The Editorial Team |

What African Central Banks May Do Next in Response to Virus

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — After emergency meetings and aggressive interest-rate cuts to buffer their economies against the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, some central bankers in sub-Saharan African economies may follow a more measured approach when they sit down for their deliberations in the next two weeks. While monetary policy committees in South Africa and Kenya will probably take advantage of scope to lower rates even further, those in Nigeria and Zambia may…

World’s Biggest Wealth Fund Dumps $3 Billion in Fossil Fuels (1)

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund is doubling down on its climate action by making deeper cuts to its fossil fuel exposure. The exclusions span some of the world’s biggest coal miners and make use of climate rules for the first time to exit oil-sands firms. Glencore Plc and Anglo American Plc, utility RWE AG and Canadian oil producer Suncor Energy Inc. are among those hit by withdrawals that amount to about $3.3 billion based on Bloomberg…

Egypt’s $10 Billion Funding Gap May Stall Rate Cuts for Now

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) — Egypt’s funding needs will probably prove decisive for the central bank, ensuring a longer pause in interest rates after a record cut in March. The focus at the moment is on bridging a financing gap that’s estimated at about $10 billion in 2020 by EFG Hermes and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Elevated rates are an advantage at a time many emerging nations are looking to stave off outflows amid…

RMB Picked as Financial Adviser for South Africa’s Land Bank

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — Creditors of the biggest lender to South African farmers picked Rand Merchant Bank as a financial adviser after it missed a loan repayment that triggered a cross-default on a 50 billion rand ($2.7-billion) bond program, according to people familiar with the matter. The Johannesburg-based investment bank has been tasked with coming up with cash-flow projections for the Land and Agricultural Development Bank, the people said, asking not to be identified as an…

Hedge Fund That’s Never Lost Bets Big on South African Debt (2)

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — A London-based hedge fund that has made gains every year since it was founded, through risky bets including Ukrainian GDP warrants and sanctioned Russian bonds, is now putting its money on South Africa. ProMeritum Investment Management LLP has allocated a fifth of its money — its biggest single holding — to South African government bonds, among the worst performers in emerging markets this year. It’s betting on a 15%…

Ghana Says Its Virus Lockdown Became Untenable for Economy

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) — A 21-day lockdown of Ghana’s biggest cities became financially unbearable for most of the population, a concern that gave the government little choice when it lifted the restrictions last month, said Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta. Ghana, which identified its first two coronavirus cases on March 12, was the first in sub-Saharan Africa to ease movement restrictions after ramping up its testing capacity. With at least 160,000 people tested, more…

Virus Surge Means Cape Town Home to Half of South African Cases

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — The coronavirus outbreak in South Africa has hit hardest in the Western Cape, home to the city of Cape Town. The province now has more than half of the 12,074 confirmed cases nationwide and in recent days contributed about 90% of new infections recorded by the Health Ministry. Contrary to initial projections, infections and deaths have increased at a much slower rate in the economic hub of Johannesburg in…

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