The Editorial Team |

Fitch keeps S.Africa’s investment-grade rating but cuts outlook to negative

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ratings agency Fitch affirmed South Africa’s investment-grade credit rating at one notch above ‘junk’ on Friday but changed its outlook to negative from stable, warning that political risks could hurt growth. With the economy expected to grow by only half a percent this year, South Africa has been racing to avert a downgrade of its sovereign debt to sub-investment status, which would raise its borrowing costs and deter investment. Africa’s…

MPC Maintains Status Quo but Ignores Elephant in the Room …

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held its scheduled 6th and final meeting for 2016 on the 21st and 22nd of November. The conclusions from the two-day deliberations were broadly in consonance with our prognosis in the Pre-MPC note; “Blunted Policy Tools Call for Rollback of Administrative Measures” where we projected that the MPC will likely hold all rates constant whilst reinstate the need for the CBN’s hierarchy to properly…

Moody’s keeps South Africa’s sovereign rating at Baa2, negative outlook

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Credit ratings firm Moody’s Investors Service kept South Africa’s sovereign rating unchanged at Baa2 on Friday, two levels above subinvestment grade, with a negative outlook. Africa’s most industrialised country, which is expected to see economic growth of around 0.5 percent half a percent this year, has been trying to avert a sovereign rating downgrade to junk status that would raise borrowing costs and deter investment. “The negative outlook on South…

Central Bank of Kenya to hold rates at 10 pct on Nov 28

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya is expected to keep interest rates stable on Nov. 28 ahead of an expected rate rise in the United States while cautiously dealing with the impact of new banking regulations, a Reuters poll found on Friday. The shock of trade-sceptic Donald Trump ascending to the top office of the world’s biggest economy has wrong-footed African countries, many of which have enjoyed beneficial trade agreements. A stronger dollar and higher…

High Interest Rates: How do they impact Small Businesses in East Africa?

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Small & Medium Businesses in East Africa should be looking at ways to maximise their efficiency and improve debt management to navigate the risks that high interest rates pose for their businesses. That’s the word from Billy Owino, Regional Director for Sage East Africa (www.Sage.com), the market leader for integrated accounting, payroll, and payment systems. He says that business builders feel the pressure of rising interest rates more severely than…

South Africa leaves key rate steady, warns of risks to inflation

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank kept its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 7 percent on Thursday in line with market consensus, but warned that risks to the inflationary outlook had increased. Delivering the last scheduled rate decision for the year, the central bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said food price inflation was expected to moderate at a slower pace than what the bank had previously forecast. The bank has kept the benchmark…

Dubai-based firm forms $1.6 bln steel plant JV in Algeria

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ALGIERS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Dubai-based conglomerate Emarat Dzayer Group said it had signed a joint venture agreement to develop a $1.6 billion steel factory in Algeria, boosting the North African country’s drive to diversify its economy and attract foreign investment. Emarat Dzayer Steel Company will be a joint venture between Algeria’s state-linked Groupe Imetal, which will hold a 51 percent stake in the business through two subsidiaries, and 49 percent held by Emarat…

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