The Editorial Team |

FirstRand First-Half Profit Rises 13% After Bank Boosts Lending

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – FirstRand Ltd., Africa’s biggest bank by market value, said fiscal first-half profit rose 13 percent after lending increased and its insurance operations sold more policies. Net income increased to 11.89 billion rand ($904 million) in the six months ended Dec. 31, from 10.48 billion rand a year earlier, the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Thursday. The interim dividend rose 10 percent to 1.19 rand a share, exceeding growth in so-called…

Ivory Coast to Review 2017 Budget Amid Slump in Cocoa Prices

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ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, will revise its budget for 2017 after prices for the beans dropped by a third since the middle of last year, according to a government official. While the slump in cocoa prices weighs on income, the West African nation also has to provide for new expenditures, government spokesman Bruno Kone said by phone. Ivory Coast’s “resources are largely sufficient to face these expenses…

Old Mutual Full-Year Profit Slides as South Africa Economy Slows

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Old Mutual Plc, the U.K.-based insurance company, said full-year profit dropped 7.2 percent after the pound weakened after Britain’s decision to leave the European Union and its South African operations contended with the slowest economic growth since the 2009 recession. Net income declined to 570 million pounds ($693 million) in the 12 months through December from 614 million pounds a year earlier, the London-based company said in a statement on Thursday….

Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund oversubscribed to closes at $141m

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Accion and Quona Capital announced today the final close of the Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, the world’s first global fintech fund for the underserved. The oversubscribed Fund represents $141M in commitments from an array of leading institutional investors including global insurance companies, investment banks and asset managers, a university endowment, prominent foundations and family offices, as well as development finance institutions. The Fund will focus on emerging markets in…

Nigeria stocks at 1-month high, reserves exceed $30 bln after Buhari return from UK medical leave

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian equities hit a one-month high shortly after the stock market opened for trade on Friday following President Muhammadu Buhari’s return home from an extended medical leave in Britain. Stocks rose 1.29 percent at 0936 GMT to levels last seen in February, according to Thomson Reuters data. Stocks, which are down 6.3 percent on the year to date, had climbed to a one-week high in its previous session on Thursday….

Exxon stumps up $2.8 bln for Mozambique gas gateway to Asia

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MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Exxon Mobil Corp, the world’s biggest publicly traded oil producer, has agreed to pay Italy’s Eni $2.8 billion for a 25 percent stake in a giant Mozambique gas field to strengthen its position supplying rich Asian markets. Eni is currently the operator of Mozambique’s Area 4 licence which, with 85 trillion cubic feet of gas in place, is one of the world’s largest gas discoveries in recent years. The…

USTDA Promotes Solar Energy Development in Burkina Faso

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to Société de Production d’Energie Solaire de Kodéni SAS today for a feasibility study for two 17 megawatt solar photovoltaic plants near the villages of Pá and Kodéni in Burkina Faso. The solar plants are being developed by BioTherm Energy, a South African renewable energy company. Burkina Faso has one of the least developed energy sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa. Less…

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