Issues and solutions for African trade finance. Are ECAs and DFIs the answer?

Issues and solutions for African trade finance. Are ECAs and DFIs the answer?

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The last few years have proved difficult economically for much of Africa.  This, together with political issues (for example in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Mozambique) and constraints on access to finance, has resulted across much of the continent in a drop off in inward investment levels. In addition, economic growth has not lived up to hope or expectation. This article looks at some of the issues and how certain…

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Exxon Sparks IMF Concern With Weighty Returns in Tiny Guyana

Exxon Sparks IMF Concern With Weighty Returns in Tiny Guyana

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Exxon Mobil Corp. got such a “favourable” deal from Guyana, home to the biggest new deepwater oil play, that the tiny South American country should rewrite its tax laws, the International Monetary Fund said. While Guyana should honour the existing deal, future contracts should ensure the state gets a higher portion of crude proceeds, the fund said in a report seen by Bloomberg News. The country, South America’s third poorest with an…

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Steinhoff Boosts Fund-Raising to $1.4 Billion in KAP Sale

Steinhoff Boosts Fund-Raising to $1.4 Billion in KAP Sale

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Steinhoff International Holdings NV boosted the amount raised from asset sales to about $1.4 billion as the embattled global retailer strives to shore up its balance sheet. The owner of Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the U.S. sold almost 3.7 billion-rand ($313 million) of shares in South Africa’s KAP Industrial Holdings Ltd., adding to disposals including stock in investment holdings company PSG Group Ltd. and a private jet….

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RMB Ventures and Investec Asset Management complete largest-ever Botswana private equity transaction

RMB Ventures and Investec Asset Management complete largest-ever Botswana private equity transaction

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kamoso, a Botswana-based retailer, and consumer goods company, was acquired by a consortium that includes Investec Asset Management Private Equity, RMB Ventures, local partners, and Kamoso’s senior management team. The transaction is believed to be Botswana’s largest ever private-equity investment.  Kamoso is a leading manufacturer and supplier of consumer goods and healthcare products to retailers in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.  The Company operates from facilities in Botswana…

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Useful Tips on Spotting and Avoiding Debt Settlement Swindles

Useful Tips on Spotting and Avoiding Debt Settlement Swindles

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – When you fall behind on loans, you will usually find yourself on the receiving end of legal notices and threatening debt collectors. When you are feeling really desperate, it can be very easy for you to fall prey to dishonest companies claiming to solve your debt problems overnight. Some red flags that you should be looking out for when you are seeking debt settlement: Promises to Improve Your Credit…

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Ghana to Cut 2017 Spending as It Struggles to Raise Revenue

Ghana to Cut 2017 Spending as It Struggles to Raise Revenue

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana plans to cut spending this year as weak revenue collections are the “Achilles’ heel” in getting its accounts to balance, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said. “We are trying to contain expenditures as much as we can,” Ofori-Atta said at a conference Monday in the capital, Accra. In July, the West African nation trimmed the budget-deficit forecast to this year 6.3 percent of gross domestic product from 6.5 percent. Constant overspending prompted…

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Egypt targeting $9 bln in foreign financing in FY 2017-18

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt is targeting $9 billion in foreign financing in the 2017-18 fiscal year, Deputy Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk told Reuters on Wednesday. The financing will be divided between $3 billion obtained from debt markets and $5 billion to $6 billion from international finance institutions, he said. Egypt agreed with the International Monetary Fund in November on a $12 billion, three-year loan programme to support government efforts to reduce its…

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