Africa-Singapore trade on the up and up in the last five years
Trade between Singapore and Africa has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of over 7.6% over the past five years, a senior official said recently. Singapore is among the top 10 investors in Africa, with over 100 Singaporean companies operating across 50 countries in oil and gas, consumer, digital, agri-business and trade sectors. Speaking at a virtual media briefing about the Singapore African Business Forum 2021 edition, Ms Linn Neo, regional director of Enterprise Singapore, said the forum would serve as a platform for holistic engagement between Singapore, Asia and Africa. She also said the forum, which is scheduled to take place from 23 – 27 August 2021, will raise awareness of Africa’s growth opportunities, and promote Singapore as a hub for Asia-Africa trade and investment, among other things. Ms Neo said Singapore had been a long-time development partner in Africa, and both have used their development models to influence manufacturing, sustainable infrastructure, innovations and technology across the continent.
Source: The Citizen
East Africa
Back to drawing board for EA domestic tax harmonisation
East African member states have retreated to the drawing board on the domestic tax harmonisation plan after failing to agree on the uniform tax rules and rates for the six-member economic bloc, casting doubts on the feasibility of several regional integration programmes. The East African Community (EAC) Secretariat said regional Finance ministers are set to meet next month to review the challenges met so far in the process of trying to harmonise value added tax (VAT), excise tax and income tax and set a new roadmap for implementation. “The ministers of Finance will be meeting in September to discuss this among other issues,” the secretariat’s secretary general, Peter Mathuki, told The EastAfrican. “They will review progress and challenges of implementation and develop a roadmap that will inform progress,” added Dr Mathuki. Kenya’s principal secretary in the State Department of EAC Affairs, Kevit Desai, said last-minute attempts are being made to save the process that is fast disintegrating. “This is an uphill task but we are leveraging capacity to salvage it. Kenya looks at it as easing doing business,” said Dr Desai.
Source: The EastAfrican
East Africa
EAC inks Joint Action Plan with India in readiness for Mutual Recognition Agreement to facilitate faster clearance times for accredited traders
Traders […]