meyer, Partner, Banking and Finance; Mike van Rensburg, Partner, M&A; and Virusha Subban, Partner, Customs and Trade, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg 1. Visible green shoots – rising commodity prices The pandemic closed borders and stopped trade, other than for essentials, across the continent and was the principal reason for a decline in investment in 2020. A lack of available capital and acquisition finance, as well as difficulties pricing deals in an uncertain market, also affected investment. Other reasons for declining investment, included that the levels of economic activity have slowed in the major African economies, such as Nigeria and South Africa. However, green shoots are visible and market fundamentals are sig...

16Nov

By Virusha SubbanNo Comments

Ethiopia News, Guinea News, Main, Mali News

African Growth and Opportunity Act eligibility requirements under review in three African countries

By Virusha Subban, Partner and Head of Indirect Tax, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg On 2 November 2021, US President Joe Biden announced that three African countries would be terminated from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program, unless they took urgent action to meet statutory eligibility criteria by 1 January 2022. The three countries listed were Guinea, Mali and Ethiopia. The US administration cited unconstitutional changes in governments in Guinea and Mali and human rights violations in Ethiopia, due to conflict in the country, as reasons for the termination. The statement announced the intention to provide all three countries with a clear benchmark and pathway towards reinstatement so that valued trading partnerships could be resumed. AGOA eligibility c...

8Nov

By Faizal BhanaNo Comments

Main, Nigeria News

Operational Challenges and Opportunities for Family-Owned Businesses in a Post-Covid World

By Faizal Bhana – Director Jersey Finance - Middle East, Africa and India. According to Asoko Insight’s FOB500 research, Nigerian family-owned businesses make up 36% of companies within the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS). These businesses have been vital to the socio-economic development of Nigeria and have been instrumental in the region’s back-to-business strategy amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a mechanism of securing their legacy. It is important to note that family-owned businesses globally, including Africa, experienced adverse consequences as a result of COVID-19. Mandatory lockdowns and the general restriction of movement contributed to creating this challenging operational environment that required family businesses to adapt to survive. Policies such as ‘wor...

26Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Main

2021 sees surge in fundraising by African infrastructure funds with $2.14bn USD targeted

Africa-focussed infra investment funds have set a record fundraising target in 2021 Majority of deals by infra funds are of ‘green’ assets, as climate rises up the agenda for asset managers Dry powder and assets under management by infra funds at an all-time high, signalling investment boom to come Africa-focussed infrastructure investment funds have set record fundraising targets in 2021, according to new analysis by global law firm Linklaters. A total of ten funds have set a combined target of 2.14bn USD in their latest fundraising, a marked increase on previous years and over three times the average annual amount targeted over the last ten years. This year has also seen the largest number of newly formed funds that will specifically target Africa’s infrastructure needs - at ten...

21Oct

By Angelo TzarevskiNo Comments

Main

Increasing competition policy enforcement across Africa

By Angelo Tzarevski, Associate Director, and Zareenah Rasool, Candidate Attorney, Competition & Antitrust Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg Competition policy continues to be viewed by regulators as a key driver of economic growth globally. Across Africa, competition policy enforcement is increasingly being employed as a tool to boost economic performance and promote the revitalization of trade and industry following the devastating impact of COVID-19. The effects of the pandemic have led to negative economic growth in a number of African jurisdictions, and have given rise to opportunistic, anticompetitive behaviours such as unreasonable price increases and price gouging, coordination amongst competitors, and other unsavoury business practices that erode competition. Over the pas...

17Oct

By Denny Da SilvaNo Comments

Kenya News, Main, Nigeria News, South Africa News

New global tax rules will help address imbalances in tax revenue in Africa

By Denny Da Silva, Associate Director, Tax, Baker McKenzie, Johannesburg One hundred and thirty six of the 140 members of the OECD G20 Inclusive Framework, including South Africa, have agreed on a new set of global tax rules that will reform the world’s tax system. Notably, two African countries that are members of the Inclusive Framework have not yet joined the agreement - Kenya and Nigeria. The two-pillar system will be presented to the G20 Leaders’ Summit at the end of October 2021. It will result in a reallocation of taxing rights from resident to source countries of certain multinational enterprises (MNEs), if thresholds are met, in addition to a 15% global minimum tax rate for certain organizations, implemented from 2023. The agreement aims to redress global tax revenue imbalances a...

10Oct

By Jana BothaNo Comments

Kenya News, Main, South Africa News, Startups

Africa: tax implications of digital transformation in the consumer goods and retail sector

By Jana Botha, Tax Consultant, and Prenisha Govender, Associate, Tax Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The pandemic-fuelled growth of the digital economy and unabated demand for online retail products across Africa have led to extensive disruption in the Consumer Goods and Retail Sector (CG&R) sector. Due to a growth in demand for online retail, CG&R companies in Africa have been rapidly adapting their digital operating models, and multinational e-commerce platforms operating in the region have attracted a record number of new customers. This digital transition, and resultant growth in the e-commerce sector, has tax implications for digital CG&R businesses operating in Africa. The OECD’s Pillar One and Two Multilateral international tax changes currently being implemente...