The Editorial Team |

Rand Traders Brace for Turmoil as Turkey Saps Risk Appetite

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Traders are positioning for more turmoil for the rand as Turkey’s financial crisis damps risk appetite among emerging-market investors. The rand’s one-month implied volatility against the dollar soared by the most since December 2015 on Monday. The South African currency plunged by the most in about a decade during Asian trading hours, but has since pared its decline. The yield on benchmark government bonds climbed above 9 percent for…

Bitcoin Dips Below $6,000 as Almost Every Cryptocurrency Drops

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin touched below $6,000 and dozens of smaller digital tokens retreated as this month’s sell-off in cryptocurrencies showed few signs of letting up. The largest digital currency fell as much as 6.2 percent to $5,887, the lowest level since June, before paring some of the drop, according to Bloomberg composite pricing. Ether sank as much as 13 percent, while all but one of the 100 biggest cryptocurrencies tracked by Coinmarketcap.com recorded declines over…

OPEC Lifted Crude Production in July Despite Saudi Supply Cut

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – OPEC crude production rose in July, despite sliding output in Libya, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The bloc’s output averaged 32.32 million barrels a day in July, up 41,000 barrels a day from June, the group said in its monthly oil market report, citing secondary source figures. Increased production in Kuwait, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates more than offset the drop elsewhere. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in June to…

Uganda Holds Rate at Record-Low 9% to Balance Prices, Growth

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KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda’s central bank maintained its key interest rate at a record low as it seeks to balance rising inflation and the need to encourage economic growth. The Monetary Policy Committee kept the benchmark rate at 9 percent, Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile told reporters Monday in the capital, Kampala. The annual inflation rate rose to 3.1 percent in July, the highest level in seven months, as energy prices soared. The weaker shilling and higher…

Regulation of the Initial Coin Offerings: Sitting in the Waiting Room

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Although the debate about whether or not to regulate initial coin offerings (ICOs) is in full swing, many key regulators are hot on its heels, and even if we are in the first paragraph, ‘in summary’, they are going to be regulated. The challenge, of course, will be to regulate appropriately without stifling growth and innovation. The volatility of certain tokens (also traditionally referred to as cryptocurrencies or coins)…

Emerging Opportunities in Africa Capital Markets and Trade Finance

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa trade finance has been neglected as an asset class, because the yields have been modest relative to African sovereign bond markets and because investors had been attracted to the high beta African investments, like the local currency bonds. The volatility and recent sell-off in EM hard-currency and local-currency bonds in 2018 has changed investors’ appetite significantly. EM fixed income investors are changing their preference towards low beta and…

INTO AFRICA August 2018 Edition – Driving Africa Opportunities

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Welcome to the August 2018 edition of INTO AFRICA, a publication with fresh insight into Africa’s emerging capital markets. This month’s edition, titled: Driving Africa Opportunities and explores investment opportunities as well as banking and insurance sectors in Africa. Many investors are familiar with the African growth story. The young demographic, growing middle class and attractive GDP growth prospects have been recited before and I am sure we can agree that the…

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