The Markets

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering whether to back a proposal to improve troubled Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.’s debt terms by closing polluting coal plants early to make way for renewable energy. A special purpose vehicle would lower interest rates paid by the state-owned utility by accelerating the closure of coal-fired stations, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information isn’t…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Companies in Ghana seeking to issue bonds to meet capital needs are likely to exceed equity offerings in 2019, with the Accra bourse heading for a fall for a second straight year, according to the nation’s securities regulator. While the Ghana Stock Exchange recorded no new bond issues or equity listings from companies in the first half, three institutions plan to offer debt before the close of year totaling about 350…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s Africa unit plunged in London trading after raising about $750 million in an initial public offering, making it among the worst debuts on European exchanges this year. Airtel Africa Ltd. dropped as much as 16% to 67 pence per share, matching the first-day decline for OssDsign AB last month. Airtel Africa said it had priced the offering at 80 pence a share, at the low end of its range, giving the…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s biggest labor union federation signaled a “massive fight” with the ruling party if the state-owned fund manager failed to rescue the country’s second-largest clothing retailer, Edcon Holdings Ltd. A week after a senior labor union official sent an email on Feb. 22 to the country’s then-deputy finance minister, the Public Investment Corp., which manages more than 2 trillion rand ($141 billion) of mainly government worker pensions, led a…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s initial public offering of its Africa unit is expected to price at 80 pence a share, the bottom of its range of 80 pence to 100 pence, according to terms seen by Bloomberg. The books, which close at 2 p.m. in London on Thursday, are oversubscribed on the full size of the deal, the documents show. Bharti is seeking to raise $750 million on Friday through listings in London…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Kings Arms Hotel is a 300-year-old inn next to London’s Hampton Court Palace, once the home of Henry VIII. It’s poised to open soon after refurbishment, with rooms costing about 250 pounds ($318) a night. Guests can dine on traditional fare in the Six restaurant, a reference to the monarch’s many wives, or grab a pint on the terrace. In this most English of settings, it’s fitting the owner…

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – For Zimbabwe’s government, the reintroduction of the national currency a decade after its demise is a return to “normalcy.” For most of the country’s citizens, it’s a bitter reminder of years of hyperinflation, which destroyed their savings and left them bartering for daily basics. “Remember 2008, when you needed trillions of dollars to buy bread? In Zimbabwe time goes backward,” said Edwin Mapondera, 34, who sells wooden sculptures in the affluent…