The Central Bank of Nigeria said that the country’s GDP growth moderated in the first quarter of the year. The bank attributed the lower growth rate of 2.7% to a decline in oil production. Nigeria ’s oil production has declined by an estimated 20 to 25% due to ongoing violence by militant groups in the Niger Delta.
China recorded a monthly trade surplus of $13 billion in May, an increase of nearly 44% year-on-year. China's international trade during May increased 23.6% year-on-year to $133.2 billion, with exports up 25.1% and imports up 21.7%. The EU remains China's largest trading partner with the bilateral trade increasing 20.2% to $98.3 billion.
Romania’s last three regional power distributors could all be privatised together, according to the general manager of their parent company Electrica Nicolae Coroiu. The privatisation strategy for Electrica Muntenia Sud, Electrica Transilvania Nord and Electrica Transilvania Sud will be drafted by a consortium of mandated banks, led by Rothschild. Italian firm Enel is set to buy a majority stake in Electrica Muntenia Sud for 820 million euros by the end of July.
Peru's president-elect Alan García disagrees with Bolivian President Evo Morales' nationalization of public service. According to García, public services gain competitiveness if made private. "Our rates could be improved through regulation, renegotiation or through more active competition," he said. Nationalizations undertaken in Bolivia by Morales were a mistake, "excluding some exceptional cases,” he added.