Finance

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fuel and food dominate Zimbabwe’s import bill, showing the government’s efforts to keep the economy running and store shelves stocked. Zimbabwe imported almost $80 million’s worth of diesel last month, 30% less than in June, according to data published by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency. Diesel remains Zimbabwe’s biggest import, followed by unleaded gasoline, durum wheat and electricity. The country is buckling under an economic crisis compounded by the…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Seriti Resources, a South African mining company, won a bid to acquire South32 Ltd.’s thermal-coal assets in the country, according to two people familiar with the process. Final offers were in a range of $300 million to $350 million, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. South32 started a search last year for buyers of its South Africa Energy Coal…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – British exporters are to be enrolled in a key customs system so they can trade with the European Union after Britain’s scheduled departure on Oct. 31. The U.K. tax authority will automatically issue more than 88,000 companies with an Economic Operator Registration and Identification number over the next two weeks, the Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday. Without it, the firms would no longer be able to trade…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China’s biggest energy company is backing away from direct purchases of Venezuelan crude as the Trump administration tightens sanctions against the South American nation. China National Petroleum Corp. has canceled plans to load about 5 million barrels worth of Venezuelan oil onto ships this month in the aftermath of the latest executive order by President Donald Trump, according to people with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is hamstrung by politics and the economy is suffering the consequences. His narrow win to become leader of the ruling African National Congress in December 2017 has left him dependent on the left — the unions and the South African Communist Party that are ANC allies and helped him become party president. Now the same labor movement that he worked to strengthen almost four…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in AfricA) – Africa’s largest money manager sees “significant investment opportunities” in West African gold mining as the industry at the southern end of the continent declines. Investor-friendly policies can help Ghana and other countries in the region drive the next “gold-mining boom,” said Lebohang Sekhokoane, a mining research analyst at South Africa’s Public Investment Corp. Low-cost deposits in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Ivory Coast offer the long-term investment potential the PIC…