The Editorial Team |

South Africa’s rand gains as investors bet ECB will delay tapering

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand firmed on Wednesday as investors ignored local factors and bet on the European Central Bank delaying plans to taper its asset buying programme. Gold mining stocks led the bourse weaker, still reeling from Tuesday’s drop in bullion prices. By 1519 GMT the rand had firmed 0.87 percent to 13.7100 per dollar, shrugging off September’s weak business confidence print. “The rand initially recovered during Wednesday’s European session as…

South Africa’s PIC Has ‘Appetite’ for Barclays Africa Stake

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Public Investment Corp., Africa’s largest money manager, said it’s interested in boosting its holding in Barclays Africa Group Ltd. and is still considering the best partner to team up with for a bid. “There is appetite from our side to increase our stake,” Chief Executive Officer Dan Matjila said in an interview in Pretoria on Tuesday. “We’re still assessing which is the best partner to go with and the best partner with…

PIC May Boost Investments Outside South Africa as Economy Slows

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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…

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