KIGALI -- The unemployment rate in Rwanda dropped to 16 percent in August, attributable to a further reopening of the economy from restrictive measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, official figures showed Wednesday.

The number of people in gainful employment rose from 3,199,104 in May to 3,667,611 in August, said a report from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. (Rwanda-Unemployment-COVID-19)

- - - -

BRUSSELS -- The European Commission has issued its first social bonds on behalf of the European Union (EU) as a fundraiser to help its member states to protect jobs against the economic impacts of the COVID-19, it said Wednesday.

The EU is sparing no efforts to safeguard livelihoods in Europe, providing financial support under "European instrument for temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE)" to countries hit badly by the crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. (EU-Bonds-COVID-19)

- - - -

NEW DELHI -- India's federal government Wednesday announced around 507.7 million U.S. dollars as bonus to over 3 million non-gazetted employees with a view to encourage spending during the upcoming festival season.

The decision to give bonus was taken at the meeting of the union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, federal minister for information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said. (India-Bonus)

- - - -

NAIROBI -- Kenya is considering a number of legal reforms in order to attract both foreign and domestic pension funds to invest in infrastructure projects, a government official said on Wednesday.

Julius Muia principal secretary, National Treasury told a virtual meeting that the government is keen to tap on private sector resources in order to close the infrastructure funding gap. (Kenya-Pension-Infrastructure)

- - - -

WINDHOEK -- Namibia's domestic economy is projected to contract by 7.8 percent in 2020 before a moderate recovery of 2.1 percent in 2021, central government governor Johannes Gawaxab said on Wednesday.

The contraction was mainly reflected in sectors such as mining, manufacturing, tourism, wholesale and retail trade as well as transport and storage, he said, citing data from the first eight months of the year. (Namibia-Economy)

- - - -

BEIJING -- China will continue to pursue a prudent monetary policy and financial policies that have been proven effective in mitigating the COVID-19 economic shocks, the country's central bank governor said Wednesday.

China will continue to implement and perfect the financial measures that have effectively reduced the impacts of COVID-19 on the economy and extend sustained support to micro and small businesses, the job market as well as green development, said Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China, at the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2020. (China-Economy-PBOC) Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)