Finance

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The “r-star” is pointing to a South African rate cut. That’s the suggestion from a study published by the South African Reserve Bank, which calculates that the country’s so-called neutral real rate, or R* in the jargon of economists, had fallen to about 1.9 percent by the end of 2017, from as high as 5.4 percent before the 2008 financial crisis. R* is the interest rate that would support…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.S. officials are preparing a final trade deal that President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping could sign in weeks, people familiar with the matter said, even as a debate continues in Washington over whether to push Beijing for more concessions. The U.S. is eyeing a summit between the two presidents as soon as mid-March, said one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the preparations are confidential….

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Turkey has rejected a U.S. proposal to deliver one Patriot missile defense system by the end of 2019, which was conditional on Ankara abandoning a deal with Russia that’s strained ties between the NATO allies, two senior officials said on Friday. The U.S. administration made its offer before Feb. 15, and then increased the price of the multi-billion dollar system in return for quick delivery, according to the officials who are familiar…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in AfricaA) – Liberty Holdings Ltd. is in talks to sell majority stakes in its health-insurance business as well as its asset-management operations in East and West Africa as the Johannesburg-based firm focuses on its home market. The firm’s property and casualty insurance units in Malawi and Namibia are also up for grabs as Chief Executive Officer David Munro pushes ahead with his plans to simplify the company, improve profitability and win…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Dangote Cement Plc Chief Financial Officer Brian Eganresigned, two weeks after Africa’s biggest producer of the building material created a second CFO position. Egan, 55, is stepping down with immediate effect and will return to Ireland, the company said in a statement Thursday on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s website. Dangote said Feb. 13 it hired Guillaume Moyen as CFO for operations. Moyen, who joined from United Arab Emirates-based OLA Energy, was to report…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – With South Africa’s state electricity utility in dire financial straits and straining to meet demand, the government has reverted to courting independent renewable energy producers to help power the continent’s most industrialized economy. President Cyril Ramaphosa, his Energy Minister Jeff Radebe and the Treasury have all recently heralded solar and wind-powered plants as the answer to meeting South Africa’s future electricity demands, citing falling costs and environmental considerations. The government also needs…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – MultiChoice Group Ltd. soared 16 percent in debut trading in Johannesburg as the pan-African pay-TV company embarks on a new era of independence following a spin off by technology giant Naspers Ltd. The shares traded at 111.12 rand as of 11 a.m. local time on Wednesday, valuing the company at almost 50 billion rand ($3.5 billion). That’s the biggest listing in the city since Steinhoff International Holdings NV unbundled its Africa…