The Editorial Team |

Ramaphosa’s South African Recession Heightens Election Risk

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Cyril Ramaphosa’s job of getting South Africa back on track just got a lot more perilous with the surprising news that the economy has slipped into recession. He must walk a fine line between restoring investor confidence battered by almost nine years of misrule by his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, while reducing widespread poverty. And next year’s general elections are looming. The “Ramaphoria” that buoyed the markets and the public at large after…

Steinhoff Ex-CEO Says He Didn’t Know of Financial Irregularities

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Steinhoff International Holdings NV ex-Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste said he wasn’t aware of any financial irregularities and quit as head of the global retailer after disagreeing with the board on how to deal with a dispute with auditors Deloitte LLP. In his first public appearance since the accounting crisis that wiped billions of euros of the company’s market value in December, Jooste challenged the widespread view that he is responsible for…

MTN Ghana’s IPO Set to `Lift the Gloom’ From Accra Stock Market

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Accra’s share market is poised for a massive boost in liquidity Wednesday when shares start trading in MTN Group Ltd.’s local unit. While MTN sold only about a third of the shares available in the initial public offering, the 1.1 billion cedis ($238 million) raised is still more than three times larger than the next biggest Ghana IPO. The sale attracted thousands of individual investors and vastly increases the…

Zambia to Trim Budget Gap; May Be Considering Higher Mine Taxes

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LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia plans to trim its fiscal deficit next year even as Africa’s second-biggest copper producer boosts spending. It may be considering raising mine taxes to achieve that, according to analysts. The Finance Ministry is targeting a budget shortfall of 6.5 percent of gross domestic product next year, compared to 7.4 percent this year, according to a medium-term expenditure plan that sets its fiscal course until 2021. At the same time, it…

Biggest Congo Coltan Miner Resumes Buying After Output Halt

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Societe Miniere de Bisunzu Sarl, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s biggest coltan miner, resumed purchases of the ore after a three-month shutdown at one of the country’s largest deposits. Output restarted at SMB’s mining permit, comprising seven sites at Rubaya in east Congo, on Aug. 14 and the company began buying the minerals extracted by artisanal diggers on Tuesday, Freddy Nzonga, the company’s director of traceability, said by phone….

Kenya Plans to Court Ryanair, easyJet to Boost Beach Tourism

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya plans discussions with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair Holdings Plc and easyJet Plc to begin flying to the East African nation famous for its beaches and safaris, its tourism minister said. Tourism is one of the country’s biggest generators of foreign exchange after remittances and agricultural exports, and earned the nation 119.9 billion shillings ($1.2 billion) last year, according to the Kenya Tourism Board. “We are developing a strategy to encourage low-cost…

African Oil Hunt Returns as Majors Seek to Unlock Vast Reserves

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa is entering the oil-hunt spotlight as drillers, flush with cash after crude’s recovery, are turning their attention back to the continent’s potentially vast resources. The world’s biggest companies from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc are setting up camp across Africa. Armed with stronger balance sheets and higher crude prices the industry is on track to double drilling in African waters this year. Rising natural gas demand is adding…

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