The Editorial Team |

The Leader Who Caused a Slump: Zuma Blamed for South Africa Mess

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The last time South Africa fell into recession, in 2009, it was because of the global financial crisis. This time around, economists and business executives agree, the cause is a person: the president. Jacob Zuma’s erratic political moves are breeding policy uncertainty and reluctance to invest, helping explain why the economy of the continent’s most industrialized nation contracted for a second straight quarter in the three months through March. Finance,…

EU Wins First Battle of Brexit Talks as U.K. Retreats on Timing

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.K. lost its first battle with the European Union over the timetable for Brexit talks as the bloc’s chief negotiator warned that the consequences of leaving will be “substantial.” On day one of the negotiations, Prime Minister Theresa May’s government gave in to EU demands to discuss the terms of its divorce — including the exit fee — before any consideration can begin on the future trade deal Britain…

Orange Said to Expect African Growth Trailing Expectations

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Orange SA, France’s largest phone company, expects disappointing growth in Africa and the Middle East this year mostly due to poor performance in Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to people with knowledge of the matter. While business performance in Africa is improving when compared with last year, revenue is set to expand just slightly more than in 2016, weighed down by political and economic issues in the two…

South Africa Graft Ombudsman Proposes Changes to SARB Objective

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JOHANESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s graft ombudsman has suggested changes to the nation’s constitution to amend the Reserve Bank’s primary objective of protecting the value of the currency. The chairman of parliament’s justice committee should start a process to change the law’s section 224 that sets out the central bank’s primary objective, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said in a report handed to reporters in the capital, Pretoria, on Monday. The proposed amendments remove the…

Ethiopian Air Said to Plan $3 Billion Deal for Airbus A350s

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ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise plans to buy 10 of Airbus SE’s newest A350 wide-body jets in a transaction worth more than $3 billion at advertised prices, according to people familiar with the plan. The deal is set to be announced this week at the Paris Air Show, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the order negotiations are private. Ethiopian will take the mid-sized A350-900 version of the plane,…

Barclays Africa Faces $88 Million Payout to State Over Bankorp

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Barclays Africa Group Limited, the South African lender formerly known as Absa, may have to pay the government an amount equivalent to 8 percent of its annual profit after the country’s anti-graft ombudsman said the bank unduly benefited from state support when it bought ailing Bankorp before the end of apartheid. “The illegal gift granted to Bankorp and Absa is in the amount of 1.125 billion rand,” Public Protector Busisiwe…

Uganda Cuts Key Rate to Record Low to Boost Sluggish Growth

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KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda’s central bank reduced its benchmark rate to the lowest since it was introduced in 2011 to boost an economy that’s projected to grow at the slowest pace in four years. The Monetary Policy Committee cut the key rate by 100 basis points to 10 percent, Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile told reporters Monday in the capital, Kampala. The central bank has reduced the rate by 700 basis points since the start of last…

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