The Editorial Team |

Budget Delays Cast Doubt on Nigeria Economic Growth Promises

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…

Nigeria Sovereign Fund to Boost Local Focus After Profit Dip

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority is restructuring its portfolio to focus more on domestic investments after a drop in the currency wiped out foreign-exchange gains last year. “The asset allocation strategy of NSIA has been restructured to reflect an increased focus on domestic infrastructure investments with 50 percent of future contributions to be dedicated to infrastructure,” according to a statement on Monday from the fund. The institution, which last year had…

Ghana to Buy Contracts to Protect It From High Oil Prices

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana will buy contracts to protect it from higher oil-product prices in the third quarter as the West African nation seeks to curb volatility in what consumers pay at the pump amid rising costs of the fuel in international markets. The government is putting together a risk-management program to go to the market “in a month or two” for options on crude, with the strike price yet to be…

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