The Editorial Team |

Congo, Trafigura Are Said to Agree Restructuring of Oil Loans

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Republic of Congo and commodities-trading house Trafigura Group agreed to reorganize several hundred millions of dollars in oil-for-cash loans that the African nation struggled with after crude prices fell, according to people familiar with the talks. The restructuring, which also involves several banks that supported the Trafigura deal, is key for Congo as it will help to unlock financial support from the International Monetary Fund. Congo owes creditors more than…

Army Puts Backers Off Multibillion-Dollar Zimbabwe Platinum Mine

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) -A plan to build Zimbabwe’s biggest platinum mine at a cost of about $4 billion is floundering because a military stake in the project has deterred potential backers, according to people familiar with the funding discussions. The African Export-Import Bank has the mandate to raise money for the mine, a joint venture between Russian and Zimbabwean investors. While the bank provided $192 million of its own funds, meetings in the past year…

Eskom’s Turnaround Imperiled as Debt Approaches $35 Billion

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The embattled South African state power utility’s debt burden, described by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as the biggest threat to the nation’s economy, has burgeoned, compounding the difficulty the government faces in formulating a turnaround plan. Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s debt is approaching 500 billion rand ($35 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg from public records, including bonds and issued loans, up from about 370 billion rand a…

Trump Tariffs Would Mean Pricier iPhones or Lower Apple Profit

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – For more than a year, Apple Inc. avoided major damage from the U.S. trade war with China, thanks in part to a White House charm offensive by Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. But the company now faces its first major hit — from both sides of the dispute. A new round of tariffs proposed by the U.S. on Monday includes mobile phones, meaning the iPhone, Apple’s most important product that is…

Nigerian, Zimbabwe and Ghana Inflation Accelerates in April

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian inflation accelerated in April as food-price growth quickened. Consumer prices in Africa’s largest oil producer rose 11.4% from a year earlier, compared with 11.3% in March, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in a report published Wednesday on Twitter. Prices rose 0.94% in the month. The pick-up in inflation could limit the room for the central bank to loosen policy further when it decides on interest rates…

Trade War May Yet Spur China to Sell Treasuries as Yuan Tumbles

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – The idea that China would dump its $1.1 trillion of Treasuries to retaliate against U.S. tariffs is often dismissed as improbable. It’s seen as a nuclear option that would inflict more harm on China’s economy than America’s. Yet the tensions rippling through global financial markets could still lead Beijing to reduce its stockpile in the $15.9 trillion Treasuries market — not to retaliate, but to defend its currency if it goes into a…

MTN Nigeria Needed Just 16 Minutes to Reverse Market Fortune (1

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. has been promising to list its Nigerian business on the Lagos stock exchange for almost three years, yet it took just 16 minutes for the mobile-phone giant to cause a sensation. After a lengthy ceremony of speeches, congratulations and rounds of applause delayed the start of trading for more than half an hour, it looked as though MTN Nigeria Communications Plc may not trade at all with the market…

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