Africa Finance Daily

Africa growing but risks remain
iAfrica.com
A forecast from the African Development Bank expects 4.5 percent growth across Africa in 2012 and 4.8 percent growth in 2013, with sub-Saharan Africa to grow at an even faster pace, the bank’s chief economist Mthuli Ncube said. Post-revolution Libya …

China Trade and Investment Grows in Africa
Voice of America (blog)
Chinese aid and investment in Africa have also grown rapidly as Beijing looks to the resource-rich continent as a source of raw materials for its rapidly industrializing economy. Chinese officials announced last month that some 2000 Chinese companies …

Kenyan shares extend fall, shilling stable
Reuters
Equity bank, Kenya’s largest bank by depositors and one of the most traded stocks, fell for a third straight day, slipping 1.2 percent to 21.25 shillings. In the foreign exchange market, banks quoted the shilling at 84.15/35 per dollar, the same level …

Nigeria’s banks: expanding too fast after the cleanup?
Financial Times (blog)
Unsecured credit was extended to the downstream oil sector, political elites, and friends and family in what the governor of the Nigerian central bank, Lamido Sanusi, later referred to as “monumental fraud”. The bubble burst as the stock market fell by …

Fitch sees South African banks as vulnerable
MarketWatch
Of concern is South Africa’s slower gross domestic product growth and its inability to meet the ruling African National Congress’s job creation target, said Denzil De Bie, a director at Fitch’s Financial Institutions team. Unemployment in South Africa …

S.Africa’s Mediclinic to raise $608 mln via rights offer
Reuters
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 1 (Reuters) – South African private hospital group Mediclinic International said on Wednesday it plans to raise $608 million through a rights offer to refinance debt and to fund expansion. Mediclinic, which operates hospitals in South …

Ricoh Steps Up South Africa Investment
AllAfrica.com
Japan-based technology group Ricoh is to accelerate its investment in South Africa, spending about R200-million as it looks to expand its presence in a key emerging market. “South Africa is viewed as a very important strategic investment opportunity …

Kenya’s 182-day T-bill yield falls to 13.038 pct
Reuters Africa
NAIROBI Aug 1 (Reuters) – The weighted average yield on Kenya’s 182-day Treasury bills fell for the first time in six weeks to 13.038 percent in an oversubscribed sale, from 13.379 percent last week, the central bank said on Wednesday. Commercial banks …

Nigeria Eurobond Yields Reach 3-Month Low as Risk Appetite Grows
Bloomberg
Yields on Nigeria’s $500 million of Eurobonds reached the lowest in almost in three months as appetite for riskier assets was boosted on speculation of more global central bank action and oil gained. Borrowing costs on the international debt of Africa …

Nigerian naira eases on importers’ dollar demand
Reuters
LAGOS Aug 1 (Reuters) – The Nigerian naira eased against the U.S. dollar on the interbank and the bi-weekly foreign exchange auction on Wednesday as strong demand for the greenback from importers exerted pressure on the local currency. The naira …

Ghana’s merger and acquisition deals rank 107th on Ernst &Young’s 2012 …
Ghana Business News
Ghana is ranked 107 out of 148 countries on the 2012 merger and acquisition (M&A) Maturity Index published July 26, 2012 by Ernst & Young in collaboration with the M&A Research Center at Cass Business School. The country is beaten by fellow African …

Banks Capital Thresholds Now US$100 Million
AllAfrica.com
The increase in minimum capital thresholds comes as the central bank also expressed concern over the re-emergence of financial improprieties that led to the financial crisis of 2003. Dr Gono said bigger economies, such as South Africa and Nigeria, were …

Nedbank Posts 25% Rise in Earnings, on Track to Meet Target
Wall Street Journal
While South Africa will remain the biggest contributor to earnings and biggest consumer of capital in the near term, Mr. Dempster said the bank is also laying out a strategy to grow further, particularly in east and southern Africa, declining to …