Finance

SIERRA LEONE (Capital Markets in Africa) – A probe into state funds in Sierra Leone has shown that the government can’t account for $1 billion, or more than a quarter of its gross domestic product, in state expenses made over a three-year period. The funds are missing due to graft and mismanagement under the previous administration, Finance Minister Jacob Jusu Saffa said Tuesday on Star Television. He pledged that the government will recover the funds by June,…

RABAT (Capital Markets in Africa) – The South African government’s support for a political movement some 4,500 miles away could complicate a $1.1 billion deal. Moroccan billionaire Othman Benjelloun on Tuesday spoke out against South Africa-based Sanlam Ltd.’s acquisition of insurer Saham Finances SA, saying South Africa has chosen the wrong side in a territorial dispute. South Africa supports a group called the Polisario Front, which has been seeking self determination in the Western Sahara territory since 1991. Morocco…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s state-owned power company has a plan to restore reliability of supply over the short to medium term and will aim to avoid any more scheduled blackouts, according to the minister responsible. The objective for Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. remains predictable power supply, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan told reporters on Wednesday. If rotating power cuts become necessary, the utility will aim to ensure that a maximum of 1,000 megawatts…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – In the last decade, Ku Young Bae—a serial entrepreneur and South Korean transplant—has built Singapore’s biggest e-commerce company and fended off giant rivals like Alibaba, Amazon and Tencent. Now he’s keen to expand beyond his home base into Southeast Asia. To do that, and to compete with his cash-rich rivals, he’s hatched an audacious plan to unleash the efficiencies of blockchain technology on e-commerce. In January, his Qoo10 (pronounced “Q-ten”) online mall started a separate…

KAMPALAI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Uganda withdrew from its nascent Petroleum Fund for a second time before it starts producing oil, as the East African nation struggles to narrow its budget gap while increasing infrastructure investments. A sum of 200 billion shillings ($54 million) was removed from the fund to help finance spending plans for the year through June, leaving 288.7 billion shillings in the account, the Finance Ministry said in a report on its…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – For brewing giants AB InBev SA, Heineken BV and Diageo Plccompeting for market share in Africa’s most populous country, the Nigerian government’s decision to hike excise duties is another setback in an under-performing economy. President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration followed up its June decision to impose taxes on beer and spirits by deciding in January to implement another phased 17 percent increase in duties on alcoholic beverages. The move, a bid in part…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Majid Al Futtaim Holding LLC, an operator of French retailer Carrefour SA outlets, plans to boost its presence in Kenya as it looks to expand into eastern and southern Africa. Growing the franchise in Africa will boost competition for the likes of Shoprite Holdings Ltd., the continent’s biggest grocer, and Walmart Inc.’s Massmart Holdings Ltd. Those companies are looking to develop outside their home markets in South Africa, where stagnant economic…