The Markets

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Caught in a crisis in which they’re unable to meet client withdrawals, Ghana’s fund managers will be forced to set aside 20 times more capital than they do now to avoid running out of cash again. The Securities and Exchange Commission will require money managers to increase their minimum capital reserves to 2 million cedis ($365,260) from the current 100,000 cedis, Director General Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, said by phone from…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – A Ghana money manager is splitting its mutual-fund business from investments tied up in a structured-finance fund that is being shut down amid a cash crunch in the industry. BlackShield Capital Management Ltd., formerly known as Gold Coast Fund Management Ltd., is seeking to protect unit-trust investors by shifting the assets and liabilities in the structured-finance fund to a special purpose vehicle, the Accra-based firm said in a statement…

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mozambique plans to finally conclude restructuring its dollar bonds by the end of September, nearly three years after first announcing the proposal. The southeast African nation has asked bondholders of $727 million of debt due 2023 to exchange it for $900 million of notes maturing five years later. That’s mainly because the government expects it will have started earning revenue from Africa’s largest liquefied natural gas project, and won’t have…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Hedge funds have already bled 50% more money this year than in all of 2018, as the industry struggles to win back investors fed up with high fees and poor performance. Investors yanked $8.4 billion in July, bringing net outflows this year to $55.9 billion, according to an eVestment report on Thursday. That’s up from $37.2 billion for all of last year. Investors’ frustration with hedge funds continues to…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in AfricaA) – Federal Reserve officials viewed their interest-rate cut last month as insurance against headwinds from the trade war and low inflation — reasons that look even sharper as they move toward their meeting in September. Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 30-31 meeting released Wednesday in Washington laid out the reasons for the quarter percentage-point cut, highlighting risks to the outlook even though the U.S. economy, for…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian stocks may be among this year’s worst performers, but that’s at least boosting the appeal of their yields. The benchmark index in Africa’s biggest oil producer has fallen 14% this year, making it the fourth-worst among 94 major bourses tracked by Bloomberg. The slump underscores foreign investors’ frustration over a lack of policy progress since President Muhammadu Buhari won re-election in February. Despite the gloomy picture, a global abundance of…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Shoprite Holdings Ltd. will look to cut costs outside its home market as Africa’s largest food retailer battles currency shortages and stricter regulation in several countries. The owner of supermarket chains such as Checkers and U-Save has been growing in 14 territories outside South Africa to become a continent-wide superpower, but factors such as inflation — particularly in Angola — have hampered progress. That contributed to a 20% decline in…