The Editorial Team |

PIC May Boost Investments Outside South Africa as Economy Slows

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Public Investment Corp., which manages the bulk of South African government employee pensions, will consider further investments outside its home market as the continent’s most industrialized economy expands at the slowest pace since the 2009 recession. “I would like to see more growth, and because of the tough economic environment in South Africa, that is a concern,” Chief Executive Officer Dan Matjila said in an interview in Pretoria on Tuesday. “One way to…

Cocoa Beans to Bring Ghana Foreign-Exchange Market to Life

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s foreign-exchange market is about to be spurred to life: by cocoa beans. Currency transactions by Ghanaian banks are set to double as the government starts to auction foreign exchange raised by the country’s cocoa-exporting body, allowing companies to bid for dollars rather than buy them from the black market or exchange bureaus. The first $1.8 billion, a loan raised by the Ghana Cocoa Board, is hitting the market this…

South Africans Must Urge Zuma to Go, AngloGold Chairman Says

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African businesses and citizens “require courage” to “protect their sovereignty” and must urge President Jacob Zuma to quit before his term ends in 2019, the chairman of the world’s third-biggest gold producer said. The business community “must accept it’s a valid voice,” AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. Chairman Sipho Pityana, 57, said in a speech at a mining conference in Johannesburg Wednesday. “If we each continue to keep our heads down, protecting our…

FirstRand Considers Nigerian Acquisitions as Valuations Ease

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – FirstRand Limited, Africa’s biggest bank by market value, said it’s considering acquisitions in African countries including Nigeria where the slide in oil prices and a devalued currency has undercut prices. “Asset prices in jurisdictions such as Nigeria have recently become much more realistic,” Chairman Laurie Dippenaar said in the Johannesburg-based company’s annual report, published on FirstRand’s website on Tuesday. “We feel more comfortable to look for opportunities to deploy shareholder capital…

Top Forecaster Says Gold May Recover ‘Shine’ on Global Risks

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Gold’s worst plunge in 14 months may yet reverse. Looming risks from the U.S. presidential election in November to Britain starting talks to leave the European Union next year may boost its role as a haven, said Barnabas Gan, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. Increasing shale oil output in the U.S. is also likely to cool the surge in crude prices, curbing inflation, he said. “As quickly as gold…

Barclays Agrees to Sell Egyptian Unit to Attijariwafa Bank

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Barclays Plc agreed to sell its Egyptian business to Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank as the British firm shrinks its global operations and speeds up the sale of unwanted assets. The deal will probably be completed by the end of this year, the London-based lender said in a statement Tuesday. The disposal will boost the bank’s common equity Tier 1 ratio by 0.1 percentage point, reducing risk-weighted assets by about 2 billion pounds…

Congo Backs Billionaire Gertler After Och-Ziff Allegations

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Democratic Republic of Congo defended Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler’s business dealings in the mineral-rich country, five days after he was linked to a bribery investigation by U.S. authorities. “For us an attack on him is an attack on the Congo,” Barnabe Kikaya Bin Karubi, President Joseph Kabila’s chief diplomatic adviser, said in an interview Tuesday in the capital, Kinshasa. “Mr. Gertler’s businesses are legitimate. He pays his taxes, making…

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