South African MPC Prefers 4.5% CPI Expectation to Hold Rates

South African MPC Prefers 4.5% CPI Expectation to Hold Rates

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) Anchoring South African inflation expectations at 4.5 percent will help contain price growth and limit the need for the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. Lower inflation expectations are good news, Kganyago told lawmakers in Cape Town Wednesday. The main risks to price growth are the rand, oil costs and wage increases, and the impact of higher value-added tax has been more muted than expected, he said. While the central…

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Mining’s Exploration Surge Helps Spur $500 Million Driller Deal

Mining’s Exploration Surge Helps Spur $500 Million Driller Deal

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Rising exploration is driving growth opportunities for mining services providers, according to Ausdrill Ltd., which has agreed to acquire a smaller rival to create Australia’s second-largest company in the sector. Ausdrill’s A$697 ($500 million) cash and share acquisition, including debt, of Barminco Holdings Pty will form a company with a client roster that includes BHP Billiton Ltd. and Newmont Mining Corp., Ausdrill said Wednesday in a statement. The mining sector is revving up a hunt…

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BMO, Ontario Teachers’ Test Canadian Debt Issuance on Blockchain

BMO, Ontario Teachers’ Test Canadian Debt Issuance on Blockchain

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bank of Montreal and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan tested a Canadian-dollar debt deal over blockchain, a further step in determining the viability of the new technology in fixed-income markets. Bank of Montreal sold C$250 million ($190 million) of one-year floating rate deposit notes to the Ontario pension fund and used blockchain technology to mirror the transaction, the Toronto-based lender said Wednesday in a statement. The bank’s BMO Capital Markets unit built…

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Crypto’s Millennial Mining Tycoon Is Said to Plan $3 Billion IPO

Crypto’s Millennial Mining Tycoon Is Said to Plan $3 Billion IPO

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitmain Technologies Ltd., the world’s biggest producer of cryptocurrency mining chips, is planning a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise as much as $3 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. The Beijing-based company, whose 32-year-old co-founder Jihan Wu is one of the most powerful players in crypto, plans to file a listing application with the Hong Kong stock exchange as early as September, according to the people….

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South Africa Close to Tax Deal to Lure VW, Ford, BMW Investment

South Africa Close to Tax Deal to Lure VW, Ford, BMW Investment

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s government is close to agreeing to new tax breaks for international carmakers including Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co. and BMW AG in return for initiatives to boost jobs and exports, according to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies. A deal on a 15-year incentive program to replace one that expires in 2020 should be reached this year, Davies said in an interview Tuesday. While work is still to…

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Rand Sinks as a Downbeat Moody’s, Naspers Spur a Perfect Storm

Rand Sinks as a Downbeat Moody’s, Naspers Spur a Perfect Storm

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand was battered by headwinds including a downbeat assessment of the economy by Moody’s Investors Service and a plunge in the biggest company on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The currency sank as much as 3.4 percent against the dollar after Moody’s said the pace of South Africa’s fiscal consolidation will be slower than government forecasts due to weaker-than-expected economic growth and a rising public sector wage bill. The statement…

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Nigeria CPI Dips to 2 1/2-Year Low; Food-Price Growth Slows

Nigeria CPI Dips to 2 1/2-Year Low; Food-Price Growth Slows

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian inflation decelerated for an 18th straight month as food prices climbed at the slowest rate since March 2016. The annual inflation rate dropped to 11.1 percent in July from 11.2 percent in June, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said on Twitter Wednesday, matching the median of estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The slowdown in inflation could reverse in the second half of the year as the government releases funding for…

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