The Editorial Team

China Will Work to De-Escalate War in Ukraine, Diplomat Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China’s top envoy to Washington pledged his country “will do everything” to de-escalate the war in Ukraine, but refused to condemn Russia’s attack and branded such requests “naive.” “There’s disinformation about China providing military assistance to Russia,” Ambassador Qin Gang said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. China isn’t sending “weapons and ammunitions to any party,” he said, calling Beijing’s “common interests” with Russia an “asset” that could help peace…

Egypt Hikes Interest Rates and Lets Pound Fall to Absorb Shocks

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt hiked its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2017 at an unscheduled meeting and let its currency weaken sharply as it moved to absorb shocks from global inflationary pressures. The central bank raised the deposit and lending rates by 100 basis points each to 9.25% and 10.25% respectively, the Monetary Policy Committee said Monday. A combination of soaring commodity and energy prices and a wave of global monetary…

Abu Dhabi Said to Deepen Egypt Ties With Deals Worth $2 Billion

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – An Abu Dhabi wealth fund agreed with Egypt to invest about $2 billion by buying state-held stakes in some companies, including the North African nation’s largest listed bank, according to people familiar with the deal. Part of the agreement with ADQ involves it buying about 18% of Commercial International Bank, said the people who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential. Along with the CIB portion, which…

SoftBank, Chan Zuckerberg Help Kenyan Startup Apollo Raise Funds

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a $40 million funding round for Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan-based technology firm seeking to expand its business of helping farmers access market and financial services. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Yara Growth Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst are among other investors who participated in the round. Apollo is pushing to increase the number of clients on its platform and “invest in the products that take a…

Poorest Nations to Repay China $14 Billion in 2022, Report Says

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s poorest nations will pay China and its lenders almost $14 billion this year in debt servicing costs, according to new research that urges Beijing to do more to support restructuring for those who need it.In total, 68 such countries will pay $52.8 billion this year in debt costs, according to a report by the Green Finance & Development Center at Fudan University in Shanghai. More than a quarter of that will…

Nigeria Keeps Rate at 11.5% on Need to Underpin Economic Growth

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged as it seeks to boost growth in an economy battling with gasoline shortages and power failures amid rising imported inflation. Six members of the monetary policy committee who attended the one-day meeting voted to keep the rate at 11.5%, Governor Godwin Emefiele said Monday in a virtual briefing from the capital, Abuja. This matched economists forecasts of a hold in…

Ghana Raises Key Interest Rate More Than Expected to 17%

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Bank of Ghana increased its benchmark interest rate for the second time since November, raising it to a three-year high of 17%, saying already high inflation was being worsened by the Russia-Ukraine war.The monetary policy committee lifted the rate by 250 basis points, Governor Ernest Addison told reporters in Accra Monday. That exceeded the median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey, which expected an increase of 100 basis…

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