Finance

KAMPALAI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda withdrew from its nascent Petroleum Fund for a second time before it starts producing oil, as the East African nation struggles to narrow its budget gap while increasing infrastructure investments. A sum of 200 billion shillings ($54 million) was removed from the fund to help finance spending plans for the year through June, leaving 288.7 billion shillings in the account, the Finance Ministry said in a report on its…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – For brewing giants AB InBev SA, Heineken BV and Diageo Plccompeting for market share in Africa’s most populous country, the Nigerian government’s decision to hike excise duties is another setback in an under-performing economy. President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration followed up its June decision to impose taxes on beer and spirits by deciding in January to implement another phased 17 percent increase in duties on alcoholic beverages. The move, a bid in part…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Majid Al Futtaim Holding LLC, an operator of French retailer Carrefour SA outlets, plans to boost its presence in Kenya as it looks to expand into eastern and southern Africa. Growing the franchise in Africa will boost competition for the likes of Shoprite Holdings Ltd., the continent’s biggest grocer, and Walmart Inc.’s Massmart Holdings Ltd. Those companies are looking to develop outside their home markets in South Africa, where stagnant economic…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Equatorial Guinea signed agreements to develop natural gas from offshore blocks operated by Noble Energy Inc., which will feed the Punta Europa liquefied natural gas plant in an effort to boost exports of the fuel. The Alen Unit joint venture project, located in Blocks O and I, will install a 70-kilometer (44-mile) pipeline from its platform to the LNG plant, operated by Marathon Oil Corp. The gas will then be processed…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Jumia Technologies AG said Mastercard Inc. has agreed to invest 50 million euros ($56 million) in a private placement ahead of the Africa-focused online retailer’s planned initial public offering in New York. The U.S. credit-card giant joins shareholders such as French drinks maker Pernod Ricard SA, which bought a 5.1 percent stake for 75 million euros in December, and largest investors MTN Group Ltd. and Rocket Internet SE. The Pernod deal valued Jumia at…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bumper coffee harvests were supposed to fuel Burundi’s recovery from three years of political upheaval. Tell that to Jean Ntungiyabandi, one local farmer who’s just called it quits. The tiny East African nation, which counts Starbucks Corp. among its customers and gets at least 80 percent of its foreign exchange from coffee, wants to double output by 2023. But delays in local payments are squeezing its 60,000 small-scale producers, complicating…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Under the rule of the Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha more than 20 years ago, a handful of high-ranking government officials looted billions of dollars from the country’s coffers. Now the Nigerian government is demanding some of its money back — from JPMorgan Chase. In a British court, lawyers for the country are suing a subsidiary of the largest United States bank, charging that it enabled corrupt former officials to…