The Editorial Team |

Steinhoff Is Said to Consider IPO of Pepco, Poundland Owner

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) Steinhoff International Holdings NV is considering an initial public offering of Pepkor Europe, its fastest-growing unit, as the scandal-hit South African retailer seeks funds for the next phase of its recovery plan, people familiar with the matter said. The company has been discussing a listing of Pepkor Europe with potential advisers, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The business — which owns…

Africa Wants One Trade Deal With the U.S., the U.S. Wants Many

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.S. and Africa have different views on their future trade relationship when a preferential access deal expires in 2025. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy said in an interview Sunday his country favors bilateral trade agreements with African nations. A day later, African Union Trade and Industry Commissioner Albert Muchanga said the AU favors a free-trade agreement with the U.S. to replace the African Growth and Opportunity Act….

Business Activity in Zambia and South Africa Lags Peers

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LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Currency weakness and tepid economic growth have weighed on business activity in Zambia and South Africa. Purchasing Managers’ Indexes published Monday and Tuesday showed business conditions deteriorated in Zambia and South Africa in July. In Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Mozambique the indexes remained above the neutral mark of 50, where they’ve been for most of the past two years, indicating improvement. While Zambia’s July PMI reading is lower…

Protesters Loot in Malawi as President Challenge Goes to Court

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MALAWI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Hundreds of thousands of Malawians gathered in the streets of the main cities on Tuesday to demand the resignation of Jane Ansah, the head of the southern African nation’s electoral agency that they accuse of helping rig an election to keep Peter Mutharika as president. The disputed May vote has sparked four previous demonstrations and is being challenged in court by the opposition Malawi Congress Party and the United Transformation Movement. Previous protests have…

Nedbank Urges South Africa to Deal With ‘Sick Elephant’ Eskom

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa needs to speed up reforms to save beleaguered state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and attract investors back to the country, according to the chief executive officer of Nedbank Group Ltd. “For us, energy policy and Eskom remain the elephant in the room in the South African economy,” Mike Brown said in a phone interview after the lender posted a slight rise in first-half net income. “If the previous…

The Dollar, the Euro, the Yen — and Now the West African Eco

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian trade consultant Bamidele Ayemibo says it’s easier to sell his bean cake snacks to China than to neighboring Benin. Trading with any of the other members of the Economic Community of West African States requires him to find expensive money changers to convert local currencies, adding to costs that are already high due to dilapidated roads. He prefers selling to customers who hold hard currencies in London or…

China Acts to Limit Yuan Plunge, Bringing Some Relief to Markets

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China took steps to limit weakness in the yuan, providing some stability to global financial markets in the wake of Monday’s rout, and said it won’t depreciate the currency to be competitive. The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday set the daily currency fixing stronger than analysts expected and announced the planned sale of yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong. The moves, which came after the U.S. labeled the country…

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