Steinhoff, extended for a second time on Wednesdaythe "early bird fee" deadline for creditors to sign a three-year agreement to hold off their debt claims, as the scandal-hit South African retailer battles to stay afloat, Nasdaq reported. Steinhoff wants to restructure its roughly nine billion euro debt after disclosing holes in its balance sheet that wiped more than 90 percent off its market value and forced it into asset sales to fund working capital.

Rivers State Internal Revenue Service, RSIRS, has again sealed off the Port Harcourt head-office of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, over alleged tax liabilities, disrupting activities at the commission, yesterday. The state government had in April picketed the commission for allegedly owing her withholding tax estimated at over N600 million according to the RSIRS chairman, Adoage Norteh, but the tax body had backed down after a settlement understanding was reached between parties, Vanguard reported.

Zambia has seen ‘unprecedented infrastructure’ development in the last six years but at what cost to the economy? In Zambia’s past, debt has been a millstone which has held the country back. The current situation of rising fiscal deficits and public debt coupled with increased spending and flat revenues is a recipe for economic disaster. In recent years, public debt is once again rising at a significant pace, The Mast reported. Maintenance of debt sustainability will remain pivotal in the rebalancing of the Zambian economy.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV began seeking sign-off from lenders for a debt restructuring plan that will support the South African retailer’s balance sheet for three years and prevent a potential collapse, Bloomberg News reported. The owner of chains including Mattress Firm in the U.S. and Conforama in France has been negotiating for months with creditor groups represented by financial advisers FTI Consulting, Houlihan Lokey Inc. and PJT Partners Inc. to reach an agreement on a way to postpone the repayment of borrowings.

ARM Cement Ltd. of Kenya has yet to reach an agreement with the International Finance Corp. about a capital injection in the struggling Kenyan company, Chief Executive Officer Pradeep Paunrana said. Business Daily, a Kenyan newspaper, reported Wednesday that the IFC had agreed to take over $120 million in loans in a bid to settle ARM’s more expensive debt, Bloomberg News reported.

A reluctance by banks in Ghana to lend is threatening to stall one of Africa’s fastest expanding economies, Bloomberg News reported. With almost a quarter of all outstanding loans in the country at risk of not being repaid, credit granted to the private sector is increasing at nearly the slowest pace in four years. At stake is the 6.8 percent growth that the government is hoping to achieve to boost revenue and narrow its budget deficit.

South African Airways pledged to urgently begin a search for a private-sector partner to help turn around the troubled state-owned carrier and ease the burden on an already stretched National Treasury. The assurance followed an attempt by the Solidarity union to end SAA’s reliance on state funding and push the airline into business rescue. The carrier hasn’t made a profit since 2011 and last year needed a bailout to avoid a default on borrowings, Bloomberg News reported.

Banks expect loan default rates to increase on the account of a volatile economic environment characterised by a weak shilling and rising inflationary pressures, according to the Bank Lending Survey Report released last week. According to the 2017/18 fourth quarter report compiled by Bank of Uganda, businesses that hold dollar denominated loans are likely to default because of persistent depreciation of the shilling against the dollar, AllAfrica reported. The shilling has depreciated by more than 7 per cent since the beginning of the year and is projected to weaken further.

The proprietor of Jack and Jill supermarket in Nairobi Ahmed Noorani has been told to wait longer before taking any action against a businessman who owes him Sh167 million, The Standard reported. High Court judge Francis Tuiyot said Friday businessman Rajendra Sanghani's insolvency case must be determined before Noorani can take actions. Sanghani owes Noorani Sh167, 270,500 as the balance for a Sh477,100,000 unsecured loan advanced between August 1, 2012 and April 26, 2018. He filed for restructuring at the High Court and sought interim orders under Section 304 of the Insolvency Act.

The highest court in the country has sent the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development back to the drawing board regarding a policy which is aimed at transforming the appointment of insolvency practitioners to redress past injustices, TimesLIVE reported. A majority judgment by the Constitutional Court‚ written by Justice Chris Jafta‚ was delivered on Thursday and ruled that the policy was flawed.