“Price Modulation” of the Downstream Sector …Taking the Bull by the Legs

“Price Modulation” of the Downstream Sector …Taking the Bull by the Legs

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: The downstream petroleum sector on 11th May, 2016 received a major policy turn that seemed to have altered the age long dynamics of the industry as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced the removal of petroleum subsidy and provided new pricing guidelines, designed to be cost reflective in line with market dynamics. Whilst the new policy has shifted off the Government, a major burden of subsidy payment which…

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Investment | Nedbank Group Hunting for Kenyan Acquisition as Parent Mulls Exit Plan

Investment | Nedbank Group Hunting for Kenyan Acquisition as Parent Mulls Exit Plan

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Nedbank Group Limited, the South African lender being spun off from parent Old Mutual Plc, said it’s in talks that may lead to the acquisition of a Kenyan bank as it seeks to benefit from an economic growth rate that’s double the average for the rest of the continent. “Within the next 12 months we’ll certainly be looking to do a deal,” Mfundo Nkuhlu, chief operating officer of Johannesburg-based Nedbank,…

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Private Equity | Barclays Africa Said to Attract Abraaj-Led Group for Stake

Private Equity | Barclays Africa Said to Attract Abraaj-Led Group for Stake

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Buyout firm Abraaj Group is leading a group of investors planning to bid for a minority stake in Barclays Plc’s African unit, according to people familiar with the matter. Abraaj is working with financial advisers and is in discussions to team up with other investors including a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The private equity firm may bid for as…

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Private Equity | Abraaj Readies Nigerian Fertilizer, East African Insurance Deals

Private Equity | Abraaj Readies Nigerian Fertilizer, East African Insurance Deals

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Abraaj Group, a Dubai-based private equity firm, is in the final stages of approval for three transactions in sub-Saharan Africa and will probably make further investments in the region before the end of the year, partner Sev Vettivetpillai said on Thursday. Abraaj is seeking final internal approval for three transactions, including one in Nigeria’s fertilizer industry, an insurance investment in East Africa and an industrial business in South Africa, he said in an…

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Investment | ShowMax Expands to 36 African Countries in Challenge to Netflix

Investment | ShowMax Expands to 36 African Countries in Challenge to Netflix

Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: Naspers Limited, Africa’s biggest company by market value, expanded its video-streaming service ShowMax into 36 new sub-Saharan African countries in a challenge to Netflix Inc., which is also growing in the region. The new markets went online Friday, bringing ShowMax’s availability globally to 65 countries, the company said in an e-mail. The service started in August. Naspers, which has a market value of $57 billion and is Africa’s largest…

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Investment | DuPont Plans to Double Its African Seed Business in Five Years

Investment | DuPont Plans to Double Its African Seed Business in Five Years

LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: DuPont Company plans to more than double its African seed business, excluding the mature South African market, over five years as governments and farmers on the least-developed continent seek to boost crop yields, a director of the company’s Pioneer unit said. “From a revenue perspective we’re aiming for over 20 percent in terms of the compound annual growth rate,” Prabdeep Bajwa, the African regional business director for Pioneer, said in…

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Investment | Africa Investors Look East as Commodity-Driven Boom Withers

Investment | Africa Investors Look East as Commodity-Driven Boom Withers

LAGOS, Nigeria. Capital Markets in Africa: Investors targeting Africa are looking east, as depressed commodity prices and slowing growth in China put the brakes on a two-decade growth surge in the world’s poorest continent. Kenya, Tanzania and host Rwanda are the countries in vogue at the World Economic Forum’s annual confab of Africa’s business and political leaders that began Wednesday in Kigali. All three economies should expand at least 6 percent this year, double the…

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