EGYPT
New law to halt contract strife
Egypt’s draft investment law contained provisions to prevent third parties from challenging contracts made between the government and an investor, a cabinet source said yesterday, a move designed to attract investment. The clauses were to reassure investors unnerved by previous legal challenges to deals, some of which have left firms sold by the government in legal limbo. Since the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011, courts have issued at least 11 rulings ordering the state to reverse deals signed by the former president’s administration. – Reuters
NIGERIA
Naira falls after Sanusi silenced
The naira fell 0.5 percent yesterday while yields on government debt were stable, as offshore investors remained on the sidelines and dealers said turbulence at the central bank had been priced in locally. The currency has been under heavy selling pressure since President Goodluck Jonathan suspended central bank governor Lamido Sanusi on Thursday, removing a critic of the government’s record on tackling corruption. Dealers said the panic was subsiding, especially since the central bank had shown willingness to prop up the currency. – Reuters