The Editorial Team |

Zimbabwe Turns to Regulations in Bid to Stem Currency Plunge

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe has clamped down on mobile money, tightened controls on foreign-exchange bureaux and dealers and banned the quoting of prices in any currency other than its own dollar as it struggles to manage a monetary system that’s spiraling out of control. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on Monday stopped operators of mobile-money services, the dominant way in which money is moved in the country, from paying out cash. It also tightened…

Cameroon Begins Week-Long Talks to Resolve Anglophone Crisis

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YAOUNDE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Cameroon convened about 1,500 delegates to a week of talks about the crisis in its two English-speaking regions as part of the government’s first serious effort to negotiate an end to a three-year secessionist revolt. The talks in the capital, Yaounde, billed as “national dialogue,” are being presided over by Prime Minister Joseph Ngute and will include opposition supporters, church leaders, civil-society groups, members of the security forces and…

Billionaire Dangote Plans 29% Growth in Cement Capacity

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Aliko Dangote, the richest person in Africa, is looking to expand cement capacity on the continent by 29% to 62 million tons, entrenching his flagship company’s position as the continent’s biggest producer of the construction material. The billionaire plans to add six million tons in Nigeria next year, taking volume in Dangote Cement Plc’s home market to 35 million tons, he said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. The…

Brexit-Backing Hedge Fund Boss Odey Rejects Conflict Claims

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Hedge fund manager Crispin Odey is a Brexit supporter and he’s shorting the pound. But he dismisses allegations that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s links with investors like him amount to a conflict of interest. “What they’re thinking is: can we show that the people who back Boris are unpatriotic, have no interest in the U.K. and basically are only there to try and make money out of the suffering of others,” Odey…

Why Ireland’s Border Is Brexit’s Intractable Puzzle: QuickTake

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The frontier between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland remains the essential conundrum of Brexit. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is determined to leave the European Union by Oct. 31, with or without a negotiated transition deal. But any departure must take into account the historically fraught Irish border, which is set to become the only land crossing between the EU and the U.K. after Brexit. A controversial…

WTO Cuts Outlook for Global Trade Growth to Lowest in a Decade

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The World Trade Organization cut its global trade growth forecast for this year to the weakest level in a decade, warning that further rounds of tariffs in an environment of heightened uncertainty could spark a “destructive cycle of recrimination.” The volume of merchandise trade will increase by 1.2% this year and 2.7% next year, after a 3% advance in 2018, the WTO said in a report published Tuesday. The outlook marks…

How the Hedge Funds Are Really Playing Brexit: Lionel Laurent

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – It’s hardly controversial to short the pound, but Crispin Odey and his ilk also have their eyes on a low-tax, low-regulation, no-deal Brexit paradise. Philip Hammond is officially “outside the tent,” to use Lyndon Johnson’s phrase. After losing his job as U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer and then his badge as a Conservative MP by rebelling against Boris Johnson’s hardball Brexit strategy, Hammond has kicked up an almighty stink by accusing Johnson…

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