The Editorial Team |

Ivory Coast Leader Sees Steady Growth of 9 Percent Through 2017

ABIDJAN, Capital Markets in Africa: Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said he expects an economic growth spurt in the west African nation that’s outpaced all its continental peers to last until at least through next year, and said the country is looking everywhere for investors as it recovers from internal conflict. Ivory Coast has no preference for either public or private investment on whether investors come from “China, the Gulf States” or anywhere else, Ouattara said in…

Vodafone Squeezed in Egypt as State-Backed Partner Turns Rival

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CAIRO, Capital Markets in Africa: Vodafone Group Plc is getting squeezed in Egypt as its state-backed partner embarks on a solo push into wireless services — crowding the market with a fourth provider while potentially leaving its U.K.-based ally to fend for itself. To finance its own network, Telecom Egypt may sell its 45 percent stake in an existing venture with Vodafone, according to two analysts who have been briefed by the company. The options range from an initial…

U.A.E. Warns OPEC Against Any Hasty Decision on Oil in Algiers

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ALGIERS, Capital Markets in Africa: OPEC must find a “sustainable” way to stabilize oil markets in any agreement its members may reach when they meet next week in Algeria, the United Arab Emirates’ energy minister said. The group’s 14 members may discuss proposals to limit production in an attempt to shore up crude prices at talks planned on Sept. 28. Oil-producing countries previously considered freezing output to counter a global supply glut that cut prices…

Kenyan Regulator Says Rate Caps Complicates Monetary Policy

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NAIROBI, Capital Markets in Africa: Kenya’s decision to introduce caps on commercial-lending rates is complicating monetary policy, Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge said. “With the rate caps, it’s not clear which way to go,” Njoroge told reporters in the capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday, a day after the central bank cut its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 10 percent. The limits on borrowing rates may result in a “perverse reaction” among banks and lead to riskier…

Gold Digger Turns Alchemist Chasing Billions Hidden in Waste

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JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: With gold output in South Africa mired in a multiyear decline, the country’s biggest producer is turning to an overlooked and potentially cheaper source of supply: the dump. About 6.5 million ounces valued at $8.5 billion is buried inside mammoth mounds of discarded mine waste at sites owned by Sibanye Gold Ltd. They’re leftovers from more than five decades of excavation west of Johannesburg. But there’s a catch. The traces are so small that…

Nigeria Needs Lower Interest Rates, Finance Minister Says

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LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee needs to cut interest rates to help boost the economy because it’s currently more important to focus on growth than on inflation, according to Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun. “We would like to see the interest-rate increase that happened at the last MPC meeting reconsidered,” Adeosun said in an interview with broadcaster CNBC Africa Monday. “At the moment in the Nigerian economy, growth is the most important thing.”…

As Commodity Slump Batters Africa, Investors Turn to Technology

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LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: The titans of Silicon Valley are undeterred by the economic slump afflicting much of Africa. Facebook Inc., Google, Oracle Corp. and Uber Technologies Inc. are at the leading edge of turning the world’s frontier markets digital. As the commodity crash buffets the continent’s biggest economies, the interest and investments couldn’t come at a better time. Almost half of foreign direct investment projects in Africa last year were in technology, telecommunications, financial services…

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