The Editorial Team |

Bargain Hunting Pushes Nigerian Benchmark Index to Close Higher

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Performance in the Nigerian equities market deviated from the 2-day bearish trend, as the All Share Index (ASI) rose 0.4% to close at 25,130.26 points while YTD loss trimmed to -6.5%. Consequently, investors gained N33.9bn as market capitalization improved to N8.7tn. Gains in counters which had previously declined – NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+4.2%), DANGCEM (+0.6%) and FORTE (+10.2%) – ensured the market closed positive. However, market activity was mixed as volume traded rose 11.7% to settle at…

Bank of Uganda Slashes Benchmark Rate amid shrinking growth

Posted on by The Editorial Team

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Bank of Uganda on Wednesday lowered the central bank rate by 50 basis points from 12 percent, set in December 2016, to 11.5 percent. The cut was necessary to “support economic activity”, according to the Monetary Policy Statement for February 2017. It is the sixth consecutive cut since the central bank started easing the policy rate in April 2016. “A further cautious easing of monetary policy is warranted to…

South Africa’s Imperial buys stake in Kenyan pharmaceutical distributor

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African logistics group Imperial Holdings will buy a 70 percent stake in Kenyan pharmaceutical distributor Surgipharm for $35 million in line with its African growth strategy, the company said on Wednesday. Surgipharm, which is headquartered in Nairobi, is a leading distributor of pharmaceutical, medical, surgical and allied supplies in Kenya, with an annual turnover of about $70 million, the company said in a statement. It gave no further…

Namibia Central Bank Leaves Benchmark Rate Unchanged at 7%

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Windhoek (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Namibia kept the Repo rate unchanged at 7.00 percent. This rate remains appropriate to maintain the one-to-one link between the Namibia Dollar and the South African Rand, while supporting economic growth in Namibia. The Namibia economic growth is estimated to have slowed in 2016, compared to the previous year. The slowdown is mainly attributed to the contraction in the construction…

South Africa’s trade balance recorded a further surplus of R12.04 billion

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – In December 2016, South Africa’s trade balance recorded a further surplus of R12.04 billion. This compares with a trade deficit of –R1.7 billion in November 2016. The market was expecting a trade surplus of around R6.3 billion for the month, although the trade data is extremely difficult to forecast accurately on a month-by-month basis, especially since the data is not seasonally adjusted and prone to revisions. South Africa has…

Nigerian Equities Sink Further as Large-Cap FMCGs Extend Losses

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The All Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Bourse closed negative today, losing 84bps to close at 25,032.17 points, as the bearish run in large-cap FMCGs continued unabated. Consequently, investors lost N73.5bn as market capitalization declined to N8.6tn, while MTD and YTD loss of the benchmark index worsened to 3.9% and 6.9% respectively. Today’s performance was dragged by sustained sell-pressure on NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-5.0%), in addition to losses in NESTLE (-3.9%) and ZENITH(-3.8%). However,…

Maiden investment into CAL Bank in Ghana by Arise set to advance economic growth

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAPE TOWN (Capital Markets in Africa) — The recent acquisition of a 27.7 % stake in CAL Bank in Ghana by the newly formed investment company, Arise (www.AriseInvest.com) is set to boost the banking sector in the country. The shareholding in CAL Bank was acquired by Arise from DPI, a leading Africa-focused private equity firm with assets in excess of US$1 billion under management. The settlement is to be effected on 14 February 2017. Arise,…

« 1 … 736 737 738 739 740 … 1,077 »