The Editorial Team |

EFG-Hermes Buys Nigerian Brokerage in Frontier Markets Push

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – EFG-Hermes Holding SAE bought Nigerian brokerage and research house Primera Africa Securities Ltd. as the investment bank seeks to expand in frontier markets across Africa and Asia. The acquisition marks Cairo-based EFG Hermes’s second foray into sub-Saharan Africa after receiving a Kenyan stockbroking license in July 2017, extending its reach to 12 countries including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman. The firm plans to use the Lagos-based operation as a hub to…

Nigerians Bury Cash in Backyards as Mobile Money Stumbles

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Every few days, Tasiu Abdurrahman takes the money he makes from selling spices in Nigeria’s biggest northern city and buries it in his yard. The 55-year-old closed his bank account eight years ago after growing disillusioned with standing in long lines for hours to deposit or withdraw cash. Abdurrahman is one of about 50 million of the unbanked in Nigeria, which despite having Africa’s largest mobile-phone market, is only just opening…

Eye of the Emerging-Market Storm May Have Passed the Rand

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The tide may have turned for South Africa’s battered rand. The currency slumped 14 percent in the second quarter, its worst three-month period in more than six years, amid an emerging-market sell-off sparked by rising U.S. rates and escalating trade tensions. It didn’t help that South Africa’s economy is struggling to emerge from a contraction, leaving the central little room for policy tightening. And the euphoria that followed Cyril Ramaphosa’s election…

Dis-Chem Climbs Most in Six Months as Pharmacy Chain Takes Share

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Dis-Chem Pharmacies Ltd. rose the most since January after South Africa’s second-biggest pharmacy chain gained market share as sales growth outstripped several local retailers. Retailers in Africa’s most-industrialized economy have struggled as higher taxes and fuel prices curb consumer spending. Dis-Chem’s sales for the four months through June rose 11 percent to 7 billion rand ($520 million), the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Thursday. That compares with Shoprite Holdings…

Emerging-Market Currencies Sink to One-Year Low on Dollar Gains

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Emerging-market currencies deepened their slide to the lowest level in a year and stocks retreated amid a U.S. dollar advance. Every developing-nation currency tracked by Bloomberg fell, and an MSCI gauge of equities extended its selloff from a January peak to 17 percent. South Africa’s rand slipped as the central bank warned of a “challenging” growth outlook, while Chile’s peso joined a slide in copper. The Chinese yuan sank…

Ramaphosa Shine Fades as Reality Bites South African Economy

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economic and political problems are piling up for Cyril Ramaphosa, dampening the euphoria that accompanied his ascension to the South African presidency. A labor union boss turned business tycoon, Ramaphosa took office in February after the ruling African National Congress forced Jacob Zuma to resign following a scandal-tainted tenure that lasted almost nine years. While Ramaphosa initially won plaudits from investors and the public for instigating a crackdown on graft, sentiment has…

Copper Tumbles Below $6,000 as China Sends Metals Into Freefall

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A new round of trade war tensions is sending metal markets into a tailspin. Copper crashed through $6,000 a metric ton for the first time in a year and is headed for its biggest monthly drop since 2015. Zinc, lead, nickel and aluminium tumbled as the dollar rose for a third day. An index of copper-mining companies headed for the lowest close since 2016, paced by losses in First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Metals…

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