Barclays Africa Debt Sale Misses Target as Banks Issue More

Barclays Africa Debt Sale Misses Target as Banks Issue More

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Barclays Africa Group Limited sold less than half its target in a bond auction as a wall of debt issuance by South African banks and the impending exit of its U.K. parent, Barclays Plc, damped demand. Barclays Africa offered 1.5 billion rand ($113 million) of notes on Monday but raised only 642 million rand within price guidance, according to Deon Raju, head of treasury at the Johannesburg-based lender. The debt…

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Google to Ramp Up Africa Investment With Fiber, Cheaper Phones

Google to Ramp Up Africa Investment With Fiber, Cheaper Phones

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Google Inc. is scaling up investment in Africa by laying fiber optic cable, easing access to cheaper Android phones and training a workforce in digital skills as the U.S. technology giant seeks to expand on the continent. “We laid about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of fiber in Uganda and we are busy doing about 1,000 kilometers in Ghana,’’ Google’s South Africa head Luke McKend said in a phone interview. “We…

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Goldcar’s Owners Said to Hire Deutsche Bank to Weigh a Sale

Goldcar’s Owners Said to Hire Deutsche Bank to Weigh a Sale

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – European private equity firm Investindustrial is exploring a sale of its low-cost car rental company Goldcar Spain SL, which could fetch more than 500 million euros ($533 million), according to people familiar with the matter. The buyout fund, led by Italian businessman Andrea Bonomi, has hiredDeutsche Bank AG to help find a buyer for Goldcar, which operates in southern European markets including Spain, Italy, and Portugal, as well as Mexico and Morocco,…

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Land Reform `Key’ for S. Africa Economic Stability, ANC Says

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s ruling party will accelerate the transfer of land to the black majority to help reduce inequality and avert future protests, the African National Congress’s spokesman Zizi Kodwa said. “If you don’t deal decisively with the issue of land, you may have to deal with a bigger problem,” Kodwa said in an interview at the party’s head office in Johannesburg on Wednesday. President Jacob Zuma has vowed to step up wealth distribution in…

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Morocco’s Bourse Eyes IPOs, Short-Selling to Regain Index Status

Morocco’s Bourse Eyes IPOs, Short-Selling to Regain Index Status

RABAT (Capital Markets in Africa) – Morocco’s stock exchange plans to introduce new financial instruments and expand the number of listed companies as it seeks to regain the emerging-market status it lost in 2013 and court potential buyers. Africa’s second-largest bourse by market value is expanding partnerships on the continent in a bid to attract more investments, Karim Hajji, managing director of the Bourse de Casablanca, said in an interview. The exchange plans to sell a stake…

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African Soccer Ruler’s 29-Year Reign Ends After Election Defeat

African Soccer Ruler’s 29-Year Reign Ends After Election Defeat

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A little-known official from Madagascar toppled African soccer head Issa Hayatou, ending almost 30 years of rule as the world’s most-popular sport continues to deal with the fallout of corruption probes into its management. Ahmad Ahmad, 57, will replace Cameroon’s Hayatou, who is also senior vice president of global governing body FIFA, after a 34-20 victory in a vote Thursday in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. Hayatou’s ouster is the second…

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Kenya GDP Growth May Plummet to 1 Percent by 2019, Investec Says

Kenya GDP Growth May Plummet to 1 Percent by 2019, Investec Says

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s economic growth could slow to as little as 1 percent over the next two years as credit extension in East Africa’s biggest economy weakens, Investec Prime Services estimates. Banks reporting higher levels of souring debt and decelerating money-supply growth suggest gross domestic product expansion will plummet, according toChris Becker, frontier strategist at the Johannesburg-based brokerage. Growth was an estimated 6 percent in 2016. Investec sees growth of between…

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