The Editorial Team

Tax-Heavy Sudan Budget Might Spark Yet More Anti-Military Unrest

KHARTOUN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Economists slammed as unworkable Sudan’s 2022 budget that seeks to more than double tax revenue to replace foreign aid suspended after October’s coup, saying it was likely to fuel more turmoil and anger against the ruling military. The impoverished North African country, which looked like rejoining global markets after the 2019 overthrow of dictator Omar al-Bashir, has revised down its growth target to 1.4% and is racing to find the…

Nigeria Government Wants 18-Month Delay to Gasoline Subsidy Cuts

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s government will propose that lawmakers approve shelving plans to eliminate expensive gasoline subsidies by 18 months. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking to revise a law passed in August that provided for the full deregulation of fuel prices within six months, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva told reporters Tuesday. The decision to defer the politically thorny reform comes with presidential and legislative elections…

Helios in Talks with Africa Mobile Operators on Fintech Billions

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Helios Investment Partners LLP is in talks with African telecom operators and banks about ways the private-equity firm can help them cash in on their mobile-money and digital-payments platforms. Africa’s largest wireless carriers, including MTN Group Ltd. and Airtel Africa Plc, are among companies exploring how to unlock value from their multi-billion dollar fintech operations. Johannesburg-based MTN is looking to finalize plans to spin off the lucrative unit by the end of March, while…

Easing Inflation Forecasts Prompt Nigeria to Leave Rates Steady

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at a six-year low to help spur economic growth as it sees inflation abating.All 10 members of the monetary policy committee who attended the two-day meeting voted to keep the rate at 11.5% for an eighth consecutive time, Governor Godwin Emefiele said at a briefing Tuesday in the capital, Abuja. Eight of nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the unchanged stance. The MPC held rates…

Soldiers Seize Power in Burkina Faso, Drawing International Ire

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BURKINA FASO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Soldiers in Burkina Faso said they removed President Roch Marc Christian Kabore from power in the gold-producing West African nation, a putsch that drew condemnation from the United Nations and the U.S. The military takeover was necessary because Kabore was unable to tackle insecurity “that threatens the very foundation of our nation,” according to a statement signed by Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba and read by another officer on…

Pension Funds and Private Equity in Nigeria

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian pension funds have grown exponentially in both size and value in recent years and have a significant role to play in the sustainability and development of local capital markets. As Nigeria’s private equity landscape continues to evolve, more emphasis is being placed on how best to invest in this unique landscape where tremendous growth opportunities are intertwined with a fair amount of macroeconomic uncertainty. Although pension funds acknowledge…

Why Did Almost Nobody See Inflation Coming?

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Forecasting inflation is a staple of macroeconomic modeling, yet virtually all economists’ predictions for the United States in 2021 were way off the mark. This dismal performance reflected a collective failure to take economic models seriously enough, as well as other analytical shortcomings. In 2008, as the global financial crisis was ravaging economies everywhere, Queen Elizabeth II, visiting the London School of Economics, famously asked, “Why did nobody see it…

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