The Editorial Team |

Kenya’s Centum pursuing sales to fund power, real estate deals

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s Centum Investment is working on selling its stakes in several firms to fund new investments in power plants, real estate and other areas, its chief executive said. James Mworia told the Reuters Africa Investment Summit the company, whose market value has jumped seven-fold over the last five years to 40 billion shillings ($438 million), was targeting new investments that would maintain growth momentum. He did not mention what the sales were,…

Morocco’s outlook improves, external risks remain

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The International Monetary Fund projected Morocco’s real GDP growth to rebound to 4.4% in 2015 from 2.9% in 2014, supported by improved external demand, strengthened domestic confidence and normalized agricultural output. It expected real GDP growth to average more than 5% annually over the medium term, reflecting the ongoing modernization of the agriculture sector, the continued expansion of Moroccan firms in new markets, the growing importance of newly developed sectors, as well as higher investment…

Angola’s central bank leaves key interest rate unchanged at 9.0 pct

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Angola’s central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 9.0 percent on Friday, saying this was the appropriate measure to maintain price stability, and taking into account the economic outlook. The Bank of Angola has kept the rate unchanged in Africa’s second-biggest oil producer since raising it by 25 basis points in October last year

Corporate debt maturing in 2015-19 totals $8.9 trillion

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Standard & Poor’s projected that $8,879bn in corporate debt worldwide would mature between 2015 and 2019, with $1,610bn due in 2015, $1,753bn in 2016, $1,894bn in 2017, $1,714bn in 2018 and $1,908bn in 2019. The U.S. has $3,700bn in maturing debt during the covered period or 41.7% of the global maturing debt; followed by Europe with $3,631bn (40.9%), other developed countries with $969bn (10.9%) and emerging markets with $578bn (6.5%). In addition, non-financial corporate debt…

Nigeria’s bank ratings placed on CreditWatch negative

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Standard & Poor’s placed the ‘BB-‘ long-term issuer credit rating on Access Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank and Zenith Bank on CreditWatch with negative implications, following similar action on Nigeria’s sovereign ratings. It expected the Nigerian banking sector to face difficulties in 2015. Also, it said that low global oil prices, the pressure on the Nigerian naira, the upcoming presidential elections and the regulatory changes are raising credit risks,…

Nigeria’s external shocks raise economic vulnerabilities

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Merrill Lynch projected Nigeria’s real GDP growth to decelerate to 3.5% in 2015 from an average annual growth rate of 5% between 2011 and 2014, due to the large terms of trade shock that has resulted from lower global oil prices. It said that the depreciation of the Nigerian naira would increase inflationary pressure and would weigh on domestic consumption that is heavily dependent on imports. In addition, it forecast the inflation rate to average…

Egypt’s Banks to benefit from improved environment

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Business Monitor International anticipated the Egyptian banking sector to benefit from the continuous improvements in domestic economic activity and political conditions. It said that reforms to the fuel subsidy system, in addition to lower global oil prices, would improve the fiscal outlook and reduce the financing needs of the government, which would encourage lending to the private sector. Further, it indicated that banks in Egypt have subscribed excessively to high-yielding government debt instruments to support…

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