Southern Africa |

First Quantum Asks Zambian Attorney General to Block Charges

LUZAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has asked Zambia’s attorney general to block criminal proceedings that may be brought against its directors by the state-controlled mining-investment company. The copper producer, based in Vancouver, said it’s been “reliably informed” that ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc is considering charging its directors, Matt Pascall, operations director at First Quantum, said in a letter to the attorney general, a copy of which was sent to Bloomberg and confirmed by…

South Africa Trade Surplus Surges to 11.4 Billion Rand in March

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s trade surplus more than doubled in March as the exports of mining produce surged. The 11.4 billion-rand ($860 million) surplus compares with February’s revised 4.8 billion-rand surplus, the Pretoria-based South African Revenue Service said in an emailed statement Friday. The median of six economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for a surplus of 6.2 billion rand. Relief on the trade balance eases pressure on the current account, the broadest measure…

Moody’s to Visit South Africa in Coming Weeks, Buthelezi Says

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A team from Moody’s Investors Service will visit South Africa in the coming weeks after the ratings company put the nation on review for a downgrade early this month, Deputy Finance Minister Sfiso Buthelezi said. The National Treasury has concluded an international roadshow and will give an update on its outcomes at a later date, Buthelezi told reporters in Johannesburg on Friday. Buthelezi was appointed on March 31 as part of a…

Mozambique MPs Back State Guarantees for Previously Hidden Debt

Posted on by The Editorial Team

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa)- Mozambique’s parliament ratified a law that provides state guarantees for previously hidden loans of two state-owned companies that sparked a debt crisis in one of the world’s poorest countries. Lawmakers from the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique approved the state accounts for 2015, which included guarantees for loans worth $1.12 billion that ProIndicus and Mozambique Asset Management took out in the prior two years. Opposition members left the…

South Africa’s Nuclear Plans Stall as Process Ruled Unlawful

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa hasn’t complied with the constitution in seeking bidders for a nuclear-energy program and must cancel any deals that have already been signed, the Western Cape High Court ruled. The government must hold public hearings and debate the estimated 1 trillion-rand ($76 billion) program in Parliament, according to a ruling read out on Wednesday by Judge Lee Bozalek in a case brought by civil-society groups Earthlife Africa and…

South Africa to Stick to Low Inflation Plan, Central Bank Says

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African inflation is under control and the central bank will maintain a policy to keep it low to protect the poor and ease inequality, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. Pursuing other priorities, such as reducing unemployment, has been shown in other countries to cause “widespread economic damage,” Kganyago said in a speech at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the coastal city of Durban on Tuesday. The central bank expects price…

South Africa to Study Annual Wealth Tax as It Targets Rich

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s finance ministry has asked for a study into the introduction of an annual wealth tax as the government seeks to boost the standard of living of the black majority. The Davis Tax Committee, which makes recommendations to the National Treasury, also requested submissions from the public on the feasibility of a land tax and a national tax on the value of property in addition to existing charges, it…

« 1 … 25 26 27 28 29 … 34 »