Having Lost $15,000, Bitcoin Has $2,000 More to Go; Here’s Why

Having Lost $15,000, Bitcoin Has $2,000 More to Go; Here’s Why

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa)  — The Bitcoin price has fallen by about $15,000 since its Dec. 18, 2017 peak, hovering around $3,400, and key indicators give us reason to believe it has another $2,000 or so to slide. There’s little to stop it from revisiting the $1,000 range, about where the 2017 frenzy began.  Highly correlated to Bitcoin (BTC), estimated dollar-transaction value has declined to levels last when the cryptocurrency’s price was about $2,400….

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Zimbabwe to Allow Dollar Trading to Ease Currency Squeeze

Zimbabwe to Allow Dollar Trading to Ease Currency Squeeze

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa)  – Zimbabwe said it will allow companies and individuals to transfer dollars electronically, as it looks to ease a crippling scarcity of foreign exchange that’s sent the economy into meltdown and triggered protests. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has upgraded its systems to allow for such transactions and will run testing until Feb. 1, after which it plans to go live, the bank said in a statement Monday. The southern African nation’s…

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Egypt’s Pound Jumps Most in Two Years as Fund Flows Accelerate

Egypt’s Pound Jumps Most in Two Years as Fund Flows Accelerate

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa)  – The Egyptian pound advanced the most in almost two years as fund flows into the local Treasury bills market accelerated amid improving risk appetite across emerging markets. The currency, which EFG Hermes says has become more sensitive to fund flows after the central bank ended a repatriation mechanism for foreign investors late last year, rose 1.5 percent to 17.6287 against the dollar, its biggest gain since February 2017, according to prices…

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Egypt Hires Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman for Dollar Bond Sale

Egypt Hires Citigroup, JPMorgan, Goldman for Dollar Bond Sale

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt has appointed banks including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to sell dollar bonds in the first quarter of the year to help reduce the budget deficit. The country also picked HSBC Holdings Plc and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for the deal and hired BNP Paribas SA, Natixis SA, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and Standard Chartered Plc for the issuance of euro-denominated debt, according to a statement from the…

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Naspers Focuses on Classifieds After $1.1 Billion Avito Deal

Naspers Focuses on Classifieds After $1.1 Billion Avito Deal

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Naspers Ltd. will focus on streamlining technologies and harnessing artificial intelligence across its e-commerce and classifieds businesses after taking full control of Russia’s Avito BB in a $1.1 billion deal. Africa’s biggest company by market value on Friday bought out minority shareholders in Avito through its OLX Group, increasing exposure to Russia’s e-commerce market and strengthening its global reach in the sector. Naspers plans to consolidate different local online technologies into a…

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Goldman Cheers as Rand Heads for Best-Ever Start to a Year

Goldman Cheers as Rand Heads for Best-Ever Start to a Year

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The rand’s flying start to 2019 may be just the beginning, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The South African currency is heading for its biggest January gain against the dollar since Bloomberg started compiling the data in 1999. And with expected volatility near an eight-month low, traders are discounting local stumbling blocks in coming months, including a budget speech, ratings review and election. The rand has been buoyed by a more dovish Federal Reserve…

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Kenya leads in Cryptocurrency predictions for 2019 in the East Africa Region

Kenya leads in Cryptocurrency predictions for 2019 in the East Africa Region

— As we start 2019, it is an opportune time to reflect on the year that was and forge the way forward. The cryptoeconomy celebrated its 10th  birthday in 2018, reaching a total market capitalization of approximately $138.6 billion (KSh 14.2 trillion). In spite of a fluctuating market, a leading global peer-to-peer Bitcoin marketplace, Paxful (www.Paxful.com), saw an upswing in activity, driven by African consumers in which servicing the underbanked resulted in significant gains. Africa conducted 6.5 million trades…

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