Features

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – $60s may just persist for a while longer. Citigroup Inc. expects prices will probably hold in that range through to the third quarter, while cautioning the raw material may trend lower longer term as scrap usage rises and steel demand weakens in China. The commodity will average $65 a ton this year, before easing to $60 in 2019, according to commodities strategist Tracy Liao. That compares with a year-to-date average…

BUJUMBURA (Capital Markets in Africa) –  Burundian voters backed sweeping constitutional changes including extending presidential terms to seven years, setting the stage for Pierre Nkurunziza to continue ruling the East African country until 2034. The proposed changes were backed by 73.3 percent of people who cast a vote in the May 17 referendum, the head of the electoral committee, Pierre Claver Ndayicariye, told a briefing Monday in the capital, Bujumbura. About 19.3 percent voted “no,” while…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Chairwoman seeks a ‘fair outcome’ for stakeholders after accounting scandal brings giant retailer to the brink Until December, Heather Sonn was running a small investment firm in Cape Town. Then an accounting scandal erupted at Steinhoff International Holdings NV and she was tapped to chair the board. The 46-year-old says she accepted the non-executive role because she felt a duty to those affected by the crisis, which has wiped more than 95…

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast is close to completing a deal with the local unit of France’s Eranove SA for the construction of a thermal-power plant that could expand the country’s generation capacity by almost a fifth, according to two people familiar with the matter. The 300 billion CFA franc ($530 million) gas-fired facility will be owned by Cie Ivoirienne de Production d’Electricite, known as Ciprel and operator of the West African nation’s biggest…