Egypt Seeks Advisers for IPO Program Aimed at Boosting Revenue

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egyptian authorities are in talks with local and international investment banks to advise the government on selling stakes in state-run companies on the stock exchange, a senior official said. The plan focuses on initial public offerings that would “broaden the ownership” of the companies among Egyptians, bolster local capital markets and help the government raise revenue, Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said. Egypt has already hired HSBC and EFG-Hermes…

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Nigeria Said to Let Market Set Naira Rate on Exchange Window

Nigeria Said to Let Market Set Naira Rate on Exchange Window

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank will let the market determine the naira’s rate in a new foreign-exchange window for portfolio investors as the nation struggles to revive its economy amid a dollar shortage. Naira forward contracts and banking stocks rose. Governor Godwin Emefiele told senior bankers that he would tolerate the naira weakening in the window, which started today, according to a person who attended meetings with the policy maker over the past two…

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South Sudan Seeks New Oil Investors After Total Talks Collapse

South Sudan Seeks New Oil Investors After Total Talks Collapse

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Sudan’s government opened negotiations on two of its biggest oil blocks to new investors after discussions with Total SA collapsed. Discussions about blocks B1 and B2 with the French oil company over the past two weeks reached an impasse over the proposed exploration period and “cost-recovery limit,” Petroleum Minister Ezekiel Lol Gakuoth said in a statement he forwarded by email on Monday. Total didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for…

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South African Inflation Rate Falls to Six-Month Low in March

South African Inflation Rate Falls to Six-Month Low in March

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Market in Africa) – South Africa’s inflation rate fell to a six-month low in March after food prices climbed at the slowest rate in 13 months. Consumer inflation eased to 6.1 percent from 6.3 percent in February, Statistics South Africa said in a report released Wednesday in the capital, Pretoria. The median estimate of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for 6.3 percent. Prices climbed 0.6 percent in the month. The central bank’s Monetary Policy…

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Aspen Tumbles as Drugmaker Faces Pressure From Pricing Probe

Aspen Tumbles as Drugmaker Faces Pressure From Pricing Probe

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd. fell the most in more than a month after The Times of London reported that Africa’s biggest maker of generic drugs is in a dispute with Spanish authorities over proposed price increases on some cancer treatments. Employees at the Durban, South Africa-based company discussed destroying a stock of cancer drugs in Spain if a demand to raise prices by as much as 4,000 percent wasn’t met,…

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Sibanye to Raise $2 Billion in Equity, Debt for Stillwater Deal

Sibanye to Raise $2 Billion in Equity, Debt for Stillwater Deal

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sibanye Gold Limited plans to raise $1 billion from shareholders and a further $1 billion in debt, most likely bonds, to pay for the acquisition of Colorado-based Stillwater Mining Co. The funds will be raised by the middle of this year and will help repay a $2.65 billion bridge loan from a group of banks, Westonaria, South Africa-based Sibanye said in a statement Tuesday. The remainder of the loan will be repaid…

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Foreigners Lapping Up Egypt’s Growing Supply of Cheap Debt

Foreigners Lapping Up Egypt’s Growing Supply of Cheap Debt

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – A flood of new issuance is offsetting foreign-investor demand for Egyptian debt, keeping yields among the highest in emerging markets. Offshore investors boosted holdings of government Treasury bills to 79 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) as of April 4, compared with less than 1 billion pounds before a currency devaluation in November, according to Finance Ministry data. Government borrowing is already 11 percent higher than the target this year, and…

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