Chart of the week: Chinese M&A in the US – bringing home the bacon

Jun 3, 2013 3:17pm by Andrew Bowman

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Nothing stimulates chatter about the rise of China like a big US-targeted M&A deal, and last week we had one of the biggest to date. The deal struck by the Chinese meat processor Shuanghui to buy US pork producer Smithfield Foods for just shy of $5bn will – if completed – be the biggest ever Chinese takeover of a US company. But what’s the overall picture when it comes to China-US M&A? Chart of the week takes a look. Continue reading »

Tags: Chart of the week, Dealogic, food & drink, M&A Posted in Asia, China | Permalink

Carrefour targets Africa expansion

May 30, 2013 5:19pm by Andrew Bowman

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French retail giant Carrefour has its sights set on sub-Saharan Africa’s booming consumer markets, and will begin setting up shop on the west coast of the continent within the next two years.

A joint venture between the supermarket retailer and the Africa-focused trading and distribution company CFAO – a subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho, the Toyota Group’s trading arm – announced on Thursday will open outlets across eight central and west African countries.

Tags: Africa consumer, Africa growth, Carrefour, retail Posted in Africa | Permalink

South Africa: rand hits 10 to US$

May 30, 2013 2:53pm by Andrew Bowman

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A torrid week of economic news for South Africa has been rounded off by the rand breaching the symbolic level of 10 to the US dollar on Thursday, as it continues to lose ground. The currency has weakened by over 15 per cent against the dollar since the start of the year, reaching its lowest point since the dark days of global recession in March 2009. Continue reading »

Tags: mining, rand, South Africa economy Posted in Africa, South Africa | Permalink

Nigeria: banking system not out of the woods yet, IMF says

May 29, 2013 4:37pm by Andrew Bowman

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For Nigerian banks and their investors, the financial crisis of 2009 may feel like a long time ago. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has been one of the world’s standout performers over the past year and prices of bank shares have soared. They’re not out of the woods yet though, according to the International Monetary Fund, which has taken an in-depth look at the sector in a report released this week calling for further tightening of regulation. Continue reading »

Tags: banking, IMF, Nigeria banks, regulation Posted in Africa, Nigeria | Permalink

Chart of the week: Africa’s growth / human development lag

May 28, 2013 6:56pm by Andrew Bowman

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From the ‘hopeless’ to the ‘hopeful’ continent, a decade of strong growth has changed perceptions of sub-Saharan African economies – not least among international investors, who have rushed to recent Eurobond offerings from the likes of Zambia and Rwanda. Rubbing against the optimism though are criticisms that the growth achieved has been far from inclusive, with human development lagging behind. Chart of the week takes a look. Continue reading »

Tags: Africa bonds, Africa growth, Africa markets, Chart of the week, development, GDP Posted in Africa | Permalink

South Africa: manufacturing slump dents GDP growth

May 28, 2013 1:38pm by Andrew Bowman

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South Africa’s economic gloom darkened on Tuesday, with government figures showing that GDP growth slowed in the first quarter of the year as a fall in manufacturing output overshadowed strong improvements in mining.

Year-on-year GDP growth of 1.9 per cent was less than a consensus forecast of 2.2 per cent, while on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the seasonally-adjusted growth rate of 0.9 per cent was significantly under analyst forecasts of 1.6 per cent and the Q4 2012 rate of 2.1 per cent. Continue reading »

Tags: South Africa economy, South Africa GDP, South Africa mining Posted in Africa, South Africa | Permalink

South Africa: central bank holds rates amid bleak economic outlook

May 23, 2013 4:37pm by Andrew Bowman

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Stuck between the rock of currency depreciation and the hard place of a slowing economy, South Africa’s Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold at 5 per cent on Thursday while revising down its predictions for 2013 GDP growth.

With governor Gill Marcus declaring herself “increasingly concerned about the deteriorating outlook for the South African economy,” the bank downgraded 2013 growth forecasts from 2.7 per cent to 2.4 per cent – a far from insubstantial cut for a country where about a quarter of the working population is unemployed. Continue reading »

Tags: central banks, inflation, interest rates, South Africa economy, South Africa markets Posted in Africa, South Africa | Permalink

Zimbabwe: exchange plans IPO to draw in foreign investors

May 23, 2013 9:48am by Andrew Bowman

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Investing in Zimbabwe is not for the faint-hearted. But its stock exchange has been booming of late. To maintain the momentum, management at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange is planning to sell shares in the organisation this year to raise funds for modernisation.

