The Editorial Team |

Zimbabwe Scraps Currency Peg Three Months After Introduction

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) — Zimbabwe’s central bank abandoned a currency peg it introduced in March and said it would allow the rate to be set by an auction system. The announcement represents a setback for Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya, who unilaterally imposed the peg of 25 to the U.S. dollar against the advice of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, according to people familiar with the situation. The introduction of the…

Africa Seen Getting More Debt Relief From China Than Bondholders

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — African countries may get debt relief from China more easily than private creditors amid a global push to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on poor nations, a Johns Hopkins University study shows. China has written off $3.4 billion and restructured or refinanced about $15 billion of debt in Africa over the past decade without slapping penalties or seizing assets from borrowers, it said. The study was…

Mboweni Warns of Debt Crisis Unless South Africa Budget Is Cut

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — South Africa must cut spending to avoid a sovereign debt crisis within the next four years, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said. Mboweni is preparing to deliver a revised budget on June 24 that will reflect the devastation wrought on the economy by the coronavirus pandemic, he told lawmakers Thursday in Cape Town. The Treasury plans to make “very serious and unusual changes” to its expenditure plans, he said. “We…

Kganyago Says QE Would Hurt, Not Help South Africa’s Finances

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — The South African Reserve Bank will resist calls to finance the government’s growing budget deficit with aggressive quantitative easing because that could add even more strain on the National Treasury, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. If the central bank were to buy 500 billion rand ($29 billion) of government bonds and then mop up the excess liquidity by issuing bonds at the current repurchase rate of 3.75%, it would be…

Africa’s ‘Bulldozer’ Runs Into Covid-19, Claims God on His Side

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DAR ES SALAM (Capital Markets in Africa) — Tanzania’s maverick President John Magufuli has used his strong personality to cow corrupt civil servants and force foreign mining companies to pay millions of dollars in outstanding tax. The coronavirus may be less responsive. Last week, he became the first African leader to declare victory over the virus, even though health data haven’t been released for more than a month. He’s criticized the national laboratory for exaggerating…

Johnson to Set Out More Lockdown Easing as U.K. Deaths Fall

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson will talk his cabinet through his plans for easing the U.K.’s lockdown on Tuesday after officials reported the lowest number of daily deaths since restrictions were imposed. The prime minister said last month that non-essential retailers would be able to reopen on June 15 if the threat of the virus continued to recede, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Monday’s positive data means the government can press…

Apple Plans to Announce Move to Its Own Mac Chips at WWDC

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — Apple Inc. is preparing to announce a shift to its own main processors in Mac computers, replacing chips from Intel Corp., as early as this month at its annual developer conference, according to people familiar with the plans. The company is holding WWDC the week of June 22. Unveiling the initiative, codenamed Kalamata, at the event would give outside developers time to adjust before new Macs roll out…

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