The Editorial Team |

Africa’s Largest Wireless Carrier MTN to Sell Middle East Units

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — MTN Group Ltd. plans to exit the Middle East as Africa’s biggest wireless carrier changes focus to its home continent. The Middle East “environment is becoming increasingly complex and it contributes less to the group’s earnings,” Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter said on a call with reporters Thursday. The disposals will be done in a phased manner, with its three consolidated subsidiaries in Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria earmarked to be sold…

US Fed Is Headed for a Clash With Hedge Funds, Other Shadow Banks

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Federal Reserve and other central banks are heading for a collision with shadow lenders — the firms with a sinister nickname that are increasingly dominating global finance. Even as policymakers struggle to reopen their economies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, they’ve launched a review of what went wrong with markets in March, when a worldwide dash for cash by investors nearly crashed the financial system and…

Rebound Hangs in Balance for Emerging Markets as Headwinds Grow

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Emerging-market stocks and currencies are within touching distance of erasing their pandemic-fueled losses of 2020. Too bad the virus is still running riot, economies are shrinking and central banks are getting low on firepower. In fact, the backdrop is so grim that investors may soon start to take the view that prices are starting to defy gravity. After falling more than 30% by March, developing-nation stocks as measured by…

Angola Eurobonds Fall Most in Three Weeks on IMF Lending Concern

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LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Angola’s Eurobonds fell the most in three weeks as a postponed International Monetary Fund meeting raised concern that the southern African nation may face obstacles to obtaining a bigger loan from the institution. The IMF executive board meeting, which had been scheduled for Thursday, was delayed to give the fund more time to work with Angolan authorities, a spokesperson for the Washington-based organization said, without providing more details. The…

S&P Holds DR Congo Rating at CCC+, Lowers Outlook to Stable

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DR CONGO (Capital Markets in Africa) — S&P Global Ratings held Democratic Republic of Congo’s long-term foreign-currency debt rating at CCC+ and lowered its outlook to stable from positive amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Emergency foreign assistance should help balance out the worst effects of the virus on Congo’s economy, which could rebound if copper and cobalt demand and production increase as expected, the ratings agency said Friday on its website. “DRC’s economic…

South African Lockdown Tax Loss Exceeds Value of Two Virus Loans

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — South Africa lost more in tax revenue in the first three-and-half months of its fiscal year than it borrowed from the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Bank combined. A lockdown that initially shuttered almost all economic activity led to an under-recovery of 82 billion rand ($4.8 billion) for the fiscal year through July 15, South African Revenue Service Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said Friday in an interview. Lockdown rules and allowances to…

South Africa’s Long Road Back From Meltdown

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — Even before the pandemic struck, South Africa was in a parlous state. Jacob Zuma’s disastrous nine-year rule left a toxic legacy of endemic graft, soaring government debt, and evaporating investor confidence. President Cyril Ramaphosa has made only stuttering progress since he succeeded Zuma in 2018, replacing some inept and corrupt officials, but has struggled to ignite economic growth or tackle rampant unemployment. The arrival of Covid-19 has compounded South…

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