Africa

Nomura has hired Nihal Elkafrawi as head of client coverage for the Middle East and north Africa. She will foster cross-selling opportunities for global markets and investment banking, the bank said in a statement.

Top emerging market bond investors are warning that making strong returns will be much more difficult in 2018, as elections and interest rate risk introduce more volatility into the markets.

How the Schuldschein market reacts when a borrower has payment difficulties has been a perennial question since the instrument reached a global audience. The revelations about possible false accounting at Steinhoff are likely to prove one of the market's biggest tests yet.

Nigeria has become the first government in Africa to issue a green bond, with a N10.69bn ($29m) five year issue led by Chapel Hill Denham, a local investment bank.

Steinhoff International’s shares jolted downwards again today as it met its banks in London, seeking their support to get through the difficulties caused by apparent false accounting.

Moody’s published a cautious note on Tuesday in response to “business-friendly candidate” Cyril Ramaphosa’s slim victory in South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) presidential elections on Monday. But the agency acknowledged that, if implemented, Ramaphosa’s reform priorities could “begin to address the weaknesses flagged” when the agency put South Africa on review for downgrade.

Savannah Petroleum, the UK oil and gas company focusing on African exploration, has secured a partnership with ASMA Capital Partners, a Bahraini fund manager which invests on behalf of the Islamic Development Bank, as part of its equity capital raising, which is set to be priced today.

Africa Finance Corp, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution (DFI), has closed a $200m loan with five banks.

The travails of Steinhoff International, the embattled South African retail holding company, deepened today as Christo Wiese, the entrepreneur who has built up the business, resigned as chairman.

South Africa’s FirstRand Bank signed a syndicated loan with 21 banks on Thursday for $700m, $200m higher than its launch amount, despite South Africa’s recent rating downgrade, which also led to a downgrade for FirstRand.

Savannah Petroleum, the UK oil and gas company focusing on African exploration, has announced a range of 40p to 50p a share for a follow-on share placing to fund its acquisition of the Nigerian oil and gas assets of Seven Energy.

Nigeria is expected to become only the fourth sovereign globally — and the first in Africa — to issue green bonds, by selling a $30m-equivalent five year or longer naira government bond next week.