African Markets – Factors to watch on Sept 15

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Tuesday.

EVENTS

ZIMBABWE – The statistics agency releases August inflation

SOUTH AFRICA – South African Reserve Bank releases quarterly bulletin with current account and spending data for the 2nd quarter of 2015.

SOUTH AFRICA – Treasury auctions 2.35 billion rand worth of 2035, 2040, 2044 and 2048 government bonds.

GLOBAL MARKETS Asian shares struggled on Tuesday as caution reigned ahead of this week’s U.S. Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, while the yen edged higher after the Bank of Japan refrained from any new policy steps.

WORLD OIL PRICES Brent crude oil prices dipped on Tuesday as Asia’s economic weakness persisted, extending losses after a sharp fall in the previous session, while U.S. futures were firmer following a report that indicated a drawdown in weekly inventory levels.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South Africa’s rand traded firmer on Monday, with predictions of improved current account data offering respite ahead of a possible rate hike in the United States, while stocks edged up after two straight sessions of falls.

KENYA MARKETS Kenya’s shilling was little changed on Monday with corporate demand for dollars subdued. On the equity market, the benchmark NSE 20 index closed up.

ETHIOPIA BORROWING Ethiopia, which raised $1 billion with a debut Eurobond in December, is “very likely” to return to the international capital market to help fund new infrastructure after a new cabinet is picked in October, a Finance Ministry official said.

MOZAMBIQUE RATES Mozambique’s central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged at 7.5 percent on Monday, the monetary policy committee said.

GHANA RATES The Bank of Ghana on Monday unexpectedly raised its main policy rate by 100 basis points to 25 percent, the highest rate in over a decade, to offset the risk of inflation, its governor Henry Kofi Wampah said.

ZAMBIA GLENCORE Glencore’s Zambian unit Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) is planning to cut 4,300 jobs due to lower metal prices and high production costs, a move likely to cut growth in Africa’s No.2 copper producer, a union and company sources said on Monday.

ZAMBIA COPPER Zambia’s environmental management authority on Monday ordered Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) owned by Vedanta Resources to dispose of copper concentrates it imported from Chile because they had high levels of arsenic, a toxic substance.

AFRIMAX INTERNET Mobile internet firm Afrimax Group has raised $120 million to fund the expansion of a high-speed broadband network in Africa, it said on Tuesday, the latest firm to jockey for position in the continent’s fast-growing consumer internet market.

CONGO POLITICS Leading parties in Democratic Republic of Congo’s ruling coalition told President Joseph Kabila on Monday that actions by his allies had given the impression that he intends to violate the constitution by hanging onto power beyond 2016. (REUTERS)