Madagascans Protest New Electoral Law as President Warns of Coup

Madagascans Protest New Electoral Law as President Warns of Coup

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Hundreds of opposition demonstrators took to the streets of Madagascar’s capital to protest a deadly crackdown on an anti-government rally, as the country’s president warned of a coup plot. The protesters gathered in the city’s main square two days after five people died when security forces fired on people demonstrating against the country’s new electoral laws, Agence France-Presse reported, citing unidentified organizers of the rally. President Hery Rajaonarimampianina warned in an…

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Zuma Legacy Leaves South African Anti-Graft Panel With Huge Task

Zuma Legacy Leaves South African Anti-Graft Panel With Huge Task

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A South African judicial commission faces a daunting task in investigating allegations that members of the Gupta family and their allies connived with former President Jacob Zuma and his son Duduzane to loot billions of rand from state coffers. Its success or failure will go a long way in determining whether South Africa can put behind it years of mismanagement and plunder during Zuma’s scandal-ridden administration that undermined investor confidence and…

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The Best-Performing Emerging Market Readies a New Eurobond

The Best-Performing Emerging Market Readies a New Eurobond

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola, whose Eurobonds have outperformed those of all its emerging-market peers this year, is readying a new dollar transaction to take advantage of higher oil prices and a new program with the International Monetary Fund. The OPEC member plans to issue at least $2 billion of debt in international markets next month, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported on April 22, citing Finance Minister Archer Mangueira, who was scheduled to meet…

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Zimbabwe Massacre `Unresolved National Question,’ Biti Says

Zimbabwe Massacre `Unresolved National Question,’ Biti Says

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe needs to establish a system of national reconciliation to heal the wounds left by the 1980s massacre that killed 20,000 people and other violent incidents since independence if it’s to unify the southern African nation, prominent opposition leader Tendai Biti said. No one has been held to account for the massacre of members of the Ndebele minority by a North Korean-trained Zimbabwean military unit in a program known in the…

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Morocco’s Wheat Outlook Is Bad News for Top Exporters of Grain

Morocco’s Wheat Outlook Is Bad News for Top Exporters of Grain

RABAT (Capital Markets in Africa) – Morocco is poised to have a bountiful wheat harvest in 2018, and that may mean another slow year for the North African country’s top suppliers from Russia to France and Ukraine. The crop will be 7.09 million metric tons this year, the Agriculture Ministry said in a document distributed Monday. That’s after the harvest more than doubled in 2017-18 and imports dropped 23 percent, according to U.S. Department of…

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Glencore’s Prize Cobalt Miner Is Bogged Down Deeper in Congo

Glencore’s Prize Cobalt Miner Is Bogged Down Deeper in Congo

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Katanga Mining Ltd. will soon be the world’s top cobalt miner, churning out thousands of tons of metal and billions of dollars in revenue for Glencore Plc. It’s also turning into a major thorn in the commodity giant’s side. Katanga is controlled by Glencore but trades in Toronto, making it one of few options for equity investors seeking exposure to the coveted battery ingredient. Its shares surged more than 1,200…

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Sweden’s Very Own Bitcoin. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Sweden’s Very Own Bitcoin. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The finance industry’s attitude to automation and technical innovation resembles the old song lyric: “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” Bank executives love to warn of robots replacing humans across the industry, but basic IT management often seems beyond them. The blockchain and digital currencies are the future, they tell us, but no-one seems quite sure what to do with them or whether they really want them….

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