The Middle East and Africa (MEA) tablet market continues to decline in the face of cannibalisation from larger-screen-size smartphones.

According to the latest Middle East and Africa Quarterly Tablet Tracker from International Data Corporation (IDC), tablet shipments in MEA dropped 10.1% in the third quarter of the year (Q3 2016) when compared with the same period in 2015.

While shipments were down year on year to 3.85 million units, this still marked an improvement on the 3.52 million units shipped in Q2 2016.

“Smartphones with large screen sizes meet most needs of today’s consumers, who are slowly moving their tasks to these devices,” says Fouad Rafiq Charakla, Senior Research Manager for Client Devices at IDC MEA.

“The continuation of low crude oil prices in the Middle East and currency shortages in several African countries are compounding the problem, eventually leading to weaker consumer sentiment.”

Samsung continued to lead the MEA tablet market in Q3 2016 with 17.6% share, despite the vendor’s reduced focus on the category leading to a 34.3% year-on-year decline in its shipments. Lenovo maintained second position with 13.5% share, up from 12.9% in the previous quarter but down 6.8% on Q3 2015. Huawei followed just behind in third place after increasing its focus on tablets in the region. This resulted in year-on-year growth of 102.8% for 13.5% share. Apple finished fourth with 7.9% share, reflecting a year-on-year decline of 34.6% in shipments, while local vendor i-Life took fifth position with 5.5% share, its success stemming from the popularity of its low-priced consumer products.

“Demand for tablets in MEA is primarily being driven by entry-level slate models,” says Nakul Dogra, Senior Research Analyst for Client Devices at IDC MEA.

“This category offers quite low margins, so the focus on tablets from the supply side is also declining. Many vendors have cut their tablet lineups accordingly, and there don’t appear to be any exciting or innovative developments on the immediate horizon to spur purchases in the tablet space.”

“It’s worth nothing that with little difference between older and newer generation tablets, consumers are typically content with their existing hardware and subsequently holding onto it for a longer period of time,” continues Dogra.

“Free operating system updates ensure that these tablets remain essentially as good as new, so there is little or no motivation for consumers to replace their current devices.”

IDC has revised its overall forecast for 2016 downwards, with 14.49 million units now expected to be shipped for the year. This is down from the previous forecast of 15.07 million units and represents a year-on-year decline of 7.5%. The main factor behind this revision is the significant reduction in the quantity of tablets expected to be shipped as part of the Digital Literacy School Program in Kenya.

Detachable tablets are gaining traction in the market, and shipments are expected to grow by 147.9% year on year in 2016, driven by increasing demand from consumers and the education sector. “Detachable tablets are typically better suited for education purposes than traditional tablets, as these devices are primarily based on the Windows operating system,” says Charakla.

“As such, they can smoothly run the Microsoft Office applications typically required by the education sector. There are also numerous low-cost options with this form factor, which is ideal for large education deals where budgets are tight.”

IDC’s Middle East and Africa Quarterly Tablet Tracker provides insightful analysis of key market developments, covering vendors, operating systems, screen sizes, user segments and distribution channels, quarterly market share data, and a comprehensive 5–8 quarter and five-year forecast.

Nigeria plans to sell N20 billion ($63 million) of green bonds in the first half of 2017 to finance renewable energy projects, Bloomberg reported on December 9, citing official sources.

“We are on track to sell the bond in the first quarter, a sovereign, and could have another by the end of the year,”Environment Minister Amina Mohammed said. “The sale will also help fund an electric-vehicle commuter project in the city and tree-planting in the country’s arid north,” she added.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, needs more than six trillion naira, the equivalent of its annual budget, to overcome its infrastructure deficit, according to data from the Budget and National Planning Ministry.

The government directed a third of the 2016 State budget to infrastructure projects in order to plug this deficit and revive its economy which should contract by 1.7% this year.

Investment firm, Tana Africa Capital sold its 25% stake in agrofood group, Promisador to Japanese Ajinomoto Co. for $399 million.

