The Editorial Team |

No Longer European, a Divided Britain Seeks a New Identity

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Now, as some mourn and others celebrate, the U.K. must find itself again. At 10 a.m. inside Aux Merveilleux de Fred, a patisserie in the heart of London’s French quarter, the air is thick with the aroma of butter. Aicha Boubakri, 30, is arranging neat rows of pastel-colored cream pastries in front of the bakery’s only customer. “It’s a bit sad—the fact that the U.K. will no longer be…

U.K. Financial Watchdog Examining Pound Jump Before BOE Call

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa): The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority said it’s examining the spike in the British pound about 15 seconds before Thursday’s Bank of England’s interest-rate decision. Sterling shot up toward $1.31 just before BOE officials surprised markets by announcing that they had voted 7-2 for no change to the policy, even though many analysts and investors had expected a closer decision or a rate cut. The move prompted traders and analysts to…

MTN Steps Up Asset-Sale Plan That May Raise Up To $4 Billion

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. is looking to raise as much as 60 billion rand ($4 billion) from an extended asset-sale plan, with stakes in a major towers business and the carrier’s Nigerian unit among those earmarked for sale. Africa’s biggest mobile-phone company has generated about 14 billion rand since kicking off a strategy to offload non-essential businesses in March, and is ready to step up the process, MTN said in an…

Investec Holders to See Cash Return After Asset Unit Spinoff

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The bank, which has offices in Johannesburg and London, is readying a spinoff of its asset-management business in March and also plans to sell some private-equity investments. The lender wants to reduce its 25 billion rand ($1.7 billion) of private-equity holdings to 15 billion, Richard Wainwright, the chief executive officer of Investec’s South African bank, said in an interview at the lender’s local headquarters. “If we are successful in releasing…

Growth-Boosting Rate Cut in Ghana May Be Risky Ahead of Vote

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa): Ghana’s central bank is caught between cutting interest rates to boost the economy and running the risk of weakening the currency, which could drive up inflation and spook investors ahead of December’s elections. One the one hand, inflation ended the year slightly below the government’s projection and economic growth slowed in the third quarter, giving room for an interest rate cut. However, a repeat of the government missing its fiscal…

Congo Government Moves to Monopolize Artisanal Cobalt

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa): The Democratic Republic of Congo, the world’s biggest producer of cobalt, created a state monopoly that will buy all output not extracted by industrial operators in a bid to exert more control over the price of the key ingredient in rechargeable batteries. The central African nation dominates output of the metal, accounting for more than 70% of the global market in 2018. While most Congolese cobalt comes from large, mechanized mines operated…

Gabon Lines Up Eurobond as Concerns Over Coronavirus Mount

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GABON (Capital Markets in Africa): Gabon, one of the lowest-rated sovereigns in Africa, is set to become the first on the continent to tap international markets this year even as concerns over the outbreak of the coronavirus test risk appetite. The government is marketing 10-year dollar securities with yields of around 7%, according to a person familiar with the transaction who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak about it. Yields on…

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