Uncategorized

LUSAKA (Capital Markets in Africa) — Zambia is sounding out new investors to buy a majority stake in Mopani Copper Mines Plc after last week agreeing to take over the operations from Glencore Plc. That deal will see the government control Mopani, an asset that has been unprofitable for years but still owe $1.5 billion of debt to Glencore. Selling a majority stake would help state-owned ZCCM Investments Holdings Plcraise about $300 million to further…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) — The Trump administration has imposed sanctions at a record-shattering pace of about three times a day during the president’s time in office: a slew of measures targeting companies, individuals and even oil tankers tied to Iran, North Korea, China, Venezuela and Russia. President-elect Joe Biden’s team is promising a top-to-bottom review of sanctions operations, but don’t expect a significant slowdown on his watch. About seven weeks before the inauguration, Biden’s…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — The U.K. plans sweeping powers to intervene in foreign takeovers of British assets deemed a threat to national security. A draft law to be published Wednesday would expand the range of transactions open to government intervention, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said. There will be scope for fines and retroactive interventions in deals that complete after the bill’s publication — a potentially controversial provision that critics…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Nigeria, under pressure from multilateral lenders, has vowed to untangle its Byzantine foreign-exchange regime that deters investment in Africa’s biggest economy. But the slow pace of change signals the path to a single rate that could be long and confusing for investors. The collapse of oil prices in March forced the central bank to take the first step, adjusting its official currency peg against the dollar to 360 naira…

CONGO (Capital Markets in Africa) – The World Bank approved a $1 billion aid package for the Democratic Republic of Congo in a sign of confidence that the country’s new government can grow revenue and distance itself from a long history of corruption. The Washington D.C.-based lender agreed last week to spend $800 million on primary-school education and another $200 million on maternal and infant health in the country. President Felix Tshisekedi, who took over Congo…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered a grim assessment of the nation’s finances in a special adjustment budget that forecasts a deep recession and plunging tax revenue. Gross domestic product is forecast to shrink 7.2% this year, the most in almost nine decades and the consolidated budget deficit is expected to surge to 15.7%. While gross debt-to-GDP is to peak at 87.4% in four years, investors were cheered…