The Markets | - Part 196

Mozambique’s Eurobond Strategy May Damage Restructure Prospects

MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Mozambique’s decision to skip an interest payment on its Eurobonds this week was a strategic move that will be damaging for the debt-restructuring process it started, a group of investors said. “The non-payment of Wednesday was a strategic default and was not driven by the inability to make the payment,” said Charles Blitzer, a Washington-based consultant who’s advising a group of creditors that hold the majority of the bonds. “This…

MTN May Put Off Nigeria Listing Until 2018 as Barriers Persist

Posted on by The Editorial Team

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. may put off plans to list its Nigerian operation until 2018 as Africa’s largest wireless carrier works to resolve a regulatory dispute and awaits an economic recovery in the continent’s most populous country. “It’s a work in progress and hopefully within the 12 to 18 month period we will be able to do it,’’ MTN Chairman and Acting Chief Executive OfficerPhuthuma Nhleko said at the annual meeting of…

Mozambique Bondholders Lay Down Terms Ahead of Restructuring

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MAPUTO (Capital Markets in Africa) – A group of key Mozambique bondholders laid down terms to the embattled government ahead of restructuring talks, calling on it to revoke guarantees on loans taken on by two state-owned companies. The southeast African nation, which defaulted on its only Eurobond in January, should also liquidate the two firms — ProIndicus and Mozambique Asset Management — as well as a third, a tuna-fishing company known as Ematum, the so-called Global…

Volatile Pound Stokes Life Into Emerging-Market Carry Trades

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – There’s life in the great emerging-market carry trade yet, although now it comes with a twist. Investors are betting a trade that reaped returns of more than 20 percent last year for borrowing dollars to buy Brazil’s real, Russia’s ruble and South Africa’s rand has further to run — only they’re using the battered British pound to fund long positions in emerging-market currencies. Citigroup Inc. on Monday named shorting the pound against the Russian…

South Africa Inflation at 10-Month High as Food Costs Surge

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African consumer-price growth quickened in December as food costs surged, complicating the central bank’s task less than a week before it will decide on borrowing costs. Inflation accelerated to a 10-month high of 6.8 percent from 6.6 percent in November, Statistics South Africa said in a report released Wednesday in the capital, Pretoria. The median estimate of 24 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for inflation of 6.5 percent. Prices rose 0.4 percent in…

Brexit, Trump worries push gold to highest in almost 8 weeks

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Gold jumped more than 1 percent to its highest in nearly eight weeks on Tuesday, as excerpts of a speech to be given later by Britain’s prime minister pointed to a definitive exit from the European Union. Safe-haven assets such as gold, the Japanese yen and U.S. Treasuries benefited as investors sought refuge from the uncertainty of what a “hard Brexit” would mean for global markets. Spot gold rose 1.1…

Egypt fixes customs dollar exchange rate to help importers

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CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – Egypt will fix its customs dollar exchange rate and adjust it on a monthly basis to help importers better cope with a pricing of their products after the central bank floated its currency in November. The Finance Ministry fixed the customs exchange rate at 18.5 pounds per dollar until the end of February and said it will review the rate each month, state news agency MENA reported late on Monday….

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