News | - Part 31

S&P sees South Africa’s banks up against growing credit risks

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa — South Africa’s banks will find it tougher to turn a profit as the economy remains feeble for the next few years and credit risks rise, credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s said on Thursday. Consumers, squeezed by rising interest rates, unemployment of around 25 percent and high debt levels, are a growing headache for lenders in Africa’s most advanced economy which is forecast by the government to…

Ghana’s Economy Expanded at Slowest Pace in 20 Years in 2015

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CASABLANCA, Morocco, Capital Markets in Africa — The Moroccan central bank cut its benchmark interest rate on Tuesday for the first time since December 2014 in an attempt to stimulate an economy hurt by weak cereal production and non-agriculture activity. The Bank reduced the key rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 percent, Bank Al-Maghrib said in a statement. The central bank also lowered its growth forecast for this year to 1 percent from 3…

Family Bank Plans Share Sale to Fund East African Expansion

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NAIROBI, Kenya, Capital Markets in Africa — Family Bank Limited, a closely held Kenyan lender, plans to raise 4 billion shillings ($40 million) in a share sale to existing investors by June that will be used to fund an East African expansion. The company wants to make a “cautious entry” into markets in the region over the next year, outgoing Managing Director Peter Munyiri told reporters in Nairobi on Friday, without identifying any countries. The lender, which has 1.7…

Botswana | Moody’s affirms Botswana’s A2 government bond rating; outlook stable

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Gaborone, Botswana, Capital Markets in Africa — Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has today affirmed Botswana’s A2 long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings. The outlook remains stable. Moody’s analyzed Botswana’s credit profile in the context of the commodity price shock and its impact on the country’s economic and fiscal strength. The affirmation reflects Moody’s view that despite pressure on some of the country’s credit metrics, the challenges that the current external environment poses for the…

Nigerian President to Meet Lawmakers to Negotiate Delayed Budget

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari will meet leaders of Parliament on Friday to negotiate a delayed 2016 budget after he said lawmakers had made changes to the original spending plan he presented in December. The president will meet to resolve “areas where he wanted adjustments in the 2016 budget,” Abdulrazak Namdas, spokesman for the House of Representatives, said by phone from the capital, Abuja. “It is going to be a negotiation.” Buhari…

Black South African Investors Bidding for PIC Stake in Vodacom

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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa — The Public Investment Corp., which manages the bulk of the pension money of South African government workers, is in talks with various black investors who are seeking to buy a stake in Vodacom Group Ltd., PIC Chief Executive Officer Dan Matjila said. The government last year sold its 14 percent stake in Johannesburg-based Vodacom, the largest wireless operator in South Africa, for about 25 billion rand ($1.8 billion) to raise funds…

Greece’s Secret Debt Evoked in Mozambique $1 Billion Hole

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Market in Africa — For some Africa watchers, Mozambique’s confession of a $1 billion debt hole seems strangely reminiscent of another country — one that’s also in contentious talks with the International Monetary Fund. The predicament reminds analysts including Rand Merchant Bank’s Nema Ramkhelawan-Bhana of Greece’s concealment of its true fiscal dilemma in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The IMF said last week that Mozambique failed to disclose government-guaranteed loans provided by Credit Suisse Group…

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