Economy | - Part 8

South African Assets Tumble as Gloom Pervades Fiscal Outlook

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African bank stocks tumbled and bonds plunged as the rand headed for its biggest weekly slide since 2015 after the firing of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan raised concerns about the country’s fiscal path and its investment-grade credit rating. The rand dropped as much as 2.6 percent before paring the decline to trade 0.9 percent weaker at 13.3995 per dollar by 5:15 p.m. in Johannesburg, heading for a seven-week low. Benchmark…

IMF Urges Nigeria to Start Belt Tightening, Cut Naira Curbs

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria should remove currency-trading restrictions and reduce its budget deficit and debt-service costs to “sustainable” levels, the International Monetary Fund said. “Stronger macroeconomic policies are urgently needed to rebuild confidence and foster an economic recovery,” the Washington-based lender said in a report Thursday after a team visited Nigeria. There’s a “need for a front-loaded, revenue-based fiscal consolidation starting in 2017, to reduce the federal government interest-payments-to-revenue ratio to sustainable levels.” The…

Budget Pain Abating for Ghana Prompts Longest Cedi Bond Sale

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana is selling its longest local-currency bonds as the stabilizing cedi and government steps to rein in a budget shortfall stoke appetite for the West African nation’s debt. The Finance Ministry gave final guidance of 19.75 percent for the 15-yearcallable bonds and is due to stop accepting bids at 3 p.m. in Accra. Yields on the government’s local debt have fallen in the past month, helping the ministry place 1.4 billion…

Capitec Says Political Risk May Delay SouthAfrica Economic Rebound

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The uncertainty surrounding South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s future risks heaping extra pressure on consumers and delaying a rebound in the country’s economy, according to the nation’s largest provider of loans not backed by assets. “It’s going to be a difficult year if you look at the political risk,” Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Gerrie Fourie said by phone on Tuesday. “It’s probably going to be much longer before there’s a turning point…

Uganda Current-Account Gap to Widen on Projects, World Bank Says

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KAMPALA (Capital Markets in Africa)- Uganda’s current-account gap could widen to between 8 percent and 10 percent of national output annually over the next two years as imports for infrastructure and oil-related projects grow, the World Bank said. The shortfall on the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, in the East African nation on the cusp of becoming an oil producer came in at 5.9 percent of gross domestic product…

Kenya GDP Growth May Plummet to 1 Percent by 2019, Investec Says

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s economic growth could slow to as little as 1 percent over the next two years as credit extension in East Africa’s biggest economy weakens, Investec Prime Services estimates. Banks reporting higher levels of souring debt and decelerating money-supply growth suggest gross domestic product expansion will plummet, according toChris Becker, frontier strategist at the Johannesburg-based brokerage. Growth was an estimated 6 percent in 2016. Investec sees growth of between…

South Africa rand hits near 19-mth high as Fed signals gradual tightening

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s rand hovered near a 19-month high against the dollar early on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday, but signalled a gradual pace of rate hikes for the rest of the year. At 0646 GMT, the rand traded at 12.8125 per dollar, flat from its New York close on Thursday, after rallying to 12.77 late on Wednesday in the wake of the Fed’s…

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