West Africa |

Global Security at Stake in Mali’s Islamist War, President Says

BAMAKO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said his country’s six-year fight against Islamist militants should be a global concern as the West African nation faces the fallout from the offensives against insurgents in Iraq and Libya. “What’s happening in Mali doesn’t only concern us here, but the global community,” Keita, 73, said in an interview in the capital, Bamako. “With the advances in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria and…

Ex-Finance Minister Named in $1.2 Billion Ghana Bank Lawsuit

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s former Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor and 12 other parties are facing a 5.7 billion cedi ($1.2 billion) suit over funds that went missing during their tenure as shareholders and directors of the now defunct Unibank Ghana Ltd. KPMG LLP, which is the receiver for Unibank after the lender’s license was revoked in August, is asking the High Court in Accra to declare loans, advances and asset purchases made by certain shareholders…

Fitch: T-Bill Supply Slowdown May Hurt Nigerian Bank Profits

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LAGOS(Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian banks may find it more difficult to sustain profitability given the decline in net treasury bill (T-bill) issuance in Nigeria’s 1Q18 issuance programme, Fitch Ratings says. The slowdown in T-bill issuance marks a change of strategy as the government looks to increase its financing from external sources and longer-dated domestic issuances. Record T-bill issuance in 2017 helped support the Central Bank of Nigeria’s strategy to maintain naira exchange-rate stability….

Nigeria looks to food exports to boost FX income after oil shock

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria is looking to boost agricultural exports to earn more hard currency, and aims to cut imports of rice and wheat which together cost it almost $4 billion a year, Agriculture Minister Audu Ogbeh told Reuters. Nigeria emerged from recession in the second quarter as oil revenues rose, but growth was sluggish. The government has touted agriculture as a way to wean the country off its oil dependence, improving…

Ghana Preparing $1.4 Billion Bond Sale to Clear Energy Debt

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana will hold roadshows in the U.S. and London next week to sell 6 billion cedis ($1.4 billion) in local-currency debt to clear arrears owed to banks by state-owned electricity and petroleum utilities, according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta. The sale is the first tranche of a plan to sell as much as 10 billion cedis in bonds through a special-purpose vehicle and backed by a tax on the sale of…

Former Cargill Manager Buys Dutch Cocoa Factory With Partners

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ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Pieter Schulting, a former manager at Cargill Incorporation, and two partners have bought Dutch cocoa processor Jan Schoemaker BV. A deal for the 94-year-old company, the last independent cocoa factory in the Netherlands, was signed in late September, according to Schulting. The partners, Daan Reitsma and Paul Silva da Cruz, are managers at Jan Schoemaker. He didn’t disclose the value of the deal. The new management is now operating the…

Liberia Begins Counting Ballots After Peaceful End to Voting

Posted on by The Editorial Team

MONROVIA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Election officials in Liberia started counting ballots after polling stations closed in presidential and parliamentary elections that regional observers said were conducted peacefully. Liberians chose a president to replace Nobel Peace Price laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from among 20 candidates who include a retired soccer star, a former warlord and a wealthy chicken farmer. Voting ended at most stations from 6 p.m. on Tuesday, with the first official results expected to be released…

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