The Markets | - Part 163

Ghana Cocoa Regulator Is Said to Face $280 Million Shortfall

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s cocoa regulator is facing a 1.25 billion ($285 million) cedi budget shortfall for the new harvest as the world’s second-biggest producer of the beans is keeping farmer pay unchanged even after global prices slumped, according to two people familiar with the matter. At a forecast crop of 850,000 metric tons for the new season through September, the Ghana Cocoa Board will lose 1,481 cedis per ton after all expenses are paid,…

Iron Ore Rallies as China Imports Bust 100 Million Ton Level

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Iron ore imports by China surged above 100 million metric tons to a record, smashing the previous high set in 2015, as the country’s concerted push to clean up the environment stoked demand for higher-grade material from overseas while hurting local mine supply. Prices rallied. Purchases of iron ore expanded to 102.8 million tons in September from 93 million tons a year ago, surpassing the previous record of 96.3 million tons…

Stock Traders Scarce in Kenya as Poll Crisis Clouds Outlook

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Traders are deserting Kenya’s stock market, a star performer earlier this year, as the unresolved crisis around the country’s presidential election discourages foreign investors. Volumes traded on the Nairobi stock exchange have slumped to the lowest this year, dropping to less than 46 million shares in the week ended Oct. 6 from as high as 285 million in June. Values have also dropped, with $870,000 of shares traded Thursday,…

South African Yield Closing in on Turkey Shows Downgrade Fears

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The shrinking yield discount on South African dollar bonds relative to Turkish debt is a sign investors are pricing in another credit downgrade for Africa’s biggest economy, according to Standard Bank Group Ltd. The 10-year spread has narrowed to 19 basis points, from 120 basis points in January. While Turkey’s yield has dropped amid demand for emerging-market assets, South Africa’s tracked sideways as political and fiscal challenges mount. “The…

Hive Switches From Mining Gold to Bitcoin — Surges Six-Fold

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Frank Giustra, the Canadian mining maverick who amassed a fortune building what would become one of the world’s largest gold companies, is digging for another kind of gold: cryptocurrencies. The company he’s backed, Vancouver-based Hive Blockchain Technologies Inc., is among the first publicly traded stocks to provide exposure to crypto mining — the vast data crunching needed to verify the blockchain and the volatile currencies they produce like bitcoin and…

Egypt’s $18 Billion Debt Inflows Seen Peaking as Rate Cut Looms

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Foreign investors may be finally curbing their enthusiasm for Egyptian local-currency debt. After almost a year and $18 billion of purchases, some investors have allocated all they can to Egypt. The inflows from foreign funds are still growing, but the pace has slowed to an average of 2 percent a week since mid-August, down from 8 percent, as policy makers signaled they may lower record interest rates once inflation eases. The surge…

Bitcoin Breaches New Milestone by Smashing Past $5,000 Mark

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bitcoin surged to a fresh record Thursday as the enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies showed little sign of abating. The world’s largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 8.4 percent and was trading 7.9 percent higher at $5,209 as of 12:34 p.m. in London, resuming gains after a one-day break. As recently as December, bitcoin was trading at less than $1,000 dollars. Bitcoin tumbled below $4,000 last month after China’s central bank banned initial…

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