African mining hopes are distant from uncertain reality: Russell

African mining hopes are distant from uncertain reality: Russell

CAPE TOWN (Capital Markets in Africa) – It should be a match made in heaven. Developing Africa’s vast mineral resources to meet the needs of the resource-hungry economies of China and the rest of Asia. But if there is one message to take away from this week’s Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, it’s that there remains a large gap between hopes and reality, and that in much of sub-Saharan Africa mining investment remains challenging,…

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Gold Fields has $1 billion available for M&A – CEO

Gold Fields has $1 billion available for M&A – CEO

CAPE TOWN (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African bullion producer Gold Fields has a $1 billion loan facility to draw on if it wants to pursue mergers or acquisitions, but no deals are on the immediate horizon, its chief executive said on Wednesday. “We have a $1 billion committed, unutilised facility,” Nick Holland told Reuters on the sidelines of an African mining conference in Cape Town. But he said the company did not feel…

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How African Equities and Currencies feared in 2016

How African Equities and Currencies feared in 2016

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) -African equity markets settled in the South Pole 2016 was a difficult year for African markets, each in varying degrees. Most of the African equity index ended in negative zone at the end of 2016, with six positive growths and twelve negative returns on a local currency basis. The performance was more disheartening on a US-dollar adjusted basis, with just four equity markets produced a positive return and average return across markets…

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Egypt Says Remittances, Foreign Inflows Jump After Float

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Remittances from Egyptians working abroad are surging and foreigners bought more than $250 million in local assets on Sunday alone, further signs of growing confidence in the nation’s economy after it floated the currency and secured a $12 billion IMF loan. Expatriate workers sent home $4.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016, up 12 percent from a year earlier, and most of it transferred after the pound was…

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Moody’s Says Ghana Deficit Will Heighten Currency Volatility

Moody’s Says Ghana Deficit Will Heighten Currency Volatility

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s worse-than-expected budget deficit will heighten currency volatility and elevate the nation’s funding demands to finance previously undisclosed arrears of 7 billion cedis ($1.6 billion), according to Moody’s Investors Service. The discovery of the payment arrears reverses Ghana’s progress on consolidating its fiscal deficit since 2015 under an International Monetary Fund program, Moody’s said in an e-mailed statement on Monday. The shortfall is also weighing on debt dynamics and will undermine the…

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African Issuers Scrutinized After Mozambique’s Bond Default

African Issuers Scrutinized After Mozambique’s Bond Default

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – After Mozambique’s default, investors are wondering who’s next in Africa. Bloomberg’s sovereign credit risk model — which uses data including budget deficits, foreign reserves, non-performing bank loans and political instability to calculate default probabilities — flags four candidates among African Eurobond issuers: Senegal, Tunisia, Ghana, and Zambia. Mozambique became the first African country to default on dollar bonds since Ivory Coast in 2011 when it failed to settle an almost $60 million…

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Expect No Mercy After Default, Bondholder Tells Mozambique

Expect No Mercy After Default, Bondholder Tells Mozambique

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mozambique became the first African nation to default since 2011 after failing to make an interest payment on a Eurobond before the grace period ended, according to a bondholder. The southern African nation did not pay a $60 million coupon on its $727 million of notes due in January 2023 by the close on Thursday, Lutz Roehmeyer, a fund manager at Landesbank Berlin Investment, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “The view on…

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