The Editorial Team |

Zimbabwe Leader Sets 90-Day Deadline to Return Stolen Cash

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa ordered anyone who had illegally moved cash and assets out of the southern African nation to return them within three months or face arrest. “Huge sums of money and other assets” have been taken by “certain individuals and corporates,” Mnangagwa said in a statement Tuesday without naming them. He urged those responsible for “a very serious economic crime against the people of Zimbabwe” to act before the end…

Egypt Lifts Remaining Currency Restrictions as Crunch Abates

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s central bank lifted its last remaining official foreign-currency controls, as a dollar shortage that stymied the economy receded since authorities floated the pound and introduced wide-ranging reforms. The regulator removed limits imposed in 2015 for deposits and withdrawals by importers of non-essential goods, the bank said in a statement Tuesday. Deposits had been restricted to $10,000 per day and $50,000 monthly, while withdrawals were capped at $30,000. Caps…

Emerging-Market Bulls Hold Firm After Best Rally Since 2009

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Emerging-market investors who made bullish calls on equities amid this year’s monster rally are sticking to their guns, wagering that economic growth will propel gains in 2018. Money managers and strategists including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Ashmore Group Plc and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. say this year’s 33 percent surge for the benchmark index of developing-nation stocks is justified by rising profits. Along with analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co….

Cost of Hard Currency in Zimbabwe Tumbles as Optimism Takes Root

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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…

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