China’s currency wars
As China once again devalues its currency, the yuan, we look at the fallout on emerging markets like South Africa.
In a move that has unsettled global financial markets, China has devalued its currency once again sparking fears of a global currency war.
The Chinese central bank engineered a small devaluation of the yuan on Tuesday in a move analysts said would keep its products competitive with weaker exchange rates.
But as it manipulates its currency to eke out an economic advantage for its exports, other countries are beginning to feel the pressure.
And with commodity prices falling due to waning demand from China, emerging markets are being the hardest hit. Commodity exporters like Brazil, Indonesia and Malaysia have seen their currencies hit multi-year lows as the price of oil and raw materials slump.
Sim Tshabalala, the co-CEO of Standard Bank, joins Counting the Cost to discuss the currency war and the economic fallout on nations like South Africa.
Show me the money
Despite being one of the world’s largest oil producers, rampant corruption and mismanagement has left many Nigerians wondering where most of the wealth has gone.
The country’s newly-elected President, Muhammadu Buhari, has ledged to fight corruption and is investigating claims by the former head of the Central Bank that $20bn of oil revenue went missing from the state oil company.
A report by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says the national oil company should refund $4.3bn to the government.
But it is not just the oil industry that is plagued with corruption.
On a recent visit to Washington, Buhari sought US President Barack Obama’s help in retrieving $150bn stolen by corrupt former officials and held in foreign bank accounts.
Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, the executive secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), joins the programme to talk about Buhari’s efforts to fight corruption.
Singapore at 50: What lies ahead?
Singapore’s rise from colonial backwater to one of the richest nations in the world makes it the envy of those nations that strive for the same success.
As the Island city state celebrates 50 years of independence, the next five deacdes could be a greater challenge as it combats a falling birth rate and soaring property prices.
The ruling People’s Action Party may call for an election as early as next month in an attempt to capitalise on the celebrations.
Simon Baptist, regional director at the Economist Intelligence Unit, discusses the big challenges facing Singapore.