By Reuters Staff
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A man wearing a protective face mask walks outside a Shoprite store in Abuja, Nigeria August 3, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerian property group Persianas is buying Shoprite’s Nigerian business after the South African retailer decided to retreat from other African markets, three banking sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Shoprite, with more than 2,300 stores across Africa, is awaiting regulatory approval on the sale of its Nigerian supermarket operation, though no further details about the deal have been disclosed.
Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram and David Goodman
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BOGOTA, March 26 (Reuters) - Colombia’s central bank board is likely to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged at its meeting on Friday to encourage economic growth as inflation remains well below target.
All 19 analysts polled by Reuters last week expect the board to hold borrowing costs at 1.75%.
If the prediction is met the rate will have been at the historically low figure for six months, after the board cut 250 basis points between March and September of last year as it sought to help an economy hit hard by a coronavirus lockdown.
“We expect the board to maintain the rate at 1.75%. With economic recovery advancing and inflation expectations anchored in the medium-term we think additional cuts are unlikely,” said Carolina Monzon, head economist for Colombia for Itau bank.
Global stocks hit a record high on Friday and oil climbed after strong U.S. and Chinese economic data bolstered expectations of a solid global recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump.
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BOGOTA, April 15 (Reuters) - Colombia’s government on Thursday formally proposed to Congress a $6.4 billion tax reform that would eliminate many deductions and increase duties on individuals and business.
The measure, considered key by financial markets and analysts to manage fiscal pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic and maintain the country’s credit rating, seeks to boost tax collection by 23.4 trillion pesos ($6.38 billion) a year, equivalent to 2% of gross domestic product.
“It is moderate reform if we compare it internationally,” Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla said during a virtual presentation.
Some provisions of the reform package, which would largely come into force starting in 2022, have already come under fire from opposition lawmakers. It will face a difficult path to approval one year ahead of presidential and legislative elections.
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will ask 10 U.S. diplomats to leave the country in retaliation for Washington’s expulsion of the same number of Russian diplomats over alleged malign activity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a session of the board of trustees of the Russian Geographical Society via a video conference call in Moscow, Russia April 14, 2021. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS
The U.S. government on Thursday imposed a broad array of sanctions on Russia, including curbs to its sovereign debt market, to punish it for interfering in last year’s U.S. election, cyber hacking, bullying Ukraine and other alleged malign actions.