Nigeria launches $200 mln fund to help local oil and gas firms

Nigeria launches $200 mln fund to help local oil and gas firms

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria launched a fund on Thursday with an initial value of $200 million to support local oil and gas firms, the oil minister said, part of a government drive to improve access to low-cost credit across the economy. The Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) would be financed through allocating the fund one percent of the value of all contracts awarded in the state-run upstream oil and gas industry, Petroleum…

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How African property markets can move beyond the ‘pioneering’ phase

How African property markets can move beyond the ‘pioneering’ phase

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Property pioneers have already taken the first steps in shaping Africa’s urban landscapes, constructing landmark malls, hotels and office blocks that could be called iconic. This is just the start. Modern, fully functioning cities require a well-oiled system of residential, commercial and industrial development and civil infrastructure, with the real estate skills and services to match. The question is: Who will design, build, manage, maintain – and of course…

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Strate CEO, Monica Singer, stepping down to pursue new opportunities

Strate CEO, Monica Singer, stepping down to pursue new opportunities

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Strate would like to announce that its CEO, Monica Singer, will be leaving Strate at the end of August 2017 to fulfill her dream of living in Cape Town and to pursue new opportunities. After being at Strate for almost two decades, and being its project manager since inception, Monica has been committed to the success of Strate. During her tenure, she was responsible for the introduction of electronic…

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Ghana to Cut 2017 Spending as It Struggles to Raise Revenue

Ghana to Cut 2017 Spending as It Struggles to Raise Revenue

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana plans to cut spending this year as weak revenue collections are the “Achilles’ heel” in getting its accounts to balance, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said. “We are trying to contain expenditures as much as we can,” Ofori-Atta said at a conference Monday in the capital, Accra. In July, the West African nation trimmed the budget-deficit forecast to this year 6.3 percent of gross domestic product from 6.5 percent. Constant overspending prompted…

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Standard Bank’s First-Half Profit Rises 14% as Impairments Drop

Standard Bank’s First-Half Profit Rises 14% as Impairments Drop

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender by assets, said first-half profit rose 14 percent after impairments dropped and costs were contained. Net income climbed to 12.3 billion rand ($937 million) from 10.8 billion rand a year earlier, the Johannesburg-based lender said in a statement on Thursday. Earnings per share excluding one-time items, known locally as headline earnings, advanced 11 percent to 7.56 rand beating the 7.44 rand median estimate of…

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Kenya Pulls Back From Brink as Vote Dispute Heads for Court

Kenya Pulls Back From Brink as Vote Dispute Heads for Court

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya pulled back from the brink of a violent electoral dispute after the main opposition buckled to international pressure and agreed to contest the outcome in court. The country has been on a knife-edge since President Uhuru Kenyatta was declared the winner of an Aug. 8 vote that his main rival, Raila Odinga, said was stolen. There have been clashes between security forces and opposition supporters in slums in Nairobi, the capital,…

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Africa’s Biggest Copper Mine Hit by Zambian Power Restrictions

Africa’s Biggest Copper Mine Hit by Zambian Power Restrictions

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia is cutting power to mines including Africa’s biggest copper site, the Kansanshi pit owned by First Quantum Minerals Ltd., escalating a fight over tariffs. “They have still got some significant amount of power for them to operate, but obviously their operations will not be at 100 percent because of the power restrictions,” Energy Minister David Mabumba told reporters Tuesday in Lusaka, the capital. Glencore Plc has said it halted production…

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