The Editorial Team |

South Africa Posts Its Biggest Trade Surplus in Seven Months

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa recorded its biggest trade surplus in seven months in December, narrowing the shortfall for the year and supporting the rand. The 12 billion-rand ($890 million) surplus compares with a revised 1.7 billion-rand shortfall in November, after imports of chemicals and base metals dropped, the Pretoria-based South African Revenue Service said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday. The cumulative deficit for last year was 2.9 billion rand compared with 52.2 billion…

Nando’s Spicy Chicken Chain Said to Weigh IPO Amid Expansion

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JIOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nando’s Group, the South African fast-food company known for its spicy chicken and fries, is considering an initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. Nando’s is speaking to advisers and is in the early stages of planning a share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private. The company is weighing a London listing among other potential venues, they said….

Kenya Warns ‘Trump Effect’ Poses Threat to Its Economy

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uncertainty surrounding U.S. policies on trade and immigration poses a major external threat to East Africa’s biggest economy, Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge said. The lack of predictability on policy is stoking fears of abrupt changes that may affect trade between the U.S. and Kenya, some of which may end up eroding sources of foreign currency, Njoroge told reporters Tuesday in Nairobi, the capital. While Kenya has sufficient buffers,…

Ghanaians Hoarding Dollars Put Cedi on Course for 19-Month Low

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghanaians are holding on to their dollars after government data showed the nation’s budget deficit was wider than expected, setting the currency on track for the weakest close since June 2015. The cedi was among the worst performers in the world this year after data showed the nation’s budget shortfall in the first 11 months of 2016 was more than 2 percentage points higher than the government’s target. The cedi declined 0.7…

West Africa Oil Floods to Asia in Latest Sign of OPEC Impact

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – West African oil producers will next month send the most crude to Asia in at least five years, the latest sign of how refineries in the world’s biggest demand region are scouring the world to replace supplies cut by OPEC’s Middle East producers. Shipments on the trade route, among the longest for supertankers, are set to soar to 2.19 million barrels a day in February, the highest level since…

Zambia IMF Talks Seen Shielding Country Amid Trump Risks

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LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia is asking the International Monetary Fund for March talks over a program that could help buffer it from uncertainties relating to U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and rising rates in that country that will lift borrowing costs for frontier markets, NKC African Economics said. Formal agreement to a technical and financial support package would also help Zambia rein in a ballooning budget deficit that’s pushed up debt, said Irmgard…

Glencore Considering Bid for Impala’s Chrome Waste Operations

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JIOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Glencore Plc, the mining and trading firm run by billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, is considering bidding for Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd.’s 65 percent stake in a chrome waste-retreatment operation in South Africa, two people familiar with the matter said. Glencore already has an agreement to buy metal from Chrome Traders Processing (Pty) Ltd., the closely held company that owns 30 percent of the business controlled by Impala. Glencore, which has chrome…

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