Sonia Gets Clean Sweep in 2019 Sterling Bonds as Libor Fades

Sonia Gets Clean Sweep in 2019 Sterling Bonds as Libor Fades

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – U.K. regulators are seeing some success as they try to shift the sterling bond market away from scandal-hit Libor. Five all-new floating-rate pound notes have come to market this year, and all of them have been tied to the Sterling Overnight Interbank Average rather than Libor. FMS Wertmanagement, Lloyds Banking Group Plc and International Finance Corp were the latest names to join the offering list. The five deals, totaling at least 3.5 billion pounds…

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MTN Nigeria Deal Fails to Fuel Shares as More Trouble Feared

MTN Nigeria Deal Fails to Fuel Shares as More Trouble Feared

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. executives may have expected investors to cut them a little slack after they got potential liabilities of $8.1 billion in Nigeria reduced to $53 million last month. Not so. MTN stock has risen just 2.8 percent since the settlement on Dec. 24, still 20 percent below its price in late August. That’s when Nigeria’s central bank first alleged that the Johannesburg-based wireless carrier had illegally repatriated funds…

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Sibanye Counts Hit to Earnings as Strike at Gold Mines Drags On

Sibanye Counts Hit to Earnings as Strike at Gold Mines Drags On

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sibanye Gold Ltd. said a protracted strike at its South African gold mines may hurt earnings at a time when the producer remains under pressure to reduce debt. Thousands of workers started a strike in November over pay, and there’s inconsistent output at three mines amid limited operations, spokesman James Wellsted said, without saying how many workers are showing up. Sibanye is assessing the impact on its finances, he said. While the…

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Ivory Coast Is Said to Plan Eurobond Sale of at Least $1 Billion

Ivory Coast Is Said to Plan Eurobond Sale of at Least $1 Billion

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast is planning to sell at least $1 billion in Eurobonds as the West African nation weighs its finance needs against rising debt costs, according to three people familiar with the matter. The world’s top cocoa grower, which budgeted to raise 1.44 trillion CFA francs ($2.5 billion) in debt in 2019, is reviewing the amount of securities it can sell on the regional market and will seek the remaining…

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Mozambique Loan Bribe Claims May Void Debts, Law Professor Says

Mozambique Loan Bribe Claims May Void Debts, Law Professor Says

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – The arrest of Mozambique’s ex-finance minister and three former Credit Suisse AG managers over alleged bribes could render void about $2 billion of project loans to the country, according to Mitu Gulati, a law professor at Duke University in the U.S. The projects, a tuna fishing and coastal protection system, were created to enrich those involved, and at least $200 million of the proceeds went to bribes and kickbacks, according to an…

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Gabon Coup Attempt Poses Little Risk to Oil Market

Gabon Coup Attempt Poses Little Risk to Oil Market

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Any potential disruption to Gabon’s oil output, following a military coup attempt, would only have an impact on a small share of OPEC’s total output because the country produces so little. Military officers seized Gabon’s state broadcaster Monday in what appeared to be a coup against ailing President Ali Bongo. The soldiers who attempted the coup have been arrested and there has been no reported disruption to the country’s oil output, which accounts for…

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No Looking Back for S. African Rand as Bears Lose Conviction

No Looking Back for S. African Rand as Bears Lose Conviction

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Rand bears are on the retreat as South Africa’s currency heads into 2019. The currency got off to a blistering start to the year, adding 3 percent amid receding worries over the U.S.-China trade war and the Federal Reserve’s second thoughts about policy tightening. And in a sign investor are leaving last year’s 14 percent slump behind them, some bearish indicators back at levels last seen before Turkey’s meltdown in August….

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