Kenyan Treasury Secretary Says Banks Making Too Much

Kenyan Treasury Secretary Says Banks Making Too Much

NAIROBI, Capital Markets in Africa: Kenyan banks have been “expropriating too much profit” from the interest rates they charge on loans and have room to lower borrowing costs, Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich said. Lawmakers in East Africa’s biggest economy approved a bill last month that will limit the amount of interest banks can charge on loans to four percentage points above the central bank’s benchmark rate. The proposal is awaiting President Uhuru Kenyatta’s signature before it becomes law….

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INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE IN AFRICA: A LEGAL VIEWPOINT

INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCE IN AFRICA: A LEGAL VIEWPOINT

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: The key to unlocking Africa’s growth potential The continued downturn in global commodities prices has, according to the World Bank’s Africa’s Pulse April 2016 report, reduced Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth to 3% in 2015 from 4.5% in 2014. Despite this fall, Africa’s economic growth of 3% for 2015 is higher than the global average growth rate. It is undeniable that developing the continent’s road, rail, power and urban infrastructure…

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Standard Bank Rises as African Units Boost First-Half Profit

Standard Bank Rises as African Units Boost First-Half Profit

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Standard Bank Group Ltd. gained the most in more than a week after first-half profit from continuing operations at Africa’s largest lender by assets climbed, boosted by higher interest rates in its home market that boosted income, and as fees from the rest of the continent increased. The stock led advances among the biggest lenders on the six-member FTSE/JSE Africa Banks Index, rising 1.8 percent to 145.11 rand by 10…

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South African Bonds Offer World-Beating Gains. Citadel Wants Out

South African Bonds Offer World-Beating Gains. Citadel Wants Out

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: George Herman at Cape Town-based Citadel Investment Services is dumping the emerging world’s best-performing bonds. South African government rand notes have earned 14.3 percent this quarter in dollar terms, the most out of 31 developing nations tracked by Bloomberg indexes and more than twice the return of second-placed South Korea. Yet Herman, 49, says the move has gone too far. He’s selling all his holdings in favor of shorter-dated securities. Investors chasing…

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Emerging Assets Resume Rally on Fed as Samsung Surges to Record

Emerging Assets Resume Rally on Fed as Samsung Surges to Record

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: Emerging-market currencies rebounded and a gauge of stocks rose to a one-year high as Federal Reserve minutes tempered speculation U.S. interest rates will rise this year, spurring demand for riskier assets. South Africa’s rand led currencies higher as Russia’s ruble and Malaysia’s ringgit gained with crude oil. South Korea’s won rose after its worst one-day loss in almost two months. Equities from Indonesia, Thailand to Turkey and India gained. Tencent Holdings Ltd….

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Mozambique Says Deal With Opposition Was Imposed by Mediators

Mozambique Says Deal With Opposition Was Imposed by Mediators

MAPUTO, Capital Markets in Africa: The Mozambican government’s delegation at peace talks with the main opposition party said it was forced by mediators to agree to a proposal that the ruling party cedes control in provinces where its rival had won elections. The Mozambique National Resistance, or Renamo, has been fighting to govern six provinces where it garnered more support than the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, or Frelimo, in elections in 2014. The opposition…

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Egypt Picks JPMorgan, Natixis, Citi and BNP to Manage Bond Sale

Egypt Picks JPMorgan, Natixis, Citi and BNP to Manage Bond Sale

CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa: Egypt picked four banks to manage a dollar bond issuance planned for 2016, part of the government’s efforts to raise $21 billion over three years to shore up reserves and end a crippling currency shortage. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., BNP Paribas SA and Paris-based Natixis SA will oversee the sale, the finance ministry said in a statement on its website. Egypt plans to sell $3 billion to $5 billion in international…

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