Market Watch | - Part 24

Egypt stocks up on strategic commodities ahead of devaluation

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt said it plans to build a six month reserve of essential food items, adding to other recent purchases of commodities such as oil and wheat, in what traders said was a move to build up stocks ahead of a currency devaluation. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said late on Tuesday the country would look to import 500,000 tonnes of rice and 400,000 tonnes of sugar to boost reserves and keep…

Nigeria’s Bad Loans Soar as Banks Battle Slumping Economy

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bad loans in Nigeria’s banking system soared to more than double the limit set by the regulator as the industry struggles with an economic downturn. The ratio of non-performing loans to total credit rose to 11.7 percent at the end of June from 5.3 percent at the end of 2015, the Abuja-based Central Bank of Nigeria, which requires banks to keep the measure below 5 percent, said in a report…

Egypt Stocks Surge on Bets Devaluation Will Drive Growth Rebound

Posted on by The Editorial Team

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egyptian stocks advanced the most in more than two months as investors bet that policy makers may devalue the country’s currency as soon as this week, luring back foreign investors and giving a lift to an embattled economy. The EGX 30 Index gained 3.2 percent, the most among more than 90 indexes tracked by Bloomberg globally after Ghanaian equities, to close at 8,133.12. Financial stocks, such as Commercial International Bank Egypt, the country’s largest…

MTN’s Purchase of Visafone Said to Be in Doubt Without Spectrum

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Limited is considering abandoning the acquisition of Nigerian internet provider Visafone Communications Limited after the country’s industry regulator ruled that broadband spectrum shouldn’t be included in the deal, according to two people familiar with the matter. Africa’s biggest wireless carrier by sales is deciding whether acquiring the closely held company is worth it without the spectrum, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as…

Kenya Avoids Brexit Moment as Markets Disregard Doomsayers

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – It was described as Kenya’s Brexit moment, a decision that had the potential to spur a withdrawal of foreign investors, sending the stock market and the shilling tumbling and damaging East Africa’s most-developed economy. Yet, almost six weeks after Kenya capped banks’ lending rates at four percentage points above the central bank benchmark, its currency is little changed against the dollar and the main stock index has gained on…

Rand Trims World’s Biggest Currency Gain as Risk Aversion Grows

Posted on by The Editorial Team

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rand fell as much as 1.2 percent to head for its biggest weekly retreat this month as increased risk aversion among global investors and a possible reweighting of South Africa in a JPMorgan bond index sparked concern foreigners may sell the country’s debt. At 10:21 a.m. in Johannesburg, the rand dropped 0.4 percent to 13.9520 per dollar, trimming its quarterly and monthly gain to 5.2 percent. The government’s 10-year rand-denominated bond weakened…

KCB in Talks With Facebook, Apple on Kenya Digital Payments

Posted on by The Editorial Team

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – KCB Group Ltd., Kenya’s biggest bank by assets, is in talks with companies including Facebook Inc., Apple Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. about collaborating on digital payments through its new financial-technology unit, Chief Executive Officer Joshua Oigara said. The discussions, which are also being held with Alphabet Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., form part of the lender’s efforts to double the number of customers on its mobile-phone platform to 20…

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