Southern Africa |

IMF Sees `Prominent’ Downside Risks to South Africa’s Outlook

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Downside risks to South Africa’s economic outlook are “prominent,” with spending pressures and a higher public-wage bill potentially raising financing costs and damping growth, the International Monetary Fund said. “Fiscal consolidation is needed to strengthen public finances,” the Washington-based lender said in an emailed statement Tuesday after concluding a visit to the nation with the continent’s most-industrialized economy. While steps announced in the February budget are a move in the right…

MRPDA Amendment Bill: Key Amendments for the South African Oil and Gas Industry

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The principal South African upstream oil and gas legislation, the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 28 of 2002 (MPRDA), has been in flux since 2013 when the first draft the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill, 15 of 2015 (the Bill) was published. On 16 December 2015, following the Bill’s passage through the South African National Assembly (the lower house of Parliament), the President exercised the power…

Mozambique Oil and Gas: Regulations and Opportunities

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mozambique has being recently placed among the global major players in the oil & gas sector. This new position is due to significant natural gas discoveries in the country’s northern Rovuma Basin. Despite having activity in the hydrocarbons sector for many decades, just in 2012 these massive offshore started to transform Mozambique’s reality. They added ambitious expectations to the country to become a key player in the LNG global…

Rand Bears Keep Rushing for the Exits Even as Rate Cut Looms

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economists are predicting a South African rate cut on Wednesday. The market’s pricing in another later this year. Rand traders, it seems, couldn’t care less. Bearish bets on South Africa’s currency versus the dollar fell to the lowest level this week since before the 2008 financial crisis, even with the South African Reserve Bank poised to loosen policy while the Federal Reserve tightens, narrowing the rand’s yield advantage over the greenback. A glance…

HSBC Said to Freeze Account Tied to $500 Million Angolan Fraud

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – HSBC Holdings Plc froze an account linked to an alleged fraud that siphoned about $500 million from Angolan state coffers, according to a person briefed on the matter. A large transfer raised suspicions at the bank, prompting it to alert U.K. authorities at least weeks ago, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. Britain’s National Crime Agency told Reuters last week it’s preparing to return funds…

Why South Africa Is Ripping Up Its Mining Rules Again

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s mining industry is a prime example of the nation’s stark imbalances. Its highly paid, mainly white male executives oversee hundreds of thousands of mostly black workers labouring in deep and dangerous operations. To spread the nation’s wealth more equally, in 2017 the government revised its mining charter to require that companies give more ownership to black shareholders. The industry lobby group sued to stop this, saying that…

Threat of Split Looms as South Africa’s ANC Picks New Leader

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – As delegates from South Africa’s ruling African National Congress gather this week to pick a new leader to succeed President Jacob Zuma, they face a challenge that’s threatening to overshadow the contest: to stop the party from splitting. The likelihood of a breakup is probably the biggest in the ANC’s 105-year-old history, especially if Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the president’s ex-wife and favored contestant, beats his deputy, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the vote for party leader,…

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