The Editorial Team |

Kenyan Lawmakers Escalate Battle Against Banks to Cap Rates

NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa: Kenyan lawmakers are threatening to overrule President Uhuru Kenyatta if needed to force the country’s banks to lower their lending rates. The country’s parliament on July 28 approved a bill that will limit the amount of interest banks can charge on loans, with the proposal only needing Kenyatta’s signature to become law. The proposals jolted lenders into signing a memorandum of understanding with the Central Bank of Kenya that commits them to…

Zenith Bank at Three-Week Low as First-Half Profit Slides

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria’s second-largest lender by market value, fell to the lowest level in almost three weeks after reporting a 16 percent drop in first-half profit. The stock, which has declined in six out of the past seven days, slid 2.5 percent to 15.60 naira, the lowest closing price since July 22. That pared gains this year to 11 percent, making it the fourth best-performing bank on the…

Emerging Stocks Extend Rally as Earnings Buttress Stimulus Bets

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Emerging-market stocks headed for the longest streak of weekly gains since Russia’s Crimean invasion ended a similar run in March 2014, on signs corporate earnings are recovering even as central banks extend measures to nurture economic growth. Chinese shares rallied the most in a month as property companies advanced on speculation merger deals will accelerate. Hungary led gains in eastern European equities as the nation’s economy grew more than forecast….

Impacting Investing: An Innovative tools to drive Infrastructure in Africa

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Africa’s infrastructure gap It is a well-documented fact that there exists a significant infrastructure deficit in Africa1 to support the continent’s expanding economies, rapid urbanisation, and surging trade levels. While total spending in infrastructure is growing at a rapid pace globally, Africa’s share continues to remain stagnant. As a result, economic growth in many African countries is constrained by poor infrastructure, particularly in energy and roads3 . In addition,…

Zambia Votes After Violence Mars Close-Run Presidential Race

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LUSAKA, Zambia, Capital Markets in Africa: Zambians began voting Thursday in elections that are set to be a rematch of last year’s neck-and-neck contest between President Edgar Lungu and his main rival, Hakainde Hichilema, following a violence-marred campaign. Less than 28,000 votes separated the two men the last time they squared off in a snap poll 19 months ago, after President Michael Sata died in office. While incumbent Lungu, 59, has enjoyed blanket state-media coverage of his campaign, an economic…

South Africa Sued to Protect Recipients of $9.7 Billion in Welfare

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JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s government is facing a counter legal challenge in a dispute with Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. with a rights group demanding that it protect welfare recipients from companies that are allegedly selling the nation’s poorest people goods and services they don’t need and deducting payments from grants paid to them by the state. Black Sash Trust, a human rights activist group, on Wednesday applied to the High Court in…

South Africa’s Economy Regains Rank as Africa’s Biggest on Rand

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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital; Markets in Africa: South Africa’s economy regained the position of Africa’s largest in dollar terms more than two years after losing it to Nigeria as the value of the nations’ currencies moved in opposite directions. Based on gross domestic product at the end of 2015 published by the International Monetary Fund, the size of South Africa’s economy is $301 billion at the rand’s current exchange rate, while Nigeria’s GDP is $296 billion. That’s…

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