The Editorial Team |

MTN Pledges $1.6 Billion in Nigeria After Meeting President

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa): MTN Group Ltd. pledged to invest $1.6 billion to expand its operations in Nigeria after settling the latest major dispute with authorities in its most profitable market. Africa’s largest wireless carrier announced the investment after a meeting between senior executives including Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday. The two sides appeared to patch up recent differences and said they’ll work together to improve telecommunications networks in the continent’s most…

South Africa Unions Want Infrastructure Funded by Pensions

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa): The Congress of South African Trade Unions, a key ruling party ally, is pushing senior members of government to consider its proposals to rescue the state’s indebted power utility before next month’s budget. In addition to suggestions it made in a November document that civil servants’ pensions and a state-run unemployment fund be used to cut Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s debt by more than half to 200 billion rands ($14…

Congolese Demand Compensation in U.K. Corruption Probe

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KINSHASA(Capital Markets in Africa): A group of Democratic Republic of Congo citizens asked the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office to recognize them as victims in its investigation of alleged corruption by Kazakh mining company Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. The 16 Congolese say they lost jobs, health care, and community development projects when a copper and cobalt tailings project was shut down near Kolwezi, southeastern Congo, in 2009, according to a statement by Rights and Accountability in…

U.S. Agrees to Repatriate $321m of Abacha’s Loot, Nigeria Says

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa): American authorities have agreed to repatriate $321 million of funds taken out of the country by late military dictator Sani Abacha, according to Nigerian Justice Minister Abubakar Malami. The sum will be sent from the Island of Jersey in the U.S. within the next three months and used to fund ongoing construction projects, including two major highways connecting the commercial heartbeat of Lagos to Ibadan in the country’s southwest, and the…

Bonds Are Emerging Markets’ January Winners as Virus Hits Stocks

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa): While emerging-market stocks and currencies are set to close January on a low note amid mounting concerns about the spread of the deadly coronavirus, bonds have become the go-to asset as investors begin to price in the prospect of lower interest rates to stimulate growth. The average yield on developing-nation local-currency bonds dropped 11 basis points in January to an all-time low of 4%, handing investors a total return of 0.5%. Hard-currency…

Nigeria’s Biggest City Bans Motorbike Taxis in Boost to Uber

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa): Nigeria’s biggest city has partially banned the use of motorcycle taxis following an escalating number of fatal accidents, dealing a blow to Softbank Group Corp.-backed OPay and a potential boost to Uber Technologies Inc. The Lagos State Government cracked down on the popular way to dodge traffic congestion in the commercial capital of Africa’s most populous country, calling the bikes and their three-wheel equivalents a “menace” that is responsible for “scary figures”…

Trade Helps U.S. Economy Grow 2.1% While Consumption Moderates

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa): U.S. consumer spending moderated and business investment continued to deteriorate at the end of 2019, while a smaller trade deficit and more home construction helped keep economic growth steady. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.1% annualized rate for a second straight quarter, according to Commerce Department data Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 2% growth. Consumer spending decelerated to a 1.8% pace, below projections and the weakest since the…

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