Features | - Part 208

South Africans Struggling to Meet Debt Repayments as Rules Change

In June 2016, close to75% of the average South African’s annual income was spent on debt repayment. As one of the world’s heaviest credit users – and with an economy in turmoil – it’s little wonder than many South African’s struggles to keep up with loan repayments, making the country home to the world’s most consumer debt in 2015. Times are as uncertain as ever for South Africa’s many millions of borrowers. While some take…

FX reserves – China has enough, Says Standard Bank

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – China’s foreign exchange reserves are now below USD3tr, the lowest in three years. In fact, relative to GDP, this is the lowest since the early 2000s. China has seen a material decline in reserves-to-GDP since 2008 resulting from declining global demand combined with growing outbound investment. More recently, the sharp decline in China’s once heralded reserves has come with the defence of the renminbi, triggering concerns in global financial…

Nigeria says sees no need to go to IMF, plans its own reforms

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria sees no need to apply for an International Monetary Fund programme as it is pursuing its own economic reform plan, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said on Tuesday. Sharp falls in the price of crude oil, its main export, have tipped Africa’s biggest economy into its first recession for 25 years and hammered the naira currency, prompting speculation it might need IMF funding to cover a growing budget deficit….

African capital markets Activity shows significant decline in 2016, says PwC

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – 2016 marked a challenging year for African equity markets in the wake of lower economic growth and political upheaval around the globe, largely as a result of the US elections cycle and the Brexit vote. African equity capital markets (ECM) broke a streak of three successive years of growth, recording a decline in overall ECM activity of 28% from 2015 in the number of transactions and 33% from 2015…

Angola Economic Outlook for 2017: Growth Prospect & Threats

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LUANDA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola is facing a tough macroeconomic environment, in line with other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa such as Nigeria and South Africa that saw economic growth come to a halt or even turn into negative territory during 2016. Similar to what happened in the oil crisis of 2008-09, the current downturn in Angola has been the result of the sharp and prolonged decline in oil prices that started in the…

A Prognosis of Ghana’s Macroeconomic Prospects in 2017

Posted on by The Editorial Team

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ghana’s much-anticipated return to macroeconomic stability started to materialize in 2016, on the back of the ongoing fiscal adjustment program with the IMF and its associated front-loaded fiscal measures implemented since April 2015. The most notable indication of emerging macroeconomic stability in 2016 was observed in the foreign exchange market where the Ghana Cedi recorded a relatively more stable outturn against the major international trading currencies. The Cedi’s improved…

Kenya’s 2017 Macroeconomic Fundamentals

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – The year 2017 is shaping up to be a year of stable growth, despite being an election year in the country. In this article, we highlight and discuss the macroeconomic fundamentals in Kenya, the key opportunities in different sectors of the economy, and finally discuss the key challenges facing the growth prospects of the country. Kenya is one of the fastest growing economies in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, with…

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