The Macro beat.
Inflation, GDP, the Somali central bank, IMF, sovereign debt, and Fiscal policy.
The Vicarious Rentier
In this piece, we take look at the 2025 GDP report published by the National Bureau of Statistics and share our thoughts on how the report should be interpreted. The National Bureau
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Africa’s yuan turn is a debt story, and Somalia should read it closely
On 26 June, China's central bank authorised two lenders, South Africa's Standard Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, to clear renminbi across Africa, giving African
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Central Bank to overhaul bank credit rules in IMF-backed reform
New reforms would force Somali lenders to recognise loans that fall behind and cap how much they can lend to a single borrower. The Central Bank of Somalia is preparing to overhaul
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Somalia draws its banks into pan-African payments network
The central bank has gathered the country’s commercial lenders in Mogadishu as it works to connect them to a continental settlement system designed to smooth cross-border trade. The Central Bank
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$45m framework with the Islamic Development Bank signed
Somalia signed a Country Engagement Framework with the Islamic Development Bank on 19 June, at the bank’s 2026 annual meetings in Baku, Azerbaijan. The framework covers 2026 to 2028 and carries
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Somalia’s fiscal discipline, three years on
At the end of the first quarter of 2026, Somalia’s public debt stood at $1.47bn, all of it external. The stock has remained broadly stable as creditors settle arrears under
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Mogadishu rises in Worldbank port ranking
The 2025 Container Port Performance Index places Somalia’s main gateway above its larger East African neighbours. Mogadishu’s container port recorded its strongest result in six years in the World Bank’
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Somalia faces rising trade costs as Iran War redraws shipping lanes
The Iran war is raising the cost of getting goods into Somalia. The strain is showing in new shipping surcharges, the loss of a carrier’s route to Berbera, and the return
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Somalia to open competitive bidding for oil blocks by year-end
Somalia's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has announced it will open competitive bidding for the country's oil blocks by year's end, the ministry's
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Inflation climbs to 7.8% in the first quarter of 2026
Annual consumer price inflation in Somalia rose through the first quarter of 2026, reaching 7.8% in March from 5.6% in February and 5.4% in January, according to the Somali
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Somalia's budget and the limits of self-financing
When Somalia's Parliament approved the 2025 federal budget in November 2024, it signed off on spending of about USD 1.32 billion. The government expected to raise USD 429 million
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