Finance

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The African Development Bank said the criticism that World Bank President David Malpass levied against the multilateral lender and similar institutions for lending too easily to heavily indebted countries were misleading. Malpass voiced his concern over the practices of lenders that also include the Asian Development Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development at a World Bank-International Monetary Fund forum in Washington on Monday, saying some were worsening already-challenging debt situations,…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – New ideas are hard to come by, so it was a case of deja vu for many investors when President Cyril Ramaphosa again touted the idea of a state-owned South African bank and sovereign wealth fund. The desire for the country’s wealth, minerals, land and its banks to be owned and shared by all South Africans harks back to 1955 when the now ruling African National Congress and allies against racial…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Talks on the post-Brexit future of European capital markets have largely avoided the toxic haggling of the broader negotiations — until now. U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid and chief European Union negotiator Michel Barnier traded blows Tuesday as the two sides approach a self-imposed June deadline to make progress. The flashpoint is the very foundation of the future relationship: A policy called “equivalence” that would give U.K. firms continued access to…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa)- Singapore’s family-run Tolaram Group made much of its $1.8 billion fortune in cereals, noodles, and infrastructure in Africa. Now, it’s planning to use its global reach and local relationships to move into digital banking there. The group has a blueprint of sorts from another business it owns — PT Bank Amar Indonesia. Bank Amar is largely a digital institution, with loans and deposits for consumers handled over mobile phones. The publicly listed group…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – President Donald Trump’s $4.8 trillion budget for the upcoming fiscal year proposes billions more in funding for defense and a U.S. mission to Mars but would bring steep cuts to social programs despite almost $1 trillion in deficit spending. The proposal, scheduled to be unveiled on Monday, is an election-year embodiment of many of the policy priorities Trump has championed over his first three years in office. He…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank is keeping a close eye on fallout from the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, singling it out among risks threatening the U.S. and world economy. “In particular, we are closely monitoring the emergence of the coronavirus, which could lead to disruptions in China that spill over to the rest of the global economy,” Powell said in prepared remarks he’s scheduled…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – The European Union swiftly rebuffed calls from the U.K. government that London’s financial services firms should enjoy continued access to the single market even if the country breaks away from the bloc’s rules after Brexit. The U.K. Treasury had included the demand for so-called permanent equivalence in a draft of its opening positions for next month’s trade negotiations with the EU — some of which were revealed in a document that…