The Editorial Team |

Spare a Thought for Libya’s $67 Billion Fund: Mark Gilbert

TRIPOLI (Capital Markets in Africa)- It’s probably too soon for the UN to lift the sanctions on the LIA, but it could make a start by letting it invest the proceeds of maturing securities. In a tough environment for asset managers battling with declining stock markets and still ultra-low benchmark bond yields, spare a thought for Libya’s sovereign wealth fund. It also has to contend with militia attacks on its staff, competing claims about who runs…

Cocoa Crisis Hits Top Grower’s Exporters as Banks Curb Loans

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Domestic shippers in the world’s top cocoa producer are losing market share to foreign-backed competitors as exporters become ensnared in the fallout of the liquidation of Saf-Cacao. Cocoa shippers in Ivory Coast are struggling to raise finance for the buying and storing of beans as lenders curb their exposure to the sector. Stung by about 150 billion CFA francs ($261 million) in unpaid debts by Saf-Cacao, formerly one of the biggest cocoa exporters…

While Rand Bulls Toasted the SARB, Stock and Bond Traders Fled

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Currency traders may have taken heart from the South African Reserve Bank’s first interest-rate hike since early 2016 on Thursday, but foreign investors reacted by fleeing the country. Even as the rand strengthened after the rate decision, leaving it poised for its best month this year, outflows from South African markets soared. Foreign investors sold a net 8.6 billion rand ($620 million) of equities and local-currency bonds, the most since May 9, according…

Nigeria’s Base Rate Loses Bite as Stealth Tightening Takes Hold

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s base interest rate is becoming more and more irrelevant. That’s the view of some analysts after the Monetary Policy Committee in Africa’s biggest oil producer held its key rate for the 14th straight meeting on Thursday, despite inflation being above its target range of 6 percent to 9 percent for more than three years. Central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele is instead using money-market instruments to rein in liquidity and protect the naira,…

Kenya to Allow Commercial Farmers to Lease Idle Government Land

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya, where agriculture contributes a third of gross domestic product, will allow commercial farmers to lease idle government land as the state tries to improve food security. The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation will publish the terms that will allow farmers to plant on idle government as it seeks to maximize use in a country where only 20 percent to the land mass is arable, Deputy President William Ruto said Friday…

Zimbabwe Plans $1 Billion Infrastructure Bond in 2019 for Roads

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe plans to sell $1 billion of bonds next year to fund projects that include expanding the main road between the capital and the border with South Africa, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said. The southern African nation wants to improve the highway linking Harare with the border town of Beit Bridge, he told business leaders in the capital Friday. Yesterday, Ncube unveiled his 2019 budget in which he cut…

Key Congo Opposition Leaders Join Forces for Presidency Bid

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Two of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s most popular opposition politicians joined forces to compete in next month’s presidential election. The joint ticket splits the opposition vote and raises the likelihood that President Joseph Kabila’s chosen successor, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, will win the Dec. 23 vote to lead the world’s largest cobalt producer. Felix Tshisekedi, the head of Congo’s biggest opposition party, will run for president backed by Vital Kamerhe, who came…

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