West Africa | - Part 11

Ghana Budget Gap May Double Forecast as $1.6 Billion Hole Found

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s fiscal shortfall could be close to double the forecast for last year, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said a day after the government said it discovered a 7 billion-cedi ($1.6 billion) hole in the budget. The budget deficit as a percentage of gross domestic product could be close to “double digits” for 2016, he said Wednesday in an interview in Accra, the capital. “We’re still in the process of gathering information,”…

MTN to Merge Nigeria Tower Assets in $788 Million Share Exchange

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd., Africa’s largest mobile-phone operator, said it will merge its shareholdings in Nigerian tower operators into a single asset by switching a stake worth about 10.6 billion rand ($788 million) from one company to another. The carrier will exchange a 51 percent stake in the owner of INT Towers Ltd. for a larger shareholding in Lagos-based IHS Holding Ltd., the Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. The deal will…

Bears Strengthen Hold on Nigerian Equities Market…NSE ASI down 69bps

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The bearish sentiment in the local bourse was extended today as sustained profit taking by investors pulled the All Share Index 0.7% lower to 26, 036.24 points while YTD loss worsened to –3.1%. Sell-offs in market bellwethers – NESTLE (- 3.1%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-1.6%) and GUARANTY (-1.1%) – were the major drag to performance as market capitalisation also dipped N47.7bn to N9.0tn. However, activity level strengthened as volume and value…

Ghanaians Hoarding Dollars Put Cedi on Course for 19-Month Low

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghanaians are holding on to their dollars after government data showed the nation’s budget deficit was wider than expected, setting the currency on track for the weakest close since June 2015. The cedi was among the worst performers in the world this year after data showed the nation’s budget shortfall in the first 11 months of 2016 was more than 2 percentage points higher than the government’s target. The cedi declined 0.7…

West Africa Oil Floods to Asia in Latest Sign of OPEC Impact

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – West African oil producers will next month send the most crude to Asia in at least five years, the latest sign of how refineries in the world’s biggest demand region are scouring the world to replace supplies cut by OPEC’s Middle East producers. Shipments on the trade route, among the longest for supertankers, are set to soar to 2.19 million barrels a day in February, the highest level since…

Nigerian Equities Pull Southwards Amidst Profit Takings … NSE ASI down 42bps

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigerian equities market opened the week bearish as the benchmark index dipped 0.4% to settle at 26, 217.18 points while YTD loss worsened to -2.4%. Losses sustained in tier-1 banking stocks as well as other bellwethers – UBA (- 2.7%), GUARANTY (-1.7%) and DANGCEM (-0.6%) – dragged the broader index lower while market capitalisation fell by N38.2bn to N9.0tn. Activity level also waned as volume and value traded…

Ghana Will Meet IMF Bailout Benchmarks, Says Finance Minister

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ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana remains committed to its three-year bailout plan with the International Monetary Fund and will take steps to achieve the program’s benchmarks if it allows the country an opportunity to address economic “predicaments” by creating jobs. The IMF program remains necessary to achieve fiscal consolidation “though it is presently in a delicate state,” Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta said in an e-mailed statement on Monday. Ghana’s total public debt stood at 71.9 percent…

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