Features

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson came up against increasing pressure over his handling of the coronavirus crisis just as the British economy recorded its largest monthly contraction on record. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak warned on Wednesday the U.K. faces a significant recession after gross domestic product fell almost 6% in March. “We’ve got a very sharp move into recession, and it was quite sudden, which is what we’ve all observed from the…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — Creditors of the biggest lender to South African farmers picked Rand Merchant Bank as a financial adviser after it missed a loan repayment that triggered a cross-default on a 50 billion rand ($2.7-billion) bond program, according to people familiar with the matter. The Johannesburg-based investment bank has been tasked with coming up with cash-flow projections for the Land and Agricultural Development Bank, the people said, asking not to be identified as an…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — The coronavirus outbreak in South Africa has hit hardest in the Western Cape, home to the city of Cape Town. The province now has more than half of the 12,074 confirmed cases nationwide and in recent days contributed about 90% of new infections recorded by the Health Ministry. Contrary to initial projections, infections and deaths have increased at a much slower rate in the economic hub of Johannesburg in…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — MTN Group Ltd. reduced spending plans for the full year to focus on preserving cash and maintaining networks as Africa’s biggest wireless carrier by sales navigates the Covid-19 pandemic. The Johannesburg-based company will invest 21 billion rand ($1.1 billion) to 22 billion rand in 2020, compared with earlier guidance of 28.3 billion rand, it said in a statement on Thursday. The group stuck with a medium-term growth forecast and…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, took to Twitter to gauge support for a new lockdown as authorities complain residents aren’t following public-health guidelines. More than 52,000 people had voted in the poll by 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday, with more than half supporting another lockdown. The poll still has two days to go. The city has 1,999 confirmed infections or 42% of known cases in Africa’s most populous country….

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Boris Johnson watered down his plan for rebooting the U.K. economy after employers and labor unions said many workplaces are not yet ready for the return to work he called for on Sunday night. Just 24-hours after telling Britons they “should go to work if you can’t work from home,” the prime minister used a televised press conference on Monday evening to say they “should now think about going…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — President Donald Trump said Monday he demanded that everyone entering the West Wing to wear a face mask after Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested positive for coronavirus infection last week. The White House made the announcement in a memo addressed to staff on Monday, saying employees didn’t need face coverings while working at their desks. Trump told reporters that he “required” the memo. “We’ve had just…