Finance

DJIBOUTI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Djibouti’s government will embrace greater Chinese involvement in the nation’s ports and sees no reasons for U.S. concern that its strategic interests may be threatened, Finance Minister Ilyas Dawaleh said. Situated on a global shipping choke-point that links the Red Sea and Suez Canal, Djibouti has become increasingly important to regional and world powers. Smaller than the state of Massachusetts, it hosts the largest U.S. military base in Africa and China’s…

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Anthony Milewski was among the first investors to realize that if electric-vehicle sales take off the way automakers expect, the world is going to need a lot more cobalt—an essential ingredient in lithium-ion batteries. But the market for cobalt isn’t very big, and there aren’t many easy ways for investors to bet on prices. The metal is a minor by-product of copper and nickel mining, and only a few places produce meaningful quantities. More than…

DAKAR (Capital Markets in Africa) – Cairn Energy Plc signalled it may sell a stake in a Senegalese oil field, cashing in on one of the largest recent discoveries off West Africa. Once the project development plan is approved this year and an investment decision made, Cairn will have “options in respect to potential farm-downs,” Chief Executive Officer Simon Thomson said Tuesday. Selling an interest in the field — called SNE — would allow the U.K. exploration company…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fresh from sealing its biggest ever deal, Sanlam Ltd. is still scouring Africa for more acquisitions to extend its lead as the continent’s largest financial-services company outside of banking. The Cape Town-based insurer will spend $1.1 billion to take full control of Morocco’s Saham Finances SA, bringing its total investment in the firm to almost $1.7 billion since February 2016. The deal will give Sanlam access to Saham’s 26 markets across…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa’s biggest mobile-phone company is doing a spring clean of its empire. MTN Group Ltd. said Thursday it’s conducting a review to decide whether it really needs to be in all 22 of its markets across Africa and the Middle East. Some of them are tiny, others are war-torn while still more have regulators desperate to curb the Johannesburg-based company’s perceived dominance. Here are a few countries where MTN is…