Global News: China discusses sale of tiktok to musk as one possible option.
CBN introduces diaspora-focused accounts to boost remittances.
Chinese officials are evaluating a potential option that involves Elon Musk acquiring the US operations of Tiktok if the company fails to fend off a controversial ban on the short-video app, according to people familiar with the matter.
Our thoughts
Tiktok US Business has over 100 signups out of America's almost 300M people. We have presently reported about this and the fact that it poses socio-economic and political risk in the united states because of considerations that tik-tok is feeding china with a significant amount of US data .
Tik-tok is supposed to shut down on the 19th of January 2025, the day before the inauguration and they are trying to negotiate their way out of it. However, the Biden administration is saying that they would not make the decision on tik-tok and leave for the Biden administration to sort out.
However, the current thing is they are supposed to shut down or be forced to sell to a US entitiy. The talks around selling to Elon Musk is quite interesting because it almost seems like Elon Musk is the poster boy for free speech, and freedom of expression to do whatever you want to do.
It is something we need to keep an eye on in terms of if it will really be done or if it would be approved. In terms of impact, it is expected that tiktok would go as expected, like Twitter(X) has. However, if Elon takes over we would expect that he would bring a little bit of his spice and vibe to that platform but then it would be a US company which ticks the boxes which the regulators are trying to tick, in terms of safety for the country as a whole.
It's one of those wait and see things but interesting to see how this unfolds especially after president trump gets signed in.
African News: Kenya to offer diaspora bonds
Ethiopia just hit a major milestone in its economic journey by launching its first stock exchange in nearly 50 years! On Friday, January 10, 2025, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially opened the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX), and it’s being called a game-changer for the country’s financial future.
Our thoughts
This is good news for Ethiopia as a country. Any time a country sets up a stock exchange, the advantage to the nation is that it opens up the nation's economy and business to fresh inflow of capital.
A stock exchange is basically an essential market where people can buy and sell companies, either companies alone or company's debt or equity. So a stock market is an open market for capital. Without a stock exchange, what happens is that as an external party, or as a foreign investor, for you to actually come into the country, in this case, Ethiopia, to invest in a company, your due diligence must be very detailed. You would need to do a lot of work. Why? Because there's no minimum standard.
It will be each company stand alone but when you have a stock exchange, before a company qualifies to be listed on the exchange or to have it's assets like its bonds or its instruments listed on the exchange, they must meet a minimum regulatory requirement. That brings a certain standard. Any investor coming in would understand that at least you have crossed a minimum standard and we can now start investing.
Even though I know that the company is good, legitimate and growing, the only way I can exit a company that is private is by finding another buyer who could be anywhere in the world. With the stock market and the stock exchange , at any point in time, there is a market marker or someone responsible for quoting prices of a certain company. This means that as an individual if I buy into the company in the exchange, at some point I would be able to sell.
It is important to know that because the stock market is just starting, it is expected that it would be less liquid that a Nigerian stock market that has been here for years because even traders and stock brokers would just be getting used to showing prices and being active in certain stocks but generally, sooner or later liquidity would come into that market if things are done properly and eventually they would have an acting market. Summary: This is good for the Ethiopian economy as a whole and we are here for it.
Nigerian News: CBN introduces diaspora-focused accounts to boost remittances.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced the introduction of two new financial products designed to serve Nigerians living abroad. The Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account and the Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account were unveiled in a circular dated January 10, 2025, issued by the Trade and Exchange Department of the apex bank.
Our thoughts
One advantage of this product is for people who are Nigerians but haven't been in the country for a while and do not have the necessary information, data or documents to open a regular account.
However, the question is how much do they expect to come into those accounts and would they say it wil be applied for the purposes that the government is trying to suggest.
The fact still remains that to wire money USD into Nigeria, I must be confident that when it's time to take the USD back, especially as I am not resident in Nigeria, the exchange rate won't have moved against me significantly. But when it comes to spending which is funding people, charity work and supporting individuals, this might just be an easier way for people to fund their accounts and transfer or pay whoever they just want to.
However, it has no impact on the investment drive that the central bank is trying to push. We also would like to see how well it will be implemented and adopted by non-resident Nigerians as there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the trust level for the government in Nigeria.
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