Features

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Centricus Asset Management Ltd. partnered with Cheyne Capital’s Jonathan Lourie and Talis Capital’s Bob Finch to join the bidding for Chelsea Football Club, one of European sport’s most prized assets. The offer from Centricus values Chelsea at more than 3 billion pounds ($3.9 billion), including commitments for further investment, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Centricus co-founder Nizar Al-Bassam and…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China’s top envoy to Washington pledged his country “will do everything” to de-escalate the war in Ukraine, but refused to condemn Russia’s attack and branded such requests “naive.”  “There’s disinformation about China providing military assistance to Russia,” Ambassador Qin Gang said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. China isn’t sending “weapons and ammunitions to any party,” he said, calling Beijing’s “common interests” with Russia an “asset” that could help peace…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s poorest nations will pay China and its lenders almost $14 billion this year in debt servicing costs, according to new research that urges Beijing to do more to support restructuring for those who need it.In total, 68 such countries will pay $52.8 billion this year in debt costs, according to a report by the Green Finance & Development Center at Fudan University in Shanghai. More than a quarter of that will…

Africa’s energy future at a crossroad  When it comes to building the future of energy in Africa, the decisions facing the continent’s leaders today are nothing less than of historical importance. More than anything else, energy systems are the very fabric of business and society. Countries across Africa want to make good on their objective of building huge amounts of new generation capacity to anticipate on vast increases in energy demand and set the continent…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa): Pandemic outbreak is the biggest concern for companies in the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry, according to the Allianz Risk Barometer 2022. This risk receives the top ranking after Covid-19 led to large-scale business closures and supply chain disruption globally and brought tourism and aviation industries to an abrupt halt. However, while the pandemic continues to overshadow the economic outlook in this industry, encouragingly, businesses do feel they have adapted well. “When asked how prepared…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The invasion of Ukraine is causing a mass exodus of companies from Russia, reversing three decades of investment by Western and other foreign businesses there following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The list of those cutting ties or reviewing their operations is growing by the hour as foreign governments ratchet up sanctions against Russia, close airspace to its aircraft and lock some banks out of the SWIFT money messaging system. Some companies have concluded…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Solar projects in South Africa’s latest renewable power procurement round may have difficulty reaching financial close due to issues including rising supply chain costs, according to people familiar with the details. Some of the bids are experiencing trouble ahead of a deadline to complete financing arrangements, according to the people who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy…