The Markets | - Part 186

Best-Performing Metals as Hard to Trade as They Are to Find

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Even if you’d heard of this year’s best-performing metals, betting on them would probably have been a struggle. Ruthenium, iridium and the somewhat better known rhodium — used mostly in specialized products like hard disks, spark plugs and auto catalysts — have trounced almost all major commodities tracked by Bloomberg. Prices are up at least 33 percent this year as demand improved for raw materials that are among the world’s rarest and…

Nigeria Signals Willingness to Agree on Oil Production Cap

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria signalled its willingness to cap its oil production to support OPEC’s efforts to ease a global supply glut. The output limit would come into play when Nigeria can stably pump 1.8 million barrels a day, the country’s oil minister Emmanuel Kachikwu told reporters Wednesday in Abuja. That’s about 100,000 barrels more than it’s currently producing. The country’s output has recovered this year after militant attacks had damaged export pipelines and…

Years of Gridlock Face South Africa as Rules Paralyze Mining

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Executives from Sibanye Gold Ltd., South Africa’s biggest gold miner, were in Los Angeles in the final stages of a roadshow with U.S. bond fund managers last month when a bombshell hit from back home. The government had introduced shock new rules requiring local mines to be 30 percent black-owned in perpetuity, toughening existing requirements and implying hefty dilution for shareholders. South African stocks tumbled and bond yields rose that day. The…

Kenya Says Election Jitters Pose Risks to Growth Prospects

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Political uncertainty surrounding Kenyan elections next month and a dry-up in banks’ lending to businesses and individuals could hurt the short-term growth prospects of East Africa’s biggest economy, according to the Treasury. The Aug. 8 elections may create uncertainty that could weaken foreign and local investor confidence, Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge said in a statement on the ministry’s website on Thursday. “The economy remains vulnerable to the shocks emanating from the…

Etisalat Nigeria CEO Focused on Stabilizing Business Before Sale

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Etisalat Nigeria is concentrating on steadying the business rather than finding a new operator as the struggling mobile-phone company strives to stay afloat after its Abu Dhabi-based former owners defaulted on a $1.2 billion loan. “The biggest thing we have to do is stabilize the business, try and ensure a good top-line, put some level of control on costs,” Chief Executive Officer Boye Olusanya said in an interview at the wireless…

Huawei Partners With WorldRemit on African Mobile-Money Service

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Huawei Technologies Co. said it will partner with British money-transfer operator WorldRemit Ltd. to let African expatriates send cash home to millions of users of the Chinese company’s mobile-money service platform. The deal will let Huawei and WorldRemit tap into growing demand for remittances from Africans living abroad using mobile-payments services, which are popular in places where banks are scarce or unreliable. All carriers that are Huawei partners can switch on the service,…

OPEC Caps for Libya, Nigeria Wouldn’t Fix Global Oil Glut

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A proposal that Libya and Nigeria could have to accept limits on their crude production probably wouldn’t be enough to put OPEC’s faltering efforts to eliminate a global supply glut back on track. The two African nations — exempt from the supply curbs agreed last year due to internal strife — have added enough production in the last two months to offset Saudi Arabia’s cut. Should the pair accept a cap…

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