The Editorial Team |

South Africa September Inflation Uptick Limits Room for Rate Cuts

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African inflation quickened for a second consecutive month in September, reducing room for the nation’s central bank to ease policy. The inflation rate rose to 5.1 percent from 4.8 percent the previous month, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said in a report on its website on Wednesday. The median of 24 economist’s estimates in a Bloomberg survey was 5 percent. Prices rose 0.5 percent in the month, the highest monthly rate since March….

Niger Must Halt Job Cuts at Areva’s Uranium Mine, Group Says

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NIGER (Capital Markets in Africa) – Activists in Niger urged President Mahamadou Issoufou to negotiate with Areva SA after the French company said it will cut 200 jobs at one of its uranium mines in the West African nation to adjust to lower prices for the nuclear fuel. “It’s absolutely untrue that the only solution is to lay off staff,” said Al-Moustapha Alhacen, head of Aghirin’man, a non-governmental organization in the northern Nigerien desert town of Arlit, about 1,200 kilometers…

Kenyan Central Bank Moves to Ease Investors’ Vote Concerns

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s central bank is communicating a sense of normalcy and continuity to investors amid uncertainty about the country’s protracted elections, Governor Patrick Njoroge said. Institutions including the nation’s courts show Kenya is a “mature” democracy, Njoroge said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in London on Tuesday. While liquidity in the country’s money markets is tight at the moment, it has “nothing to do with the political circumstances,” he said. Central…

Kenyan Electoral Authority in Disarray a Week Before Vote Rerun

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KENYA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Preparations for Kenya’s presidential election rerun next week are in disarray after a top official of the commission organizing the vote resigned and fled the East African nation and its chairman said his efforts to ensure a credible ballot are being thwarted. Roselyn Akombe quit the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission, citing issues including the intimidation of staff by “political actors” and protesters, and she accused unidentified senior personnel…

South African Bond Traders Have Bigger Fish to Fry Than Inflation

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African bonds were little moved by faster-than-forecast inflation data on Wednesday, suggesting traders are holding steady before Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s fiscal update next week. The yield on the rand-denominated 10-year government bond was up less than two basis points at 8.76 percent after a report showed annual consumer-price growth accelerated for a second month in September. The move was pale in comparison with Tuesday’s 10 basis-point jump following a surprise…

Rio, Ex-CEO Face Fraud Charges on $3.7 Billion Coal Calamity

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Rio Tinto Group’s calamitous $3.7 billion coal deal in Mozambique, involving a plan to barge the fuel hundreds of kilometres down the Zambezi River, keeps coming back to haunt the world’s second-biggest miner — already grappling with another African misadventure. U.S. authorities filed fraud charges against London-based Rio, former Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese and ex-Chief Financial Officer Guy Elliott, claiming they inflated the value of the coal assets acquired in 2011. The unit…

Nigeria’s SEC to Investigate Oando for Possible Insider Dealing

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission ordered an insider-trading investigation into Oando Plc and suspended dealing in the energy company’s shares. A comprehensive review of Lagos-based Oando also found discrepancies in its shareholding structure and related-party transactions that were not done “at arm’s length,” the regulator said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. Alero Balogun, a spokeswoman for Oando, said she couldn’t immediately comment on the allegations when contacted by…

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