The Editorial Team |

Cost of Hard Currency in Zimbabwe Tumbles as Optimism Takes Root

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – The street price of hard currency in Zimbabwe has dropped more than 30 percent since Robert Mugabe was ousted as president last week. One U.S. dollar cost the equivalent of $1.30 in Zimbabwean bond notes on the black market on Tuesday, down from $1.90 on November 20, according to street traders who quoted prices to Bloomberg. Zimbabwe doesn’t have its own currency, with the government adopting a basket of…

Kenya President Vows Unity as He Begins Disputed Second Term

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed to unite his country as he was sworn in for a second term amid opposition protests, capping months of electoral uncertainty that unnerved investors in East Africa’s biggest economy. Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who has vowed not to recognize Kenyatta’s victory in an October election rerun, boycotted Tuesday’s ceremony in the capital, Nairobi and said he’ll be sworn-in as Kenya’s leader by supporters next month. Police fired…

It’s Hot Money, Not FDI, That’s Bringing Dollars Into Nigeria

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investors haven’t pumped this much hot money into Nigeria in three years. Portfolio investment more than tripled in the third quarter from a year earlier to $2.8 billion, according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. Foreign direct investment fell 65 percent year-on-year to $118 million, the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2013. Debt traders have mostly piled into short-term securities, attracted by yields of almost 20…

South Africa Looks for Extra $1.8 Billion of Spending Cuts

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa will look to cut spending by a further 25 billion rand ($1.8 billion) over the next three years as the nation tries to avert another downgrade of its rand debt to junk. President Jacob Zuma on Monday asked the Presidential Fiscal Committee, led by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, to finalize the plans for expenditure reductions for the 2019 fiscal year that starts in April. This is in addition to the…

Mercedes Plans More Drone Deliveries After 100 Perfect Flights

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mercedes-Benz, conducting the biggest test using drones to ship everyday items like ground coffee and cellphones, said the mini aircraft completed 100 drop-offs to strategically placed vans in Zurich with a perfect safety record and more deliveries are planned for next year. About 50 individual customers placed orders with Swiss online shopping platform Siroop, choosing “airmail deals” from selected items from retailer Black & Blaze Coffee Roasting Co. for same-day delivery. The drones…

Bad Brexit Scenario Mars All-Bank Pass in BOE’s Stress Tests

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – British banks may have unanimously passed Bank of England stress tests, but that clean bill of health came with concern about a messy Brexit, courtesy of Governor Mark Carney. The central bank told lenders to add another 6 billion pounds ($8 billion) to their capital buffers and may increase their requirements again next year because it’s worried that the combination of a no-deal Brexit without a transition period and a global…

Fitch Rates Nigeria’s U.S.$3 Billion Eurobond ‘B+’

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — One of the leading rating agencies, Fitch Ratings has assigned Nigeria’s $1.5 billion 6.500% senior unsecured notes due 28 November 2027 and the $1.5 billion 7.625% senior unsecured notes due 28 November 2047 a final rating of ‘B+’. According to a statement yesterday, the final rating replaced the expected rating of ‘B+ (EXP)’ that Fitch had assigned to the issue on November 15, 2017. It explained that the expected…

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