The Editorial Team |

U.K. Government Debt Tops 100% of GDP for First Time Since 1963

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — U.K. government debt rose above 100% of the gross domestic product in May for the first time since 1963, reflecting a precipitous drop in economic output and a surge in spending to counter the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Borrowing increased by more than 100 billion pounds ($124 billion) in the two months to May, as tax revenue plunged and the government deployed a massive support package to save jobs…

Trump Says ‘Complete Decoupling’ From China Remains an Option

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — President Donald Trump said the U.S. could pursue a “complete decoupling from China” in response to unspecified conditions, his most forceful statement yet on the souring ties with Beijing. In a tweet Thursday, Trump refuted comments a day earlier by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who said a full decoupling of the world’s two biggest economies was not “a reasonable policy option.” It was not Ambassador Lighthizer’s fault (yesterday…

Bolton, Trump Administration Set for Court Battle Over Book

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NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — Former National Security Advisor John Bolton’s pending memoir is living up to its publisher’s hype as “the book President Donald Trump doesn’t want you to read.” Trump’s Justice Department is heading to court Friday in a last-ditch attempt to block the publication of “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” due to be released June 23, even as excerpts that have already appeared in the media…

Orange Senegal Unit Taps Local Market To Grow Amid Digital Boom

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DAKAR (Capital Markets in Africa) — An Orange SA West African subsidiary is issuing debt on the regional market for the first time to take advantage of higher demand for digital services amid the coronavirus pandemic. The outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns has made a plan by Dakar-based Sonatel’s to raise 100 billion CFA ($171 million) particularly timely, Chief Executive Officer Sekou Drame said in an interview. The bond sale is the largest in the history…

Nigerian Bond Sales Head for Blockbuster Year as Yields Drop

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigerian companies are poised to raise a record amount of local short-term debt, joining one of the biggest global junk-bond rallies in two months as businesses take advantage of a drop in borrowing costs. Companies including Dangote Cement Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and MTN Group Ltd. have tapped the domestic market this year to refinance existing debt or boost working capital. It comes as firms from casino operators and retailers to lenders…

Zimbabwe Scraps Currency Peg Three Months After Introduction

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HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) — Zimbabwe’s central bank abandoned a currency peg it introduced in March and said it would allow the rate to be set by an auction system. The announcement represents a setback for Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya, who unilaterally imposed the peg of 25 to the U.S. dollar against the advice of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, according to people familiar with the situation. The introduction of the…

Africa Seen Getting More Debt Relief From China Than Bondholders

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — African countries may get debt relief from China more easily than private creditors amid a global push to blunt the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on poor nations, a Johns Hopkins University study shows. China has written off $3.4 billion and restructured or refinanced about $15 billion of debt in Africa over the past decade without slapping penalties or seizing assets from borrowers, it said. The study was…

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