The Editorial Team |

Ignoring Crash, Bitcoin Tracking Pioneer Loads Up Full Basket

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Undaunted by the crash in cryptocurrencies, the company that created the first exchange-traded Bitcoin trackers now wants to offer a whole basket of digital currencies to bet on. The plan is to launch an exchange-traded product based on a basket of 5 to 10 such currencies before the end of the year, according to Stockholm-based XBT Provider AB. This is “something that the market is looking for,” said Laurent Kssis,…

The Digital Transformation of Banking – Driving Constructive Economic Outcomes from the FinTech Ecosystem in Africa

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FinTech is transforming the financial services by the impact of Blockchain, Mobile Money, Open Banking and Payments Innovation in Africa. The growth of FinTech has enabled consumers to sidestep traditional ways from using banking to mobile wallets for any transaction between each other. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The unique environment for financial services in Africa is fertile ground for innovative FinTech players who are not only disrupting but also building it from the scratch which is…

Kenya President Halves Fuel Tax, Proposes Austerity Measures

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NAIROBI(Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta proposed a 50 percent reduction on an unpopular new tax on petroleum products and promised expenditure cuts across government departments. The East African state introduced the 16 percent value-added tax on gasoline on Sept. 1 that it said would help raise 35 billion shillings ($345.8 million) to plug a budget deficit of 5.9 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year through June 30, 2019. “I must…

Nigeria Inflation Quickens 1st Time in 19 Months on Food Prices

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s inflation rate rose the first time in 19 months as food-price growth picked up. The annual rate rose to 11.2 percent in August from 11.1 percent in July, Statistician-General Yemi Kale said in a report on Twitter Friday. Prices increased 1.1 percent in the month. The pick-up in price growth may bring interest-rate increases by the central bank closer. It’s scheduled to announce its next policy decision on Sept. 25….

MTN Is Said to Consider Jonas as Chairman to Replace Nhleko

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. is considering a replacement for long-time Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko, with South Africa’s former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas lined up as his possible successor, according to people familiar with the matter. Africa’s biggest wireless carrier by subscribers was mulling a change before the eruption last month of a crisis in Nigeria, where authorities are demanding more than $10 billion in back taxes and funds they allege were illegally transferred, said…

Morgan Stanley Said to Prepare Bitcoin Swap Trading for Clients

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Morgan Stanley plans to offer trading in complex derivatives tied to the largest cryptocurrency, according to a person familiar with the matter, joining other Wall Street firms in creating ways for clients to play the digital currency market. The U.S. bank will deal in contracts that give investors synthetic exposure to the performance of Bitcoin, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Investors will…

Mystery of the $2 Billion Bitcoin Whale That Fuelled a Rout

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – When Bitcoin plunged as much as 15 percent over two days last week, a theory emerged — where else? — on the Internet: a whale was on the move. Speculation mounted that a major holder of cryptocurrency with an electronic wallet that dated back to 2011 — long before anyone had heard of HODL — was moving to sell. His or her wallet had once had as many as 111,114 Bitcoins, which at their peak…

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