The Markets

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Republic of Congo expects to raise oil production by as much 65 percent this year as two new projects come on stream, Hydrocarbons Minister Jean-Marc Thystere-Tchicaya said. Congo joined OPEC last week and plans to open up its oil industry, which the government says is dominated by Total SA and Eni SpA, to new investors. Sub-Saharan Africa’s third-biggest oil producer pumped 291,000 barrels per day last year, according to the BP…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rising U.S. dollar and higher interest rates are pummelling emerging markets. Foreign investors who rode the big rally in these markets in 2016 and 2017 see little reason to stick around and are leaving en masse. This shift will probably persist since dollar-denominated obligations make up some 75 percent of the trillions of dollars in developing-economy debt.   True, cheaper currencies versus the greenback aid developing economies by…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of the biggest U.S. investment banks, is exploring cryptocurrency trades beyond the publicly-traded derivatives that it already handles, according to Chief Operating Officer David Solomon. “We are clearing some futures around Bitcoin, talking about doing some other activities there, but it’s going very cautiously,” said Solomon in an interview with Bloomberg TV in China. “We’re listening to our clients and trying to help our clients…