South Africa | SARB Serves Economy Best With Price Stability, Mminele Says

South Africa | SARB Serves Economy Best With Price Stability, Mminele Says

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: The Reserve Bank can best serve the South African economy by ensuring price stability, even if higher interest rates affect growth over the short term, Deputy Governor Daniel Mminele said. “The long-term interests of the South African economy are served by focusing on that price stability mandate and avoiding any temptation to try and play a short run trade-off between inflation and growth,” Mminele said Friday in an interview at the World…

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Market Watch | Emerging Stocks Decline for Fourth

Market Watch | Emerging Stocks Decline for Fourth

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Emerging-market stocks were set to extend their longest losing streak since August and currencies retreated on concern the pace of global growth remains sluggish. Shares in China posted their worst run of weekly declines in two years on speculation the government will refrain from adding fresh stimulus, while Hungarian shares fell and the forint slid to the lowest level since March after the economy unexpectedly contracted. South Africa’s rand slid more than 1…

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Rwanda in Talks With IMF for Standby Facility as Imports Surge

Rwanda in Talks With IMF for Standby Facility as Imports Surge

Kigali, Rwanda, Capital Markets in Africa: Rwanda is in talks with the International Monetary Fund to arrange a standby facility of about $200 million to help offset the impact of declining export revenue and surging imports, Central Bank Governor John Rwangombwa said. The collapse in global commodity prices is expected to result in “negative growth” in revenue for Rwanda’s mineral shipments this year, Rwangombwa said in an interview Friday at the World Economic Forum on Africa in the…

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Zambia Will Only Take IMF Bailout If Terms Agreeable, Lungu Says

Zambia Will Only Take IMF Bailout If Terms Agreeable, Lungu Says

LUSAKA, Zambia, Capital Markets in Africa: Zambian President Edgar Lungu said Africa’s second-largest copper producer will only access International Monetary Fund support if the lender’s conditions are acceptable. “If we find that there are conditionalities which we find acceptable, we will work with them,” he told reporters Friday in Lusaka, the capital. “If not, we will throw them out.” The southern African nation had earlier said it was working to seal an “inevitable” aid program from the…

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Africa’s maturing telecoms sector to see further M&A activity — Moody’s

Africa’s maturing telecoms sector to see further M&A activity — Moody’s

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Africa’s telecoms sector will undergo more M&A activity as its markets continue to consolidate as they mature, Moody’s Investors Service says in a report published today. The report “M&A Activity to Reshape Competitive Environment As Markets Mature and Consolidate”.  Moody’s expects more consolidation within markets as existing operators – particularly smaller third or fourth tier companies – look for ways to cut costs and expand their market share….

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Investment | Nedbank Group Hunting for Kenyan Acquisition as Parent Mulls Exit Plan

Investment | Nedbank Group Hunting for Kenyan Acquisition as Parent Mulls Exit Plan

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Nedbank Group Limited, the South African lender being spun off from parent Old Mutual Plc, said it’s in talks that may lead to the acquisition of a Kenyan bank as it seeks to benefit from an economic growth rate that’s double the average for the rest of the continent. “Within the next 12 months we’ll certainly be looking to do a deal,” Mfundo Nkuhlu, chief operating officer of Johannesburg-based Nedbank,…

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Trade | U.S. Eyes Next Step in Africa Trade Relations, Froman Says

Trade | U.S. Eyes Next Step in Africa Trade Relations, Froman Says

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: The year after President Barack Obama extended African nations’ preferential access to U.S. markets by a decade, his administration is re-evaluating its trade relations with the world’s poorest continent. “It’s time to start looking at what comes next,” U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in an interview in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, where the World Economic Forum is holding its annual Africa summit. “Part of what motivates us is that we are hearing…

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