The Editorial Team |

Trafigura-Backed Puma Energy Hammered by Angola Fuel Freeze

LAUNDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – A $5.7 billion spending spree is catching up with Puma Energy Holdings Ltd. The fuel station operator, whose biggest shareholder is commodities trader Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd, is struggling to increase profits after Angola’s new president froze pump prices this year, slashing Puma’s traditionally lucrative margins in the African country. The troubles in Angola are highlighting Puma’s weighty debt burden, incurred as it forked-out between 2012 and 2016 to buy and build fuel…

Nigeria Fires Back at HSBC After Bank Criticizes President

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria accused HSBC Holdings Plc of money laundering after an analyst working for the lender said that the second term for President Muhammadu Buhari may stall economic recovery in Africa’s biggest oil producer. “What killed Nigeria’s economy in the past was the unbridled looting of state resources by leaders, the type which was actively supported by HSBC,” presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement late Saturday. A bank that “continued until a…

What to Watch in Commodities: OPEC, Iron Ore, Gas, Trade, Storms

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Commodity investors have a busy docket this week, with near-term headlines set to be dominated by the damage wrought by Hurricane Florence in the U.S. and its far-flung Asian cousin, Typhoon Mangkhut. There’s also likely be squalls for raw materials from the U.S.-China trade war, with metals including copper sinking on Monday on concern more levies may hit. Beyond the bad weather, there’s a trio of a meeting that’ll command attention, with…

Money Markets Signal Surprise S. Africa Rate Hike as Rand Falls

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s battered rand may receive an unexpected boost from the central bank this week if money-market rates are anything to go by. While only three out of 19 economists in a Bloomberg survey are predicting a South African Reserve Bank rate increase on Thursday, traders have been adding bets on a surprise hike. Forward-rate agreements are now putting the odds of a 25 basis-point hike at more than 50 percent,…

Trump Trade Winds Blow Egypt Oranges to Shanghai Fruit Shops

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Escalating global trade tensions are giving Chinese fruit stalls a little more of an international flavor. Fruit distributor Sunmoon Food Co. is shipping navel oranges from Egypt, kiwis from Italy and apples from Poland into China for the first time ever. The produce will fill the gap created when the Asian nation slapped tariffs on U.S. fruit as part of the escalating trade war between the Xi Jinping and Donald Trump administrations. With turnover of…

South Africa no longer dominates private equity transactions in Africa

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) -Private equity investors are shifting their focus away from South Africa and finding opportunities to capture growth in the rest of the continent. According to the Bright Africa 2018 report, produced annually by RisCura, South Africa has always made up a large proportion of private equity (PE) transaction activity. However, this concentration has reduced significantly from 50% in 2009 to 31% in 2017, the latest numbers show. “Sluggish GDP growth,…

Floods in Nigeria Kill More than 100, Wiping out Homes and Farms

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Rainy season flooding across Nigeria has killed more than 100 people, as water poured over the banks of the West African country’s two major rivers, and into numerous cities and towns. Officials prepared on Monday to declare a natural disaster, which would allow for the mobilization of military and other resources to 12 states that have been badly affected. President Muhammadu Buhari has authorized the equivalent of $8.2 million…

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