The Editorial Team |

Bell Pottinger Booted From PR Body Over South Africa Conduct

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bell Pottinger LLP, the public-relations firm started by an adviser to Margaret Thatcher, has been thrown out of the U.K. industry body in an unprecedented ruling after an investigation found its work on behalf of the Gupta family in South Africa had stoked racial tensions. Bell Pottinger ran a potentially divisive social-media campaign aimed at highlighting economic inequality in South Africa along racial grounds and targeted wealthy white individuals…

Fairfax Is Said to Back AfriSam to Clinch African Cement Deal

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is prepared to inject as much as 5 billion rand ($386 million) to pay off bank debt owed by AfriSam Group Pty Ltd. and help South Africa’s second-biggest cement producer clinch a tie-up with larger rival PPC Ltd., according to two people familiar with the matter. The money from the African unit of the Canadian insurer will be used to repay bank loans and allow AfriSam to…

Worst May Be Over as Biggest Africa Economies End Growth Rut

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The worst may be over for Africa’s two largest economies as they likely emerged from a slump in the second quarter. Official data on Tuesday will probably show South Africa’s economy expanded in the three months through June, ending its second recession in less than a decade. Nigeria’s gross domestic product probably grew from a year earlier, and came out of its worst slump in a quarter of a century. South Africa…

Kenyan Growth Jitters Rekindled as Court Orders Ballot Rerun

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s economy may pay the price of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s successful bid to nullify the outcome of last month’s election, as prolonged political uncertainty pending a court-ordered rerun weighs on growth and investor confidence. “There was a lot of exuberance that the elections were over,” Kenneth Minjire, head of securities at Genghis Capital in Nairobi, said by phone. “Inquiries had shot up from private-equity firms, from foreign investors, who…

Mobius Foresees Cryptocurrency Crackdown Sparking a Rush to Gold

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mark Mobius is sensing danger in the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies. Governments will begin clamping down on digital currencies because of their use in illicit financing, with terrorist groups to drug dealers contributing to their rise, Mobius, executive chairman at Templeton Emerging Markets Group, said in an interview in Hong Kong Monday. “Cryptocurrencies are beginning to get out of control and it’s going to attract the attention of governments around…

China’s Central Bank Declares Initial Coin Offerings Illegal

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China’s central bank said initial coin offerings are illegal and asked all related fundraising activity to be halted immediately, issuing the strongest regulatory challenge so far to the burgeoning market for digital token sales. The People’s Bank of China said on its website Monday that it had completed investigations into ICOs, and will strictly punish offerings in the future while penalizing legal violations in ones already completed. The regulator said that those who have…

Zuma Has Broken Businesses’ Trust, South African Lobby Says

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Jacob Zuma and his ruling African National Congress have broken the business community’s trust after he recalled a finance minister from an investment roadshow in the U.K. and then fired him in a cabinet shuffle, the head of Business Leadership South Africa said. The exit of Pravin Gordhan as finance minister prompted two of the three main credit ratings agencies to cut the assessment on South Africa’s foreign-currency debt to junk, thwarting…

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