The Markets

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Safaricom Plc’s market share of Kenyan mobile-phone subscriptions dropped for a sixth consecutive quarter as competition heats up, according to data from the industry regulator. Safaricom, East Africa’s biggest company by valuation and a unit of Vodacom Group Ltd., recorded a market share of 63 percent in 2018, compared with 69 percent during the previous year, according to the Communications Authority. Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s local unit, which agreed to merge operations with Telkom…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ernst & Young, auditors for Nigeria’s Oando Plc, said there was material uncertainty about the energy company’s ability to continue as a going concern, even as it reported increased profit in the past financial year. While profit after tax rose 46 percent to 28.8 billion naira ($80 million), “the company recorded comprehensive losses for the year of 18.3 billion naira and, as that date, current liabilities exceeded current assets by…

JOHANNESBURGH (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African benchmark bond yields fell to the lowest in 10 months and the rand extended gains after Moody’s Investors Service chose not to update its investment grade rating on the country’s sovereign debt or the outlook. Yields on rand-denominated securities due December 2026 fell five basis points to 8.55 percent by 8:09 a.m. in Johannesburg, the lowest since May 30. The rand led gains in emerging-market currencies, advancing for a second…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s stocks are the worst-performers globally in the first quarter after a sell-off by foreign investors hobbled the local currency and demand from local institutional investors dried up. The Ghana Stock Exchange Composite Index had lost more than 15 percent this year as of Friday, making it the laggard in dollar terms among 94 global equities benchmarks tracked by Bloomberg. Ghana’s impending exit from a four-year International Monetary Fund…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa ) – Egypt’s central bank held the benchmark deposit rate unchanged on Thursday, defying expectations of a cut as it sought to keep inflation on target. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the overnight deposit rate at 15.75% and the lending rate at 16.75%. Most economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a cut of as much as 100 basis points, arguing that while inflation had accelerated for two consecutive months through February, the central…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in  Africa) – Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said the government will investigate the reasons behind the recent collapse of the country’s currency. The cedi weakened as much as 16 percent this year, before recovering partially over the past two weeks. Most of the losses were incurred after the central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark rate by 100 basis points to 16 percent in January and as some foreign holders of Ghana’s debt failed to rollover…