Features

ERITREA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Eritrea says it will cut the size of its army as part of changes to a system of mandatory national service that the United Nations blames for propelling tens of thousands of people to flee to Europe and neighbouring countries. The official end to a two-decade war with neighbouring Ethiopia means the country that sits on a key shipping route to the Suez Canal may be able to place some working-age…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Even as South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s July announcement that the ruling party will push ahead with plans to expropriate land without compensation pushes down the rand and damages investor sentiment, he sold $1.3 million worth of animals from his expansive game and cattle operations. An auction near the northern South African town of Bela Bela on Saturday by a group of six farms known collectively as Stud Game Breeders raised about…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Xi Jinping is using a gathering of dozens of African leaders in Beijing to push back against criticism that China’s vast development initiatives risk saddling emerging economies with debt. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which begins Monday, provides a high-profile chance for Xi to defend his signature Belt and Road Initiative to develop roads, railways, ports, pipelines and other trade links. At a business event ahead of the summit, Xi said China had…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana signed eight cooperation agreements with China following talks between the two nations’ leaders in Beijing ahead of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation that starts Monday. The package of agreements included the $2 billion infrastructure deal Ghana reached in July with Sinohydro Corp. to improve its roads and develop railways in exchange for bauxite, according to a statement from the office of President Nana Akufo-Addo. “We are looking seriously at how…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – A proposed joint venture between Kenya Airways Plc and the East African nation’s airports manager to run the capital’s main airport will improve the facility and provide more income for the airline, its chairman said. The carrier partially owned by Air France-KLM is in talks with the Kenya Airports Authority to jointly oversee Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. KQ, as the airline is also known, currently pays landing fees…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan authorities arrested Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu Tuesday for alleged abuse of office and for accepting money “in circumstances which undermined public confidence in the integrity of her office.” The top judge got a loan from Imperial Bank Ltd., which is in receivership, under false pretences, Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji told reporters in the capital, Nairobi. Mwilu, who was appointed to her post in October 2016,…