The Editorial Team |

Kenyatta Named Winner of Kenyan Vote Rerun as Odinga Cries Foul

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…

Moody’s says South Africa budget credit negative; central bank flags growth fears

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ratings agency Moody’s said on Monday the budget statement presented by South African Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba last week was credit negative, while a central bank official raised concerns over economic growth. Gigaba shocked markets on Oct. 25 by flagging sharply weaker growth expectations, wider deficits and rising government debt. The comments by Moody‘s, which along with S&P Global is expected to review South Africa’s credit ratings next month,…

IFC and banks close $653 mln in funding for Egypt solar plants

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, on Sunday said it had completed a $653 million debt package to finance building 13 solar power plants near Aswan in Egypt, planned to be part of the largest solar park in the world. Generating up to 752 megawatts of solar power, the Nubian Suns Feed-in-Tariff Financing Program is targeted to provide power to more than 350,000 residents…

Moody’s assigns B2 first-time issuer ratings to the Government of Swaziland, with a negative outlook

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa)– Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has today assigned first-time issuer ratings of B2 to the Government of Swaziland. The outlook is negative. The rating assignment is based on the following key drivers: 1. Economic strength assessed at ‘Low (+), reflecting the country’s relatively small and slow-growing economy, but well integrated and resilient on top of its middle-income status. 2. Institutional strength constrained by governance challenges that have been hampering fiscal policy-making…

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