Banking

TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tunisia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rateunchanged as it monitors the effects of last month’s hike on inflation. The key gauge was held at 7.75 percent, the Central Bank of Tunisia said in a statement on Friday. The bank raised the rate by 100 basis points last month, the first increase since June, citing a need to curb price growth. Inflation accelerated to 7.3 percent in February from 7.1…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria’s tight monetary policy will “continue in the near term” and the central bank will increase its funding to the agricultural sector, according to Governor Godwin Emefiele. The central bank will be able to maintain a stable exchange rate given the strength of Nigeria’s reserves, Emefiele, 57, said at a conference in the commercial capital, Lagos. The economy “will see more growth and reduced unemployment” from May 2019, when President Muhammadu…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Bank of England said more companies are triggering plans for a no-deal Brexit as it kept policy in a holding pattern while the government takes withdrawal talks to the brink. Around two-thirds of firms surveyed by the central bank said they had started implementing contingencies for a disorderly departure from the European Union. About 80 percent judged themselves ready for such an outcome. With Britain just days away from its scheduled…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The world needs a new model to channel private finance into emerging-nation clean projects and commercial banks are among those planning to help create it. Firms including Macquarie Group Ltd., HSBC Group Plc and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are scheduled to participate in this week’s Green Bank Design Summit in Paris. They’re joining representatives of 24 developing countries accounting for almost half the world’s greenhouse gases that will be attending the…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan banks might turn the lending taps back on after a court ordered lawmakers to review a law that capped the interest rates they can charge, potentially providing further impetus to economic growth. Shares in the East African nation’s largest lenders rallied after a Nairobi High Court on Thursday described the legislation governing the rate caps as “vague, imprecise, ambiguous and indefinite.” The court suspended the implementation of the…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markers in Africa) – Naspers Ltd. wants to spend about $1 billion in India this year as it scours the globe for investments that can replicate its blockbuster bet on China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd., a person familiar with the matter said. Africa’s largest company by market value is in talks to inject about $200 million into business loan provider Capital Float and payments security firm Wimbo as a first step, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions,…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender, sees trade opportunities opening up for the continent as a result of Britain’s eventual exit from the European Union and the dispute between the U.S. and China over tariffs. Britain and China will be looking to bolster their relationship with emerging markets, and African nations could benefit from improved access, more favorable tariffs and increased trade should their governments step in to…