News | - Part 79

Egypt’s cabinet approves long-awaited investment law

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s cabinet approved a long-awaited draft law on investment on Wednesday, aimed at making deals less vulnerable to legal disputes or changes in government, and reducing stifling bureaucracy. The government is seeking to address foreign business concerns before an investment conference in Sharm el-Sheikh set for mid-March, when Egypt hopes to secure domestic and foreign investment of up to $12 billion (7.8 billion pounds). Announcing the new law, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb…

Moody’s change Banco Angolano de Investimentos’ Ba3 deposit ratings to negative from stable

Posted on by The Editorial Team

Limassol, March 04, 2015 — Moody’s Investors Service has today changed the outlook to negative from stable on the Ba3 deposit ratings of Banco Angolano de Investimentos, S.A. Concurrently, Moody’s affirmed the bank’s Ba3 deposit ratings and E+ standalone bank financial strength rating (BFSR), which is equivalent to a b1 baseline credit assessment. The E+ BFSR maintains a stable outlook. The rating action on Banco Angolano de Investimentos follows the change in the outlook to…

Oil producer Afren defaults on 2016 bonds

Posted on by The Editorial Team

March 4 (Reuters) – Debt-laden oil producer Afren Plc has defaulted on its 2016 bonds after declining to make a $15 million interest payment in order to preserve cash pending completion of a review of its capital structure. The company said any restructuring or additional funding deal with bondholders could result in the issue of new equity, which would “substantially dilute the interests of the company’s current shareholders”. Afren’s shares fell as much as 50…

Egypt Walks a Fine Line With Interest Rate Strategy

Posted on by The Editorial Team

In January, the cash-strapped Arab state surprised the market with interest-rate cuts aimed at stimulating the troubled economy. At its latest monetary policy meeting the central bank again caused surprise, but this time it was by keeping rates steady. Analysts had expected a different decision. In a note published ahead of the central bank meeting last week Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank, noted that Egypt’s core consumer price index had dropped to nearly a two-year…

Orascom Construction offers 11 pct of shares in $185 mln IPO

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO (Reuters) – Orascom Construction plans to offer 11 percent of its shares on the Cairo bourse to raise 1.41 billion Egyptian pounds ($185 million). The company is being spun off from OCI NV, which will retain its fertiliser and chemicals operation. The construction business is seeking a dual listing on the Egyptian stock market and NASDAQ Dubai. In a statement published in Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper, Orascom said the stock would be offered in two…

MTN’s FY earnings up nearly 9 pct after Nigeria revenue boost

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Africa’s largest telecom provider MTN Group posted an 8.7 percent rise in full-year earnings on Wednesday after a revenue boost from Nigeria, but warned of possible headwinds as weaker oil prices bring economic doubts to its key market. While Nigeria’s performance was below MTN’s own expectations after regulatory and operational challenges, its revenue increased by more than 12 percent. “In Nigeria some level of uncertainty remains with regards to the implications of…

South Africa’s Central Bank says interest rates to be unchanged in short term

Posted on by The Editorial Team

PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa’s central bank will keep interest rates unchanged in the short term as it lowered its inflation outlook but will monitor European and U.S economic events closely, deputy governor Daniel Mminele said on Tuesday. “The more benign projected inflation path… gives the Bank some room to pause in its interest rate normalisation process,” Mminele told an annual gathering at the South African Reserve Bank.

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