The Editorial Team |

Anti-Smuggling Border Closure Gives Nigeria Inflation Headache

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The shutdown of Nigeria’s land borders to tackle rampant food smuggling and encourage an agricultural revival in Africa’s top oil producer is having an unintended side effect: higher inflation. A spike in food prices saw the annual consumer-inflation rate rise to 11.2% in September, after falling to a 3 1/2-year low in the preceding month, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. Food-price growth accelerated for the first time…

African Free Trade Stumbles With Nigerian Blockade of Benin

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria and Benin are embroiled in a trade dispute two months after signing an agreement to free up the movement of goods and services in Africa. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the partial closing of its boundary with Benin last month to curb the smuggling of rice and other commodities. The blockade has had a ripple effect across West Africa, with factories and traders struggling to import key raw materials…

China Wants More Talks Before Signing Trade Deal With Trump

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China wants to hold more talks this month to hammer out the details of the “phase one” trade deal touted by Donald Trump before Xi Jinping agrees to sign it, according to people familiar with the matter. Beijing may send a delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He, China’s top negotiator, to finalize a written deal that could be signed by the presidents at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next…

Looters Walking Free Undermine Ramaphosa’s Anti-Graft Pledge

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged that those responsible for plundering taxpayer funds during his predecessor Jacob Zuma’s rule will face prosecution. Investors and the public at large will still need convincing. More than 500 billion rand ($34 billion) may have been stolen during Zuma’s nine-year tenure, and “some people” say the figure could exceed 1 trillion rand, Ramaphosa told a conference hosted by the Financial Times in London on Monday….

Kenya Plans $4.1 Billion in New Loans as It Lifts Debt Limit

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya plans to borrow 422 billion shillings ($4.1 billion) from external lenders after lawmakers approved the government’s proposal to increase its debt limit. The government of the East African nation is negotiating or about to sign 44 loan agreements with 15 lenders including the African Development Bank, China, Japan and the World Bank, parliament documents show. The lawmakers last week approved the National Treasury’s proposed debt limit of 9…

Nigeria Starts Talks With Oil Majors to End $62 Billion Dispute

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria began preliminary talks with international oil companies to settle a dispute over revenue. The government, citing a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, says it’s entitled to $62 billion from the companies after they failed to comply with a 1993 law that hands the state a greater share of income when oil exceeds $20 a barrel. The companies are challenging the claim. “We have opened up a process of engagement between the…

Foreigners Who Abandoned Lagos Stocks Have Few Reasons to Return

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Foreigners have deserted the Lagos stock market and “hostile” domestic policies combined with a gloomy outlook for the Nigerian economy suggest there is little chance they will return soon. The country’s benchmark stock index has slumped 16% this year in local-currency terms, the third-worst performance worldwide among 94 markets tracked by Bloomberg as of Friday. That follows an 18% retreat in 2018. Investors have been frustrated at the slow pace of…

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