The Editorial Team |

Dollar Risk to Emerging Markets Is Over for Top European Manager

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rising-dollar trend that inflicted so much damage on risk appetite in 2018 is all but a thing of the past, according to Amundi Asset Management. And that can only be good for emerging markets. “The two macro threats — basically the dollar and higher interest rates coming from the U.S. — are basically diminished and they are behind us,” Pascal Blanque, group chief investment officer for Amundi, said in…

Rwanda’s Biggest Lender to Start Investment Bank, Insurer

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KIGALI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Rwanda’s biggest lender is expanding into investment banking to win more business customers as competition for consumers intensifies. BK Group Plc’s Bank of Kigali will start its investment-banking unit in March, Chief Executive Officer Diane Karusisi said in an interview in the Rwandan capital. The lender also plans to start an insurance unit as it seeks to diversify earnings, she said. Rivalry in retail banking among the nation’s 11 commercial lenders is…

Ghana to Start $403 Million Debt Sale for Lenders Next Month

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana will start a debt sale next month to prop up lenders as authorities seek 2 billion cedis ($403 million) in finance for banks undercapitalized banks. The government created a special-purpose vehicle known as Ghana Amalgamated Trust, or GAT, which will use the debt sale’s proceeds to purchase shares in five lenders and help them meet a minimum capital threshold of 400 million cedis. GAT will pay debt investors a…

Anadarko Urgently Wants Armored Vehicles for Mozambique Project

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MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Anadarko Petroleum Corp. wants a fleet of at least six vehicles with armor heavy enough to stop AK-47 bullets at its natural-gas project in Mozambique. And it needs them soon. The company called for expressions of interest from potential suppliers of so-called B6 specification vehicles, and also wants associated fleet management services, according to an advertisement published in the Maputo-based Noticias newspaper on Thursday. Anadarko is expected to spend at…

Egypt Approaches JPMorgan to Join EM Bond Index, Minister Says

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt approached JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s to be included inclusion in its emerging-market bond indexes and is making progress on a plan to make it easier for foreigners to invest in its local debt, Finance minister Mohamed Maait said. “Our strategy aims to reduce our borrowing costs and make our debt more attractive,” Maait said in a telephone interview on Thursday. Joining the JPMorgan indexes would “have a positive impact as…

Why Are So Many African Leaders Shutting Off the Internet in 2019?

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Last week, Zimbabwe’s High Court ordered Internet operators to restore the Internet, which they had shut down for a week. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s officials ordered the shutdown after mass protests against fuel price hikes — from less than $3 per gallon to almost $12 a gallon — rocked Zimbabwe for weeks, aiming to prevent protesters from coordinating their actions and sharing information. Protesters argued that the shutdown’s goal was…

Credit Fundamentals Play Second Fiddle to EMEA Sovereign Risk

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Corporate credit metrics diverge across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as sector spreads are tightly correlated to sovereign risk. Fundamentals continue to improve for the region’s energy sector issuers, while EMEA banks remain subject to idiosyncratic, country-specific risk. EMEA energy sector debt valuations are driven by country rather than company fundamentals, resulting in higher yields than emerging market peers. Energy sector issuers from Central Asia and…

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