The Editorial Team |

Labor Wants a Coronavirus Stimulus From S. African Government

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s biggest labor group wants the government to come up with a stimulus plan to prepare for the impact of the coronavirus, potentially stretching the country’s already strained finances. The Congress of South African Trade Unions will call for the plan at a meeting on Monday of the National Economic Development and Labour Council, which includes business and government leaders, said Matthew Parks, Cosatu’s parliamentary coordinator. Cosatu represents…

Nigeria Denies Plan to Devalue Naira, Blames Dealers for ‘Panic’

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigerian central bank denied it plans to devalue the naira soon, and announced an investigation to uncover currency dealers it blames for sparking a “panic” market sell-off this week. “Market fundamentals do not support naira devaluation at this time,” the bank said in a statement released late on Thursday by spokesman Isaac Okorafor. The global market turmoil sparked by the coronavirus contagion and this week’s collapse of oil prices…

Sasol Cut to Junk by Moody’s on Debt, U.S. Project Overruns

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Market in Africa) – Moody’s Investors Service downgraded South Africa’s Sasol Ltd.to junk, citing high debt and cost overruns at its Lake Charles chemical project in Louisiana. The ratings company cut its assessment on Sasol’s long-term rating to Ba1, from Baa3, with a stable outlook, it said in a statement on Thursday. “The decision to downgrade the ratings to Ba1 reflects Moody’s view that Sasol’s financial leverage will remain elevated over the next two…

Widespread Malaria May Complicate Coronavirus Fight in Africa

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LAGOS (Capital Market in Africa) – The prevalence of malaria in Africa could complicate the diagnosis of novel coronavirus in the continent, said the epidemiologist leading the fight against the new disease in Nigeria. Nigerian health officials are racing to prevent the spread of coronavirus after the first case of the illness in sub-Saharan Africa was identified last week in Lagos, the nation’s business hub. Since then only three more cases have been identified in…

Netflix Sees Africa Spy Drama as Key to Unlock Continent Growth

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LAGOS (Capital Market in Africa) – Netflix Inc. sees the opening of new crime-drama series Queen Sono as the first of many original African TV series that will win the U.S. giant a bigger slice of a market still dominated by satellite TV. The tale of a South African secret agent seeking to uncover the truth behind the death of her freedom-fighter mother will be followed by a Zambian animation series, a Cape Town-set mystery-thriller and…

Budget-to-Rating Risks Fail to Dent South African Bond Haven Bid

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investors are chasing South African dollar bonds as the flight to safety sparked by the spread of the coronavirus eclipses the country’s idiosyncratic risks, including a key budget this week and the possibility of a credit downgrade to junk soon after. While the rand and local-currency bonds lost ground on Monday amid a global risk selloff, yields on South Africa’s hard-currency bonds held near multi-month lows, tracking the plunge in U.S. Treasury rates as investors…

U.S. to Argue in Supreme Court on Behalf of 1998 Kenya Victims

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Trump administration is poised to argue before the Supreme Court that victims of the 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi should be compensated by Sudan, which at that time harboured the attack’s plotters, Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda members. In a session scheduled for Monday, President Donald Trump’s solicitor general will add the weight of the federal government to the civil suit brought by the families of…

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