The Markets | - Part 172

PPC’s Biggest Shareholder Is Said to Back Fairfax-AfriSam Offer

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – PPC Ltd.’s largest shareholder is supporting a joint offer for South Africa’s biggest cement maker from domestic rival AfriSam Group Pty Ltd. and Canadian insurer Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. as the tie-up would create a national champion, according to people familiar with the matter. The Public Investment Corp., Africa’s biggest money manager, sees the three-way deal as a way for an enlarged cement maker to expand more effectively on the continent,…

Zambia’s economy to grow 4.3 percent, copper output easing slightly in 2017

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LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia’s economy will grow 4.3 percent this year and 5.1 percent in 2018, boosted by improved agriculture and mining output and a recovery in electricity generation, the central bank reported. “There has been strengthening confidence in Zambia’s medium to long-term economic prospects as reflected by the participation of non-resident investors in the Government securities markets,” the Bank of Zambia hinted in a report surveying the first half of 2017….

Moody’s: South African gold and platinum miners’ restructuring supports their credit profiles

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The credit profiles of South African gold and platinum group metals (PGM) miners are benefitting from restructuring programmes that aim to protect the sustainability and profitability of their South African mines, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report today. The report, “Metals & Mining — South Africa, Restructuring of South African operations is credit positive for gold, PGM miners”, is now available on www.moodys.com. Moody’s subscribers can access this…

Zimbabwe stock market hits new highs as currency, cash problems worsen

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zimbabwe’s stock market hit a record high on Monday, propelled by local investors seeking a safe haven in an economy suffering acute shortages of foreign exchange. The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange’s (ZSE) main industrial index touched 301.03 points, the highest since it was rebased in 2009 when Zimbabwe dumped its hyperinflation-hit currency in favor of the US dollar. Market capitalization reached $8.5 billion. It has more than doubled since January…

How EM Bonds Help Explain the Global Financialization of Assets

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Would you like a little Ivory Coast with your 16-year Senegalese securities? Perhaps some Ukrainian debt to go with your Iraqi five-year bonds? For something really unusual, try the Argentine 100-year bonds. A spate of frontier and emerging-market bond sales stretching from the grassy highlands of Mongolia to the lush tropics of Sri Lanka have underscored investor appetite for financial assets of all stripes in recent years. While many…

Traders Lured by High-Yield `Sweet Spot’ in Emerging Markets

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Traders are gaining confidence in nations that pay the steepest local interest rates. Investor anxiety, as measured by one-month implied currency volatility, dropped to multi-month lows last month in Russia, South Africa and Brazil — countries with some of the most generous yields on their local government debt. Those nations are benefiting from demand for their bonds as interest rates in the developed world stay suppressed amid a pickup…

Kenyan Growth Jitters Rekindled as Court Orders Ballot Rerun

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s economy may pay the price of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s successful bid to nullify the outcome of last month’s election, as prolonged political uncertainty pending a court-ordered rerun weighs on growth and investor confidence. “There was a lot of exuberance that the elections were over,” Kenneth Minjire, head of securities at Genghis Capital in Nairobi, said by phone. “Inquiries had shot up from private-equity firms, from foreign investors, who…

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