Finance

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Ghana’s budget deficit for 2020 will swell to more than double the legal limit because of the impact of the coronavirus on the economy, undoing years of fiscal consolidation that was supposed to mark the end of persistent financial bailouts. The fiscal gap is forecast to widen beyond 10% of gross domestic product from an adjusted outlook in March of 7.8% of GDP, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said in…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Paris Club has waived $1.3 billion in debt payments for 18 of the world’s poorest countries to help them free up resources to battle the coronavirus pandemic. So far, 32 of the 73 countries eligible for relief have requested a suspension of payments until the end of the year, the club, an informal grouping of 22 country lenders, said Tuesday in a statement. The suspension is part of…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of the OPEC cartel, held a call with fellow member Nigeria as the organization strives to deliver production cuts aimed at bolstering global crude markets. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari discussed “ways of cooperation to enhance the stability” of the market during a phone call on Monday, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. It’s unusual for the prince, who is effectively the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Of the more than $110 billion in additional funding that sub-Saharan Africa will need this year to fight the coronavirus pandemic, $44 billion has not been financed yet even after several countries have taken up emergency loans and debt-service relief initiatives, according to the International Monetary Fund. The funding needs persist despite the IMF approving debt-service relief for 21 sub-Saharan African countries for an initial six-month phase ending mid-October…

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) — Sasol Ltd. expects binding bids within weeks for its stake in a natural gas pipeline running from Mozambique to South Africa, as the company accelerates asset sales to pay off debt, according to people familiar with the process. The bidding round underway for the Rompco 865-kilometer (537-mile) gas pipeline stake concludes in late July, according to two of the people who asked not to be identified because the information…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Poor African nations should be allowed to borrow more from the International Monetary Fund’s reserves to help mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Sudanese billionaire Mo Ibrahim. “There’s a lot of goodwill but where is the beef?” Ibrahim said in an interview during the virtual Bloomberg Invest Conference on Wednesday. “We are here waiting for the IMF to deploy this very powerful tool they have,…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a $1.2 billion package to help U.K. children catch up on schooling they missed during the coronavirus lockdown. State primary and secondary schools will be able to draw on 650 million pounds of funding, with school principals to decide on how it’s spent, Johnson’s office said in an emailed statement, adding that small group tuition should be the favored intervention. A separate 350 million-pound…