The Editorial Team |

Private equity fundraising up 12% to $133bn in first quarter of 2020

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Research provider Preqin indicated that 267 private equity (PE) funds raised a total of $133bn in capital commitments worldwide in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 395 PE funds that secured $188.3bn in the fourth quarter of 2019 and to 366 PE funds that raised $118.6bn in the first quarter of 2019. It noted that the outbreak of the coronavirus had a limited impact on global PE fundraising,…

Banking: Pressure on Currency Intensifies, Banks Earnings Decline

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Lagos (Capital Markets in Africa) – Citi Research indicated that the pressure on the naira intensified in early March 2020 following the sharp decline in global oil prices. It noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) devaluated on March 20 the official exchange rate from NGN306.5 per US dollar to NGN360.5 against the dollar. It added that the exchange rate on the NAFEX market weakened from about NGN365 per dollar in late February to…

Moody’s affirms Nigeria’s B2 ratings, maintains negative outlook

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has today affirmed Nigeria’s B2 long-term issuer ratings and senior unsecured rating and its (P)B2 senior unsecured MTN programme rating and maintained the negative outlook. The negative outlook continues to reflect the material downside risks to Nigeria’s creditworthiness identified when the outlook on the sovereign’s rating was changed to negative in December 2019. However, those risks have increased since then, exacerbated by the oil price…

What can we learn from South Korea? What is the situation in Japan?

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Korea’s efforts to combat coronavirus yielded impressive results. The number of coronavirus patients there stands at 8,961 as of March 23.12 But after a dramatic increase was observed through the first week of March, driven by a surge among participants in a large religious gathering in Daegu, the number of daily new patients has dropped to only approximately 100 over the past week. The slower pace of spread…

What did China do right? How did they bend the curve, and is economic activity really returning?

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Chinese authorities acted late to contain COVID-19 because of local governments’ initial confusion and obfuscation of the mysterious illness, and they then had to resort to extreme social-distancing controls and lockdown measures. The new infections curve in China was also flattened through large-scale virus testing, which led to more accurate diagnosis and ultimately slowed the contagion. Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan quickly learned from this example and were able…

Role of Regional Financial Integration in Promoting Growth, Development and Poverty Reduction in Africa

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Regional financial integration refers to a process, market-driven and/or institutionalized, that broaden and deepen financial links within the region. At the very least, this process involves eliminating barriers to cross border investments and differentiated treatment of foreign investors. Further deepening of financial links can take the form of harmonizing national policies, laws, and institutions. Over time, cohesion of regulatory frameworks, operational structures and information systems, and convergence of prices…

Commodities: Brent oil prices to average $35.2 p/b for 2020

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – ICE Brent crude oil front-month prices closed at $19.3 barrel (p/b) on April 21, 2020, their lowest level since 2001. They constituted a decline of 24.4% from a day earlier and a drop of 30% from the previous week due to the contraction in oil demand and to the increase in global supply. The recent fall in Brent prices followed a plunge in the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil…

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