The Editorial Team |

Bitcoin Passes More Milestones as Market Cap Tops $100 Billion

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The most widely used digital currency will now cost you about $6,125 apiece after blowing past the $5,000 and $6,000 price levels for the first time earlier this month. Bitcoin’s total value is just over $100 billion, meaning it makes up more than half of the overall cryptocurrency market. Cryptocurrency prices have been unfazed by recent regulatory crackdowns across the world and scepticism from Wall Street stalwarts including Warren Buffett and…

RenCap Hires Banker From CI Capital as It Opens Doors in Egypt

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Renaissance Capital, the investment bank controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, is hiring investment bankers and analysts in Egypt as more vibrant capital markets attract financial services firms to the country. Mohamed Younis will be chief executive officer of the investment bank in Egypt, said Ahmed Badr, RenCap’s CEO for the Middle East and North Africa. Younis, previously at CI Capital Holding, an arm of Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE, will…

Bond Winners of Yesteryear Not Looking So Fantastic in 2017

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa ) – Developing-nation debt traders who stuck with 2016’s top securities took a hit this year. That’s because last year’s best emerging-market dollar bond bets are posting the starkest reversals. Venezuela, Ecuador and Gabon, which led the pack in 2016, had some of the worst changes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on debt from 69 developing nations. Meanwhile, last year’s laggards, Mozambique and Suriname, have had the best improvements. “As the…

Kenyatta Named Winner of Kenyan Vote Rerun as Odinga Cries Foul

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was announced as the landslide winner of a chaotic election rerun that his main rival Raila Odinga rejected as a sham. Kenyatta, 56, won 7.48 million votes, or 98.3 percent of the total cast on Oct. 26, Wafula Chebukati, the chairman of the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission, said Monday in Nairobi, the capital. The turnout was 38.8 percent, down from 79 percent in an Aug. 8 contest that…

Nigerian President Fires Officials Facing Corruption Allegations

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari fired two top aides facing graft allegations after receiving the report of an investigation he ordered. David Lawal was replaced as the secretary to the government by Boss Mustapha with “immediate effect,” while Ayo Oke was fired as the director general of the National Intelligence Agency without replacement, according to an emailed statement from the presidency. Buhari directed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in April to lead an investigation into allegations of…

South Africa’s $14 Billion Question as Downgrade to Junk Looms

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Wall Street and other global banks say it’s a question of when, not if, South Africa loses investment grade status on its local-currency ratings. The bigger question is how much damage that would cause. Bank of America Corp. estimates there may be $14 billion of outflows if rand debt is excluded from Citigroup Inc.’s World Government Bond Index, which requires non-junk ratings from Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings. That…

IMF says rising debt, political risk dim sub-Saharan Africa’s economic outlook

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economic growth is expected to rise to 3.4 percent in sub-Saharan Africa next year from 2.6 percent in 2017, the IMF said in a report on Monday, but warned that rising debt and political risks in larger economies would weigh down future growth. Nigeria and South Africa are the biggest economies in Africa south of the Sahara, but both nations have been clouded by political uncertainty linked to the…

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