Finance

ADDIS ABABA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Abiy Ahmed plans to double jobs created in 2019-20 as he implements a reform agenda that opens up the economy for more foreign investment. Africa’s second-most populous nation will probably create 3 million jobs in the year starting July 8 compared with 1.4 million in the previous 12 months, Abiy told lawmakers in the capital, Addis Ababa. Most of the jobs will come from small businesses, he said. While…

ACCRA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Moody’s Investors Service is predicting Ghana’s insurance industry will see a wave of mergers and acquisitions after the West African nation’s regulator more than tripled minimum capital requirements. The move to higher capital requirements is credit positive for the industry, Brandan Holmes, a vice president at Moody’s, said in emailed response to questions. Smaller insurers will either need to raise additional cash or be absorbed by their larger rivals, he…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria sees itself securing oil and gas investments worth $48 billion between 2018 and 2025, which is 25% of a $194 billion surge of capital anticipated to flow into Africa during the eight-year period, according to the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. “The nation’s energy outlook appears very positive even amidst the difficult operating and economic headwinds across the continent,” Maikanti Baru, the outgoing group managing director of the company…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The success of a continental free-trade deal hinges on Africa developing its manufacturing base, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said. Africa’s largest economy won’t rush into joining the Africa Continental Free Trade Area until it finishes extensive consultations with all stakeholders, Buhari said Thursday in Abuja, the capital. The AfCFTA agreement will only succeed if the continent develops policies that promote production, he said while receiving the report of a committee set…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt is the world’s best carry trade. It may stay that way for a while longer if the government gets its wish and strikes another deal with the International Monetary Fund. The Arab nation’s local-currency bonds have handed investors a 23% return this year, five times the emerging-market average. And the Egyptian pound’s 7.3% gain against the dollar is the most globally after Russia’s ruble. Demand has been strong in large…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Citigroup Inc. is seeing increased demand from Nigerian companies planning to raise cash in international capital markets to expand amid renewed investor interest in West Africa. “The major concern for most corporates as well as potential investors last year was the elections and the possible implications for policy direction, especially from an exchange-rate perspective,” Akin Dawodu, the lender’s Nigerian head, said in the commercial hub of Lagos. With the vote…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A meltdown at some of South Africa’s biggest state companies is intensifying, placing the nation’s finances at risk and frustrating President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to attract new investment and resuscitate a moribund economy. While monolithic power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which is tottering on the brink of insolvency, has dominated recent headlines, arms manufacturer Denel SOC Ltd., the South African Broadcasting Corp. and South African Airways have joined the list of…