In a statement reported by Africa Capital Digest, Duncan Randall, Tana Africa’s Managing Director said:

“Tana Africa Capital and its shareholders have enjoyed a positive, decade long relationship with the Promasidor Group…We have highly valued the collaborative and constructive partnership that we have enjoyed with Promasidor over all these years”.

Tana Africa Capital said on its website it plans, under its strategy, to invest $20-$75 million to buy minority stakes in companies that are already well established in their markets. If it successfully achieves this, the company which is the product of a JV between family investment group Ernest Oppenheimer & Son and Singapore sovereign fund Temasek, would generate a plus-value of $324 million.

The sale also falls in line with Ajinomoto Co’s strategy to acquire 33% of Promisador. The latter is present in nine African nations and sells its products in 33 countries of the region. In 2015, it generated a turnover of $673 million.

After posting annual declines for six quarters in succession, the Middle East and Africa (MEA) PC market finally exited the third quarter of 2016 close to flat, with year-on-year growth of 0.4% based on shipments of 3 million units, according to global technology research and consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

Desktop shipments suffered a significant decline of 16.9% to total 1.1 million units, while notebooks shipments grew 14.5% to reach 1.9 million units.

“The recovery witnessed in Turkey, the largest single market in the MEA region, was the biggest contributor towards this growth, due to unusually low shipments in Q3 2015 and a faster-than-expected recovery from the failed military coup,” says Fouad Charakla, Senior Research Manager for client devices at IDC MEA.

“At the same time, some recovery from instability in the North African markets, when compared to last year, also contributed towards PC shipment growth, while deliveries as part of large education deals in the UAE and Kenya were other notable market drivers.”

In addition, Microsoft no longer groups the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with its emerging markets when it comes to setting prices for its operating systems. As such, these countries are now charged slightly more for Windows OS on PCs than was previously the case, which resulted in a few vendors pushing their sell-in orders prior to the change coming into effect. This was one of the factors driving notebook shipments across the six Gulf countries.

The regional PC space continued to consolidate further in terms of market players, with the top five vendors accounting for around 77% of PC shipments during Q3 2016, compared to around 67.5% for the same quarter last year. Market share rankings for the top five vendors in the region also remained unchanged compared to the previous quarter, with all five maintaining their respective positions. Meanwhile, local assemblers continue to lose market share due to stiff competition from refurbished PCs and aggressively priced notebooks from multinational brands.

HP recorded significant growth both quarter on quarter and year on year in Q3 2016, accounting for the highest market share ever secured by a single PC vendor over the past decade. Lenovo maintained its position at number two; a large delivery in the UAE education sector helped the vendor boost its position in the overall commercial segment. Dell’s shipments declined year on year in each of the vendor’s three biggest country markets – South Africa, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Asus was the fastest growing vendor in the region, while Acer also recorded some shipment growth.

“IDC’s forecast for the MEA PC market has been revised downwards owing to a range of factors that are expected to cause the regional PC market to decline over the coming two quarters,” says Charakla.

“These vary from country to country, but primarily include currency issues, which are affecting key markets such as Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa, and the constriction of government initiatives caused by low crude oil prices. Such factors are expected to lead to project delays or even cancellations across the GCC, as well as in Nigeria and other African countries.”

With the above-mentioned macroeconomic inhibitors expected to persist beyond this year, IDC does not predict any significant overall improvement in PC shipments in 2017. In 2018 and beyond, however, MEA markets are expected to record marginal growth each year until 2020 (the end of the forecast period), primarily stemming from the less mature markets of the region where PC penetration stands at some of the lowest levels – specifically Nigeria, Pakistan, and Egypt. These growth forecasts also depend on these countries gradually and partially recovering from the present economic challenges they face.

