The Editorial Team |

Discovery to Buy Full Control of Card Unit From FirstRand

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Discovery Ltd. is on track to start a South African bank by the end of this year after agreeing to buy FirstRand Ltd.’s stake in a credit-card venture, a transaction which had delayed the lender’s launch. Johannesburg-based Discovery is joining a rush into South African retail banking by a range of entrants spanning from insurer Old Mutual Limited. to local banking-veteran Michael Jordaan, who is looking to start a digital-only offering. The country’s largest medical-insurance…

Equity Group Kenya Sees Limiting of State Lending `Archaic’

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s biggest bank by market value said plans by lawmakers to restrict how much the government can borrow from commercial lenders are outdated and risk infringing on the independence of the central bank. Legislators in the East African nation have proposed the measure to avoid the state sector crowding out businesses and consumers from accessing credit. Lawmakers also want to compel banks to set aside 10 percent of their…

MTN Got Nigerian Approval to Repatriate Funds Last Year, BD Says

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. and four lenders may have won approval from Nigeria’s central bank to repatriate funds in a 2017 ruling, Lagos-based Business Day reported, citing a letter signed by an official at the reserve bank. In the letter addressed to MTN Nigeria’s chief executive officer, the central bank confirms the validity of the company’s certificates of capital importation — needed to take funds out of the country — according…

Eritrea May Alter Army Draft That Forced Thousands to Europe

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ERITREA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Eritrea says it will cut the size of its army as part of changes to a system of mandatory national service that the United Nations blames for propelling tens of thousands of people to flee to Europe and neighbouring countries. The official end to a two-decade war with neighbouring Ethiopia means the country that sits on a key shipping route to the Suez Canal may be able to place some working-age…

Unity Bank Sells $1.1 Billion of Bad Loans to Lure Investors

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Unity Bank Plc sold 400 billion naira ($1.1 billion) of bad loans to clean up its balance sheet as it seeks to conclude talks for a cash injection aimed at stabilizing the Nigerian lender. The disposal to Frontier Capital Alternative Asset Ltd. of the toxic assets cut the ratio of non-performing loans to near zero from almost 50 percent and helped to shore up Unity Bank’s liquidity, Chief Financial Officer Ebenezer…

Ramaphosa Scores in Game Auction as He Mulls Farm Seizures

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Even as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s July announcement that the ruling party will push ahead with plans to expropriate land without compensation pushes down the rand and damages investor sentiment, he sold $1.3 million worth of animals from his expansive game and cattle operations. An auction near the northern South African town of Bela Bela on Saturday by a group of six farms known collectively as Stud Game Breeders raised about…

China Doesn’t Want `Vanity Projects,’ Xi Tells Africa Executives

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Xi Jinping is using a gathering of dozens of African leaders in Beijing to push back against criticism that China’s vast development initiatives risk saddling emerging economies with debt. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which begins Monday, provides a high-profile chance for Xi to defend his signature Belt and Road Initiative to develop roads, railways, ports, pipelines and other trade links. At a business event ahead of the summit, Xi said China had…

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