Datatec Shares Soar by a Record After $830 Million Asset Sale

Datatec Shares Soar by a Record After $830 Million Asset Sale

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Datatec Limited shares jumped by the most on record after the South African IT services company agreed to sell the North and Latin American operations of its Westcon-Comstor business for as much as $800 million. Synnex Corporation of the U.S. will take over the operations and buy a 10 percent stake in the rest of the Westcon-Comstor division for $30 million, Johannesburg-based Datatec said in a statement on Tuesday. The deal will…

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Nigerian Banks Outstrip Peers on Returning Dollar, Old Mutual Up

Nigerian Banks Outstrip Peers on Returning Dollar, Old Mutual Up

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Since the Nigerian central bank eased a dollar shortage by opening a currency-trading window for foreign investors in April, lenders in Africa’s biggest economy have soared. The local banking index is up 35 percent this quarter, outstripping South Africa’s equivalent stock gauge and MSCI’s emerging-market financials index. Even after the jump, Guaranty Trust Bank is the sole Nigerian lender in the index to trade above its book value, while none of…

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Nigerian stocks rise to 11-month high on banking, cement shares

Nigerian stocks rise to 11-month high on banking, cement shares

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria stocks jumped to a 11-month high on Thursday, driven by gains in banking and cement shares as investors took advantage of the low valuation for some commercial bank shares. The stock market index rose 2.37 percent to cross 30,197 points, lifted by gains in First Bank Holdings and Dangote Cement. The banking index rose 1.61 percent amid expectations Africa’s biggest economy would exit recession soon as higher oil revenues…

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OPEC Can Still Do What It Takes to Prop Up Oil: Robin Mills

OPEC Can Still Do What It Takes to Prop Up Oil: Robin Mills

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The cartel needs to make deeper reductions or a long-term commitment to higher output. “We’re going to do what it takes,” Khalid Al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, said in March. But by agreeing to an unexciting extension of cuts on May 25, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is merely tinkering. Unless the group acts decisively, it faces a slow process of attrition in rebalancing the market. But it…

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Emerging-Market Bulls Are Cooling Off After Impressive Rally

Emerging-Market Bulls Are Cooling Off After Impressive Rally

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa)- After a surprisingly good run in emerging markets that sent equities to a fifth monthly gain, some bulls are easing up. Credit Suisse Group AG forecasts developing-nation equities will underperform in the short term, while Deutsche Bank Wealth Management said it’s not as positive on emerging-market bonds as a year ago. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.said strong returns have partially eroded a previously compelling valuation signal, and BNP Paribas SA said the best gains in…

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Trouble Brews for OPEC as Expensive Deep-Sea Oil Turns Cheap

Trouble Brews for OPEC as Expensive Deep-Sea Oil Turns Cheap

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Reports of deep-sea drilling’s demise in a world of sub-$100oil may have been greatly exaggerated, much to OPEC’s dismay. Pumping crude from seabeds thousands of feet below water is turning cheaper as producers streamline operations and prioritize drilling in core wells, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd. That means oil at $50 a barrel could sustain some of these projects by next year, down from an average break-even price of about $62 in…

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