The Editorial Team |

Old Mutual First-Half Profit Rises 10% on Investment Returns

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Marketds in Africa) – Old Mutual Ltd. said first-half profit rose 10% from a year earlier as higher investment returns boosted earnings, offsetting tepid economic growth in its home market. Adjusted earnings before one-time items increased to 5.2 billion rand ($342 million), the Johannesburg-based firm said in a statement on Monday. Results from operations increased 2%, while revenue from premium sales rose 4%. Net income fell 55% to 5.82 billion rand after gains from…

Tesla Batteries Are Keeping Zimbabwe’s Economy Running

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HARARE (Capital Marketds in Africa) – Zimbabweans are relying on Tesla Inc. to help them pay their bills. Amid power outages of as long as 18 hours a day, Econet Wireless Ltd., Zimbabwe’s biggest mobile-phone operator, is turning to the Palo Alto, California-based automaker and storable-energy company for batteries that can keep its base stations running. The southern African country faces chronic shortages of physical cash, so almost all transactions are done digitally, and many via mobile phones….

IFC-Backed Uber of Trucks Reshapes Nigeria’s Haulage Market

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LAGOS (Capital Marketds in Africa) – An Uber-like App for trucks is making it easier and cheaper for firms to move goods in Africa’s most populous nation. Freight logistics startup, Kobo360 is using technology to connect cargo and truck owners with drivers and customers. Logistic managers can now schedule and monitor trips from the comfort of their offices, Kobo360 CEO Obi Ozor said in Lagos interview. The ports in the Apapa district of Lagos account for 70%…

‘Too Big to Fail’ Makes Eskom Debt a Good Bet in Low-Yield World

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Marketds in Africa) – South Africa’s pledge not to let Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. fail is enticing yield-starved investors to the company’s dollar debt. Bondholders from New York to Seoul say they’re happy to hold onto the power company’s securities — and in some cases add to their holdings — because of their extra return relative to the country’s sovereign debt. The government’s assurance that it won’t let the company default, effectively guaranteeing the debt,…

Carney-Style Experiment Comes to ECB as Irish Send in a Briton

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LONDON (Capital Marketds in Africa) – Just weeks before the European Central Bank gets its first-ever female president, another milestone for the institution is being set by Ireland. Gabriel Makhlouf, a Briton who was a top civil servant in New Zealand, becomes the Irish central bank chief this week. He is the ECB Governing Council’s first member who isn’t a citizen of the country appointing him. While Christine Lagarde’s impending ECB presidency is unprecedented, that role has citizenship…

If You’re Wondering How Hard a ‘Hard Brexit’ Could Be: QuickTake

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LONDON (Capital Marketds in Africa) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “do or die” pledge to exit the European Union by Oct. 31 has increased the likelihood for the hardest form of Brexit, one with no deal in place at all. Without a formal withdrawal accord at the time of the divorce, the U.K. will lose frictionless, duty-free access to the EU, the world’s largest trading bloc. The U.K.-EU trade relationship would immediately revert to commercial rules negotiated…

Intu Has Fallen 64% and No Analyst Is Willing to Call a Bottom

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LONDON (Capital Marketds in Africa) – How toxic is the U.K. retail sector? Consider shopping-center owner Intu Properties Plc. Intu is among the worst-performing stocks in the U.K. in 2019, having lost almost two thirds of its value, and none of the 19 analysts who cover the company recommends buying the shares. Seven analysts have hold ratings on London-based Intu, while 12 recommend selling. That’s unusual, even for a company with as many problems as Intu, given that brokers…

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