Features | - Part 205

President Zuma Survives Calls to Quit With Backing From South Africa’s ANC

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma survived calls to resign by winning the support of the ruling party following his decision to fire the finance minister and stack the cabinet with loyalists. The rand weakened. The African National Congress won’t vote against Zuma in a no-confidence motion in parliament that the main opposition parties have requested, Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe told a briefing Wednesday in Johannesburg after a meeting of the ANC’s National Working Committee….

Facebook Offers Free Wifi Hotspots to Sustain Nigeria, Kenya Customer Growth

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Facebook Inc. has increased the number of its African users to 170 million and plans to expand further by adding wifi hotspots and laying fiber-optic cables in a bid to spread its reach outside of developed markets. The figure is 42 percent higher than when the U.S. social network first opened an African office in 2015, Carolyn Everson, vice president of global marketing, said in an interview in Johannesburg on Tuesday….

Zuma’s Night of Long Knives Risks ANC Split, Credit Rating

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma fired Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and made sweeping changes to his administration in a high-stakes power play that may threaten his own presidency and place the nation’s investment-grade credit rating at risk. Zuma replaced Gordhan, with whom he feuded over state finances, with Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, who has no financial or business experience. He also named lawmaker Sfiso Buthelezi to take over from Mcebisi Jonas as deputy finance minister. The…

Hedge-Fund Owner Peregrine Considers Split to Boost Returns

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Peregrine Holdings Ltd., the operator of South Africa’s oldest hedge fund, is considering a plan to split the company by using profits from its stockbroking and wealth-management units to create a new investment firm. The stock surged the most in a year. The company, which also owns half of advisory business Java Capital, has about 1.5 billion rand ($115 million) of surplus cash on its balance sheet that could be…

Capitec Says Political Risk May Delay SouthAfrica Economic Rebound

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The uncertainty surrounding South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s future risks heaping extra pressure on consumers and delaying a rebound in the country’s economy, according to the nation’s largest provider of loans not backed by assets. “It’s going to be a difficult year if you look at the political risk,” Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Gerrie Fourie said by phone on Tuesday. “It’s probably going to be much longer before there’s a turning point…

Africa will develop on its own terms, not based on the benevolence of others, AFDB President

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ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – “Africa will develop on its own terms, not based on the benevolence of others. And that is the only way we can make development faster and driven by our own needs – with a deep sense of urgency and responsibility.” These were the words of African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi Adesina, who delivered the keynote address on Monday, March 27, 2017 in Abidjan, as part of a week-long…

Google to Ramp Up Africa Investment With Fiber, Cheaper Phones

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Google Inc. is scaling up investment in Africa by laying fiber optic cable, easing access to cheaper Android phones and training a workforce in digital skills as the U.S. technology giant seeks to expand on the continent. “We laid about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of fiber in Uganda and we are busy doing about 1,000 kilometers in Ghana,’’ Google’s South Africa head Luke McKend said in a phone interview. “We…

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