The Editorial Team |

Fed to Focus on Next Steps to Save Economy: Decision Day Guide

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) — With interest rates near zero, Federal Reserve policymakers are likely to turn attention to other steps they could take to ensure a strong economic rebound once the coronavirus lock-down ends. The Federal Open Market Committee is all but certain to keep its benchmark overnight rate in a target range of 0-.25%, where it was lowered at an unscheduled FOMC on March 15 to help soften the pandemic’s blow. The committee…

IMF Approves $3.4 Billion in Emergency Funding for Nigeria

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The International Monetary Fund approved $3.4 billion in emergency funding to Nigeria, the single biggest disbursement for any country yet with the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, IMF Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa said that the pandemic and the plunge in oil prices are severely impacting Nigeria and that the funds will provide much-needed liquidity to respond to the urgent balance of payments needs. He also called for the…

Nigeria Turns to Local Debt as Virus Shuts Eurobond Markets

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Nigerian Senate approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to raise 850 billion naira ($2.2 billion) in domestic markets, scrapping plans to sell Eurobonds this year. Lawmakers in the committees for finance and appropriation will work with the finance minister on the details of the borrowing plan, Senate President Ahmed Lawan said during Tuesday’s plenary session “Conditions in the international capital market may not be favorable for the issuance of…

Beleaguered East Africa Just Can’t Catch a Break: Bobby Ghosh

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) — How much more calamity can East Africa take? Already struggling with the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and a Biblical scourge of locusts, the region is now being lashed by exceptionally heavy rainfall, with floods that threaten life and livelihood from Ethiopia to Tanzania, and all parts in between. For the continent’s most economically vibrant region, the trifecta of tribulations may well add up to a fourth: food…

PSG Weighs Spinoff of Best-Performing S. African Bank Stock

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — PSG Group Ltd. is weighing a spinoff of Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd., the best-performing South African banking stock since its listing in 2002, to unlock more value from its investments. All or part of PSG’s 30.7% stake in Capitec might be distributed to its investors, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. “The unbundling should be positive for PSG and result in a further decrease in the discount to net asset value,”…

Safaricom Profit Jumps Ahead of Looming Pain From Coronavirus

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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) — Safaricom Plc said full-year earnings jumped by 18% as East Africa’s biggest company reported growth in mobile money and data sales ahead of the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Net income was 73.7 billion shillings ($696 million) in the 12 months through March, beating a median analyst estimate of 69.7 billion shillings, the Nairobi-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. Service revenue increased by 4.8%. The arrival of…

South Africa Economy Contracting 6.4%, Land Bank Saved, Says Mboweni

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said the South African economy could contract as much as 6.4% this year due to the coronavirus outbreak and the budget deficit could swell to more than 10% of gross domestic product. In a recording of a conference call with clients of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Mboweni said he expected the contraction to be deeper than the 5.8% forecast by the International Monetary Fund,…

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