The Editorial Team |

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…

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

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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…

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

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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…

Private equity investment in Africa: The Art of managing expectations

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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

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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

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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

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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…

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