The Markets

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s biggest car distributor and assembler, Ghabbour Auto, expects automobile sales to double in 2019 compared to last year, amid a rebound in demand crippled after currency reforms sent inflation soaring. The Cairo-based company, which also has operations in Iraq, Jordan and Algeria, expects automobile sales to surge by 25 percent to 4,800 cars in September as it resumes distribution of China’s Geely vehicle this month, GB Auto’s chairman and…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Limited has become a battleground issue for Nigerian politicians vying for ascendancy ahead of a national election in February, with $10 billion worth of claims made against the South African wireless carrier. Africa’s largest mobile-phone company by subscribers is reeling from a double blow in Nigeria over the past week that’s caused the stock to lose almost a third of its value and its Eurobonds to plunge. First, the central bank…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s surprise recession provides an opening for opposition parties heading into next year’s elections against the ruling African National Congress. The question is whether they can capitalize on it. News of the economic slump on Tuesday marked the first real setback for the ANC in months. Since appointing Cyril Ramaphosa as president in February, surveys showed the party making headway in winning back support lost during the scandal-marred rule of…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – This year’s global emerging-market selloff has its roots in a slew of mini-roots as the era of easy-money came to an end. Consider Turkey, now paying the price for its refusal to follow orthodox monetary policy; Argentina, facing a crisis of confidence just four years of its last default; China, targeted in a trade war; and South Africa, the emerging-market proxy punished for crisis in any corner of the asset class….

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is seeking about $2 billion in back taxes from MTN Group Limited, another curve ball directed at Africa’s biggest wireless carrier less than a week after it was ordered to refund $8.1 billion in illegally repatriated funds. MTN outlined the tax dispute and refuted both accusations in a statement on Tuesday, yet faces an uphill battle to convince investors it won’t end up shelling out for either or both offenses in…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A cryptocurrency expert languishing in a Greek jail may have a vantage point on a tantalizing issue — how Russians in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s crosshairs used Bitcoin to obscure their money trail. The expert, Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik, was detained last year after U.S. prosecutors in San Francisco accused him of supervising a digital-currency exchange that helped criminals launder billions of dollars. That exchange, according to cryptocurrency analysis firm Elliptic, handled some…