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Finance | Investec Plans to Raise 145 Million Pounds to Boost Capital

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Investec Plc plans to raise as much as 145 million pounds ($209 million) by selling equity to buy back preference shares it and other South African banks issued about a decade ago, mainly to fund transactions aimed at boosting black ownership of the economy. The offer involves placing up to 30.87 million ordinary shares in the company in an accelerated book build being arranged by JPMorgan Chase & Co.,…

Nigeria | Darkness Looms Over Nigeria as Delta Attacks Cut Power

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Unless President Muhammadu Buhari, 73, can subdue armed militants attacking gas facilities that supply the nation’s power plants, his plans to remedy an electricity shortage he called a “national shame” in his inauguration speech a year ago, will be stillborn. In March, Buhari said he would increase power generation by 2,000 megawatts this year and raise it by 2019 to 10,000 megawatts, double this year’s peak in early February. Then militants…

Opportunity | Nigeria Telecommunications Industry Grows Despite Economic Woes

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Growth in Nigeria’s telecommunications industry picked up in the three months through March even as the economy shrunk for the first time in more than a decade, according to a government report. Telecommunications expanded 5 percent in the first quarter, compared with 3.5 percent in the three months through December, and contributed 8.8 percent to gross domestic product, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics said in a report on Thursday. The economy contracted by 0.4…

Foreign Exchange | As Nigeria Dithers on Naira, Foreign Companies See Funds Trapped

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: As Nigeria’s policy makers dither on plans to loosen capital controls and let the naira weaken, foreign companies such as Nampak Ltd. of South Africa and British Airways Plc are battling to get their money out of the country. Nampak, Africa’s biggest producer of beverage cans, is considering currency swaps that would enable the Johannesburg-based company to repatriate money trapped due to the shortage of foreign exchange in Nigeria, its chief executive officer said….

Financing | Airports of Mozambique Plans to Reorganize $500 Million Debt

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MAPUTO, Mozambique, Capital Markets in Africa: Airports of Mozambique plans to restructure loans of $500 million after a slide by the nation’s currency against the dollar undermined the state-owned company’s ability to repay loans, its chairman said. The southern African nation has said it is in the process of restructuring another $535 million loan extended to state-owned Mozambique Asset Management after the company failed to meet a $178 million interest payment last month. The government admitted in…

Investment | Green Power Investing Brightens Returns in Ailing South Africa

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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: A program that’s making South Africa the top destination for green-power investments across the continent and the Middle East is not only easing an electricity crisis: returns are beating those in bonds and stocks. The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Program secured about $12.5 billion since 2011 and will attract another $35 billion by 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. With state-guaranteed contracts to buy the power over…

Infrastructure | Engie Arranges $588 Million in Loans for South Africa Solar

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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Engie SA arranged 9.2 billion rand ($589 million) in loans for a 100-megawatt solar thermal power project in South Africa. Rand Merchant Bank, Nedbank Ltd., ABSA Capital Ltd. and Investec Plc are among the project’s debt providers, Chadbourne & Parke LLP, the law firm that advised Engie on the deal, said in an e-mailed statement Wednesday. The Kathu solar project in the Northern Cape Province is 48.5 percent owned by…

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