Ramaphosa Says South Africa Has no Cash for Nuclear Plants

Ramaphosa Says South Africa Has no Cash for Nuclear Plants

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa)- South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is next in line to lead the country, said the government currently can’t afford to build new nuclear power reactors. “We have to look at where the economy is — we have excess power and we have no money to go for a major nuclear plant building,” Ramaphosa told reporters Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have said the nuclear…

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South Africa Core Inflation Rate Drops to Six-Year Low

South Africa Core Inflation Rate Drops to Six-Year Low

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s central bank may return to the interest rate-cutting cycle it started last year as core inflation slowed to the lowest in six years and headline price growth stayed close to the mid-point of the target range in December. The inflation rate rose to 4.7 percent from 4.6 percent the previous month, the Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its website Wednesday. That’s in line with the median of 20…

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Ramaphosa Treads Carefully in Sidelining Zuma in South Africa

Ramaphosa Treads Carefully in Sidelining Zuma in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Less than a month after Cyril Ramaphosa assumed the leadership of South Africa’s ruling party, he’s taking a diplomatic tack as he moves to stamp his authority over Jacob Zuma’s scandal-ridden government. Ramaphosa, speaking in a television interview broadcast Sunday by Johannesburg-based eNCA, said the African National Congress has to be careful about deciding on Zuma’s future as the nation’s leader before he’s due to step down in 2019 when general elections…

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South Africa Is Said to Assess Free-Education Cost at $970 Million

South Africa Is Said to Assess Free-Education Cost at $970 Million

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba told the ruling party’s top leadership the government will need 12 billion rand ($970 million) to fund President Jacob Zuma’s plan to scrap tuition fees for students from poor homes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Gigaba told the ANC’s National Executive Committee this week that the Treasury will cut from existing spending programs and won’t announce a special tax or an increase…

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South African Steinhoff Unit Mulls Early Redemption of Bonds

South African Steinhoff Unit Mulls Early Redemption of Bonds

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Steinhoff International Holdings NV said one of its South African units is considering an early redemption of all notes in issue as the global retailer struggles to stay afloat amid an accounting scandal. Steinhoff Services Ltd.’s redemption of securities issued under a 15 billion-rand ($1.2 billion) bond program will require pricing supplements to be amended and restated, the Frankfurt- and Johannesburg-listed company said in a statement after the market closed on Thursday….

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Faceless Men Upend South African Stocks on Steinhoff 2.0 Fears

Faceless Men Upend South African Stocks on Steinhoff 2.0 Fears

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – The name is enough to spread mayhem among South African traders. And all Viceroy Research is willing to disclose is that they’re three people working out of New York to protect investors. Stocks including Africa’s largest generics drug maker and biggest real estate investment trusts were sent reeling this week on speculation that they were in Viceroy’s sights. More than $3 billion was wiped off the value of property stocks alone in just four…

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Zuma Is Said to Allow Gupta Probe in Bid to Keep Job

Zuma Is Said to Allow Gupta Probe in Bid to Keep Job

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South African President Jacob Zuma agreed to the appointment of a commission to probe allegations that his son’s business partners had exerted undue influence over state decisions, a move aimed at defusing calls for him to step down immediately, three ruling-party officials with knowledge of the matter said. The rand fell. Zuma, 75, announced the formation of the commission late Tuesday, two days after he agreed to the probe in a…

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