Southern Africa |

South African Bond Traders Have Bigger Fish to Fry Than Inflation

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African bonds were little moved by faster-than-forecast inflation data on Wednesday, suggesting traders are holding steady before Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba’s fiscal update next week. The yield on the rand-denominated 10-year government bond was up less than two basis points at 8.76 percent after a report showed annual consumer-price growth accelerated for a second month in September. The move was pale in comparison with Tuesday’s 10 basis-point jump following a surprise…

Zuma’s Moves Threaten Split in South Africa’s Ruling Alliance

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma’s decision to fire communist party leader Blade Nzimande from his cabinet is widening a rift with two of the African National Congress’s closest allies before a key leadership conference in December. In dismissing Nzimande as higher education minister Tuesday, Zuma, 75, targeted the communist party, which along with the main labor confederation, Cosatu, has said the president must step down because of a series of scandals that have…

Zuma May Face Graft Charges After South Africa Court Ruling

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal opened the way for the reinstatement of criminal charges against President Jacob Zuma by upholding a lower court’s ruling that a decision by prosecutors to scrap them was “irrational.” Zuma’s lawyers conceded in a Sept. 14 hearing at the High Court that the National Prosecuting Authority’s reasoning in dropping the case eight years ago was wrong but argued that the president should be allowed to make representations before…

Billionaire Agarwal Increases Stake in Anglo American to 19%

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Billionaire Anil Agarwal has increased his stake in Anglo American Plc to 19 percent, making him the biggest shareholder in the London blue-chip mining company. Agarwal’s Volcan Holdings Plc bought 102.2 million shares in Anglo, according to a regulatory filing Friday. The Indian billionaire, who said last month that he planned to buy as much as 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion) of the stock, paid an average of 14.68 pounds, based on that…

South African Yield Closing in on Turkey Shows Downgrade Fears

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The shrinking yield discount on South African dollar bonds relative to Turkish debt is a sign investors are pricing in another credit downgrade for Africa’s biggest economy, according to Standard Bank Group Ltd. The 10-year spread has narrowed to 19 basis points, from 120 basis points in January. While Turkey’s yield has dropped amid demand for emerging-market assets, South Africa’s tracked sideways as political and fiscal challenges mount. “The…

Bank of Baroda Is Said to Be Probed in S. Africa Over Guptas

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – India’s Bank of Baroda is being investigated by South Africa’s central bank over money held for companies controlled by the politically connected Gupta family, according to a person familiar with the matter. The South African Reserve Bank’s probe, which comes after it fined the bank in June for not doing enough to combat financial crime, was sparked after the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse alleged in court papers that mine-rehabilitation funds held for two of…

Alexander Forbes Weighs Deals Involving 22 African Targets

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Limited, a South African provider of retirement, investment and insurance services, said it is sifting through 22 potential targets for deals on the continent as part of an expansion drive to accelerate profit growth. The deals range from small acquisitions and partnerships to “meaningful game changers,” mainly in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Darfoor said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Johannesburg offices…

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