Harmony Gold Ready for Acquisition After Paying Down Debt

Harmony Gold Ready for Acquisition After Paying Down Debt

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…

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Lufthansa to Suspend Flights to Abuja While Airport Is Closed

Lufthansa to Suspend Flights to Abuja While Airport Is Closed

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,…

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

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

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….

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

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

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…

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

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

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,”…

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

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

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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African Bank Investments Makes a Come Back After 30-Month Hiatus

African Bank Investments Makes a Come Back After 30-Month Hiatus

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – African Phoenix Investments Ltd., the holding company resurrected from the remnants of failed African Bank Investments Ltd., started trading 30 months after being suspended, with volumes far exceeding all other shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The securities started trading at 55 cents, before falling to 50 cents as of 10:19 a.m. in Johannesburg, giving the company a market value of 751 million rand ($56 million). Almost 24 million shares…

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