The Editorial Team |

The Worst Probably Isn’t Over for Kenya’s Shilling. Here’s Why

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Even though Kenya’s shilling depreciated for the last six weeks to the weakest since January, the worst may be yet to come. High government spending may heap pressure on the shilling. Kenya’s fiscal deficit this year is forecast by the International Monetary Fund to be 6.6 percent of gross domestic product. Among the region’s Eurobond nations, only Zambia’s is higher. If the deficit widens, Kenya’s relatively low interest rates…

Former Exxon Manager Leads Congo Opposition Presidency Bid

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s main opposition leaders chose Martin Fayulu as their candidate for next month’s presidential election. The opposition had been expected to select from two better-known politicians: Felix Tshisekedi, head of the biggest opposition party, or Vital Kamerhe, who finished third in the last vote in 2011. Fayulu will face President Joseph Kabila’s anointed successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, in the Dec. 23 race to lead the world’s largest cobalt…

Seasonal Liquidity Crunch Is Bad News for South Africa’s Rand

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – An expected seasonal dollar-liquidity crunch means the outlook for South Africa’s rand is anything but merry as the year draws to a close. Funding requirements of large European and Japanese banks going into year-end, together with the Federal Reserve’s tighter monetary policy, will probably lead to greater demand for dollars and rising offshore funding costs, according to Mehul Daya and Walter de Wet. That would weigh on the rand, one of the…

Africa’s Biggest Democracy Fights Enduring Problem: Rigging

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – As Nigeria heads toward general elections in February, it’s in a race to stamp out the bane of the voting system in Africa’s biggest democracy: rigging. Ballot snatching and buying, underage and multiple voting, falsifying results and the suppression of turnout in opposition areas are among the abuses the National Assembly is trying to tackle with new legislation. The bill, passed last month, emerged from talks among the presidency,…

Crypto 2.0 May Be Digital Cash You Can Actually Use to Buy Stuff

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The London clubhouse built for activists who helped redesign Britain’s electoral system nearly two centuries ago offered a fitting setting for the crowd of technology entrepreneurs hoping to reinvent money. Those gathered in the Reform Club near Buckingham Palace late last month were just a small part of a fast-growing cohort of idealists and profit-seekers working feverishly on a new breed of digital currencies. Call them crypto 2.0. These coins should, as…

War Tamed, South Sudan Faces New Hurdle: Luring Vital Investment

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Sudanese authorities, eager for investment after a five-year civil war, vowed to meet international companies’ needs for foreign exchange, shortages of which forced Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA’s unit to close. The Investment Authority’s pledge comes as the oil-producing East African nation enacts a peace deal and pursues international financing to overcome an economic crisis that saw inflation exceed 200 percent. Units of both MTN Group Ltd. and Kuwait’s largest mobile-phone provider are among the…

Banks Fear Hyperinflation Redux in Plea for Zimbabwe Reforms

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwean banks urged the government to introduce wide-ranging reforms amid signs the country is facing an economic crisis reminiscent of a hyperinflationary spiral a decade ago. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube is preparing to announce the 2019 budget later this month. He’s juggling a ballooning budget deficit, foreign-exchange shortages that are fuelling inflation, and an inability to raise foreign loans because of $5.6 billion of debt arrears. The fiscal shortfall, which was more than triple…

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