The Editorial Team |

Ethiopia May Widen Debt Talks to Private Creditors After Review

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ethiopia may approach private creditors for debt talks after it reviews liabilities with official lenders amid security risks that are adding to investors’ worries. The nation’s Eurobonds plunged the most on record last week after State Minister of Finance Eyob Tekalign said the government will seek to restructure its external debt under a Group of 20 debt-suspension program. With no details on how the decision would affect holders…

Libor’s Endgame in U.S. Requires Urgent Preparation: Tom Wipf

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — With many headlines competing for the financial world’s attention already this year, it would be easy to overlook one of the most significant changes that will take place in 2021: the end of Libor in new contracts. Once dubbed “the world’s most important number,” Libor is a benchmark interest rate with mind-boggling reach, impacting trillions of dollars in business loans, student loans, mortgages and more. Although Libor’s use is pervasive,…

Kenya Seeks More Debt Suspension After $600 Million Relief

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) — Kenya received debt repayment suspensions for a total of $600 million from China and the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and has requested the Group of 20 to consider a similar freeze for amounts expected after June, according to the central bank. The amount suspended was due in the first half of 2020 and will be repaid over five years, Governor Patrick Njoroge told reporters in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi….

Swedish Fund’s Fading Nigeria Bet Shows Another Foreign Exit

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Tundra Fonder AB’s Sustainable Frontier Fund has cut its holdings of Nigerian stocks by more than half within a year in another sign that foreign investors have lost patience with the government’s handling of the economy. The Stockholm-based money manager’s fund had a 7% weighting in Lagos-traded bank stocks as of December, down from 15% in January 2020, a monthly statement shows. After being among the top three countries…

Nigeria’s Addiction to Central Bank Money Seen Hard to Cure

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Nigerian government has become dependent on central-bank borrowing and will struggle to wean itself off the copious money printing that has raised concerns about the health of Africa’s largest economy, according to market observers. After revenue collapsed during the oil shock of 2015, Africa’s biggest crude producer turned to the central bank, borrowing about a third of its debt from the apex lender to cover a budget deficit…

Why the Mutated Coronavirus Variants Are So Worrisome: QuickTake

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Viruses mutate all the time, including the novel coronavirus that’s caused the global Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the changes have no apparent effect. But recent variants that have emerged in the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil are causing particular concern. Studies suggest they are more contagious, and some evidence points to the U.K. strain being more deadly. An increase in infections has led to a surge in hospitalizations and…

How Vaccine Nationalism Flares Over Scarce Supplies

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa): Early agreements to purchase Covid-19 vaccines are beginning to pay off for the likes of Britain, the U.S., and Canada, but much of the world is waiting. Tempers are flaring over scarce supplies of the shots, with the European Union set to tighten rules on the export of vaccines in a move that risks a global protectionist battle between countries. And although there are ambitious efforts to ensure that the…

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