The Editorial Team |

Commonwealth Seeks Urgent Freeze on All Developing Nations’ Debt

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Many small, vulnerable states are missing out on debt relief and financial support to help weather damage from the coronavirus pandemic because of outdated eligibility criteria, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said, calling for an “urgent” moratorium on external debt repayments for all developing countries. The rules to qualify for support from bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and for the Group of 20’s debt suspension initiative are based…

Tesla Congo Cobalt Deal Means Millions for Sanctioned Gertler

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Elon Musk may help sanctioned Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler get a little richer. Tesla Inc., the company Musk runs, struck a deal last month with Glencore Plc to buy as much as 6,000 tons of cobalt annually for use in the rechargeable batteries that power its electric vehicles. Glencore, in turn, is obligated to pay Gertler about 2.5% of sales from its mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo – royalty rights he…

Kenya’s Shilling Drops to Record After Virus Restrictions Ease

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NAIROBI(Capital Markets in Africa) — The Kenyan shilling slipped to a record low amid increased corporate demand for dollars following the lifting of some government restrictions aimed at controlling the spread of the coronavirus. The currency of East Africa’s largest economy weakened 0.1% to 107.98 per dollar by 10:15 a.m. in the capital, Nairobi, after earlier breaching 108 for the first time. Should it end the day at that level, it would be its lowest…

Africa Starts to Have Second Thoughts About That Chinese Money

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Dipak Patel can still recall the dizzying grandeur of his 2003 visit to Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People: the rows of stern guards all the same height, the state dinner that included stewed shark fin and bird’s nest soup, and the People’s Liberation Army band playing songs from Patel’s native Zambia—even singing in one of the African country’s scores of dialects. As Zambia’s minister of commerce at…

Trump’s Portland Surge Stokes Tensions and Opens New Legal Clash

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — President Donald Trump is escalating tensions with state and local authorities by seeking to deploy more federal agents into cities gripped by protests and spikes in crime, a policy that appeals to his base ahead of the election but faces legal challenges. Twice in recent days, Trump has said he wants more federal law enforcement officers sent to cities such as Chicago and New York following the dispatch…

A $1 Trillion Glut of Bonds Is Dwarfing Central-Bank Demand

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NEW YORK(Capital Markets in Africa) — The world’s major central banks aren’t purchasing debt fast enough, leaving almost $1 trillion of new sovereign bonds looking for buyers in the months ahead. The flood of fresh debt, sold by governments to fund pandemic-rescue packages, threatens to dwarf central-bank buying and swamp markets in the U.K., Canada and Australia, according to Bloomberg calculations. Policy-maker purchases will also lag issuance in the U.S. and Japan, where a continuing…

Top Mauritian Stock Targets Fresh Insurance Deals in East Africa

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Mauritian insurer MUA Ltd. is looking for more deals in East Africa after an acquisition in Kenya helped to boost its market share in the region’s biggest economy. MUA earlier this month spent $12.3 million buying Saham Kenya, lifting its share of the country’s insurance market to 2.5% from 0.5%, Chief Executive Officer Bertrand Casteres said in an email. The company, which also has operations in Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, last year set…

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