The Markets

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – European oil refiners and trading houses began preparing to cut purchases of Iranian crude after Washington imposed harsher sanctions on shipments from Tehran than many in the energy industry had expected. The Trump administration has given buyers 180 days to wind down imports after pulling out of a landmark nuclear deal with world powers. Many of the traders and refiners who spoke to Bloomberg anticipate they’ll have to curb purchases…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Randgold Resources Ltd. fell the most in 18 months in London after a series of setbacks across its African mines hit both earnings and gold production. A labor dispute at its Tongon mine in Ivory Coast means the operation is unlikely to hit its full-year target, the miner said Thursday. Randgold’s new gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo faces uncertainty as the company joins other producers trying…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Not all emerging-market debt is losing its allure as U.S. Treasury yields rise. At least not for Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Michael Kushma. Far from taking a more skeptical view of the asset class, Kushma, who helps oversee $80 billion in debt, says the trick is to seek securities in places where there’s relatively low interest-rate risk. It’s a strategy that leads him to talk enthusiastically of countries that…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt retains its mantle as Africa’s most appealing investment destination, thanks to its expanding economy, high literacy rates, adequate electricity and ready supply of inexpensive labor, according to Charles Robertson, Renaissance Capital’s chief economist. While Egyptian markets have boomed since the country devalued its pound in November 2016 and secured an International Monetary Fund loan, Moscow-based RenCap sees the rally as having some way to run, with a real effective…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s economy is under new management, and Investec’s Chris Freund is among equities investors who are expecting growth to surprise to the upside. President Cyril Ramaphosa, in office since February, is spurring optimism among stock traders who are already noting changes in Africa’s most industrialized market. The new leader has set a goal of attracting $100 billion in investment, overhauled his cabinet and installed new boards at troubled state-owned companies. “People…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Running a cryptocurrency exchange can be enormously profitable — so long as you don’t lose your clients’ assets to hackers. Japan-based Coincheck Inc., which suffered one of the biggest heists in history, earned 53.2 billion yen ($490 million) from April 2017 through January, when the theft occurred, according to its new owner Monex Group Inc. By comparison, Japan Exchange Group, which owns the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Exchange, earned 66.1…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt is considering shifting away from costly short-term domestic debt towards longer-term borrowing, as falling interest rates provide cheaper options to finance its fiscal deficit, according to the nation’s finance minister. It will increasingly rely on five- to seven-year bonds instead of Treasury bills that have shorter maturities and currently make up the bulk of local-currency borrowing, Amr El-Garhy said in an interview in Washington, where was attending spring…