The Editorial Team |

Changing Weather to Push Rwanda Inflation, Central Bank Says

KIGALI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Changing weather patterns are pushing up food prices and will drive inflation in Rwanda for the first few months of this year, central bank Governor John Rwangombwa said. Unexpectedly heavy rains in the second half of 2019 caused some crop damage and food inflation reached 23.8% in December, the highest in almost three years. “Because of the bad rains we had in the last quarter of 2019 we expect inflation in…

Nigeria Tightens Screws on Banks With Higher Cash Requirements

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria turned the screws even tighter on lenders by increasing the amount of money they need to park with the central bank for the first time in almost four years in an effort to tame inflation. The West African nation’s central bank raised the cash-reserve requirement for lenders to 27.5% of total deposits, from 22.5%, to curtail excess liquidity in the banking sector, Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters Friday…

Zimbabwe Doctors Get By With Help From a Billionaire

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwean state doctors have found an unlikely ally in their four-month pay strike — telecommunications tycoon Strive Masiyiwa. The founder and majority owner of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Ltd. have offered to pay them a Z$5,000-Z$10,000 ($290-$580) subsidy, based on seniority, for the next six months in a bid to end the strike that started in September and has crippled the southern African nation’s public health-care system. State doctors currently receive…

U.K. Business Pleads to Shape Post-Brexit Immigration System

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.K. business is lobbying for a say in shaping Britain’s post-Brexit immigration system as the government draws up plans for tighter controls on migration that could threaten the supply of foreign workers. In an open letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel, the country’s five largest business organizations and about 30 trade associations said the new regime needs to provide access to required skills and labor, while also curbing the inward…

Nigeria Ex-Justice Minister Charged Over $1.3 Billion Oil Deal

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charged Mohammed Adoke, a former justice minister and attorney general, for allegedly taking a bribe to facilitate a $1.3 billion oil deal. The anti-graft body filed 42 charges against Adoke and accused him of receiving a 300 million naira ($831,000) payment from businessman Aliyu Abubakar in relation to the acquisition of Oil Prospecting License 245 in the Gulf of Guinea, the commission said in…

ARC Ready for New Deals After Raising Alexander Forbes Stake

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – With cash in the bank and friends with deep pockets, African Rainbow Capital Investments Ltd. is well-positioned to find the resources it needs to fund its next deal. “We can probably access a billion-and-a-half to 2 billion rand fairly quickly,” ARC co-Chief Executive Officer Johan van Zyl said by phone on Thursday. “You don’t have to have the money in the bank as long as you have access to someone else…

Google Ban Fails to Stamp Out Short-Term Payday Lending Apps

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – In August, Google announced a global crackdown on Android apps that offer short-term loans, saying it wanted to protect consumers from what it called “deceptive and exploitative” terms. But five months later, payday-style applications offering fast money for one or two weeks are still easy to find in many countries on Google Play, the company’s marketplace for Android apps. Some charge interest rates that can exceed 200% annualized. Lending apps…

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