The Editorial Team |

Ivory Coast to Receive IMF Budget Support as Cocoa Slumps

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast will receive additional assistance from the International Monetary Fund to support its 2017 budget after cocoa prices slumped, hurting the finances of the biggest grower of the crop. The IMF’s board will meet in June to decide on the amount of support, Dan Ghura, the Washington-based lender’s mission chief, told reporters late Wednesday in the commercial capital, Abidjan. The assistance will come as the IMF visited the West…

Kenyan Opposition Choice of Odinga May Weaken Presidency Bid

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – The emergence of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who’s lost three presidential votes, as the opposition’s favored candidate may diminish its chances of unseating Uhuru Kenyatta in elections in August. Odinga, 72, is backed by most members of a technical committee appointed by the opposition National Super Alliance to pick a presidential candidate, a spokesman for the party said by mobile-phone text message on Thursday. The Nairobi-based Standard newspaper reported earlier that Odinga’s…

Fitch may be next to slap South Africa with “junk” rating

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ratings agency Fitch is likely to follow rival S&P and cut South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to below investment-grade, analysts said, an outcome that would underscore worries about political uncertainty and prompt a further selloff in assets. S&P Global Ratings cut South Africa’s foreign currency debt to speculative grade or “junk” status in an unscheduled review on Monday, citing political tensions that led to the sacking of respected finance…

South African Banks Fall on S&P Downgrade, Rand Weakness but Resilience

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s banking sector fell by nearly three percent on Thursday after S&P cut the credit ratings of several major financial institutions following a sovereign downgrade. S&P cut South Africa’s credit level to junk status on Monday, citing growing concerns of political and policy instability following President Jacob Zuma’s midnight cabinet reshuffle a week ago. A weak rand following the downgrade compounded the impact on banking shares on Thursday,…

“Junk”-rated debt could cost South Africa more than $10bn in lost funds

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – If South Africa loses two of its prized investment grade credit ratings for foreign and local currency borrowing in the turmoil triggered by the sacking of the finance minister, the country could lose more than $10 billion in investment funds. S&P Global has already struck. In an unscheduled review on Monday that prompted a selloff in South African assets, it cut the sovereign rating for external debt to BB+, one…

Old Mutual puts China insurance joint venture stake on block

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Old Mutual has put up for sale its 50 percent stake in a Chinese insurance joint venture, people with direct knowledge of the matter said, as part of a revamp of the Anglo-South African financial group and amid a tough market for foreign insurers in China. Old Mutual, which is working with financial advisers on the stake sale plan, could sell its holding in the 13-year-old life insurance joint venture…

Nigerian Equity Benchmark Index Rebounds as Mid-Caps Rally… NSE ASI up 0.8%

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The equity market rebounded today from a streak of losses as the broader index appreciated 0.8% to close at 25,471.69 points, paring YTD loss to 5.2% while market capitalization added N71.1bn to settle at N8.8tn. The uptrend in the All Share Index was largely as a result of renewed buy sentiment in mid-cap counters in the Industrial and Oil & Gas sectors – WAPCO (+10.2%), MOBIL (+10.3%) and OANDO(+10.1%) – as well as bargain…

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