Features

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Citigroup Inc. plans to deepen its corporate banking presence in developing countries from Russia to South Africa even as some rivals decamp to focus on their home markets. The lender has overhauled its business in eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa to focus on emerging economies. The third-largest U.S. bank is betting unprecedented deal opportunities will follow the economic slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, weak oil prices…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigeria has been rocked in October by some of the biggest protests since military rule ended in 1999, resulting in dozens of deaths and rattling what had been considered a virtually unassailable political establishment. Thousands of youths have taken to the streets to vent their anger about police brutality by marching, barricading roads and bridges and setting buildings and vehicles alight. The authorities initially struck a conciliatory tone and…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Liquid Telecom has raised $307 million through a rights issue to fund a rapid expansion of its data center business across Africa. The rights issue included an additional $40 million from U.K. development finance institution CDC Group Plc, the group said in a statement. Africa’s largest fiber-network operator is planning to expand its data center unit in five of the continent’s fastest-growing countries including Egypt and Nigeria, aid Stephane Duproz,…

GUINEAN (Capital Markets in Africa) — Guinean President Alpha Conde led the vote count in half of the nation’s 38 districts amid clashes between opposition supporters and security forces that have left at least nine people dead. Conde garnered the most ballots in 14 areas, while opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo obtained a majority in six, Kabinet Cisse, the head of the electoral commission, said on state television late Wednesday. Election officials expect to complete the count…

LONDON(Capital Markets in Africa) — Job vacancies in London’s finance industry slumped 54% in the third quarter compared to 2019 as uncertainty around coronavirus, Brexit and bank profits discouraged hiring. City firms were advertising 3,810 roles in the three months through September, according to data from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley published Monday. While this is a fraction of the opportunities available in previous years, the total has risen from 2,490 three months earlier, when the U.K. was…

LONDON(Capital Markets in Africa) — British officials are prepared to water down Boris Johnson’s controversial lawbreaking Brexit legislation in a move that could revive failing talks with the European Union, according to people familiar with the matter. The pound rose. Negotiations over the two sides’ future relationship have stalled, with the prime minister announcing on Friday that he will focus on preparations to leave the EU’s single market and customs union at the year-end without a trade…

NEW YORK(Capital Markets in Africa) — Fake reviews on Amazon.com Inc. during the pandemic have reached levels typically seen during the holiday shopping season. About 42% of 720 million Amazon reviews assessed by the monitoring service Fakespot Inc. from March through September were unreliable, up from about 36% for the same period last year. The rise in fake reviews corresponded with the stampede online of millions of virus-avoiding shoppers. “We’ve only seen those kinds of numbers in…