The Editorial Team |

Rand’s Ramaphosa Honeymoon Ends as Investors Take Bearish Turn

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa marked his first 100 days in office this month, and it seems the honeymoon period is over for the country’s currency too. Bolstered by renewed investor confidence in Africa’s most-industrialized economy, the rand surged to a three-year high against the dollar in February, and held most of those gains for the rest of the quarter. Since then, it’s been downhill as emerging-market assets faced headwinds including rising U.S….

China’s CITIC Becomes Biggest Shareholder in Friedland’s Ivanhoe

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. agreed to sell a minority stake to CITIC Metal Co., making the Chinese conglomerate the largest shareholder in the Canadian mining company and bumping founder Robert Friedland to second place. CITIC will pay C$3.68 apiece for 196.6 million common shares, a premium of about 14 percent to the June 8 closing price. Ivanhoe will use the proceeds of approximately C$723 million ($555 million) to invest in the Vancouver-based…

Budget Delays Cast Doubt on Nigeria Economic Growth Promises

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s promise of a pickup in growth, investment and jobs ahead of next year’s election is getting trickier to achieve because of a political stalemate over its record budget. Government forecasts of 3.5 percent economic expansion this year are partly premised on a yet-to-be-signed accord worth 9.1 trillion naira ($25.2 billion) that will increase spending on power, roads and ports. Budgets in Muhammadu Buhari’s first democratic term have been delayed for…

Amid Trump’s Solar Scorn, U.S. Backs $1 Billion Africa Deal

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – With financial backing from the U.S. government, solar developer Gigawatt Global Cooperatief UA signed a deal with the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States to build $1 billion of renewable energy projects in the region. The U.S. is supporting the project through its Power Africa initiative set up in 2013 under President Barack Obama’s administration, a program that had pledged to invest $7 billion over five years. The advancement of this deal…

British Company Plans to Reach Millions With Congo Solar Power

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A British company aims to provide solar power to millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the vast central African nation where less than a fifth of the population have access to electricity. London-based BBOXX Ltd. last week announced it signed a deal with Congo’s government securing exemptions on import duties and value-added tax for solar equipment. That step has removed “prohibitively high” costs related to bringing in panels and…

SocGen Agrees to Pay $585 Million to Settle Libya Bribery Probes

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TRIPOLI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Societe Generale SA will pay about $585 million to resolve probes into the bribery of Libyan officials, and settled a U.S. investigation into interest-rate manipulation, drawing a line under two of the French bank’s biggest legal headaches. A French prosecutor told a court in Paris on Monday that SocGen agreed to pay 250 million euros ($292 million) to settle a bribery probe regarding payments to officials at the Libyan Investment Authority. The lender agreed…

South Africa Union Seeks 12,500 Rand Minimum for Gold Miners

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union plans to demand a 12,500 rand ($950) monthly minimum wage from some of the country’s top gold producers in upcoming negotiations. The labor group decided on its demands on Sunday at a mass meeting near Carletonville, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) west of Johannesburg. It is the second-largest union at producers including AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Sibanye Gold Ltd. and Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd., according…

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