News | - Part 30

IMF Says Sub-Saharan Africa Nations Must Contain Budget Gaps

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Sub-Saharan African nations need to contain their fiscal deficits to avoid becoming more vulnerable to external events, the International Monetary Fund said. “If deficits are not curbed, these countries will be left without buffers and, worse still, remain vulnerable to a financing crisis should external financing conditions get even more difficult,” the Washington-based lender said in its Regional Economic Outlook on Tuesday. African countries from Ghana to Mozambique have approached the…

South Africa Reserve Bank Sees Medium to High Risk of Credit-Rating Cut to Junk

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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa — There is a medium to high probability that South Africa’s debt will be downgraded to non-investment status, according to the country’s central bank. A cut may lead to capital outflows, affect the government’s rand-denominated debt, increase the cost of funding and reduce credit to the private sector, the Pretoria-based South African Reserve Bank said in its Financial Stability Review on Tuesday. Spreads on credit-default swaps would also widen, corporate profits…

Corruption in North Africa: Nearly 1 in 3 paid a bribe …

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Nearly one in three citizens who tried to access basic public services in the Middle East and North Africa paid a bribe, a Transparency International report said today, showing that governments across the region have failed to hear their citizens’ voices against corruption. According to a public opinion survey by the international anti-corruption group of nearly 11,000 adults in 9 countries and territories, the majority of people (61…

Nigeria | Moody’s downgrades Nigeria’s sovereign issuer rating with a stable outlook

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded Nigeria’s long-term issuer ratings to B1 from Ba3 and has assigned a stable outlook, concluding the review for downgrade initiated on March 4th 2016. The key drivers of today’s rating action are as follows: 1) Increased external vulnerability brought about by the prospect of lower-for-longer oil prices; 2) Execution risk in the transition to a less oil-dependent federal budget, and the implications…

Angola | Moody’s downgrades Angola’s rating to B1 with negative outlook

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Luanda, Angola, Capital Market in Africa — Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded the long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings of the Government of Angola to B1 from Ba2 and assigned a negative outlook. The short-term issuer ratings have been affirmed at Not-Prime (NP). The key drivers of the downgrade are: The government’s financial position and the country’s external position have deteriorated sharply due to the shock stemming from the structural downward shift in…

Kenya’s Biggest Bank May Expand Operations to Four New Countries

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa — Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group Limited, owner of Kenya’s largest bank, may enter Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Djibouti by 2020, said Chief Executive Officer Joshua Oigara. The lender is willing to swap shares to fund transactions, he told reporters in the capital, Nairobi, on Friday. KCB will complete an assessment of Chase Bank Kenya Ltd., the failed lender that it is helping to reopen branches and…

Central Bank of Egypt Keeps Policy Rate Unchanged at 10.75% in April

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CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa — In its meeting held on April 28, 2016, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) main operation unchanged at 10.75 percent, 11.75 percent, and 11.25 percent, respectively. The discount rate was also kept unchanged at 11.25 percent. Annual headline CPI remained at around 9 percent in February and March 2016,…

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