The Editorial Team |

Kenya Bond Rally Fueled by Investors Who Are Out of Options

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s best bond rally in at least five years has less to do with faith in the sovereign than finding a place to hide. An index of the government’s local-currency debt has advanced for 68 straight days, the longest run since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 2012, as an increase in non-performing loans and high charges on investments by insurance companies outside of government debt boost demand for the bonds….

Taste Is Said to Delay Luxury Unit Sale as Buyers Balk at Price

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Taste Holdings Limited has suspended the auction of its business selling jewelery and high-end watches after failing to find a buyer willing to pay an asking price of as much as 400 million rand ($31 million), according to two people familiar with the matter. The South African company said in April it planned to fully focus on expanding its food unit, which includes the local franchises for U.S. brands Starbucks Corp. and…

Struggling Kenyans Headache for Kenyatta as Elections Approach

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – About two-thirds of Kenyans say they’re worse off economically, expressing concerns that should “worry” President Uhuru Kenyatta as he seeks re-election in a vote in three weeks, pollsters Ipsos and U.S-based John Zogby said. Almost half of the population cite the cost of living and hunger as the most serious problems they grapple with daily, followed by unemployment, Nairobi-based Ipsos said in an opinion poll published on Wednesday. The survey found…

Ghana President Says IMF Program Will Be Concluded Next Year

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s government said it is committed to meeting the obligations of an International Monetary Fund program and is working with the Washington-based lender to complete its 2018 budget. The West African nation is in the third-year of a $918 million credit-facility program that it agreed to with the IMF in April 2015 after its currency plunged and public debt ballooned. While the program was scheduled to be concluded in April…

Moroccan Banks Vulnerable to Economic Shocks Amidst Weak Capital Says Fitch Ratings

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CASABLANCA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Low capital buffers mean many Moroccan banks are susceptible to economic volatility, particularly in light of their weak asset quality and above-average risk appetite, Fitch Ratings says. Tangible common equity averages about 10% of tangible assets for the major Moroccan banks – a limited buffer given the banks’ risk profiles, single-obligor concentration risk and possible under-reporting of loan impairments. The Fitch Core Capital/weighted-risks ratios for rated banks averaged 12.6%…

Ethiopia plans to offer firms shares in road projects

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ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ethiopia plans to offer shares in its road-building and maintenance projects to private investors, its finance minister said on Tuesday, the latest step to open up and modernize the state-led economy. The Horn of Africa country has over 113,000 kilometres (68,0000 miles) of paved roads and plans to increase that to 220,000 kilometres by 2019/20, official data showed. “We do not have private-run roads. Through public-private partnerships, the…

Market Watch: Key Egyptian Equity Indices down, Market Cap up EGP8bn

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) ended Tuesday’s (18th July 2017) trading session in red, pressured by the selling activity of Arab and foreign investors. The main index EGX30 lost 1.71% or 140.55 points, and closed at the level of 13,717.53 points. The equal-weighted index EGX50 declined by 1.19% to 2,115.55 points. Similarly, EGX70 went down by 1.51% and closed at 669.21 points, while the broader index EGX100 decreased by 1.58%…

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