Kia Motors to assemble cars in Ethiopia, considers Algeria

Kia Motors to assemble cars in Ethiopia, considers Algeria

ADDIS ABABA, Capital Markets in Africa: South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp signed a deal with a local company on Thursday to start assembling cars in Ethiopia and is thinking of similar operations elsewhere in Africa. “It is important to penetrate the African market. We are also looking at the prospects of opening similar plants in Algeria and other countries,” Soon Nam Lee, President of Kia’s Middle East and Africa headquarters, told Reuters. Kia and Belayab…

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Ugandan firm to open gold refinery by end of 2016

Ugandan firm to open gold refinery by end of 2016

KAMPALA, Capital Markets in Africa: A Ugandan company backed by a Belgian investor is due to open the East African country’s first gold refinery by the end of this year to process raw gold produced mainly from the region, a senior company official told Reuters. Uganda’s mineral reserves are generally viewed as under exploited. Although there are gold deposits, it has no big commercial mine involved in production of the precious metal, leaving the field…

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Bob Diamond Says Carlyle Ends Support for Barclays Africa Offer

Bob Diamond Says Carlyle Ends Support for Barclays Africa Offer

JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: Bob Diamond, co-founder of African banking group Atlas Mara Ltd., said Carlyle Group LP has withdrawn support for a potential joint acquisition of Barclays Plc’s African unit. The U.S. buyout firm ended its backing for the potential joint bid for a stake in Barclays Africa Group Ltd. for various reasons, Diamond, 65, said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio in New York on Wednesday. Regulators made it clear that they weren’t keen on an offer…

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As Commodity Slump Batters Africa, Investors Turn to Technology

As Commodity Slump Batters Africa, Investors Turn to Technology

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: The titans of Silicon Valley are undeterred by the economic slump afflicting much of Africa. Facebook Inc., Google, Oracle Corp. and Uber Technologies Inc. are at the leading edge of turning the world’s frontier markets digital. As the commodity crash buffets the continent’s biggest economies, the interest and investments couldn’t come at a better time. Almost half of foreign direct investment projects in Africa last year were in technology, telecommunications, financial services…

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Old Mutual Said to Mull Wealth Unit Sale, Dropping IPO, on Costs

Old Mutual Said to Mull Wealth Unit Sale, Dropping IPO, on Costs

JOHANNESBURG, Capital Markets in Africa: Old Mutual Plc, Africa’s largest insurer, may drop plans for a listing of its U.K. wealth management unit because of escalating costs from an upgrade of its investment platform, according to a person familiar with the matter. While managers at Old Mutual Wealth want to proceed with an initial public offering, executives at the group level are leaning towards options including a sale of the unit, the person said, asking not…

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Guinea Weighs Mine Tax-Incentive Review Over Investor Abuse

Guinea Weighs Mine Tax-Incentive Review Over Investor Abuse

GUINEA, Capital Markets in Africa: Guinea’s government is considering reviewing tax breaks given to mining companies because foreign investors may be abusing the incentives, Budget Minister Mohamed Lamine Doumbouya said. The West African nation, which has the world’s largest bauxite deposits, waived more than 2 trillion Guinean francs ($220 million) of income over the past five years because of exemptions on mining-equipment and building-material imports, Doumbouya said in an interview. While the mining industry is expanding at an…

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Fastjet Drops Airbus Jets for Embraer While Planning HQ Move

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: Africa-focused discount airline Fastjet Plc will switch to a fleet of Embraer SA regional jets from larger Airbus Group SE planes as new Chief Executive Officer Nico Bezuidenhout seeks to stem losses by better matching capacity to demand. The fledgling carrier also plans to move its headquarters to Johannesburg from London to pare expenses and bring the company closer to its key markets, Bezuidenhout, who took over as CEO last month, said in an interview in the South African city, the…

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