The Markets | - Part 125

The Wheel Turns for South African Bonds as Sell-Off Worsens

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African government bonds handed dollar investors a whopping 13 percent return in the first quarter, the best performance out of 25 major emerging markets. In the second quarter, they’ve lost it all, and then some. Rand-denominated debt has lost 17 percent since the beginning of April, the most among developing nations after Argentina and Turkey, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s partly a result of the rand’s…

Libya Says Ras Lanuf Oil Storage Cut by 40% After Militia Attack

Posted on by The Editorial Team

TRIPOLI Libya said an attack on the Ras Lanuf oil terminal cut storage capacity by about 40 percent, underscoring the continued threat from armed groups for whom energy installations remain prized targets. Damage to two storage tanks at Libya’s third-largest port on Thursday reduced capacity to 550,000 barrels from 950,000 barrels, state-run National Oil Corp. said Monday. Ras Lanuf stopped loading oil for export last week after clashes erupted, taking more barrels off the market just as…

PPC Extends Slump Amid Ongoing Weak Demand for Cement in Congo

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – PPC Ltd. suffered its biggest two-day decline this year after reporting earnings that missed some expectations and as difficulties continue to plague the cement maker’s operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. South Africa’s biggest producer of the building material is seeking a fresh start under Chief Executive Officer Johan Claassen after fending off a series of takeover approaches last year. The Johannesburg-based company is counting on an upturn in demand in…

No Rest for Emerging Markets as Trade Jolts Herald a Wild Week

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Emerging markets got little relief as the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China hurt most major currencies and sent stocks to their lowest level since December. With OPEC clashing over output, looming Turkish elections and the potential for further fallout from Argentina’s foreign-exchange crisis, there was no respite in sight. Developing-nation currencies have retreated for three consecutive weeks and are now on pace for their biggest quarterly decline since…

Namibia Plans Bond Exchange to Lure Debt Sales From South Africa

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WINDHOEK (Capital Markets in Africa) – Namibia plans to start a bond exchange to lure issuance by local companies that currently favour raising debt in its much larger neighbour, South Africa. The southern African country’s corporate debt market of 5.8 billion Namibian dollars ($437 million) is dwarfed by South Africa’s 500 billion rand ($38 billion) of non-government bonds. The Namibian dollar is pegged at 1 South African rand. Corporate bonds in Namibia trade over-the-counter, with…

Global bond issuance at $2.1 trillion in first four months of 2018

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – S&P Global Ratings indicated that the global issuance of corporate bonds, U.S. public finance bonds, other international public finance bonds and structured finance products totalled $2.07 trillion in the first four months of 2018, up by 1% from $2.05 trillion in the same period of 2017. In comparison, it said that global bond issuance reached $5.4 trillion in 2015 and $6.1 trillion in 2016. It attributed the year-on-year increase in the first four months…

Retail Stocks’ Longest Drop Since 2014 Shows South Africa Gloom

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The pressures on South African consumers are showing in the country’s retail stocks. An index of general retailers traded in Johannesburg has fallen for the past seven weeks, the longest losing streak since February 2014. A government report Wednesday showed that retail sales in Africa’s most-industrialized economy in April rose at the slowest pace since February last year. South African shoppers are contending with rising fuel prices, partly as weakness in the…

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