The Markets

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A plan to support South Africa’s ailing sugar industry will include tapping into the biofuel potential of cane. Government, farmers and industrial users in the 14 billion rands ($924-million) industry are working on a strategy to stem a crisis caused by a flood of cheap imports and a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks that lowered the demand from beverage makers. President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his Feb. 13 state-of-the-nation address…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Sasol Ltd. said its setback-hit Louisiana chemical project should generate positive core earnings in the second half of the financial year. The South African chemicals and fuels producer reported a 73% drop in first-half earnings per share after oil prices in rand dropped, global chemical markets softened and the company suffered delays at its Lake Charles Chemicals Project. The U.S. plant negatively impacted earnings by 2.8 billion rand ($185…

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – The benchmark stock index in West Africa’s regional bourse, which has been in retreat since 2016, may get a boost if a flurry of elections in member countries pass off smoothly this year, according to a money manager. Four states affiliated with the Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres: Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and Ivory Coast, Francophone West Africa’s largest economy, go to the polls this year. Successful voting, combined…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bond investors who came to Egypt to reap a quick payoff might stick around for longer given what the government says it has to offer. “Investors around the world are looking for a place that has stability and safety, and I think Egypt has that,” Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said Thursday in an interview on the sidelines of an energy conference in Cairo. Outside investors have pumped billions of dollars into the North African nation’s…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world’s best carry trade is proving resilient, especially now that a pause in Egypt’s easing cycle keeps its interest rates elevated. The Egyptian pound is delivering another strong performance this year following a record appreciation in 2019. That’s enticing traders who borrow in currencies where rates are low and invest in the assets of countries where they are high to turn to Egypt. Even with inflation well below the central…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya will rely on domestic borrowing to fund budget deficits in a new debt-management strategy to reduce the fiscal risks arising from a binge on Eurobonds and syndicated loans. Treasury officials of East Africa’s biggest economy are targeting domestic borrowing at 72% of the total in the next three fiscal years, according to a medium-term debt-management strategy presented to lawmakers on Thursday. That compares with a previous three-year target…

GABORONE (Capital Markets in Africa) – Botswana plans to conclude negotiations with De Beers on a diamond sales agreement by the end of April to replace the current 10-year deal that expires in January. The government wants to see more gems cut and polished within the borders of the world’s second-biggest biggest diamond producer, creating jobs and boosting the state coffers, according to Lefoko Moagi, the minister of mineral resources, green technology, and energy security….