The Editorial Team |

Nigeria to Start Building Railway to Decades-Delayed Steel Plant

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria plans to start construction this month of a railway linking its decades-delayed Ajaokuta steel plant to iron-ore mines and a port, as the government accelerates efforts to reduce the economy’s reliance on oil. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, which won a contract in 2009 to build a 275-kilometer (171-mile) rail line, “should start work very soon, and completion is expected in about two years,” Ministry of Transport Permanent Secretary Sabiu Zakari said in an interview…

Nigerian sovereign fund in credit tie-up to unlock infrastructure funding

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund is setting up a company in partnership with London-based local currency guarantee firm GuarantCo to enable pension funds to invest in Nigerian infrastructure bonds, its chief executive said on Thursday. The new business will be launched in a few weeks’ time and aims to overcome some of the challenges facing the financing of infrastructure projects in Africa’s most populous nation. “The company will provide enhancements…

Guptas Plan to Sell South African Assets as Soon as Possible

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Gupta family, who are friends of South African President Jacob Zuma and are in business with his son, said they remain intent on selling their business interests in the country after missing their target of completing the divestment last year. “The Gupta family remains committed to disposing of its shareholdings in South Africa as soon as is practically possible, and discussions continue,” the family said in an e-mailed reply to…

Shell Pipeline Fire Threatens to Deepen Nigerian Oil Output Drop

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc shut the Trans Niger oil pipeline after a fire, threatening to worsen a drop in Nigerian output due to unplanned disruptions. The line can transport about 180,000 barrels a day to the Bonny Export Terminal in the Niger Delta was halted Tuesday due to a blaze at Kpor in Ogoniland, Precious Okolobo, a company spokesman in Lagos, said Thursday by phone. Shell declined to comment on the…

Barclays Flags ‘Black Swan Threats’ to Commodities in 2017

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Watch out for the unexpected in commodities in 2017. Barclays Plc said raw materials markets from energy to metals face the high likelihood of disruptions, giving a laundry list of possible threats including a default by Venezuela, riots in Chile and a trade war with China. “The new politics of populism and protectionist trade policies have the potential to disrupt global supply and demand assumptions for various commodities,” analysts including Michael Cohen and…

Cameroon’s Economy to Grow by 6% in 2017 Says Finance Minister

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YAOUNDE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Cameroon’s economy is set to expand 6 percent this year even as it imposes new taxes to compensate for a decline in government revenue from oil, Finance Minister Alamine Ousmane Mey said. The central African nation last month approved the introduction of 24 taxes that apply to a wide range of goods and services, including second-hand car imports and exports of timber, Mey said in a Jan. 3 interview…

Kenyan Senate Passes Controversial Electoral Law Amendments

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Kenyan Senate passed contentious amendments to nation’s election laws that the opposition says could aid the ruling party rig a ballot to be held in August. The amendments to the electoral law provide for a manual mechanism for voter registration and results transmission as a fall-back plan should electronic methods fail. The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy, Kenya’s main political opposition group, says the changes may open the electoral…

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