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

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

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%…

Read More

Ethiopia plans to offer firms shares in road projects

Ethiopia plans to offer firms shares in road projects

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…

Read More

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

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

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%…

Read More

Zimbabwe Capital City Plans $100 Million Housing Bond This Year

Zimbabwe Capital City Plans $100 Million Housing Bond This Year

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa ) – Zimbabwe’s capital city plans to raise a $100 million bond this year to finance the building of new homes and end a decades-long housing shortage, its mayor said. The capital, Harare, has “outgrown itself and the population has grown beyond the city’s initial designs,” mayor Bernard Manyenyeni said Tuesday in an interview. An original plan to obtain $150 million through the central government became “entangled in politics,” he said, without…

Read More

Egypt’s EFG HERMES to invest $21.5 mln in asset manager FIM

Egypt’s EFG HERMES to invest $21.5 mln in asset manager FIM

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – EFG Hermes UAE Limited, owned by Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes, is to invest $21.5 million in Frontier Investment Management Partners LTD (FIM) as part of plans to expand its asset management business, the bank said on Tuesday. FIM is one of the region’s leading asset managers with $1.6 billion of assets under management. Once the deal is completed EFG Hermes will have $4.5 billion of assets under management,…

Read More

Mozambique Government Says Won’t Make Interest Payment Due July 18

Mozambique Government Says Won’t Make Interest Payment Due July 18

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mozambique won’t meet its obligations to holders of $726.5m notes due 2023, Ministry of Economy and Finance says in an emailed statement. Challenging macroeconomic, fiscal situation have affected public finances; “debt payment capacity of the republic remains extremely limited in 2017, and does not allow the republic room to make the scheduled interest payment on the notes”. While government is committed to resolving financial crisis through dialogue, it will…

Read More

Analysts Eye South Africa Rate, Even If No Change Seen: Street Wrap

Analysts Eye South Africa Rate, Even If No Change Seen: Street Wrap

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s Reserve Bank faces a tricky interest-rate decision on Thursday. The nation’s economy unexpectedly fell into recession in the first quarter. Combating the slump with looser monetary policy may fan inflation, which slowed to within the central bank’s 3 percent to 6 percent target in April for the first time in eight months. It would also be problematic for international investors, given that the rand already has one of the worst…

Read More
1 671 672 673 674 675 1,077