Ivory Coast slashes budget on low cocoa prices, President Says

Ivory Coast slashes budget on low cocoa prices, President Says

ABIDJAN (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ivory Coast has cut planned spending for 2017 by 10 percent due to a sharp drop in world prices of cocoa, its leading export, President Alassane Ouattara said, according to Thursday’s edition of national newspaper Le Patriote. The move is a major concession by a government that has prided itself on its stewardship of the West African country – the world’s biggest cocoa exporter – during its recovery from…

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Complexities in Financing Energy Projects in Africa

Complexities in Financing Energy Projects in Africa

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Understanding the need for financing of projects in the African Energy Sector: The power sector is a fundamental building block for economic advancement in any country. Abundant, affordable and reliable energy is the cornerstone of growth in today’s world. The great efforts undertaken by the African States to supply sustainable energy to its people have been well documented in the last number of years, along with a shift from conventional fuels…

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Zambia Seeks IMF Deal of as Much as $1.6 Billion This Month

Zambia Seeks IMF Deal of as Much as $1.6 Billion This Month

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, plans to reach an aid deal for as much as $1.6 billion with the International Monetary Fund by the end of April, Finance Minister Felix Mutati said. Bond yields fell. “At the moment we know that we can get up to $1.6 billion — if you ask me, I’d go for the maximum,” he said in an interview Monday in the capital, Lusaka. “Hopefully the program…

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Potential Investment Potholes To Watch For In 2017

Potential Investment Potholes To Watch For In 2017

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Few could have predicted the confluence of factors that have shifted African markets in recent years. We’ve seen countries making earnest efforts to improve investment climates that have helped drive economic growth. We’ve seen large reductions in absolute poverty and growth in an African middle class with disposable income. We’ve seen the scale up of new technologies and the leapfrogging of legacy systems in areas such as banking, telecommunications,…

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Nigeria to Sell More Eurobonds After Concessional Borrowing

Nigeria to Sell More Eurobonds After Concessional Borrowing

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria considers selling more Eurobonds to help fund record-high spending plans that seek to lift the West African economy out of its worst slump in 25 years.  The government raised $500 million last month and $1 billion in February in its first Eurobond sales since 2013. It also expects to receive the remaining $400 million of a $1 billion loan from the African Development Bank and is negotiating with…

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French Drugs Maker Targets Africa With Nigerian Acquisition

French Drugs Maker Targets Africa With Nigerian Acquisition

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Biogaran SAS, a closely held French pharmaceuticals manufacturer, plans to tap into Nigeria’s $1.3 billion drugs market as a launchpad for its expansion into Africa, company President Pascal Briere said. The unit of France’s second-largest drug maker, Les Laboratoires Servier, last month acquired Nigeria’s Swipha Limited. after an initial $500,000 investment. Biogaran expects Nigeria’s pharmaceuticals industry to grow by more than 12 percent annually. “We found that Nigeria is well adapted for what we…

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Nigeria to `Easily’ Get $3.5 Billion Foreign Debt, Moody’s Says

Nigeria to `Easily’ Get $3.5 Billion Foreign Debt, Moody’s Says

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria will easily achieve its target of $3.5 billion foreign borrowing in 2017 as improved oil output helps the economy to recover from last year’s contraction, the first since 1991, Moody’s Investors Service said. “The international financial institutions are ready to support Nigeria,” Aurelien Mali, a vice president and senior analytical adviser for Africa at the ratings company, said by phone on Wednesday. “As long as its project-based lending, the funding…

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