The Editorial Team |

Sub-Saharan Africa Region Remains Under Fiscal and External Pressures, says Fitch

LAGOS ( Capital Markets in Africa) – The Rating Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) sovereigns in 2017 remains Negative, reflecting continued weakness of fiscal and external balances, rising government debt, weak economic growth and, in some countries, risks of political instability, says Fitch Ratings in a new report. While commodity prices have regained some ground, many commodity exporters in the SSA are still running substantial budget and current account deficits and are facing financing strains…

South Africa’s rand rallies, stocks slide to 10-month low

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand rallied to its firmest in nearly a month on Tuesday, brushing off a poor economic growth print as a weaker dollar and bets on improvement in commodity prices boosted appetite for emerging currencies. Stocks ended lower in a broad-based sell-off that sent the benchmark index to its lowest level in nearly 10 months as weaker metal prices pressured heavily weighted mining shares. By 1530 GMT the…

Oil dips as OPEC joins Russia in upping output ahead of production cut

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Oil prices eased on Tuesday as crude output rose in virtually every major export region despite plans by OPEC and Russia to cut production, triggering fears that a fuel glut that has dogged markets for over two years might last well into 2017. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $54.75 per barrel at 0807 GMT, down 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, from Monday’s close. U.S. West Texas…

South Africa’s economy barely grows in Q3 renewing downgrade fears

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s economy barely grew in the third quarter of the year as the manufacturing sector contracted sharply, renewing fears that the reprieve from ratings downgrades will only be temporary. Gross domestic product expanded by only 0.2 percent in the period between July to September compared with a revised 3.5 percent in the second quarter, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday. The figure was just shy of the 0.5…

Egypt signs 3-yr 18 bln yuan bilateral currency swap with China

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – China and Egypt on Tuesday concluded an 18 billion yuan ($2.62 billion) three-year bilateral currency swap, a move that importers and economists said would facilitate trade and improve foreign currency liquidity in cash-strapped Egypt. Egypt’s central bank, which signed the deal with the People’s Bank of China, said the arrangement could be extended by mutual consent. “This bilateral currency swap is a mutually beneficial arrangement between both countries,” it…

Nigeria Export Agency Sees Roads, Rail Routes to Growth Recovery

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s push to end its economic contraction requires expanding the country’s road and rail networks for an export-led recovery that would ease a reliance on oil, head of the West African nation’s export agency said. “It’s important we build roads that lead to markets,” Segun Awolowo, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, said in an interview in the capital, Abuja. “The rail needs to move goods…

Private Equities Partner to Support Agrotech Startups in East Africa

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Village Capital and Schooner Africa Fund have launched the Africa Investment Marketplace to invest between $100K and $500K into early stage agrotech startups in East Africa, a move aimed at tackling the disconnect in the region’s between early-stage ventures looking for capital, and investors looking for deal flow. “We are providing due diligence, transaction advisory, investor matching and deal syndication services for 8 agribusinesses from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and…

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