Finance

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Vodacom Group Ltd. is in talks with Cell C Pty Ltd. about taking on the smaller rival’s contract-paying mobile-phone customers, a move that would strengthen its position as South Africa’s telecom market leader, according to people familiar with the matter. The unit of the U.K.’s Vodafone Group Plc would gain just over 1 million high-paying subscribers from the deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – China came under greater international pressure to reduce industrial subsidies after the U.S., Europe and Japan agreed to push for stronger World Trade Organization rules against market-distorting government aid. The top trade officials of the U.S., the European Union, and Japan struck a deal on Tuesday in Washington to expand the kinds of subsidies prohibited by the WTO. The announcement came on the eve of a planned signing ceremony…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Manchester United risks losing its position as England’s top-earning soccer club as a string of management missteps and sub-par performances left it shut out of Europe’s most lucrative competition. After failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the second time in four seasons, the struggling team has forecast annual revenue will slide as much as 11% from the previous year. That may put it behind Manchester City and Liverpool FC this year,…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Acorn Holdings (Acorn), the largest student accommodation property developer in Kenya, has listed by introduction its KES 4.3 billion green bond programme, on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). To celebrate the Acorn bond programme listing, Sam Kimani, Chairman of the NSE, welcomed the Rt Hon Alok Sharma, UK Secretary of State for International Development, and Patrick P. Njoroge, Central Bank of Kenya Governor, to open trading today. The programme…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African business confidence slumped to the lowest in 34 years in 2019 as the country faced power cuts, delays in policy implementation, deteriorating public finances and the risk of losing its only remaining investment-grade credit rating. A sentiment index compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry showed business confidence declined to an average of 92.6 from a two-year high of 95.5 in 2018, according to…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa has been hit by rolling power cuts less than a month after President Cyril Ramaphosa gave renewed assurances that energy constraints were being addressed, making his pledges ring hollow and highlighting his administration’s inability to tackle the crisis. While Eskom Holdings Ltd., the state utility that provides about 95% of the nation’s electricity and is overseen by Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan, has borne the brunt of the blame for the…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday that the British government is only interested in negotiating a free trade agreement with its largest market, and that he’s determined to achieve it by the end of the year. In their first meeting since von der Leyen took up her post — and since Johnson won last month’s election — the U.K. prime minister…