The Editorial Team |

South Africa Moves to Freeze McKinsey, Gupta-Linked Assets

JOHANNESBUG (capital Markets in Africa) – South African prosecutors moved to freeze 1.6 billion rand ($130 million) of assets held by McKinsey & Co. and a company linked to the Guptas, the first significant response to corruption allegations against the politically connected family. McKinsey earned about 1 billion rand in consultancy fees from Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. in 2016, but has since pledged to pay it back after being drawn into allegations the Guptas used their friendship with…

South African Reserve Bank Names First Woman to MPC Since 2014

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s Reserve Bank named the first woman to the Monetary Policy Committee in more than three years, bringing the rates-setting panel to seven members. Fundi Tshazibana will become an adviser to Governor Lesetja Kganyago and his three deputies from Feb. 19, the central bank said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. She’s the first woman to join the MPC since former Governor Gill Marcus stepped down in November 2014. While the MPC…

OPEC’s Angola Drops Its Currency Further a Week After Ending Peg

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LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola weakened its currency by 10 percent against the dollar, letting it drop for a second time this month after scrapping a peg in a bid to boost its battered economy. The central bank sold euros on Tuesday at a rate of 248.77 kwanzas per euro, it said in a statement on its website. That was 11 percent weaker than the rate of 221.26 used at the last auction a…

Bitcoin Tumbles 20% as Fears of Cryptocurrency Crackdown Linger

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – January’s cryptocurrency selloff got fresh impetus on Tuesday when Bitcoin slumped as much as 20 percent, as the prospect of regulatory crackdowns appeared to spread. While the largest digital coin trimmed its loss and was down 13 percent at $12,146 as of 8:28 a.m. in New York, it was still at the lowest level since late December, according to composite pricing on Bloomberg. As Bitcoin halted its two-day rally, rival cryptocurrencies…

Algeria Signs With Vitol for First Oil-to-Refined Products Deal

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ALGIERS (capital Markets in Africa) – Algeria’s state-run Sonatrach signed an agreement with oil-trader Vitol Group to ship crude to Italy to be processed and sent back as refined products, in the first deal of its kind to trim the country’s $2 billion annual bill for imported fuel. Sonatrach selected Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trader, from among five companies that participated in a tender to ship its crude outside the country and have it sent…

Nigerian Rates Easing Still Some Way Off Even as Inflation Slows

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LAGOS (capital Markets in Africa) – The slowdown in Nigeria inflation to a 20-month low may not be enough to prompt the central bank to start easing just yet. The inflation rate in Africa’s most-populous nation fell to 15.4 percent from 15.9 percent in November, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in an emailed report Tuesday. The median estimate of seven economists in a Bloomberg survey was for the rate to remain unchanged. Prices rose 0.6 percent…

Ghana Stocks May Gain 25% This Year as Economy Grows: Databank

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Ghana (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana stocks will benefit from estimated 7.8% GDP growth this year, according to Alex Boahen, head of research at the country’s second-biggest private fund manager. Nation’s crude production and expected increase in bank credit growth to businesses and households will drive GDP growth Banks’ lending will be stronger after government began selling bonds last year to clear energy-sector debt on their balance sheets and with the central bank seen cutting…

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