Guinea President Says Rio Payment Saga Tied to Internal Feud

Guinea President Says Rio Payment Saga Tied to Internal Feud

GUINEA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The President of Guinea is disputing public statements made by Rio Tinto Group regarding the firing of a senior executive for a $10.5 million payment made to the president’s friend Francois de Combret. President Alpha Conde said the firing of Alan Davies, who headed Rio’s $20 billion Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, was the result of an internal feud. Rio has said it was because of improper payments to de Combret…

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Power Africa Partner Gigawatt Global Advances 1,000 MW in Burundi

Power Africa Partner Gigawatt Global Advances 1,000 MW in Burundi

BUJUMBURA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Amid the lush and rolling hills of Mubuga, 100 km outside the Burundian capital of Bujumbura, 2,500 people came yesterday to celebrate the festive ground-breaking for a 7.5 MW solar field that will add 15% to the East African country’s generation capacity. In a colorful and drum-accented ceremony attended by government officials, international investors, religious leaders and the diplomatic community, Gigawatt Global (http://GigawattGlobal.com), the leading frontier solar and social development…

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Kenya Hires StanChart, Citigroup, RMB for $800 Million Syndicated Loan

Kenya Hires StanChart, Citigroup, RMB for $800 Million Syndicated Loan

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s government mandated four international banks to raise $800 million in syndicated loans that authorities need to boost foreign-currency reserves and plug a widening budget deficit, according to two people familiar with the agreement. The East African nation’s Treasury informed the Nairobi-based units of Citigroup Inc., Standard Bank Group Ltd., Standard Chartered Plc and Rand Merchant Bank on Tuesday that they were appointed to arrange the financing, the people said, asking not to be identified…

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Nigeria raises local currency bonds at yields below inflation

Nigeria raises local currency bonds at yields below inflation

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria has raised 214.95 billion naira ($704.18 mln) in local currency bonds at its first auction this year, with the debts sold at yields below galloping inflation, the Debt Management Office said on Thursday. Though yields were higher than at its last auction in December, the debt office said it received subscription of 235.05 billion naira for the bonds at the auction held on Wednesday. Annual inflation in Nigeria climbed to a…

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Africa’s Biggest Company Seeks Partnerships With Phone Companies

Africa’s Biggest Company Seeks Partnerships With Phone Companies

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Naspers Ltd., Africa’s biggest company by market value, is seeking partnerships with mobile-phone operators on the continent to boost its video-on-demand business and help compete with U.S. giant Netflix Inc. The owner of Africa’s biggest pay-TV provider is planning to build on a joint venture agreed to last year with Kenya’s largest company, Safaricom Ltd., to roll out online service Showmax at more affordable data prices. Safaricom is 40 percent…

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Citigroup, Top Africa Loan Arranger, Sees M&A Boosting Lending

Citigroup, Top Africa Loan Arranger, Sees M&A Boosting Lending

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Citigroup Inc., sub-Saharan Africa’s top loan arranger in 2016, expects increased sovereign demand and mergers and acquisitions to drive lending in the region this year as low valuations spur deals. “Lots of financing activity is expected in 2017,” Aziz Rahman, the bank’s head of corporate finance in the region said in an interview on Monday. Loans to sovereigns and corporates will increase as M&A deals rise and infrastructure spending picks…

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Microlender Plans West African Expansion After Ghana Acquisition

Microlender Plans West African Expansion After Ghana Acquisition

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Letshego Holdings Ltd., the Botswana microlender that has made acquisitions in Nigeria and Ghana during the past year, plans to enter Ivory Coast to boost access to West Africa’s francophone market. The lender, which has operations in 11 African countries, is also weighing up an expansion into Zambia and Zimbabwe, Chief Executive Officer Christopher Low said in an interview in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone. Letshego, which had a loan book of $620 million…

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