Finance

DAR ES SALAAM (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tanzania plans to negotiate terms for developing a $30 billion liquefied natural gas project with companies between April and September, the Energy Ministry said. The talks are aimed at reaching a so-called Host Government Agreement, the pact that governs the rights and obligations of parties with respect to the development, construction and operation of the project. Equinor ASA, one of the companies involved, could sign the accord after the…

SOUTH SUDAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd.’s South Sudan unit said it’s investing at least $30 million in revitalizing and expanding its operations as a new deal to end a five-year civil war brings relative peace to much of the country. Reviving transmission sites, upgrading to 3G and adding new coverage — they’re all planned by MTN South Sudan, one of the two remaining mobile-phone operators in the country. After a period…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – A no-deal Brexit has been averted on March 29, but the prospect of a chaotic U.K. withdrawal from the European Union is still looming. Uncertainties remain despite regulators saying there is almost no chance of a crisis in the financial system and that they’ve prevented the biggest potential problems. Here are the key vulnerabilities. Trading Venues The EU gave traders new reason to fret that markets could turn ugly….

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A tomato-paste factory owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, resumed production in Nigeria’s northern state of Kano after staying idle for more than two years over a supply disruption partly caused by a price dispute with farmers. The factory, with a capacity for 1,200 metric tons of tomato paste daily and targeted at meeting domestic demand, restarted production last week processing about 100 tons a day. It will ramp up…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in  Africa) – Nigeria may have about the best-performing Eurobonds in emerging markets this year, but the West African nation says it will prioritize borrowing from concessional lenders such as the World Bank and African Development Bank as it looks to rein in interest payments. “If you were to ask me if we’re going to issue Eurobonds this year, I’d say we’ll explore all the options,” Patience Oniha, head of the Debt Management…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is cutting 4,000 megawatts from South Africa’s electricity grid on Thursday, giving consumers no respite even on a public holiday, as it continues rotating outages that seek to lower demand and avoid a collapse of the network. It’s the eighth day of blackouts that have disrupted business and sparked outrage in a country that’s home to the continent’s most-industrialized economy, posing a challenge for the ruling…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Moody’s Investors Service said investment in the water sector of Cape Town, the South African city hit by shortages in the past two years, will bolster its economic strength and support its credit profile. The coastal city plans to diversify its water supply and better manage demand to reduce the chances of future water restrictions, with about half of its $692 million borrowing during the next three years going…