Rand, Bonds Fall as South Africa Junk Rating Triggers Index Exit

Rand, Bonds Fall as South Africa Junk Rating Triggers Index Exit

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand and dollar bonds fell after Fitch Ratings Ltd. became the second company to cut the country’s credit assessment to junk, triggering sales by some investors tracking investment-grade debt indexes. JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it would remove South Africa from gauges tracked by $59 billion of funds. President Jacob Zuma plunged South Africa into a political crisis when he fired Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in a cabinet purge just after midnight on…

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Ivory Coast to Receive IMF Budget Support as Cocoa Slumps

Ivory Coast to Receive IMF Budget Support as Cocoa Slumps

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast will receive additional assistance from the International Monetary Fund to support its 2017 budget after cocoa prices slumped, hurting the finances of the biggest grower of the crop. The IMF’s board will meet in June to decide on the amount of support, Dan Ghura, the Washington-based lender’s mission chief, told reporters late Wednesday in the commercial capital, Abidjan. The assistance will come as the IMF visited the West…

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“Junk”-rated debt could cost South Africa more than $10bn in lost funds

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – If South Africa loses two of its prized investment grade credit ratings for foreign and local currency borrowing in the turmoil triggered by the sacking of the finance minister, the country could lose more than $10 billion in investment funds. S&P Global has already struck. In an unscheduled review on Monday that prompted a selloff in South African assets, it cut the sovereign rating for external debt to BB+, one…

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Fitch: Redenomination Risk and Sovereign Rating Implications

Fitch: Redenomination Risk and Sovereign Rating Implications

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Fitch Ratings says that it is not always possible to say categorically that a sovereign debt redenomination into a different currency would be a default, under Fitch’s sovereign rating criteria. The agency would assess such an event on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant information at the time. In response to recent investor enquiries, in a new report Fitch sets out some potential scenarios involving redenomination of…

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South African markets fall sharply after S&P downgrade

South African markets fall sharply after S&P downgrade

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa): South Africa’s rand, bonds and banking shares tumbled sharply on Tuesday after S&P Global Ratings cut the country’s credit rating to junk in response to President Jacob Zuma’s move to sack its respected finance minister. Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle has triggered public criticism from within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and pressure is likely to mount on the president after the credit agency handed South Africa its first downgrade since…

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Rand tumbles after S&P downgrades South Africa to “junk”

Rand tumbles after S&P downgrades South Africa to “junk”

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand fell more than 2 percent on Monday to its weakest in almost three months after S&P Global Ratings cut the country’s credit score to sub-investment grade with a negative outlook after last week’s dismissal of the South African finance minister. Stocks were higher on the day, led by gold shares, as demand for the safe-haven asset rose globally in response to worries U.S. President Donald Trump…

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Opinions on Removal of South Africa’s Finance Minister Gordhan

Opinions on Removal of South Africa’s Finance Minister Gordhan

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Financiers, economists, labor leaders, lawmakers and officials from the ruling African National Congress are all having their say on how the decision by South African President Jacob Zuma to fire Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and other cabinet members will affect the economy, the country’s credit ratings, bonds and the local currency. Colin Coleman, head of sub-Saharan Africa at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, tells Bloomberg TV: The cabinet reshuffle “removes the belt and braces over…

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