The Editorial Team |

Billionaire Wiese Takes Blow as Brait Struggles With Losses

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African billionaire Christo Wiese received more bad news as a company in which he’s the biggest shareholder reported a decline in the value of its investments alongside higher borrowings. Brait SE, in which Wiese owns a 35 percent stake, said net asset value was 57.32 rand at the end of March, compared with a restated 77.63 rand a year earlier, with retailer New Look struggling amid a sales slump on…

Kenya Rate-Cap Champion Unmoved as Banks Pledge to Boost Lending

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Kenyan lawmaker who spearheaded legislation that placed a limit on the interest rates banks can charge is ready to block efforts from the regulator, Treasury and the industry to scrap the rules. “We have not seen any change in the banks, in fact it’s more of grandstanding: ‘if you remove the caps, we give the loans,’” Jude Njomo said in an interview in the capital, Nairobi, on Monday. “Right now,…

Emerging-Market Carry Trades Set for Worst Quarter Since 2011

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A strategy that made emerging-market investors money in the previous five quarters is getting upended by a stronger dollar and the prospect of a prolonged trade war. A Bloomberg currency index that measures carry-trade returns from eight emerging markets, funded by short positions in the dollar, has slumped 8.9 percent since end-March, set for its worst quarterly loss since the three months through September 2011. After rallying since 2016, what’s turned the strategy…

Copperbelt Energy of Zambia Eyes $250 Million Power Investment

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LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Copperbelt Energy Corp., the Zambian electricity supplier with customers including Glencore Plc’s copper mines, may invest as much as $250 million in solar projects and transmission lines in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, Chief Executive Officer Owen Silavwe said. The amount includes two solar plants to generate 30 megawatts and 50 megawatts respectively, and the company is still determining their feasibility, he said Tuesday in an interview on the sidelines…

European Union Says Tariffs on U.S. Imports Will Kick In on June 22

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The European Commission will hit $3.3 billion worth of U.S. goods including Harley Davidson motorcycles and Levi’s blue jeans with a fresh 25% tariff Friday as the trade war between Washington and its biggest global economic partners continues to escalate. Europe has brought forward its response to President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, the European Commission said Wednesday, and will impose its own…

Goldman Sachs Mulling Crypto Trades Beyond Futures, Solomon Says

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of the biggest U.S. investment banks, is exploring cryptocurrency trades beyond the publicly-traded derivatives that it already handles, according to Chief Operating Officer David Solomon. “We are clearing some futures around Bitcoin, talking about doing some other activities there, but it’s going very cautiously,” said Solomon in an interview with Bloomberg TV in China. “We’re listening to our clients and trying to help our clients…

Cryptocurrencies Fall as Korean Exchange Says $32 Million Stolen

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bithumb, ranked by Coinmarketcap.com as the world’s seventh-largest crypto exchange by traded value, said on Wednesday that hackers stole about 35 billion won ($32 million) and that Ripple was among the coins taken. The exchange halted cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals, said it will compensate victims and moved investor assets to a so-called cold wallet, which is disconnected from the Internet and less vulnerable to theft. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, dropped as…

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