Finance

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigeria increased the amount it is allowed to borrow as a proportion of gross domestic product to 40% from 25% as part of a new debt-management strategy approved by cabinet Wednesday. The higher limit will enable borrowing to fund the budget deficit and other government obligations, including promissory notes issued to settle arrears, as well as lending from the central bank, the Debt Management Office said in a statement…

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ethiopia plans to only approach private creditors as part of its debt-restructuring efforts if it runs out of other options. Yields on the nation’s Eurobonds plunged by the most in eight months. “The debt treatment will be carried out on a case-by-case basis and under a fair burden-sharing principle,” Brook Taye, a senior adviser at the Finance Ministry, said by text message. “This does not put private creditors…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The incoming chief of the World Trade Organization has a reputation for shaking up the guardians of wealth and power that will come in handy in her new role. During Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s effort to root out corruption during her first stint as Nigeria’s finance minister, opponents of her plans nicknamed her “Okonjo Wahala” — “Okonjo the trouble maker.” The 66-year-old development economist embraces the moniker and true to form, trouble was…

NEW YORK(Capital Markets in Africa) — President Joe Biden will sign a trio of executive orders on Tuesday to reverse Donald Trump’s crackdown on asylum seekers and refugees, continuing his push to loosen his predecessor’s strict immigration policies. Biden will direct the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a broad review of asylum programs that were targeted by the Trump administration, asking his administration to rescind proclamations, rules, and guidance documents intended to curb the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigerian independent producer Heirs Oil & Gas Ltd. plans to restore an oil block acquired from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to its former output levels to make it one of the country’s biggest local operators. Heirs finalized last month its purchase of an operating stake in a permit known as Oil Mining Lease 17 in a deal worth more than $1 billion. The transaction is the latest in which…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma said he will flout an order by the nation’s top court by refusing to cooperate with a judicial panel that’s probing graft during his rule, and dared the authorities to arrest him. “The Commission Into Allegations of State Capture can expect no further cooperation from me in any of their processes,” Zuma said in a statement on Monday. “If this stance is considered…

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ethiopia may approach private creditors for debt talks after it reviews liabilities with official lenders amid security risks that are adding to investors’ worries. The nation’s Eurobonds plunged the most on record last week after State Minister of Finance Eyob Tekalign said the government will seek to restructure its external debt under a Group of 20 debt-suspension program. With no details on how the decision would affect holders…