Kenya says has drawn down $800 mln syndicated loan

Kenya says has drawn down $800 mln syndicated loan

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya has signed an $800 million syndicated loan with four international lenders and the government has already drawn down the sum, a senior Treasury official said on Monday President Uhuru Kenyatta, who faces re-election in August, has raised borrowing since taking power in April 2013. Last week, he dismissed criticism of the higher borrowing, saying it was funding development in the East African nation. In January, the Nairobi government…

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Kenya GDP Growth May Plummet to 1 Percent by 2019, Investec Says

Kenya GDP Growth May Plummet to 1 Percent by 2019, Investec Says

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenya’s economic growth could slow to as little as 1 percent over the next two years as credit extension in East Africa’s biggest economy weakens, Investec Prime Services estimates. Banks reporting higher levels of souring debt and decelerating money-supply growth suggest gross domestic product expansion will plummet, according toChris Becker, frontier strategist at the Johannesburg-based brokerage. Growth was an estimated 6 percent in 2016. Investec sees growth of between…

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Lending cap, drought hurting Kenya’s banks: Equity Group CEO

Lending cap, drought hurting Kenya’s banks: Equity Group CEO

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan lenders are facing severe turbulence, grappling with a government cap on commercial lending rates, and the impact of a drought, Equity Group Chief Executive James Mwangi said on Wednesday. Equity, one of the country’s biggest by customers, saw its pretax profit edge up 3.75 percent last year to 24.9 billion shillings ($242.22 million), as it boosted provisions for bad debts. Mwangi said the cap on rates, at 4…

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CDC and IFC Invest up to US$35m in Africa Logistics Properties

CDC and IFC Invest up to US$35m in Africa Logistics Properties

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will invest up to US$35 million in Africa Logistics Properties Holding (ALP), a developer and manager of modern grade-A warehousing, filling an important gap in logistics infrastructure in the region. The investment – US$25m from CDC and US$10m from IFC – will be used for ALP’s developments in Nairobi, Kenya, the trading hub…

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Kenya Stock Markets: Identifying Opportunities in 2017

Kenya Stock Markets: Identifying Opportunities in 2017

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Kenyan stock market is going through a hard-hitting period, one that has been prevalent for the last three years. In 2016, the stock market carried on its lackluster performance registering a 29.7% y/y drop in turnover to USD 1.5B for the second year running, having shed 2.9% y/y in 2015. Foreign investor participation remained dominant, averaging at 67.8% compared to 59.4% in 2015. The NSE 20 share index…

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Africa’s Central Banks Reaction Amid Inflation and Growth Concerns

Africa’s Central Banks Reaction Amid Inflation and Growth Concerns

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola’s central bank left its benchmark BNA rate at 16.0% on 30th January 2017. The National Bank of Angola (BNA), which raised its rate 500 basis points last year – most recently in June – to curb inflation, added its monetary policy committee had also taken note of the trend of declining monetary indicators.  Botswana’s central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 5.5% on 28th February 2017, saying…

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Which Path Africa’s Inflation Rate is Taking in January?

Which Path Africa’s Inflation Rate is Taking in January?

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Angola’s inflation slowed to 40.39% year-on-year in January from 41.95% in December, data from the national statistics agency showed. Prices increases on a month-on-month basis rose 2.29% in January compared to 2.17% previously.  Botswana’s consumer inflation inched up to 3.1% year-on-year in January from 3.0% in December, data from the statistics office showed. Prices rose 0.4% month-on-month compared to 0.1% previously.  Burundi’s year-on-year inflation jumped to 12.9% in January…

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