The Markets | - Part 201

Been-Here-Before Feeling Saps Ghana Bonds Amid $1.6 Billion Hole

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa)- The West African nation’s ballooning budget gap has dismayed investors betting the combination of a new government and an International Monetary Fund program would bring the country’s finances under control. The discovery of a 7 billion-cedi ($1.6 billion) hole is reviving memories of 2015 when Ghana’s economy was in tatters amid a slowdown in commodity prices and excessive spending. “There were some hopes that finally, under the previous government, and with the IMF’s…

Nigeria Heads to London, U.S. for First Eurobond Since 2013

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria will meet investors this week for its first Eurobond sale in more than three years as Africa’s most populous nation battles an economic contraction and the worst dollar squeeze in almost a decade. Beginning Friday, officials will hold roadshows in London and the U.S. before the proposed issue of 15-year bonds, the country’s longest-maturity dollar notes yet, according to a person familiar with the matter, who is not…

Harmony Gold Ready for Acquisition After Paying Down Debt

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Harmony Gold Mining Co., South Africa’s third-largest miner of the metal, said it’s ready to make an acquisition after increasing production and paying off its debt in the six months to December 31. “We’ve identified some targets, we’re working on those targets,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Steenkamp said on a call with reporters Thursday. The purchase will likely be in Africa or Papua New Guinea, he said. Harmony made a profit…

MTN to Merge Nigeria Tower Assets in $788 Million Share Exchange

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd., Africa’s largest mobile-phone operator, said it will merge its shareholdings in Nigerian tower operators into a single asset by switching a stake worth about 10.6 billion rand ($788 million) from one company to another. The carrier will exchange a 51 percent stake in the owner of INT Towers Ltd. for a larger shareholding in Lagos-based IHS Holding Ltd., the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. The deal will…

African Bank Investments Makes a Come Back After 30-Month Hiatus

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – African Phoenix Investments Ltd., the holding company resurrected from the remnants of failed African Bank Investments Ltd., started trading 30 months after being suspended, with volumes far exceeding all other shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The securities started trading at 55 cents, before falling to 50 cents as of 10:19 a.m. in Johannesburg, giving the company a market value of 751 million rand ($56 million). Almost 24 million shares…

Ghanaians Hoarding Dollars Put Cedi on Course for 19-Month Low

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghanaians are holding on to their dollars after government data showed the nation’s budget deficit was wider than expected, setting the currency on track for the weakest close since June 2015. The cedi was among the worst performers in the world this year after data showed the nation’s budget shortfall in the first 11 months of 2016 was more than 2 percentage points higher than the government’s target. The cedi declined 0.7…

West Africa Oil Floods to Asia in Latest Sign of OPEC Impact

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – West African oil producers will next month send the most crude to Asia in at least five years, the latest sign of how refineries in the world’s biggest demand region are scouring the world to replace supplies cut by OPEC’s Middle East producers. Shipments on the trade route, among the longest for supertankers, are set to soar to 2.19 million barrels a day in February, the highest level since…

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