The Editorial Team |

Rand Bounce Back Seen at Risk on South Africa Political Outlook

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s politics and economic outlook could trip up the gains the rand has managed to make in bouncing back from an expected credit-rating downgrade, analysts say. The rand rallied as much as 3.2 percent on Monday, overturning its losses on Friday when S&P Global Ratings demoted local currency-denominated debt to junk, amid relief that Moody’s Investors Service retained its investment-grade rating. Moody’s has warned it may do the same…

Poor Growth to Curb South Africa Fiscal Boost Efforts, S&P Says

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – “Very poor growth” will make it difficult for South Africa to improve its fiscal position, S&P Global Ratings said after cutting the nation’s rand debt to junk. “If the growth story turns around then the whole story could turn around, ”Ravi Bhatia, a credit analyst at S&P, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV Monday. “It’s really a case of them pushing through reforms which would actually turn around the growth…

Ghana Cuts Key Rate to Three-Year Low as Inflation Slows

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana cut its benchmark interest rate to the lowest in more than three years as inflation slows toward the central bank’s target. The Bank of Ghana reduced the rate to 20 percent, Governor Ernest Addison, told reporters in the capital, Accra, on Monday. Of the eight economist surveyed by Bloomberg, four forecast the move. Ghana will meet the inflation target of 6 percent to 10 percent “at worst” by the second quarter of…

Wild Swings in Iraq Oil Production Give OPEC Another Problem

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – OPEC has an Iraq problem: the group’s second-biggest exporter is lurching between quota busting and production-crimping crisis, clouding the policy-making picture as ministers decide how long they need to extend output curbs. After consistently exceeding its output quota all year, Iraqi production plunged in October when clashes between the federal army and fighters from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region disrupted fields in the disputed Kirkuk province. While the conflict has calmed, exports from…

Glencore’s Trouble in Congo Claim Its Highest Profile Victim

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Two weeks after the Paradise Papers leak brought a wave of scrutiny over Glencore’s dealings in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the company is facing another scandal. The issues stem from Katanga Mining Ltd., a Congolese copper producer owned by Glencore. The African company restated financial statements and is under investigation by Canadian regulators for its corporate governance and accounting practices. In a major sign of how toxic the problem…

Bidvest Unit Buys FinGlobal to Expand Portfolio

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A unit of Bidvest Group Ltd. agreed to buy FinGlobal, a provider of financial services to South Africans living outside the country, as part of an acquisition drive to expand and diversify its business. Bidvest Financial Services will fund the purchase out of its 2 billion rand ($142 million) in cash reserves, Managing Director Japie van Niekerk said by phone on Tuesday, without disclosing the value of the deal….

Bitcoin Falls on $31 Million Hack of Cryptocurrency Peer Tether

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin slipped from a record after the $31 million theft of a cryptocurrency peer renewed concern about the security of digital coins. The company behind tether, a cryptocurrency used by bitcoin exchanges to facilitate trades with fiat currencies, announced the theft on Tuesday. It said in a statement that a “malicious” attacker removed tokens from the Tether Treasury wallet on Nov. 19 and sent them to an unauthorized bitcoin address. The company…

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