How Parliament Is Trying to Control Brexit and What It Means

How Parliament Is Trying to Control Brexit and What It Means

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May faces a series of votes on Tuesday that could change the direction of Brexit. Two rival factions in Parliament are trying to take control. If one wins, Brexit will probably be put on hold. If the other wins, May would claim a strong mandate to return to Brussels to renegotiate the most controversial part of the divorce deal — the Irish border backstop. The chances of…

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Egypt Hires Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman for Dollar Bond Sale

Egypt Hires Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman for Dollar Bond Sale

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt has appointed banks including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to sell dollar bonds in the first quarter of the year to help reduce the budget deficit. The country also picked HSBC Holdings Plc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for the deal and hired BNP Paribas SA, Natixis SA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and Standard Chartered Plc for the issuance of euro-denominated debt, according to a statement from the…

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One of the Mideast’s Richest Men Is Among Freed Saudi Detainees

One of the Mideast’s Richest Men Is Among Freed Saudi Detainees

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi was released more than a year after his arrest in what authorities said was a crackdown on corruption, becoming the latest detainee to be freed under mysterious circumstances. Al Amoudi was let go after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed raised his case during a visit to Saudi Arabia last year, the premier’s office said. A Saudi official said in December that Al Amoudi was charged with corruption and…

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Naspers Focuses on Classifieds After $1.1 Billion Avito Deal

Naspers Focuses on Classifieds After $1.1 Billion Avito Deal

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Naspers Ltd. will focus on streamlining technologies and harnessing artificial intelligence across its e-commerce and classifieds businesses after taking full control of Russia’s Avito BB in a $1.1 billion deal. Africa’s biggest company by market value on Friday bought out minority shareholders in Avito through its OLX Group, increasing exposure to Russia’s e-commerce market and strengthening its global reach in the sector. Naspers plans to consolidate different local online technologies into a…

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Ghana’s Cedi Eyes Record Low as Bank Cuts Rate to 2013 Low

Ghana’s Cedi Eyes Record Low as Bank Cuts Rate to 2013 Low

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate to a six-year low, bucking the worldwide trend toward tightening and pushing the local currency close to the weakest on record. The Bank of Ghana reduced the rate by 100 basis points to 16 percent, Governor Ernest Addison told reporters Monday in the capital, Accra. All eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg said the rate would be held. “The bank’s latest…

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Ex-South Africa President Zuma Linked to New Bribes Scandal

Ex-South Africa President Zuma Linked to New Bribes Scandal

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Jacob Zuma, who quit as South African president last year after being implicated in a string of scandals, is facing fresh allegations that he took bribes from services company Bosasa to shield it from prosecution and advance its business interests. Angelo Agrizzi, Bosasa’s chief operating officer from 1999 to 2016, told a judicial inquiry that’s probing graft during Zuma’s rule how the company agreed to pay 300,000 rand ($22,000)…

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Absa’s Ramos Sees Confidence Returning to South African Economy

Absa’s Ramos Sees Confidence Returning to South African Economy

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Absa Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Maria Ramos is betting that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is on the right track with rebuilding the continent’s most-industrialized economy. Almost a year since taking over from his corruption-tainted predecessor, Ramaphosa started commissions of inquiry to determine how graft became so entrenched and to prevent it in future. He also set in motion plans to reinvigorate economic growth through an investment conference that raised billions in…

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