The Editorial Team |

Mboweni Budget Unlikely to Stop South Africa’s March to Junk

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s budget this week is unlikely to convince Moody’s Investors Service that he has a credible plan to rein in government debt. Of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month, 14 expect Moody’s to downgrade the country to junk this year and nine of those say it’ll happen in the first half. That’s after the rating company in November cut the outlook on the nation’s…

Bank of Uganda Blames Low U.S. Interest Rates for Endless Losses

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KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa – Uganda’s central bank pointed to “abnormally low” rates for U.S. Treasury securities as a major reason behind the reported loss of 2 trillion shillings ($545 million) in the past 15 years. Over 90% of Bank of Uganda’s earnings are from interest income on foreign-reserve assets, spokeswoman Charity Mugumya said in an emailed response to questions, after lawmakers last week raised concerns about the bank’s ability to deliver on its…

SAP’s Africa Head Has ‘No Recipe’ for Handling Graft Probes

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – SAP SE’s Africa head said the German software company is battling to complete investigations following allegations its employees paid kickbacks for government business in East and southern Africa. SAP suspended executives in South Africa after reports that the Walldorf-based company had dealings with the country’s corruption-linked Gupta family, and in 2018 said $11 million had been improperly paid to win contracts at the state power and transport companies. Then…

South African Sugar Master Plan to Allow for Biofuel Production

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A plan to support South Africa’s ailing sugar industry will include tapping into the biofuel potential of cane. Government, farmers and industrial users in the 14 billion rands ($924-million) industry are working on a strategy to stem a crisis caused by a flood of cheap imports and a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks that lowered the demand from beverage makers. President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his Feb. 13 state-of-the-nation address…

Sasol Sees Lake Charles Project Adding Profit in Second Half

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sasol Ltd. said its setback-hit Louisiana chemical project should generate positive core earnings in the second half of the financial year. The South African chemicals and fuels producer reported a 73% drop in first-half earnings per share after oil prices in rand dropped, global chemical markets softened and the company suffered delays at its Lake Charles Chemicals Project. The U.S. plant negatively impacted earnings by 2.8 billion rand ($185…

Nigerian Economic Growth at 4-Year High on Oil and Credit Boost

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s economy expanded the most in four years in 2019 as oil output increased and the central bank took steps to boost credit growth. Gross domestic product expanded 2.27% last year, the most since 2015, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said on its website on Monday. The economy grew 2.55% in the three months through December from a year earlier, compared with 2.3% in the third quarter. The…

Smooth West African Polls May End Bourse’s Four-Year Losing Run

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ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – The benchmark stock index in West Africa’s regional bourse, which has been in retreat since 2016, may get a boost if a flurry of elections in member countries pass off smoothly this year, according to a money manager. Four states affiliated with the Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres: Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and Ivory Coast, Francophone West Africa’s largest economy, go to the polls this year. Successful voting, combined…

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