Features

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Cyril Ramaphosa was elected unopposed as South Africa’s president by the National Assembly on Wednesday, while his deputy’s future was in doubt after claims from the ruling African National Congress of wrongdoing. Ramaphosa, who has vowed to clean up the government after his predecessor Jacob Zuma’s scandal-marred nine-year rule, is due to name a new cabinet after his May 25 inauguration following the ANC’s election victory this month. Under the constitution,…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Afrioca) – Amazon.com Inc. is developing a voice-activated wearable device that can recognize human emotions. The wrist-worn gadget is described as a health and wellness product in internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s a collaboration between Lab126, the hardware development group behind Amazon’s Fire phone and Echo smart speaker, and the Alexa voice software team. Designed to work with a smartphone app, the device has microphones paired with software that can…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Lawyers acting for former South African President Jacob Zuma argued that corruption charges against him dating back almost two decades should be scrapped because the case against him is politically motivated and has been unreasonably delayed. Musi Sikhakhane told the High Court in the eastern city of Pietermaritzburg on Monday that former chief prosecutor Bulelani Ngcuka was an ally of Thabo Mbeki, who ruled from 1999 until 2008 and sought to block Zuma from…

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – There’s no evidence that Zimbabwe has pushed through with a plan to alleviate a crippling dollar shortage, and yet the currency has already strengthened on the black market. The RTGS$ advanced about 17% from a record low, according to marketwatch.co.zw, a website run by financial analysts, after the central bank said it would inject $500 million into the foreign-exchange market from Monday. The central bank is intervening as the price of goods soars…

MALAWI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Firebrand preacher Lazarus Chakwera, Malawi’s main opposition leader and a front-runner in Tuesday’s presidential election, pledged to clean up the government and persuade international donors to lift a suspension on aid if he wins. Chakwera said in an interview he plans to almost double the economic growth rate in one of the world’s poorest countries to at least 7% by expanding tourism, agriculture and mining. He will also seek to persuade…

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Republic of Congo and commodities-trading house Trafigura Group agreed to reorganize several hundred millions of dollars in oil-for-cash loans that the African nation struggled with after crude prices fell, according to people familiar with the talks. The restructuring, which also involves several banks that supported the Trafigura deal, is key for Congo as it will help to unlock financial support from the International Monetary Fund. Congo owes creditors more than…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – The idea that China would dump its $1.1 trillion of Treasuries to retaliate against U.S. tariffs is often dismissed as improbable. It’s seen as a nuclear option that would inflict more harm on China’s economy than America’s. Yet the tensions rippling through global financial markets could still lead Beijing to reduce its stockpile in the $15.9 trillion Treasuries market — not to retaliate, but to defend its currency if it goes into a…