Business round up

RDB targets rapid economic growth Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said it will track economic growth, this year, through increased local and foreign investment into the country Last year, RDB attracted 105 investment projects worth $381m from both local and foreign investors. For this year; it set a target of $550m. Reports from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indciate that the country`s economy is likely to grow by 8.5 percent this year despite the fact that it requires additional investment of between $200-300m or 4-8 percent of GDP annually.John Gara, RDB’s Chief Executive Officer, said that last year, RDB completed its restructuring, which strengthens its ability to deliver on its mission to fast track economic growth. Gara said the new structure resulted in five economic cluster departments focusing on Rwanda’s priority sectors, as well as new supporting divisions, including a strategy and competitiveness unit. Fina Bank to open more branches Fina Bank Rwanda said it will open up six more branches by the end of this yearThe Bank’s Acting Managing Director, Rao G. Balivada, said that 12 locations have so far been identified where more branches will be opened. He said that out of the 12, 6 branches will open this year. He added that one branch will be opened in Kigali while the five will be up country. Balivada said this will help to bring the bank`s services closer to customers. The official was launching a new service called Insurance Premium Finance dubbed ‘FINA IPF’The new product will facilitate both individuals and businesses that need to make installment payments to meet their insurance needs. Hilton Hotels to invest Rwf17.9b in Rwanda Rwandan Development Board (RDB) said Hilton Hotels plans to open a 160 room 4 star hotel in Kigali upon completion of registration of US$30 million (Rwf17.85 billion) investment.This will see Opulent Hotel Group build luxury apartments alongside the hotel on 20 acres of land (Kigali City Park) through a partnership with Hilton Hotels Corporation in Africa. RDB said the hotel is expected to be opened in 2012 adding that this will help to meet the increasing demand for high quality hotel accommodation in the city as the country plans to become a conference and regional business hub. Gara said that the hotel`s investment is a great vote of confidence in Kigali. He added that this also shows that people are increasingly looking to Rwanda as a place to come to invest in and to do business. BNR Maintains Low Policy Rate to Boost Economic Growth The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) said it will maintain the 6 percent lending rate set in November last year to further stimulate lending to the economy and support economic growth. Francois Kanimba, BNR Governor, said that this will enable banks to look for investment opportunities. Kinimba was lunching the Bank’s Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement. He said that when inflationary pressures are under control, the BNR policy rate will be maintained at low levels to reduce incentives for banks to invest in money market instruments. He particularly emphasised that there is need for banks to increase lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which continue to experience limited access to funding. Traders Cautioned On Speculative Food Pricing As a measure towards controlling foodstuffs princes, the Ministry of Trade and Industry plans to introduce anti-hoarding measures. The Minister in charge of the Ministry, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, said that some traders might be holding up on their items, a scenario she said creates scarcity on the market and consequently pushes commodity prices up. Nsanzabaganwa said that food prices depend on either when traders decide to hold their products to overcharge or when they charge high margins instead of working hard to increase sales.The Minster paid a surprise visit in the four markets of Nyabugogo, Kimironko, Kicukiro and Kimisagara upon reports of foodstuff price increase as some were raised by 100 percent.Rwanda’s trade in EAC doubles The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) said that Rwanda`s total trade with East African partner states more than doubled between 2006 and 2010. It said that it rose to $600 million from $278.François Kanimba, BNR Governor, said that total exports under cross-border trade amounted to $48.93m in 2010, up by 25 percent from $46.58m in 2009 as regards a survey done by both the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR)Kanimba said that the country benefited from improved terms of trade following the worldwide decline of import prices as higher export commodity prices were sustained last year. The Governor told the business community that although exports had increased, informal cross- border imports declined by 6.5 percent from $23.51 million to $21.98 million. Design change delays completion of Kigali Convention Complex Kagali Conventional Complex will be completed a year late from the timeframe stipulated due to lack of funds and adjustment in the design. Wang Zheng, Manager Director of Chinese construction company, BCEG in charge of the construction works said that there is need to redesign the project according to Chinese standard and had to wait for approval from Spacial Solutions, the Germany firm that made the original design. He said that when a construction company takes over from another one and adjusts the design, it’s a rule that both agree on the safety of the alterations. Zheng also said that another challenge is lack of capital to complete the project in time and work visa for Chinese laborers. The official said that the center that will comprise of a five-star hotel with 292 rooms, a conference center of international standard with the capacity of 2500 people, and five office buildings is expected complete at the end of 2012. The Kigali Convention Complex is jointly owned by both the Government and Rwanda Investment Group (RIG). Upon completion, Government will own 49 percent stake while RIG and the Social Security Fund of Rwanda (SSFR) will have 51 percent stake. Ends