Finance

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa’s most-populous nation has not yet signed a continent-wide free-trade deal because it wants to make sure it’s the biggest winner, and not the biggest loser, from this pact. Nigeria seeks to make sure third parties won’t be able to dump products and threaten local producers once the African Continental Free Trade Area is established, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said Friday at a conference in Lagos, the commercial capital. “We are…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rand slumped to a three-week low against the dollar, leading emerging-market currency declines, as an unexpected monthly trade deficit added to a string of disappointing economic news making investors wary of South African assets. The currency of Africa’s most-industrialized economy declined 1.6 percent to 14.8307 per dollar by 4:18 p.m. in Johannesburg, heading for the weakest closing level since October 8. Yields on benchmark 2026 government bondsjumped nine basis points to…

KIGALI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Rwandan traders will soon offer products including coffee and handicrafts on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s platform as the East African nation targets the Chinese market. Alibaba signed three agreements with Rwanda on Wednesday that include helping Chinese tourists travel to the nation known for its endangered mountain gorillas. The country that also supplies Starbucks Corp. with some specialty coffee is now looking east to expand its market, according to the…

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, plans to trim its budget-deficit next year even after missing its 2018 target. The fiscal shortfall will be 7.4 percent of gross domestic product this year compared with a previous estimate of 6.1 percent, Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe said Friday in her first budget speech since she was appointed in February. In 2019 the gap will narrow to 6.5 percent, she said. The government will spend…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Spending by South African households contracted the first time since 2016 as an increase in value-added tax and higher fuel prices ate into disposable income. Consumption expenditure by households shrank an annualized 1.3 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months, the first contraction since the first three months of 2016, the Pretoria-based South African Reserve Bank said in its quarterly bulletin, citing figures from the statistics…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – After coming out all guns blazing, Nigeria’s central bank surrendered some ground in its tussle with MTN Group Ltd., pledging that a dispute over the repatriation of $8.1 billion in dividends from the country will soon be resolved. Examiners from the central bank are reviewing documents provided by Johannesburg-based MTN and four banks accused of moving money out of the continent’s biggest oil producer without the regulator’s final authorization, Governor…