The Editorial Team |

European-Backed Fund Arise Targets $1 Billion of African Assets

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Arise, the new development-finance venture created from the pooled sub-Saharan African assets of three European lenders, said it plans to buy minority stakes in companies across the continent as part of a strategy to boost assets to $1 billion from $660 million. The company will target sub-Saharan African financial-service providers aimed at retail businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises, rural areas and people who haven’t previously had access to banks and loans,…

Harmony Gold Ready for Acquisition After Paying Down Debt

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Harmony Gold Mining Co., South Africa’s third-largest miner of the metal, said it’s ready to make an acquisition after increasing production and paying off its debt in the six months to December 31. “We’ve identified some targets, we’re working on those targets,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Steenkamp said on a call with reporters Thursday. The purchase will likely be in Africa or Papua New Guinea, he said. Harmony made a profit…

Lufthansa to Suspend Flights to Abuja While Airport Is Closed

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Deutsche Lufthansa AG became the first airline to announce it will suspend its route to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, while the airport is closed for six weeks for repairs. Germany’s biggest carrier won’t divert its planes to Kaduna, a city about 140 miles (225 kilometres) away, spokeswoman Mirjam Eberts said by phone on Thursday. She didn’t give a reason for the decision. Lufthansa will continue to fly to Lagos, the commercial hub,…

Kenya Election May Pose Risk to Economy, Raise Tension, IMF Says

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan elections may hamper the government’s plans to reduce spending in line with requirements under an International Monetary Fund program, the Washington-based lender said. The vote in East Africa’s biggest economy that’s slated for Aug. 8 could “erode program ownership, delay fiscal consolidation plans, and potentially lead to heightened political instability,” the Washington-based lender said in a statement in its first review of the economy under a $1.5 billion precautionary loan arrangement….

Nigerian Equities Extend Losses Despite New Listing …NSE ASI down 51bps

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LAGOA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigerian bourse closed in the red for the third consecutive trading session as persistent sell-offs in market bellwethers dragged the benchmark index 0.5% southwards to 25,903.55pts, worsening YTD loss to –3.6%. Price depreciation in NESTLE (-3.7%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-3.5%) and ZENITH (-2.0%) were the major drag to performance. Accordingly, market capitalisation reduced by N45.7bn to N8.9tn despite the new listing of Med-View Airline Plc (MEDVIEW) which added N14.6bn to…

Ghana Budget Gap May Double Forecast as $1.6 Billion Hole Found

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s fiscal shortfall could be close to double the forecast for last year, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said a day after the government said it discovered a 7 billion-cedi ($1.6 billion) hole in the budget. The budget deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product could be close to “double digits” for 2016, he said Wednesday in an interview in Accra, the capital. “We’re still in the process of gathering information,”…

MTN to Merge Nigeria Tower Assets in $788 Million Share Exchange

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd., Africa’s largest mobile-phone operator, said it will merge its shareholdings in Nigerian tower operators into a single asset by switching a stake worth about 10.6 billion rand ($788 million) from one company to another. The carrier will exchange a 51 percent stake in the owner of INT Towers Ltd. for a larger shareholding in Lagos-based IHS Holding Ltd., the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. The deal will…

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