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Desperation Erodes Fear: Protesters Brave Zimbabwe Crackdown

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – In four decades of independence, Zimbabwe’s rulers have been able to deploy the security forces to crush protests even as the southern African nation sank deeper into economic crisis. Judging from the latest bout of unrest, that may no longer be true. Crowds showed little fear as they poured onto the streets of the capital, Harare, and other major cities when the main labor federation called a three-day stay-away…

BMO, Ontario Teachers’ Test Canadian Debt Issuance on Blockchain

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bank of Montreal and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan tested a Canadian-dollar debt deal over blockchain, a further step in determining the viability of the new technology in fixed-income markets. Bank of Montreal sold C$250 million ($190 million) of one-year floating rate deposit notes to the Ontario pension fund and used blockchain technology to mirror the transaction, the Toronto-based lender said Wednesday in a statement. The bank’s BMO Capital Markets unit built…

Kenya Halves Share of Oil Income for Communities in New Law

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya halved the amount of revenue it will distribute to local communities once commercial oil production starts, setting up a potential dispute with residents of its economically deprived northern Turkana region. The Petroleum Exploration, Development and Production Bill to be presented to lawmakers next week proposes giving communities 5 percent of revenue, instead of the 10 percent stipulated in an earlier amended draft. County administrations will receive 20 percent…

MTN Is Said to Plan $500 Million Nigeria Share Sale in 2018

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. plans to raise about $500 million from the sale of shares in its Nigerian business during the first half of the year, fulfilling the terms of a deal struck with the West African nation to settle a record fine, according to people familiar with the matter. Standard Bank Group Ltd. and Citigroup Inc. have been advising Africa’s largest mobile-phone company on the disposal of as much as…

Teetering Steinhoff Prepares to Shop Around Its Retail Assets

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Steinhoff International Holdings NV, which sells $89 mattresses to Americans and two-for-a-pound cans of tomato soup to the British, faces a potential fire sale of its global retail holdings as it battles for survival. After a week in which its shares collapsed and its bonds were downgraded to junk amid an accounting scandal that prompted Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste to quit, the owner of U.S. furniture chain Mattress Firm…

The Cobalt Crunch for Electric Cars Could Be Solved in Suburbia

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Almost 9,000 miles from the dusty Congo savanna, miners have hit on an entirely new source of cobalt — the rare mineral at the heart of the electric-car boom. And not only can they take coffee breaks, when they take a break, they can grab a donut at Tim Hortons. Scientists working for American Manganese Inc., located in the suburbs of Vancouver, have developed a way to produce enough…

Kenya’s ARM Is Said to Become Next Target in Africa Cement Wars

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – ARM Cement Ltd., the Kenyan building-materials supplier, is the newest takeover target in the battle among the world’s biggest cement makers to expand in Africa, according to people familiar with the matter. ARM’s owners are exploring a sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The Nairobi-based company is currently valued at about $133 million on the Nairobi stock exchange, though the…

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