The Editorial Team |

Ratings Cos. Gave South Africa Benefit of the Doubt, Nene Says

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Credit ratings companies gave South Africa the “benefit of the doubt” by keeping the nation’s credit assessments unchanged after the recent political transition, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said. With all three major credit rating companies that now have a stable outlook on their assessments they “are giving us a chance to implement our reforms,” Nene told reporters in London on Friday. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s rise to power since December initially boosted sentiment and the…

Indorama to Raise $1 Billion for Nigerian Fertilizer Production

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Singapore-based Indorama Corp. Pte. Ltd. will raise $1 billion of debt via one of its units to build a second fertilizer line in Nigeria. Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemicals Ltd. will get $100 million from the World Bank’s investment arm, the International Finance Corp., and the rest from lenders including Standard Bank Group Ltd., Standard Chartered Plc, the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank, according to a statement from…

Steinhoff Signs Austrian Deal With Signa After Days of Haggling

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Steinhoff International Holdings NV signed off on the sale of Austrian furniture retailer Kika/Leiner and real estate assets to billionaire Rene Benko’s Signa Holding GmbH. Steinhoff is selling the retail companies for a nominal amount, and the properties for a price “based on an enterprise value” of 490 million euros ($570 million), subject to adjustments, the group said in a statement. Steinhoff accepted a conditional offer from Signa last week pending due…

Transnet Bosses Liable for Contract Overrun, Probe Concludes

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Top officials of Transnet SOC Ltd. should be liable for losses suffered from allegedly irregular and unlawful contracts the South African port and freight-rail operator entered when it agreed to buy 1,064 locomotives, an investigation ordered by the state-owned company concluded. Transnet’s board — which has since been replaced — approved the deal in 2014 to buy locomotives from China South Rail, China North Rail, General Electric Co. and Bombadier Inc….

Kenya Airways Could Resume Fuel Hedging in the Third Quarter

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya Airways Plc announced a return to a fuel-hedging strategy that it partly blamed for driving the company to record losses in recent years. Fuel costs make up about a quarter of the airline’s costs, Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Mikosz told reporters in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. KQ, as the company is known, abandoned fixed-price fuel contracts in 2016 when they locked it out of rock-bottom oil prices and caused it…

South Sudan Peace Talks Fail to Reach Consensus, Rebels Say

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SOUTH SUDAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – The first face-to-face meeting in two years between South Sudan’s president and his exiled rival failed to achieve a deal, the country’s main rebel group said, asking for more time to reach a lasting agreement to end four years of civil war. President Salva Kiir and the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition, Riek Machar, met in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, this week under a regional peace…

Cobalt Explorers See Congo Mine Law Offset by Price, High Grades

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Junior miners exploring for cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo reckon increased prices and the country’s high-grade deposits will offset the added costs of new legislation larger companies have opposed. Congo, the world’s largest source of the metal, this month began implementing an amended mining code that introduces new taxes and increases royalty payments. Miners including Glencore Plc, Randgold Resources Ltd. and China Molybdenum Co. have criticized the new law…

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