The Editorial Team |

Uganda Central Bank Says Lenders’ Asset Quality Still a Concern

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The asset quality of Uganda’s banking sector “remains a concern,” even as the country’s 24 commercial lenders reduced the amount of non-performing loans in the past fiscal year and were able to record higher profits, the Bank of Uganda said. The ratio of non-performing loans to total loans declined to 4.4 percent in the 12 months through June from 6.2 percent a year earlier, but “credit quality could be…

Sonia Gets Clean Sweep in 2019 Sterling Bonds as Libor Fades

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.K. regulators are seeing some success as they try to shift the sterling bond market away from scandal-hit Libor. Five all-new floating-rate pound notes have come to market this year, and all of them have been tied to the Sterling Overnight Interbank Average rather than Libor. FMS Wertmanagement, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and International Finance Corp were the latest names to join the offering list. The five deals, totaling at least 3.5 billion pounds…

Uganda Targets 1,000 Megawatts of New Generation by June 2020

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KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda plans to boost power generation capacity by at least 1,000 megawatts by June 2020 to promote industrial growth by adding renewable sources such as wind, solar and biomass to hydropower. Increased generation will enable the East African nation to raise access on the national grid to 30 percent, according to a sector budget document on the Finance Ministry’s website. The World Bank estimates the country’s access at 26.7…

Gabon Government Says It Quashed Coup by Army Mutineers

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LIBREVILLE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Gabonese authorities said they put down an attempted coup by a group of mutineering soldiers who’d seized control of the national broadcaster and vowed to “save a democracy in danger.” Communication Minister Guy-Bertrand Mapangou told Radio France Internationale on Monday that order had been restored, and the capital, Libreville, was largely quiet. His statement came hours after Ondo Obiang Kelly, an army lieutenant, read a statement on state TV…

MTN Nigeria Deal Fails to Fuel Shares as More Trouble Feared

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. executives may have expected investors to cut them a little slack after they got potential liabilities of $8.1 billion in Nigeria reduced to $53 million last month. Not so. MTN stock has risen just 2.8 percent since the settlement on Dec. 24, still 20 percent below its price in late August. That’s when Nigeria’s central bank first alleged that the Johannesburg-based wireless carrier had illegally repatriated funds…

Gambia Truth Commission Begins Hearings Into Ex-Dictator’s Rule

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BANJUL (Capital Markets in Africa) – A commission that is investigating abuses under the 22-year rule of former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh began proceedings Monday as victims say they demand justice for atrocities committed against them. The repressive reign of Jammeh, who seized control of the West African nation in a 1994 coup, was characterized by human-rights violations such as torture, disappearances and forcing HIV sufferers to follow his own treatment methods. He was ousted two years…

Sibanye Counts Hit to Earnings as Strike at Gold Mines Drags On

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sibanye Gold Ltd. said a protracted strike at its South African gold mines may hurt earnings at a time when the producer remains under pressure to reduce debt. Thousands of workers started a strike in November over pay, and there’s inconsistent output at three mines amid limited operations, spokesman James Wellsted said, without saying how many workers are showing up. Sibanye is assessing the impact on its finances, he said. While the…

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