The Markets | - Part 209

Capitec Plans Insurance Offering as Credit-Card Rollout Starts

JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s fastest-growing lender by profit, said it will start offering insurance products from next year in a bid to diversify sources of income and bolster earnings. “Right now we’re not covering insurance, but we’re working on that and will launch products next year with a partner,” Chief Executive Officer Gerrie Fouriesaid, declining to disclose details on who it will use as a partner. Having sold credit…

OPEC Members Take Up Positions on Freeze Before Algiers Talks

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LAGOS. Capital Markets in Africa: OPEC’s decision to hold informal talks in Algiers this week has fanned speculation that the group might be about to deviate from a two-year-old policy of pumping without limits, which succeeded in hurting rival suppliers but also sent prices into free fall. A previous attempt to agree on an output freeze, including non-OPEC member Russia, collapsed in Doha in April when Saudi Arabia walked away because Iran refused to participate. This…

Kenya Airways in talks with 3-4 parties on stake sale: CEO

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NAIROBI, Capital Markets in Africa: Kenya Airways is talking to “about three or four” foreign institutional investors and airlines about buying a stake to raise cash for the lossmaking carrier, its chief executive said on Monday. The airline, 27 percent-owned by Air France KLM, has been reducing the size of and modernising its fleet, selling land and cutting jobs to recover from losses caused by a slump in tourism. “We are talking to about three…

Anglo American Hires Fortescue’s Debt Slashing Finance Chief

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JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: Anglo American Plc has picked a debt-cutting specialist as the embattled miner seeks to further reduce its borrowings. It named Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.’s Stephen Pearce its new finance director after he led the drive to slash debt at the world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer. Pearce will join Anglo in January and take up his new post on April 24, the producer said Friday in a statement. The 52-year-old has been chief financial officer of…

OPEC Under Pressure to Act in Algiers as Surplus Triples

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LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: As OPEC prepares to meet in Algiers next week, the oil market is reminding the group’s members what’s at stake if they fail to reach a deal. More than 800,000 barrels a day of additional crude is pouring into the global market this month compared with August as Russia pumps at an all-time high while Libya and Nigeria restore disrupted supplies, according to statements from their ministry officials. That would…

Egypt | To loosen its currency peg Egypt needs sustainable dollar inflows

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CAIRO, Capital Markets in Africa: Egypt is rebuilding its foreign reserves with the help of loans and aid, easing a shortage of dollars and preparing the way for a loosening of its fixed exchange rate. But economists and bankers say that unless it finds a sustainable inflow of dollars the import-dependent country could soon find itself back at square one. Egypt has struggled to earn dollars since a 2011 revolt drove away tourists and foreign…

World Bank Fund For World’s Poorest Nations to Issue First Bonds

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LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: The World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries is preparing to tap financial markets for the first time. The International Development Association plans to issue bonds to finance its loans and grants to countries such as Malawi and Niger. Created in 1960, IDA provides loans that charge no interest or very low rates primarily to countries that have an annual per capita income below $1,215. It also gives grants to…

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