South Africa Rand Rout Little Help as South African Companies Hoard Cash

South Africa Rand Rout Little Help as South African Companies Hoard Cash

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: South African businesses are flush with money. Too bad they aren’t willing to spend it at home. They’re hoarding cash or expanding abroad, put off by a stagnating economy, power shortages, low commodity prices and slower growth in export markets China and Europe. Delays in passing business regulations and a dispute between President Jacob Zuma and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan are compounding their unease.  “Corporate South Africa has continued to build international business…

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Private Equity | Half of the Angola Sovereign Wealth Fund invest in Private Equity

Private Equity | Half of the Angola Sovereign Wealth Fund invest in Private Equity

Luanda, Angola, Capital Markets in Africa: Angola’s sovereign wealth fund said it put more than half of its investments in private equity funds focused in the country and across sub-Saharan Africa last year, describing its performance as “solid,” particularly in light of the global economic turbulence. The fund, known as FSDEA, had assets worth $4.7 billion in 2015 after being endowed with $5 billion from the government in 2014, according to an investment update released on…

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Rwanda | Exploding Lake, Blood-Laden Drones Spur Rwanda Tech Boom

Rwanda | Exploding Lake, Blood-Laden Drones Spur Rwanda Tech Boom

KIGALI, Rwanda, Capital Markets in Africa: The tiny nation of Rwanda is pursuing a local technological revolution in a bid to transform its largely agrarian society into the equivalent of an African Singapore. Since President Paul Kagame led his Rwandan Patriotic Front to power in 1994 after a genocide that claimed as many as 800,000 lives and cut economic output in half, the East African nation has pursued policies aimed at encouraging investment in and developing its ICT industry. The…

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Market Watch | Emerging Assets Decline as Fed Move in June Seen as Possibility

Market Watch | Emerging Assets Decline as Fed Move in June Seen as Possibility

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Emerging-market stocks and currencies fell to two-month lows as Federal Reserve minutes revived the possibility of an interest-rate increase as soon as next month, raising the specter of capital flows out of riskier assets. Raw-material producers led Brazilian equities toward a one-month low. Egyptian stocks posted a weekly loss after an EgyptAir plane went missing with 66 people on board. South African gold mining companies dropped, ending a four-day rally in…

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Egyptian Stocks Drop on Missing Airliner; Mideast Markets Slump

Egyptian Stocks Drop on Missing Airliner; Mideast Markets Slump

CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa: Egyptian stocks declined after the nation’s flagship airline said one of its passenger planes went missing on the way back to Cairo from Paris. Most equities dropped across the Middle East as oil retreated. The EGX 30 Index fell 1.8 percent to 7,499.49 at the close. About 538 million Egyptian pounds ($61 million) of shares traded, 21 percent less than the market’s full day average over the past three months. Qatar’s QE Index lost…

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Attijariwafa Said to Work With UBS on Bid for Barclays Egypt

Attijariwafa Said to Work With UBS on Bid for Barclays Egypt

Casablanca, Morocco, Capital Markets in Africa: Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco’s biggest lender, is working with UBS Group AG on a potential bid for Barclays Plc’s Egyptian business, people familiar with the matter said. The U.K. bank has received limited interest for the business after reaching out to Gulf-based banks, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The British bank has yet to receive any non-binding offers, they said. Chief Executive Officer Jes…

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South Africa Maintains Rate at 7% Despite Inflation Risk in May

South Africa Maintains Rate at 7% Despite Inflation Risk in May

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: The pause in the South African central bank’s policy tightening cycle may be short-lived as it forecast increasing risks for inflation from a weaker rand and food prices. The repurchase rate was left unchanged at 7 percent, Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters on Thursday in the capital, Pretoria. Nineteen of the 25 economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted no change to borrowing costs. Five of the six members Monetary Policy Committee members preferred to keep the rate unchanged…

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