Finance

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Daniel Mwangi’s construction company in Nairobi is battling to stay afloat and has fired about 1,000 workers in the past year as Kenya’s government struggles to pay contractors. The 36-year-old Nyoro Construction Co., where Mwangi serves as director, is just one of many Kenyan firms that have fallen victim to a funding crisis exacerbated by a weak tax take, rising debt and a public wage bill that eats up more than a third…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Johann Rupert, the billionaire who controls luxury-goods giant Richemont, is considering selling stakes in two South African fiber networks valued at as much as $1.5 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. The tycoon is working with an adviser to gauge interest from potential investors in buying stakes in Vumatel Pty and Dark Fibre Africa Pty, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private….

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and other generic drugmakers have held talks with the U.S. Justice Department in the past six months about resolving a long-running criminal antitrust probe of alleged price-fixing by the companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Among the possible outcomes that have been discussed are deferred prosecution agreements in which the companies would admit to certain allegations but would be shielded from an indictment…

NEW WORK(Capital Markers in Africa) – China’s chief trade negotiator indicated he was “cautiously optimistic” about reaching a phase one deal with the U.S., as two titans of American diplomacy in Asia warned of the dangers of escalating the tariff war. Vice Premier Liu He made the comments in a speech in Beijing on Wednesday ahead of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, according to people who attended the dinner and asked not to be identified. He has…

NEW YORK (Capital Markets in Africa) – After weeks of Republican complaints that the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry relied on secondhand information, the centerpiece of this week’s public hearings is testimony from a man with a direct line to President Donald Trump. The political peril for Trump, who was dealt a series of setbacks last week, will be heightened as the House investigation accelerates with three days of public hearings starting Tuesday. No witness is more central…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Safaricom Plc, Kenya’s biggest company by market value, expects the pricing for new Ethiopian telecommunications permits to liberalize the industry could be as much as $1 billion. The Horn of Africa state is expected to invite bids for two new licenses this month to compete with its monopoly Ethiopian Telecommunications Corp., which is also slated for part privatization in early 2020. The bid for the Ethiopian spectrum could be “quite…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Helios Towers Ltd. rose 5.7% on its first day of trading after the company raised 288 million pounds ($364 million) in a long-delayed initial public offering that gives investors a foothold in Africa’s fast-growing wireless tower industry. Shares in the company that was backed by billionaire financier George Soros priced at 115 pence apiece, the bottom of the range, before closing at 121.50 pence. After a subdued start to the…