The Markets

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Is the rise of Bitcoin analogous to the spread of an infectious disease? Analysts at Barclays Plc saw enough similarities to develop a pricing model for the cryptocurrency that takes its cues from the world of epidemiology. Their diagnosis: Bitcoin has probably peaked. The Barclays model divides the pool of potential Bitcoin investors into three groups: susceptible, infected and immune. It assumes that as prices rise, “infections” spread by word-of-mouth (nobody likes missing…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. expects the listing of its Nigerian unit on the Lagos stock exchange to be done by the end of 2018, its CEO said, after suggesting late last year that the process would be concluded by mid-year. “We are progressing very well with the Nigerian listing and if market conditions are appropriate, we will conclude that by the end of the year,” Rob Shuter said Tuesday in an interview in…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – LafargeHolcim Ltd. sees improving profit margins at its Africa unit this year as Nigerian and South African economies pick up and the company invests the proceeds of a 131 billion naira ($364 million) rights issue. The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin will rise above 35 percent, Lagos, Nigeria-based Lafarge Africa Plc said in a statement Monday. The company is working to reduce energy and transportation costs as…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Libstar Holdings Pty Ltd., the South African food and household products maker, plans to raise about 1.5 billion rand ($124 million) to repay debt and fund expansion by selling new shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Existing shareholders in the Johannesburg-based company, including Abraaj Group Ltd., which holds about 71 percent, will also sell undisclosed stakes, the company said in a statement Monday. “The capital that we raise from the listing…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Crude climbed by the most in more than two weeks amid a weaker dollar and easing concern that a trade war will break out between the U.S. and China. Futures jumped as much as 1.6 percent in New York as the dollar dipped, boosting oil’s appeal as a store of value. As investors evaluate the ongoing tensions between U.S. and China, President Donald Trump predicted the Asian nation will be first to…

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s proposals to compel miners to list the majority of their shares on the local exchange will strangle companies’ ability to invest and grow, according to the country’s biggest producer of platinum. Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. sees little interest in a listing among local investors, said Johan Theron, a spokesman for the Johannesburg-based company whose Zimplats unit is Zimbabwe’s biggest platinum producer. Investors in the country can already trade Zimplats…