HARARE (Capital Markets in Africa) – It was announced by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), Dr Mangudya, on 15 September 2016, that “bond notes” will be issued by the end of October, in an effort to ease the recent cash shortages in the country. Liquidity difficulties – Zimbabwe has run out of US dollars, and does not have its own currency – have meant civil servants’ salaries are in arrears, and…
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NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Routing a new Kenyan railway line through the capital’s national wildlife reserve is the least-worst option for a congested city and compromises in its design will leave animals enough space to roam, a government official said. The government said earlier this month that its new $3.2 billion Standard Gauge Railway linking East Africa’s biggest port at Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, would be routed through Nairobi National Park. The decision sparked…
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DAR ES SALAAM, Capital Markets in Africa: The African Development Bank will hold an investors’ roadshow to attract as much as $7.6 billion in financing for a railway line linking Tanzania’s port in Dar es Salaam with neighboring landlocked countries. The Abidjan, Ivory Coast-based lender is teaming up with the World Economic Forum to help attract investors to bankroll the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) line, according to Gabriel Negatu, AfDB’s regional director for East Africa. “We are convening a meeting of…
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CAIRO, Capital Markets in Africa: Egypt hopes to attract $10 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) next year and will automate the process of establishing a company, its investment chief said, highlighting efforts to revive the economy and earn much-needed hard currency. The most populous Arab country has been scrambling to attract the investment needed to restore growth since the 2011 uprising, which ushered in protracted political turmoil and scared away tourists and foreign investors…
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Johannesburg, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s renewable industry is looking good for project financiers. The African country’s green power sector had the highest growth year-on-year globally for asset finance at 300 percent, according to Moody’s Corp. It drew $4.5 billion in 2015, the credit rating company said in a report on Friday. It highlighted a drop in renewable electricity prices, the growth of independent power producers and increased participation of institutional investors as credit positive…
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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa: South Africa’s government will decide this week whether to part-privatize the country’s second-largest fixed-line operator, Broadband Infraco, as the company runs short of cash, according to two people familiar with the matter. A sale process would interest Vodacom Group Limited, South Africa’s largest mobile operator by customer numbers, spokesman Byron Kennedy said in e-mailed comments on Tuesday, without saying whether he was aware of government plans. Dark Fibre Africa, South…
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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa: Sub-Saharan Africa’s economies have shown impressive growth since the global financial crisis, outperforming the global average by 200 basis points. A critical underpin to this growth has been the flow of foreign capital from private sources into the continent’s leading economies. In no other sector is this as prevalent as infrastructure. Infrastructure development in Africa has lagged behind population growth over the past fifty years, and governments have begun…
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