6 •
The Lion King
• October - December 2015
S
o 2016 is here. What
does it hold for us?
Every year comes with
its surprises, but we do not
want you to be too surprised.
Looking through a crystal
ball, we have in this
article identified 16 of the
most significant things
that will happen in 2016
across different sectors;
economy, politics, scientific
breakthroughs, technology,
sports and movies.
16bigthingsthat
will happen in 2016
By Anthony Osae-Brown
Economy
1.
Currency crisis
Expect many African countries to
struggle with their currencies in 2016.
A fed policy rate hike in December
2015 will likely lead to a reverse flow of
foreign direct investment and portfolio
investors out of African markets, and
a stronger dollar which will put further
pressure on already suffering African
currencies. Cash strapped African
governments will also find it more
expensive to borrow in the interna-
tional capital markets, which will force
many of them to turn to domestic bor-
rowing or be forced to cut down on
government expenditure plans.
2.
Oil glut
There is going to be an oil glut in
the international markets that will
impact negatively on many com-
modity dependent Africa economies,
especially Nigeria, Africa’s biggest
economy. With Iran returning to the
oil market, Iraq ramping production
and Saudi Arabia disposed to produc-
ing at maximum capacity, many oil
dependent African countries pressed
for cash to pursue developmental
projects as crude oil price is likely
to remain in the $25 to $45 range in
2016. Oil companies will cut explora-
tion budgets resulting in continuous
job layoffs in the sector as well as in oil
service companies.
Sports
3.
Euro 2016 will hold in
France
The
2016
European
Football
Championship will be hosted by
France between June 10 and July
10, 2016. This year, the tournament is
expanded in size from 16 to 24 teams.
This format generates a total of 51
games, compared with 31 prior to
2016, played over a period of 29 days.
4.
FIFA will have new
President that is not Sepp
Blatter
Since 1998, Sepp Blatter has been the
face of FIFA until various allegations of
corruption at the organization led to
his removal on October 8, 2015. An
extraordinary FIFA congress will hold
February 26, 2016 in Zurich to pick a
new president for the organization.
This will have implications on how the
world’s most popular sports is man-
aged and organized going forward.
5.
2016 Olympics and Summer
Paralympics will hold in
Brazil
Brazil’s capital Rio de Janeiro will
become the first South American city
to host an Olympic event, which opens
on August 5, 2016 and finishes on
August 21, 2016. Summer Paralympics
will also hold in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
a few days after the main Olympic
event, from September 7 –18. If you
have holiday plans, you should per-
haps be looking at Rio.
