The Editorial Team |

Mobile-Money Growth Fuels Safaricom’s 20% Jump in Profit

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Safaricom Plc.’s profit grew 20 percent in the six months to end-September, underpinned by money-transfer income and even as growth in mobile-data sales slowed. Profit at East Africa’s biggest company by market value came in at 31.5 billion shillings ($309.6 million) while service revenue grew almost 8 percent to 118.2 billion shillings. While mobile-data sales climbed 11 percent to 19.5 billion shillings, that was slower than the 31 percent…

South African Gupta-Linked Firm Said to Be Liquidated Over Debt

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A South African mining contracting firm owned by the Gupta family has been put into liquidation, according to people familiar with the matter. Westdawn Investments, which also trades as JIC Mining Services (Pty) Ltd., has debt of almost 60 million rand ($4.2 million), said the people, who asked not to be named because the information isn’t public. The company received the liquidation letter on Friday from Chavonnes Badenhorst St….

Nigeria Wants to Be the Biggest Winner From African Free Trade

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa’s most-populous nation has not yet signed a continent-wide free-trade deal because it wants to make sure it’s the biggest winner, and not the biggest loser, from this pact. Nigeria seeks to make sure third parties won’t be able to dump products and threaten local producers once the African Continental Free Trade Area is established, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said Friday at a conference in Lagos, the commercial capital. “We are…

Impala Is Identifying Buyers for Shaft Earmarked for Closure

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JOHANNEBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. is in the process of selecting potential buyers for one of the shafts it had planned to close in April as part of a restructuring plan for its Rustenburg mining complex. The world’s second-largest platinum producer is considering options including selling shafts or inviting contractors to run the operations. A selection process to identify and engage with possible takers for its number 1 shaft, which employs…

South Africa’s Sanlam to Issue New Shares to Black Shareholders

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JOHANNEBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sanlam Ltd. will issue new shares to black shareholders through its black empowerment partner as it seeks to win more business from state-owned companies in South Africa. The Cape Town-based insurer will issue 11.35 million shares, or 5 percent of its ordinary share capital, and grant a 2 billion rand ($136.6 million) facility to Ubuntu-Botho Investments or its subsidiaries to help it invest in some Sanlam units. Ubuntu-Botho is a…

Small Corner of Corporate Debt Market Withstood October Sell-Off

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – As risk aversion weighed on developing-nation bonds in October, one small corner of the market resisted: sub-investment-rated corporate debt in Africa. Emerging-market corporate bonds lost an average 0.7 percent this month, according to Bloomberg Barclays indexes. But dollar-denominated securities of companies in Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria eked out gains, thanks to the relative isolation of those markets and the general scarcity of corporate debt in Africa. African…

Trade Deficit Latest in String of Bad News Buffeting the Rand

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rand slumped to a three-week low against the dollar, leading emerging-market currency declines, as an unexpected monthly trade deficit added to a string of disappointing economic news making investors wary of South African assets. The currency of Africa’s most-industrialized economy declined 1.6 percent to 14.8307 per dollar by 4:18 p.m. in Johannesburg, heading for the weakest closing level since October 8. Yields on benchmark 2026 government bondsjumped nine basis points to…

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