Nigeria’s Buhari Says Made-in-Africa Key to Free-Trade Gains

Nigeria’s Buhari Says Made-in-Africa Key to Free-Trade Gains

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The success of a continental free-trade deal hinges on Africa developing its manufacturing base, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said. Africa’s largest economy won’t rush into joining the Africa Continental Free Trade Area until it finishes extensive consultations with all stakeholders, Buhari said Thursday in Abuja, the capital. The AfCFTA agreement will only succeed if the continent develops policies that promote production, he said while receiving the report of a committee set…

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Ivory Coast Sees Return to Anti-Foreigner Rhetoric Ahead of Vote

Ivory Coast Sees Return to Anti-Foreigner Rhetoric Ahead of Vote

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – The leader of Ivory Coast’s second-biggest political party is taking an anti-foreigner stance as campaigning for next year’s presidential elections gears up, sparking concerns of a return to the divisive politics that fueled almost a decade of conflict in the world’s top cocoa grower. Former President Henri Konan Bedie, who first emphasized the difference between “real” Ivorians and migrants in the 1990s, accused President Alassane Ouattara’s administration of favoring members of…

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Ailing South African Health Stocks Suffer Under Weak Economy

Ailing South African Health Stocks Suffer Under Weak Economy

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Health-care companies have missed out on the best first-half for South Africa’s stock market since 2007. An index of South African hospital operators and pharmaceutical companies has slumped 21% this year, the worst performance of any Johannesburg sector with more than three members, and lagging behind the 10% gain for the benchmark gauge. Analysts and investors blame the weak local economy, which contracted by the most in a decade in the…

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Ramaphosa Mulls Green Energy Plan to Cut Eskom’s Debt Payments

Ramaphosa Mulls Green Energy Plan to Cut Eskom’s Debt Payments

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering whether to back a proposal to improve troubled Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s debt terms by closing polluting coal plants early to make way for renewable energy. A special purpose vehicle would lower interest rates paid by the state-owned utility by accelerating the closure of coal-fired stations, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information isn’t…

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Ghana Bond Listings Tipped to Beat Stocks in 2019 as Market Dips

Ghana Bond Listings Tipped to Beat Stocks in 2019 as Market Dips

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Companies in Ghana seeking to issue bonds to meet capital needs are likely to exceed equity offerings in 2019, with the Accra bourse heading for a fall for a second straight year, according to the nation’s securities regulator. While the Ghana Stock Exchange recorded no new bond issues or equity listings from companies in the first half, three institutions plan to offer debt before the close of year totaling about 350…

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Airtel Africa’s Stock Debut Among Worst in Europe This Year

Airtel Africa’s Stock Debut Among Worst in Europe This Year

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s Africa unit plunged in London trading after raising about $750 million in an initial public offering, making it among the worst debuts on European exchanges this year. Airtel Africa Ltd. dropped as much as 16% to 67 pence per share, matching the first-day decline for OssDsign AB last month. Airtel Africa said it had priced the offering at 80 pence a share, at the low end of its range, giving the…

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Africa’s Top Fund Manager Pushed by Union to Rescue Retailer

Africa’s Top Fund Manager Pushed by Union to Rescue Retailer

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s biggest labor union federation signaled a “massive fight” with the ruling party if the state-owned fund manager failed to rescue the country’s second-largest clothing retailer, Edcon Holdings Ltd. A week after a senior labor union official sent an email on Feb. 22 to the country’s then-deputy finance minister, the Public Investment Corp., which manages more than 2 trillion rand ($141 billion) of mainly government worker pensions, led a…

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