Africa | - Part 20

Fastjet Drops Airbus Jets for Embraer While Planning HQ Move

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: Africa-focused discount airline Fastjet Plc will switch to a fleet of Embraer SA regional jets from larger Airbus Group SE planes as new Chief Executive Officer Nico Bezuidenhout seeks to stem losses by better matching capacity to demand. The fledgling carrier also plans to move its headquarters to Johannesburg from London to pare expenses and bring the company closer to its key markets, Bezuidenhout, who took over as CEO last month, said in an interview in the South African city, the…

Currencies to Politics Bedevil African Central Banks’ Task

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: Africa’s major economies are taking diverging approaches to monetary policy as they struggle to cope with volatile currencies, slumping growth and political meddling. Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are set to announce interest-rate decisions this week in an environment marked by accelerating price growth and an economic slump in some countries and attempts by politicians to prescribe policy in others. While Nigeria’s central bank will probably take more aggressive action, South Africa,…

Private equity in Africa loses its shine

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: Major private equity firms have seen a number of top management departures in Africa, individuals familiar with the matter said, as the funds grapple with investments hurt by a weak economy. U.S. firm Carlyle, Standard Chartered and emerging market-focused Actis have all seen a change of top executives at their Africa funds, according to these six individuals. Once seen as a beacon of growth, private equity firms expanded their business…

Oil Glut Set to Worsen as Nigeria and Libya Fields Restart

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: Amid the most enduring global oil glut in decades, two OPEC crude producers whose supplies have been crushed by domestic conflicts are preparing to add hundreds of thousands of barrels to world markets within weeks. Libya’s state oil company on Wednesday lifted curbs on crude sales from the ports of Ras Lanuf, Es Sider and Zueitina, potentially unlocking 300,000 barrels a day of supply. In Nigeria, Exxon Mobil Corp. was…

Deal or No Deal, OPEC’s Freeze Talks Are Already Succeeding

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Even as speculation builds over whether OPEC will clinch an output deal with Russia this month, their negotiations are already paying off. Hedge funds and other investors reversed their bets on falling oil prices at the fastest pace in five months after producers said they would meet in Algiers, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. While skepticism has grown about whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries,…

South Africa’s Economy Diagnosis: Welcome To Stall Speed

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Growth in South Africa is likely to hit stall speed in 2016, at a barely positive 0.3%Y, by our estimates. Yet even as a Brexit-induced global growth shock further complicates the outlook, we see currency prospects as less concerning. The SARB is on hold for the foreseeable future, in our view. A revised GDP data series combined with our views of economic stagnation in several developed markets in 2017…

Ghana’s Monetary and Fiscal Policy Choices in Difficult Times

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s economic decline in the last 5 years left the sense of a “loud silence” as the investor community was stunned by the adverse turn of events in an economy recently (and probably still) perceived as Africa’s rising star. While the economic downturn was triggered by domestic factors underpinned by the fiscal and monetary policy choices, the collapse in commodity prices due to weakened demand in China and the…

« 1 … 18 19 20 21 22 … 45 »