Investec acquires stake in off-grid solar home system company

Investec acquires stake in off-grid solar home system company

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Investec Asset Management, through its Africa Private Equity capability, has acquired a significant shareholding in Mobisol, a leading provider of off-grid solar home systems (SHS) in Africa. Investec Asset Management will partner with Mobisol’s founder management with the aim of accelerating the company’s growth in its existing markets and to support its expansion into new markets in Africa. The Berlin-headquartered company offers low-income African households quality solar home systems…

Read More

Sierra Leone President orders 30 percent government spending cut

Sierra Leone President orders 30 percent government spending cut

FREETOWN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sierra Leone will cut the cost of running its government by 30 percent to try to tackle an economic crisis triggered by falls in commodity prices and the aftermath of an Ebola epidemic, President Ernest Bai Koroma said in a statement. The measures will come into effect immediately and continue for the rest of the year. The budget for the first half of 2017 will face similar cuts, the statement…

Read More

Africa’s Biggest Food Retailer Doubles CEO’s Pay After Bonus

Africa’s Biggest Food Retailer Doubles CEO’s Pay After Bonus

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Shoprite Holdings Ltd. doubled Chief Executive Officer Whitey Basson’s pay last fiscal year to 100.1 million rand ($7.4 million), thanks to a bonus from Africa’s largest food retailer for beating a profit-growth target. Basson’s remuneration included 49.7 million rand in basic pay for the 12 months through June, in line with the previous year, and a 50 million rand one-time performance-related bonus, the Cape Town-based company said in its annual report….

Read More

RenCap Sees South African Rand Gaining 30% on Inflows

RenCap Sees South African Rand Gaining 30% on Inflows

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand is set to extend gains, strengthening between 20 percent and 30 percent against the dollar over the next two years as relatively high yields continue to attract investment into Africa’s biggest economy, according to Renaissance Capital Ltd. An improvement in the current-account deficit, a risk factor for the currency, also bodes well for the rand, Charles Robertson, the London-based chief economist at RenCap, said at a conference…

Read More

Congo Cement Factory to Boost National Production Four-Fold

Congo Cement Factory to Boost National Production Four-Fold

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Democratic Republic of Congo Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon said his government will protect local industry as Lucky Cement Ltd., Pakistan’s biggest producer of the building material, and Groupe Rawji prepare to open a new plant in the country this month that will boost production four-fold in the central African nation. The $270 million project, known as CIMKO, is owned jointly by Lucky and Groupe Rawji, a closely held Congolese company, and…

Read More

Egypt Stocks Surge on Bets Devaluation Will Drive Growth Rebound

Egypt Stocks Surge on Bets Devaluation Will Drive Growth Rebound

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egyptian stocks advanced the most in more than two months as investors bet that policy makers may devalue the country’s currency as soon as this week, luring back foreign investors and giving a lift to an embattled economy. The EGX 30 Index gained 3.2 percent, the most among more than 90 indexes tracked by Bloomberg globally after Ghanaian equities, to close at 8,133.12. Financial stocks, such as Commercial International Bank Egypt, the country’s largest…

Read More

Ghana Cedi Falls as Government Wage Bill Exceeds Projections

Ghana Cedi Falls as Government Wage Bill Exceeds Projections

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s currency retreated on Monday after government data showed the West African nation is overshooting key budget targets as it approaches elections in December. The government spent 58 percent of its full-year budget for state-worker pay in the first six months of 2016, exceeding annual allocations for local government and rural development employees, according to budget documents, raising questions about the country’s commitment to rein in the fiscal deficit as…

Read More
1 808 809 810 811 812 1,073