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) says it is committed to deepening professionalism among bureaux de change operators in order to engender foreign investors’ confidence in the Nigerian foreign exchange market.
Speaking yesterday at the South West zonal meeting of the Association, ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe said BDC operators should distinct themselves from parallel market operators by rendering efficient services and complying with all regulatory requirements.
He said that while most of the pressure on the Naira is due to problems of liquidity and confidence especially on the part of foreign investors, he averred that professionalism on the part of BDCs will help engender foreign investors’ confidence in the nation’s foreign exchange market.
“ABCON is committed to boosting foreign investors’ confidence in the Nigerian market, as this will help attract the much needed liquidity into the market and reduce pressure on the naira exchange rate”, he said.
“You have to distinct yourselves from parallel market. We are the ones licensed to operate the business but we must prove this by distinguishing ourselves through the way we serve our customers. You know that before now, there were criticisms of BDCs but now we are the new bride of the regulators. To ensure that we sustain the renewed regulatory interest and confidence in BDCs, we have to ensure we comply with the necessary requirement and demonstrate professionalism in the way we do our business. I can tell you that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is even willing to expand our scope of business but this is conditioned to our willingness to increase our level of professionalism.”
Gwadabe advised BDCs not to limit their services to foreign exchange needs for Personal Travel Allowance (PTA).

“Why is everybody just doing PTA when you can do mortgage, school fees, and medical expenses? You can do mortgage, medical and school fees on cash basis provided you don’t exceed $5000, and you ensure all the necessary documentation are provided.”
On the challenges experienced by BDCs in verifying Biometric Verification Numbers (BVNs) and the International Passports of prospective customers,

Gwadabe assured the gathering that the Association has commenced discussions with the management of Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) about providing a dedicated channel for BDCs to very BVNs and International Passports.

He however advised BDCs to be patient and continue to use the available channel to verify BVNs and the International Passports of customers. He said besides BVN verification, BDCs should ensure they deal with people they are familiar with, as this is necessary to ensure compliance with the Know Your Customer (KYC) requirement of the CBN.
Gwadabe disclosed that the Association has set up a surveillance committee to monitor the activities in the BDC sector. He said members of the Association should help facilitate the work of the committee by providing information on any observed malpractice on the part of any operator.

The African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) held its 20th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Sunday 27, November where the election of officers took place.

Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) and Mr. Karim Hajji CEO Casablanca Stock Exchange were re-elected as the President and Deputy President of ASEA respectively.

The re-election of the President and his Deputy follows a term of two (2) years since their first appointment in 2014 in those capacities. The AGM was attended by 16 Member Exchanges and two (2) Associate Members.

Other officers constituting the ASEA Executive Committee for the next 2 year term include, Mr. Geoffrey O. Odundo, CEO of Nairobi Securities Exchange, Ms. Zeona Jacobs, Director Marketing and Corporate Affairs Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), Mr. Edoh Kossi Amenounve, CEO Bourse Regionale des Valeures Mobilieres, Mr. Mohammed Omran, CEO Egyptian Exchange, Mr. Thapelo Tsheole, CEO Botswana Stock Exchange and Mr. Pierre Ekoule, CEO Douala Stock Exchange.

Onyema thanked the Association for the support he had received during his past tenure as President of the Association and for entrusting him with the leadership of ASEA for yet another term.

“I am grateful to my fellow Executive Committee Members, for the support and dedication shown to me and to ASEA. I humbly accept this new challenge and I look forward to further delivering on the promise of the Association in the two (2) years ahead;” he noted.

The Deputy President of ASEA, Mr. Hajji remarked that, “a lot of good work has been done by the Executive Committee, the Members and the Secretariat of ASEA in the last two (2) years and I look forward to the next two (2) years in propelling ASEA forward.”

The official opening of the 20th Annual ASEA Conference kicked off on November 28, 2016 at the Serena Hotel, in Kigali.

The Conference themed; Road to 2030: Making the Capital Markets Relevant to the Real Economy” will seek to address the direct impact of the stock market on the livelihood of the African citizens.

In his opening remarks during the officiating ceremony, Onyema noted that “The theme of this year’s Conference couldn’t be timelier in light of the prevailing economic headwinds; it provides us with an opportunity to deliberate on the appropriate responses to the challenges facing us as African economies.”