The Editorial Team |

Namibia Plans Bond Exchange to Lure Debt Sales From South Africa

WINDHOEK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Namibia plans to start a bond exchange to lure issuance by local companies that currently favour raising debt in its much larger neighbour, South Africa. The southern African country’s corporate debt market of 5.8 billion Namibian dollars ($437 million) is dwarfed by South Africa’s 500 billion rand ($38 billion) of non-government bonds. The Namibian dollar is pegged at 1 South African rand. Corporate bonds in Namibia trade over-the-counter, with…

Global bond issuance at $2.1 trillion in first four months of 2018

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – S&P Global Ratings indicated that the global issuance of corporate bonds, U.S. public finance bonds, other international public finance bonds and structured finance products totalled $2.07 trillion in the first four months of 2018, up by 1% from $2.05 trillion in the same period of 2017. In comparison, it said that global bond issuance reached $5.4 trillion in 2015 and $6.1 trillion in 2016. It attributed the year-on-year increase in the first four months…

Angola’s banking system is stable despite weak economic activity

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LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The International Monetary Fund indicated that Angola’s banking system is stable despite weak economic activity that has weighed on the banks’ capital metrics and asset quality in the previous three years. The sector’s risk-weighted capital adequacy ratio reached 18.9% at the end of 2017 relative to 19.2% at end-2016, but was well above the regulatory minimum of 10%. The IMF noted that Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA) introduced a new liquidity requirement that limits…

Eskom Says Some South Africa Power Stations Hindered by Protests

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Some South African power stations are operating below full strength as workers protest state-owned Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s insistence that it won’t offer pay increases. All the facilities are still running though, and the company, which supplies most of South Africa’s electricity, is determined to “keep the lights on,” Chief Executive Officer Phakamani Hadebe told reporters in Johannesburg. The company is implementing contingency plans and will get court orders to stop…

Zuma’s Defiance Hampers Ramaphosa Bid to Reform South Africa

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Pressured to resign as the nation’s president in February, Zuma retains significant influence in the ruling African National Congress, and his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been forced to keep some of the former leader’s allies in the cabinet. That’s hampered the new president’s bid to unify the party, fight corruption and implement policies to restore confidence in the economy. Zuma, 76, still attends ANC events, including at least one…

Centum Kenya to Fund-Raise, Exit Investments as Profit Falls

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Centum Investment Co., Kenya’s second-largest publicly traded investment group, plans to raise funds by selling assets and will target third-party funding for projects, after it reported a plunge in full-year profit. The Nairobi-based company will reduce its stakes in investments that aren’t providing “good returns” and part of the proceeds will be used to help repay outstanding debt of 11.4 billion shillings ($113 million), Chief Executive Officer James Mworia said at…

Politicians Look Set for Easy Ride in Kenyan Graft Crackdown

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan prosecutors have rounded up scores of officials they intend putting on trial for looting billions of shillings from state coffers. Few of their political masters — seen by many as the kingpins behind repeated scandals — look set to face similar censure. The spate of arrests are part of an effort by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who won a disputed election last year, to improve controls over public funds and…

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