Guinea Must Tighten Grip on Bauxite Industry, President Says

GUINEA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Guinea wants to get a tighter grip on its bauxite industry and keep out companies that aren’t consumers of the ore, President Alpha Conde said in a speech on state television. “We don’t want traders in Guinea. It’s abnormal that we have more than half of the world’s bauxite reserves but not even 2 percent of the market share,” Conde said. “We’re producers and we’re going to work directly with our…

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Nigeria to sell diaspora bonds in March after eurobond issue

Nigeria to sell diaspora bonds in March after eurobond issue

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria will look to issue a debut diaspora bond by March to raise funds from Nigerians abroad, after completing a $1 billion eurobond sale this month, a finance ministry source told Reuters on Wednesday. Nigeria is in its first recession in 25 years and needs to find money to make up for shortfalls in its budget. Low prices for crude and militant attacks in its crude-producing heartland, the Niger Delta,…

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Barclays Africa Faces Apartheid-Era Investigation on Bankorp

Barclays Africa Faces Apartheid-Era Investigation on Bankorp

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Barclays Africa Group Ltd. is being investigated by South Africa’s graft ombudsman over whether it received undue state support when it bought Bankorp during the apartheid era, and whether it should repay the money. The Barclays unit said it’s “regrettable” that a preliminary report by the ombudsman was leaked to the media, adding that the document contains “several factual and legal inaccuracies.” The Johannesburg-based lender, then known as Absa, did not benefit from…

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South African President Won’t Accept Third ANC Leader Term

South African President Won’t Accept Third ANC Leader Term

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma said he won’t accept a nomination for a third term as head of the country’s ruling party, which is “ready” for a woman to take over the leadership. The 105-year-old African National Congress will choose a new president at a national conference in December when Zuma’s term ends. His ex-wife and the outgoing African Union chairwoman, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa are seen as frontrunners for the position. …

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Former Africa heads at Carlyle and KKR to set up regional investment firm

Former Africa heads at Carlyle and KKR to set up regional investment firm

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The former regional heads for Africa at private equity giants KKR and Carlyle are setting up an investment firm, Arkana Partners, to target local equity investments of up to $100 million. Kayode Akinola told Reuters on Wednesday that he was leaving KKR to join forces with Marlon Chigwende, who left his role as Africa chief at rival Carlyle in 2016, as private equity opportunities in Africa are often seen as…

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Nigerian Leader to Offer Asylum to Defuse Gambia Crisis

Nigerian Leader to Offer Asylum to Defuse Gambia Crisis

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari headed to Gambia to defuse a political crisis sparked by President Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to step down after he lost elections last month. Buhari will present a plan approved by Nigeria’s lower house of parliament on Thursday to offer Jammeh asylum, as part of efforts to persuade him to leave office. The plan is intended to “prevent violence which could engulf the region,” Abdulrazak Namdas, spokesman for the…

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Army Is Ouattara Achilles’ Heel as Ivory Coast Economy Roars

Army Is Ouattara Achilles’ Heel as Ivory Coast Economy Roars

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – As Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara presides over Africa’s fastest-growing economy and leads a ruling coalition that’s just won a fresh majority in parliament, he still faces a key threat to national stability: the army. A two-day mutiny by soldiers demanding better pay and living conditions that paralyzed several cities last week was the second uprising in three years. It showed that the world’s biggest cocoa producer is still vulnerable after…

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