Old Mutual Returns to Africa as Breakup Ends London Listing

Old Mutual Returns to Africa as Breakup Ends London Listing

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s prodigal insurer returned home to a lukewarm welcome on Tuesday. Old Mutual Ltd. started trading its stock in Johannesburg at 28.50 rand before swinging between 28.20 rand and 29.39 rand. The listing — done in conjunction with others in Namibia, Malawi and Zimbabwe — brings an end to a global acquisition spree that took its former parent Old Mutual Plc from its Cape Town roots to London, New…

Read More

Bears Out of Hibernation as Trade Woes Hit Currencies: Inside EM

Bears Out of Hibernation as Trade Woes Hit Currencies: Inside EM

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Stocks in emerging markets sank to a 10-month low and most currencies retreated as heightened anxiety over a global trade war spurred demand for haven assets. A measure of equity volatility in developing nations surged 13 percent, while technology and consumer stocks led losses in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Seventeen out of 24 currencies tracked by Bloomberg fell, led by South Africa’s rand. The gains in Turkey’s lira that followed Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s…

Read More

Libyan Forces Hand Oil Ports to East-Based Energy Company

Libyan Forces Hand Oil Ports to East-Based Energy Company

TRIPOLI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Forces of Libyan Commander Khalifa Haftar handed control of oil ports in the east of the divided nation to a state unit rivaling the internationally recognized National Oil Corp. based in the capital Tripoli, in a surprise move that could create uncertainty among buyers. “All oil facilities, all oil ports — not just the ones in the oil crescent but even Hariga port — all oil sectors, oil pipelines, all facilities…

Read More

Bond Flight From South Africa Spurs `Amplification’ Warning

Bond Flight From South Africa Spurs `Amplification’ Warning

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Foreign investors’ holdings of South African bonds have dropped to the lowest level in more than a year following a record sell-off since the beginning of May, and a senior Treasury official says there could be worse to come. Non-residents held 38.9 percent of government debt as of June 22, down from as high as 42.8 percent in March, according to Bloomberg’s calculations based on National Treasury data through…

Read More

Mauritian Exchange Sees $6.5 Billion Gold Trading in Five Years

Mauritian Exchange Sees $6.5 Billion Gold Trading in Five Years

MAURITANIA (Capital Markets in Africa) – A Mauritian commodity exchange that plans to start operating in the fourth quarter expects to trade $6.5 billion of gold annually within five years, part of the Indian Ocean island nation’s plan to become a financial gateway to Africa, its chairman said. The introduction of the Mauritius International Derivatives and Commodities Exchange brings to fruition Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth’s pledge last year to introduce gold trading to the country. Mauritius’s…

Read More

Moody’s Sees East African Economies Expanding Fastest Globally

Moody’s Sees East African Economies Expanding Fastest Globally

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – East African economies will be among the fastest growing globally over the next two years with rates of 5.5 percent to 7 percent, driven by public spending on infrastructure, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Rwanda and Tanzania are expected to grow at 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent annually, while Uganda and Kenya could see rates of 5 percent – 6 percent. The services sector, which makes up the largest share of…

Read More

OPEC’s Newest Member May Boost Output as Much as 65% This Year

OPEC’s Newest Member May Boost Output as Much as 65% This Year

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…

Read More
1 128 129 130 131 132 259