Nigeria Approves MPC Members to Break Hiatus on Policy Rate

Nigeria Approves MPC Members to Break Hiatus on Policy Rate

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s monetary-policy authorities can finally get back to the business of setting the country’s interest rates following a four-month hiatus. The Nigerian Senate on Thursday approved the appointment of two new central bank deputy governors and three other Monetary Policy Committee members, paving the way for a meeting to review interest rates for the first time this year. The lawmakers confirmed President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination of Aishah Ahmad and Edward Adamu as…

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Bitcoin Slumps After Binance Is Said to Face Warning in Japan

Bitcoin Slumps After Binance Is Said to Face Warning in Japan

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin fell after one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges was said to face a government rebuke for operating without a license in Japan, heightening concern that increased regulatory scrutiny will curb demand for digital assets. Japan’s Financial Services Agency is planning to tell Binance, the trading venue founded by Zhao Changpeng, to stop operating in the country without official approval, a person familiar with the matter said. Binance has…

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Rising Political Violence Stalks African `Island of Peace’

Rising Political Violence Stalks African `Island of Peace’

DAR ES SALAM (Capital Markets in Africa) – An opposition politician and a campaigner were hacked to death with machetes. A lawmaker’s car was riddled with bullets and he was left fighting for his life. These shadowy attacks weren’t in one of East Africa’s war zones, but in Tanzania — a country that hasn’t seen serious upheaval in decades and whose populist president, John Magufuli, is on a mission to revitalize the region’s second-biggest economy. With the unidentified perpetrators still at…

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South Africa Inflation Dips Deeper Below Midpoint of Target Band

South Africa Inflation Dips Deeper Below Midpoint of Target Band

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s inflation rate fell further below the midpoint of the target range in February, giving the central bank another reason to consider easing monetary policy next week. Inflation slowed to 4 percent, the lowest level in almost three years, from 4.4 percent in January, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said Tuesday in a report on its website. The median estimate of 21 economists in a Bloomberg survey was 4.1 percent. Prices rose…

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Fund Manager Fighting to Keep $16 Million in Libyan Bonuses

Fund Manager Fighting to Keep $16 Million in Libyan Bonuses

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nine years and one revolution after agreeing to manage more than $620 million of Libyan funds, a London banker is in court fighting the firm he founded, and defending fees he used for a lifestyle that included a 165,000-pound ($232,000) stay at a five-star hotel in the British capital. Frederic Marino is accused by FM Capital Partners of taking more than $16 million in secret commissions between 2009 and 2014, seeking and…

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Gordhan Plans Sweeping Changes for South African State Firms (1)

Gordhan Plans Sweeping Changes for South African State Firms (1)

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Extensive changes are in the offing at South Africa’s troubled state-owned companies as new Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan moves to tackle their many management and financial failings. Power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and several other state entities have been caught up in graft and management scandals over recent years and repeatedly called on the state to bail them out as their debt ballooned to unsustainable levels. Former union boss and…

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Ghana Is Said to Name Citi, Three Others to Market Eurobond

Ghana Is Said to Name Citi, Three Others to Market Eurobond

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana appointed Citigroup Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp. and Standard Chartered Plc as head arrangers to market an upcoming sale of Eurobonds, according to two people familiar with the matter. The West African nation also named Accra-based Fidelity Bank Ltd. and IC Securities as co-arrangers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Ghana…

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