Tafadzwa Chinamo, chief executive of the Zimbabwean Securities Exchange Commission said in an interview with Bloomberg that an initial public offering would take place before the end of the year, with a likely valuation of around $15-20m. Continue reading »

Tags: Africa markets, equities, IPOs, stock exchanges Posted in Africa, Zimbabwe | Permalink

Ghana steps up currency fight

May 22, 2013 3:29pm by Andrew Bowman

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Ghana’s central bank sprung a surprise on Wednesday by raising its policy rate from 15 per cent to 16 per cent, stepping up its efforts to halt the decline of the cedi.

Central Bank Governor Henry Kofi Wampah noted risks to economic growth arising in part from tightened credit, but decided the weakening of the currency was the bigger threat. Continue reading »

Tags: currency, inflation Posted in Africa, Ghana | Permalink

Zambia does a Botswana on emeralds

Apr 8, 2013 6:29pm by Andrew Bowman

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Zambia’s government is the latest in sub-Saharan Africa to propose measures to claw back a bit more of the wealth extracted by foreign mining companies. But this time it’s not the proceeds of a major commodity like copper that are in the spotlight, but the rather more niche trade in emeralds.

Zambia is the third largest producer of the gemstone after Colombia and Brazil, and last Friday Yamfwa Mukanga, mining minister, gave mining companies a jolt when he said that any emeralds dug up in Zambia will have to be auctioned there from now on, too. Continue reading »

Tags: diamonds, gems, resource nationalism Posted in Africa, Zambia | Permalink

Mozambique coal: Nippon steps in

Apr 5, 2013 3:12pm by Andrew Bowman

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Anglo American may have passed on this one, but Nippon are up for it. Japan’s largest steel company, Nippon Steel and Suminato Metal Corp, was given the go-ahead on Thursday to develop the Revuboè coal project in Mozambique’s Tete province. It now hopes to begin production by 2016, nestled in among other major extractors in one of the world’s most important new mining regions.

The announcement comes little over a week after the London-listed mining giant, Anglo American, said it had dropped plans to acquire a $555m majority stake in the Revuboè venture, which is situated adjacent to Vale’s Moatize mine and Rio Tinto’s Zambezi and Benga mines. Continue reading »

Tags: Africa energy, Africa infrastructure, Anglo American, coal, infrastructure, iron & steel, Nippon Steel Posted in Africa, Mozambique | Permalink

Uganda vs Heritage: what’s the score?

Apr 4, 2013 6:36pm by Andrew Bowman

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After coming out on top against Heritage Oil in a tax appeal tribunal at home, the Ugandan Revenue Authority claims to be winning the away leg in London as it chases the Jersey-based company for a tax bill of $435m.

Heritage disputes the claim, and says the arbitration is still at a preliminary phase. A swift conclusion seems unlikely, but the case signals a determination on the part of the Ugandan government to ensure it gets a cut of the spoils in its nascent oil industry, and underlines the risks facing investors.

Tags: Africa oil and gas, regulation, tax Posted in Africa, Uganda | Permalink

Nigeria asks investors to throw good money into its bad bank

Mar 28, 2013 3:48pm by Andrew Bowman

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Two years on from the start of its cleanup operation for Nigeria’s banking crisis, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) – the country’s ‘bad bank’ – is courting foreign investors.

Since its establishment in 2010, Amcon has issued five series of zero-coupon bonds with a combined face value of just under N5.7tn – that’s almost $36bn – which it has used to buy non-performing loans and recapitalise struggling banks. The first series – face value N1.7tn ($11bn) – matures in December 2013, and with African sovereign debt in high demand, Amcon is considering turning to international markets for refinancing. Continue reading »

Tags: central banks, financial services, Nigeria banks Posted in Africa, Nigeria | Permalink

Corporate watch: Africa’s Zambeef leaps from south to west

Mar 22, 2013 11:20am by Andrew Bowman

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It began 20 years ago, carting meat around Lusaka in the back of an ageing Land Rover. Since then, Zambeef has grown into one of the largest companies in Zambia’s booming economy. Now it hopes to replicate its success in west Africa.

The FTSE AIM traded company, whose primary listing is on the Lusaka Stock Exchange, is a curious entity in the modern food industry: a near fully vertically-integrated operation which produces, processes, distributes and retails, all in-house. Continue reading »

Tags: Africa equities, agriculture, Corporate watch, food & drink, sub-Saharan Africa Posted in Africa, Zambia | Permalink

SABMiller: Ghana ripe for cassava beer

Mar 14, 2013 3:10pm by Andrew Bowman

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Multinational brewers have been doing a roaring trade in Africa lately, but with normal lagers too expensive for many consumers there is now an increasing focus on products for the mass market.

SABMiller has already rolled out its lower-cost cassava beer in Mozambique (called Impala). Now it’s launching a cassava based beer in Ghana, to be brewed by its local subsidiary, Accra Brewery, and called Eagle. Continue reading »

Tags: Africa beer, beer, food & drink, SABMiller Posted in Africa, Ghana | Permalink

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