Features

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – If there were any doubts that the euphoria following Cyril Ramaphosa’s election as president of South Africa has worn off, this week’s slump in the rand has removed them. The currency has plunged to a level last seen when Jacob Zuma was still in charge, having retreated from a three-year high against the dollar amid a toxic cocktail of negative economic news, political risks and falling commodity prices. An investor retreat from…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) South Africa’s biggest bank isn’t panicking about the ruling party’s renewed push to expropriate land without compensation. The rand has slumped on concerns that the African National Congress’s bid to change the constitution to boost black ownership of land will undermine property rights and deter investment. “We do not currently expect the proposed constitutional amendment would cause widespread or significant risks to property rights or to the security of the financial-sector’s property…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – With Bitcoin falling, you might expect mining activity to follow. That hasn’t happened. The combination of declining prices and a rising hash rate — which measures computing power — shows how complex the economics of cryptocurrency mining are. An increasing hash rate means Bitcoin mining is still profitable enough for many players to stay put, defying speculation that prices have fallen past break-even points. That may be a reflection of how…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s police has asked Interpol to help investigate financial wrongdoing at Steinhoff International Holdings NV after the global retailer reported a hole in its accounts and the share price collapsed. The international organization could help connect the dots at the owner of Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the U.S., which is being investigated by regulators in Germany and the Netherlands and a host of law enforcement agencies. At…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian Senate President Bukola Saraki is considering running against President Muhammadu Buhari when Africa’s top oil producer holds elections in February. “I am consulting and actively considering it,” Saraki, 56, said Tuesday in an interview at his residence in the capital, Abuja. “I believe I can make the change.” After recently defecting from the ruling All Progressives Congress, Saraki said that if he decided to run, it would be under the banner of…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Curtailment of renewables, disconnecting wind and solar when there’s too much electricity entering the grid, will be a common feature of Europe’s power system as more intermittent generation is added. That much is clear. Yet this excess electricity is probably going to create new opportunities rather than simply go to waste. Some new openings are already familiar – such as battery storage or demand response – and newer activities…