The Editorial Team |

Private equity investment in Africa: The Art of managing expectations

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – In most private equity gatherings one conclusion is always drawn: Investors and entrepreneurs are not finding each other in sufficient numbers, and I think the facts do speak for themselves. According to the latest EAVCA survey of the PE industry in 2018 only 47 deals were done in East Africa. Looking at the number of entrepreneurs and investment funds, I would think we should have done better! Entrepreneurs say:…

A Bank Built in 1.5 Million Hours Takes on 180-Year-Old Rivals

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – It took Discovery Ltd. 1.5 million man-hours over four years to build a bank. When the startup opens to the public Monday it will challenge South African lenders with histories going back to 1838, and they’re ready for battle. The insurer prides itself on its Vitality offering, a rewards program that gives its 1.9 million customers discounts for exercising or buying healthy food; a concept also being applied to…

MTN, Vodacom Given Boost by Promise of Long-Delayed Spectrum

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s telecommunications operators were given a boost on Thursday when the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, indicated a long-awaited auction of new broadband spectrum could take place within the next month. Vodacom Group Ltd. and MTN Group Ltd., the country’s two biggest mobile-phone providers, have long been demanding the opportunity to bid for new spectrum to extend high-speed internet to new customers and increase data revenue. The constrained nature of the market…

IMF Deal to Keep Carry Party Going for Emerging-Market Darling

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt is the world’s best carry trade. It may stay that way for a while longer if the government gets its wish and strikes another deal with the International Monetary Fund. The Arab nation’s local-currency bonds have handed investors a 23% return this year, five times the emerging-market average. And the Egyptian pound’s 7.3% gain against the dollar is the most globally after Russia’s ruble. Demand has been strong in large…

Citigroup Sees More Nigerian Companies Tapping Overseas Markets

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Citigroup Inc. is seeing increased demand from Nigerian companies planning to raise cash in international capital markets to expand amid renewed investor interest in West Africa. “The major concern for most corporates as well as potential investors last year was the elections and the possible implications for policy direction, especially from an exchange-rate perspective,” Akin Dawodu, the lender’s Nigerian head, said in the commercial hub of Lagos. With the vote…

Meltdown of State Companies Imperils South Africa’s Finances

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A meltdown at some of South Africa’s biggest state companies is intensifying, placing the nation’s finances at risk and frustrating President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to attract new investment and resuscitate a moribund economy. While monolithic power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which is tottering on the brink of insolvency, has dominated recent headlines, arms manufacturer Denel SOC Ltd., the South African Broadcasting Corp. and South African Airways have joined the list of…

Airtel Africa IPO Expected to Price at Bottom End of Range

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s initial public offering of its Africa unit is expected to price at 80 pence a share, the bottom of its range of 80 pence to 100 pence, according to terms seen by Bloomberg. The books, which close at 2 p.m. in London on Thursday, are oversubscribed on the full size of the deal, the documents show. Bharti is seeking to raise $750 million on Friday through listings in London…

« 1 … 293 294 295 296 297 … 1,072 »