Finance

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Katanga Mining Ltd. will soon be the world’s top cobalt miner, churning out thousands of tons of metal and billions of dollars in revenue for Glencore Plc. It’s also turning into a major thorn in the commodity giant’s side. Katanga is controlled by Glencore but trades in Toronto, making it one of few options for equity investors seeking exposure to the coveted battery ingredient. Its shares surged more than 1,200…

JOHANNESBRUG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African billionaire Christo Wiese denied he did anything wrong when receiving payments from Steinhoff International Holdings NV while he was chairman. The 325 million euros ($402 million) he received related to a planned merger between Steinhoff’s African operations and South African supermarket chain Shoprite Holdings Ltd., in which Wiese is the biggest shareholder, he said by phone. They were cleared by the central bank, and he started returning the cash when the deal…

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda awarded the contract to build its first refinery to General Electric Co. and partners, sealing a deal for the 60,000-barrel-a-day plant after previous agreements collapsed. The Albertine Graben Refinery Consortium, led by Boston-based GE, will develop the refinery in Hoima district, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said on his Twitter account after the accord was signed Tuesday. It’s a breakthrough for the long-planned project, which will allow the country to process its…

PORT LOUIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The seven Quantum Global Group funds that had their licenses suspended by Mauritius’s financial-services regulator followed presentations made by a high-ranking Angolan official to the Mauritian government, according to two people familiar with the matter. Quantum Global Group was founded by Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, a Swiss-Angolan entrepreneur. Swiss newspaper Le Matin Dimanche reported Nov. 5 that about $3 billion of Angola’s wealth fund, known by the acronym…

KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda dipped into its Petroleum Fund for the first time by drawing 125.3 billion shillings ($33.9 million) to bridge its 2017-18 budget deficit, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said. East Africa’s third-biggest economy will spend the money in the 12 months through June, Kasaija said in a report on the ministry website, leaving the fund at 422.9 billion shillings. Uganda, which is yet to start oil production, raised the money…