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South African Assets Tumble as Gloom Pervades Fiscal Outlook

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African bank stocks tumbled and bonds plunged as the rand headed for its biggest weekly slide since 2015 after the firing of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan raised concerns about the country’s fiscal path and its investment-grade credit rating. The rand dropped as much as 2.6 percent before paring the decline to trade 0.9 percent weaker at 13.3995 per dollar by 5:15 p.m. in Johannesburg, heading for a seven-week low. Benchmark…

Opinions on Removal of South Africa’s Finance Minister Gordhan

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Financiers, economists, labor leaders, lawmakers and officials from the ruling African National Congress are all having their say on how the decision by South African President Jacob Zuma to fire Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and other cabinet members will affect the economy, the country’s credit ratings, bonds and the local currency. Colin Coleman, head of sub-Saharan Africa at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, tells Bloomberg TV: The cabinet reshuffle “removes the belt and braces over…

Fitch: South Africa Cabinet Reshuffle Signals Policy Change

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African president Jacob Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle signals a change in policy direction and will raise political tensions within the ANC and its traditional allies, potentially weakening public finances and standards of governance, Fitch Ratings says. The president announced that the new cabinet, in which he has replaced finance minister Pravin Gordhan with Malusi Gigaba, will work towards “radical socio-economic transformation.” In his February State of the Nation speech,…

Zuma’s Night of Long Knives Risks ANC Split, Credit Rating

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma fired Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and made sweeping changes to his administration in a high-stakes power play that may threaten his own presidency and place the nation’s investment-grade credit rating at risk. Zuma replaced Gordhan, with whom he feuded over state finances, with Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, who has no financial or business experience. He also named lawmaker Sfiso Buthelezi to take over from Mcebisi Jonas as deputy finance minister. The…

South Africa Central Bank Signals End of Rate-Increase Cycle

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The South African Reserve Bank held its benchmark rate unchanged for a sixth straight meeting and said it may have reached the end of its policy-tightening cycle, even as the rand remains a risk to inflation. Five of the six Monetary Policy Committee members voted to keep the repurchase rate at 7 percent, and one favoured a 25 basis-point cut, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters Thursday in the capital, Pretoria. The decision…

Hedge-Fund Owner Peregrine Considers Split to Boost Returns

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Peregrine Holdings Ltd., the operator of South Africa’s oldest hedge fund, is considering a plan to split the company by using profits from its stockbroking and wealth-management units to create a new investment firm. The stock surged the most in a year. The company, which also owns half of advisory business Java Capital, has about 1.5 billion rand ($115 million) of surplus cash on its balance sheet that could be…

IFC and OFID Invest in Metalco to Boost Manufacturing in Zambia

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) — International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) today announced an investment of $10 million each in Metalco Industries Company Limited, a Zambian company that recycles metal scrap to manufacture copper cables, lead-acid batteries, aluminum sheets and utensils. Metalco will use the new capital to upgrade environmental standards, expand operations, create over 250 new jobs and support the local…

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