The Hot Spots That Defined a Year of Emerging-Market Ebullience

The Hot Spots That Defined a Year of Emerging-Market Ebullience

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – 2017 is set to go down as the year when easy monetary policy and budding global growth came together to deliver blockbuster returns for the world’s emerging markets. Currencies and stocks in developing economies are on track for their biggest rallies in eight years as even the riskiest markets shrug off crises and threats to deliver gains for investors. Bonds, too, have had a good run, with local-currency emerging-market debt returning the most since…

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Nigerian Insurance Industry: Overview, Challenges and Opportunities

Nigerian Insurance Industry: Overview, Challenges and Opportunities

Despite the lingering apathy for Insurance by the Nigerian populace, driven largely by cultural & religious beliefs, the Industry remains resilient, recording a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% in gross premium Income (GPI) since 2012. In 2016, the Industry’s GPI grew by an estimated 10% to ₦356 billion[1]. Growth was upheld by the enforcement of compulsory insurance policies, particularly in the group life and motor insurance business lines. However, the Industry’s performance was…

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Foreigners Lapping Up Egypt’s Growing Supply of Cheap Debt

Foreigners Lapping Up Egypt’s Growing Supply of Cheap Debt

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – A flood of new issuance is offsetting foreign-investor demand for Egyptian debt, keeping yields among the highest in emerging markets. Offshore investors boosted holdings of government Treasury bills to 79 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) as of April 4, compared with less than 1 billion pounds before a currency devaluation in November, according to Finance Ministry data. Government borrowing is already 11 percent higher than the target this year, and…

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Kenya’s market regulator grants listing approval for first ETF

Kenya’s market regulator grants listing approval for first ETF

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s market regulator has allowed the listing of the country’s first-ever Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which will track the price of gold, the regulator said on Friday. The Nairobi Securities Exchange has been investing in new infrastructure to include trading of new products like ETFs, to diversify from equities and bonds, its chief executive Geoffrey Odundo, told Reuters last November. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) said in a statement…

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How African Equities and Currencies feared in 2016

How African Equities and Currencies feared in 2016

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) -African equity markets settled in the South Pole 2016 was a difficult year for African markets, each in varying degrees. Most of the African equity index ended in negative zone at the end of 2016, with six positive growths and twelve negative returns on a local currency basis. The performance was more disheartening on a US-dollar adjusted basis, with just four equity markets produced a positive return and average return across markets…

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Actis sells remaining stake in Umeme via capital markets offering

Actis sells remaining stake in Umeme via capital markets offering

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Actis, a leading growth markets investor, today announced a full exit of its remaining 14.3% stake in Uganda’s principal electricity distribution and supply business, Umeme Ltd, via the Ugandan and Kenyan capital markets. Actis originally invested in Umeme when it was privatised in 2005 and has now fully exited its stake following a planned phasing of the process. In November 2012, UHL sold 39.9% of its stake in Umeme…

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Nigerian Equity Markets | 23 Nov 2016: Bulls Creep into The Market … NSE ASI up 21bps

Nigerian Equity Markets | 23 Nov 2016: Bulls Creep into The Market … NSE ASI up 21bps

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The hunt for a bargain in value counters halted the erstwhile unrelenting negative performance of the benchmark index as the NSEASI gained 21bps to close at 25,517.00 points at the end of the trade. Accordingly, market capitalization advanced by N19.2bn to settle at N8.8tn. Today’s positive performance was largely as a result of bargain hunting in NESTLE (+1.3%), GUARANTY (+1.2%), PZ (+4.9%) and NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+0.2%). Market activity was…

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