Finance

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – The significant rise in oil prices over the past year has big implications for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where hydrocarbons still play a pivotal role in the economy. Despite this change, it’s imperative that countries in the region stay resolved to cut their dependence on oil and make their economies more diverse and resilient. Just a year ago, crude was trading below $50 a barrel, amid stories…

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Glencore Plc reached a deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state mining company to end a legal dispute and save of one of its most important growth projects. The agreement involves a $5.6 billion debt-to-equity swap for Katanga Mining Ltd., effectively reducing the debt load of the subsidiary which Glencore co-owns with Gecamines. The deal also involves a one-time payment of $150 million to Gecamines and waiver of…

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Vedanta Resources Plc is considering building a 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant for as much as $400 million in Zambia, where it’s copper unit is the biggest consumer of electricity. The company decided last week to also study the construction of a hydroelectric plant because its Konkola Copper Mines unit pumps 350 million liters (94 million gallons) of water daily, Deshnee Naidoo, chief executive officer of the company’s Africa base-metals unit, said…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. agreed to sell a minority stake to CITIC Metal Co., making the Chinese conglomerate the largest shareholder in the Canadian mining company and bumping founder Robert Friedland to second place. CITIC will pay C$3.68 apiece for 196.6 million common shares, a premium of about 14 percent to the June 8 closing price. Ivanhoe will use the proceeds of approximately C$723 million ($555 million) to invest in the Vancouver-based…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – With financial backing from the U.S. government, solar developer Gigawatt Global Cooperatief UA signed a deal with the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States to build $1 billion of renewable energy projects in the region. The U.S. is supporting the project through its Power Africa initiative set up in 2013 under President Barack Obama’s administration, a program that had pledged to invest $7 billion over five years. The advancement of this deal…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A British company aims to provide solar power to millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the vast central African nation where less than a fifth of the population have access to electricity. London-based BBOXX Ltd. last week announced it signed a deal with Congo’s government securing exemptions on import duties and value-added tax for solar equipment. That step has removed “prohibitively high” costs related to bringing in panels and…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Vodacom Group Limited proposed raising the black-owned shareholding in Africa’s largest wireless carrier by selling a stake of about 6 percent to certain investors and employees. The 17.5 billion-rand ($1.3 billion) deal will help Vodacom comply with a government initiative to raise black ownership in Africa’s most industrialized economy, part of ongoing efforts to redress inequalities originating from white-minority rule. After the transaction, about 20 percent of Vodacom will be controlled by…