Egyptian Stocks Leap; EFG-Hermes Predicts 20% Upside in 2018

Egyptian Stocks Leap; EFG-Hermes Predicts 20% Upside in 2018

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s main stock benchmark, the EGX 30, gains 2.2% to 14,534.67 as of 12:30pm in Cairo, the steepest intraday advance since March 2. EFG-Hermes sees local market as being in the middle of “a multi-year rally“ supported by broad reforms with multiple catalysts ahead. EGX 30 has 20% upside through the end of 2018, strategist Mohamad Al Hajj writes in a note. Index rises to the highest level in dollar terms since…

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Egypt’s Ibnsina Pharma Plans Expansion After $90 Million IPO

Egypt’s Ibnsina Pharma Plans Expansion After $90 Million IPO

  CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Ibnsina Pharma, Egypt’s second-biggest pharmaceuticals distributor, plans to invest 700 million Egyptian pounds ($39 million) over the next five years to expand its storage hubs using the proceeds from its ongoinginitial public offering. The company, which is offering 40 percent of its shares in the local market for about $90 million, plans to add 20 new distribution centers over the next five years to boost growth, co-Chief Executive Officer Omar…

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Egypt Lifts Remaining Currency Restrictions as Crunch Abates

Egypt Lifts Remaining Currency Restrictions as Crunch Abates

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt’s central bank lifted its last remaining official foreign-currency controls, as a dollar shortage that stymied the economy receded since authorities floated the pound and introduced wide-ranging reforms. The regulator removed limits imposed in 2015 for deposits and withdrawals by importers of non-essential goods, the bank said in a statement Tuesday. Deposits had been restricted to $10,000 per day and $50,000 monthly, while withdrawals were capped at $30,000. Caps…

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Emerging-Market Bulls Hold Firm After Best Rally Since 2009

Emerging-Market Bulls Hold Firm After Best Rally Since 2009

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Emerging-market investors who made bullish calls on equities amid this year’s monster rally are sticking to their guns, wagering that economic growth will propel gains in 2018. Money managers and strategists including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Ashmore Group Plc and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. say this year’s 33 percent surge for the benchmark index of developing-nation stocks is justified by rising profits. Along with analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co….

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Cost of Hard Currency in Zimbabwe Tumbles as Optimism Takes Root

Cost of Hard Currency in Zimbabwe Tumbles as Optimism Takes Root

HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – The street price of hard currency in Zimbabwe has dropped more than 30 percent since Robert Mugabe was ousted as president last week. One U.S. dollar cost the equivalent of $1.30 in Zimbabwean bond notes on the black market on Tuesday, down from $1.90 on November 20, according to street traders who quoted prices to Bloomberg.  Zimbabwe doesn’t have its own currency, with the government adopting a basket of…

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South Africa Looks for Extra $1.8 Billion of Spending Cuts

South Africa Looks for Extra $1.8 Billion of Spending Cuts

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa will look to cut spending by a further 25 billion rand ($1.8 billion) over the next three years as the nation tries to avert another downgrade of its rand debt to junk. President Jacob Zuma on Monday asked the Presidential Fiscal Committee, led by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, to finalize the plans for expenditure reductions for the 2019 fiscal year that starts in April. This is in addition to the…

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Fitch Rates Nigeria’s U.S.$3 Billion Eurobond ‘B+’

Fitch Rates Nigeria’s U.S.$3 Billion Eurobond ‘B+’

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — One of the leading rating agencies, Fitch Ratings has assigned Nigeria’s $1.5 billion 6.500% senior unsecured notes due 28 November 2027 and the $1.5 billion 7.625% senior unsecured notes due 28 November 2047 a final rating of ‘B+’. According to a statement yesterday, the final rating replaced the expected rating of ‘B+ (EXP)’ that Fitch had assigned to the issue on November 15, 2017. It explained that the expected…

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