<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="806" height="600" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-417481" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1.png 806w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-300x223.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-121x90.png 121w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-768x572.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px" /></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 6 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s takeover panel said on Tuesday it was looking into MultiChoice Group&nbsp;MCGJ.J&nbsp;and Vivendi&#8217;s&nbsp;VIV.PA&nbsp;Canal Plus, after&nbsp;MultiChoice&nbsp;ended potential buyout talks with its top shareholder Canal Plus on Feb 5.



Canal Plus, a top shareholder in MultiChoice, had on Thursday offered 105 rand ($5.52) per share for every MultiChoice share it does not already own. It said the offer &#8211; worth 31.7 billion rand according to Reuters calculations &#8211; was a 40% premium to MultiChoice&#8217;s closing share price of 75 rand on Jan. 31.



The offer price was rejected by the continent&#8217;s biggest pay TV company, saying it significantly undervalued the group. MultiChoice said, however, it is open to talk to anyone about any deal so long as it is at a fair price.



Possibly anticipating a push back, Canal Plus, which as of Thursday held a 31.67% stake in MultiChoice, raised its stake to 35.01% following the deal&#8217;s announcement last week, just above the threshold that would require the company to make a mandatory offer to shareholders.



MultiChoice said on Monday it had requested the Takeover Regulation Panel to make a ruling as to whether a mandatory offer must be made.



&#8220;At the time of releasing this statement, the Panel is still engaging with MultiChoice and Canal+ to provide guidance and guidelines on how the matter is to be handled and addressed,&#8221; The Takeover Regulation Panel said in a statement.



It added that it was investigating various aspects of the current status of the matter.



The French media group was not immediately available to comment.



Shares in MultiChoice have jumped more than 20% since the offer was made, but it is still trading below the offer price, indicating a lack of investor confidence that the deal would go through.



($1 = 19.0158 rand)



(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Louise Heavens)

Multichoice logo (1)

South Africa’s takeover panel reviewing Canal Plus’ attempt to buyout MultiChoice

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/QOM6DFY4YFKBTJHWK36SCHU26U-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424241" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/QOM6DFY4YFKBTJHWK36SCHU26U-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/QOM6DFY4YFKBTJHWK36SCHU26U-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/QOM6DFY4YFKBTJHWK36SCHU26U-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/QOM6DFY4YFKBTJHWK36SCHU26U-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/QOM6DFY4YFKBTJHWK36SCHU26U-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/QOM6DFY4YFKBTJHWK36SCHU26U-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo in Washington, United States, September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;A new report has called for a radical global effort this year to help vulnerable countries fend off financial meltdown and climate change, including widespread debt relief and even a China-led version of the Brady Bond plan.



The report by the Boston University Global Development Policy Center warned that 62 developing economies, including most of Africa and Oceania, are already in a full-blown debt crisis or in immediate need of restructurings.



Last year&#8217;s surge in world interest rates combined with underwhelming post-pandemic economic recoveries and the costs of climate change mean a near record number of countries now spend at least 20% of their government revenues servicing their debt.



That is widely regarded as unsustainable.



Around 21 countries make half of those payments to multilateral development banks (MDBs) like the World Bank, said the report, while eight are in a similar situation with China, two to the Western &#8220;Paris Club&#8221; governments and two to their international bondholders.



&#8220;The world is facing a now or never moment,&#8221; the report published on Sunday said. &#8220;Immediate action is needed to curtail the intrinsically linked global debt and environmental crises&#8221;.



The call to arms comes just ahead of 2024&#8217;s first meeting next week of the &#8220;Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable&#8221;, a group co-chaired by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the G20 Brazilian presidency and whose job it is to formulate better ways to resolve debt problems.



Boston University professor Kevin Gallagher said far more &#8220;ambition&#8221; was needed with the G20-led &#8220;Common Framework&#8221; default resolution programme, largely regarded as a flop since its creation a few years ago.



As well as speeding up debt restructurings, countries should also have an option to temporarily suspend debt payments before they plunge into default.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chinese-brady-bonds">CHINESE BRADY BONDS?</h2>



Meanwhile China&#8217;s increasing importance as a creditor to the developing world means it should consider spearheading a modern day version of the Brady Bond plan backed by the U.S. Treasury in the late 1980s to help resolve Latin American crises.



&#8220;The Chinese seem to be the most appropriate for a Brady Bond approach,&#8221; Gallagher said, explaining that like with Western banks in Latin America in the 1980s, China&#8217;s state-controlled banks often provide loans in troubled countries now.



&#8220;We need carrots and sticks,&#8221; Gallagher said. &#8220;We need to give these countries breathing room.&#8221;



The report also looked at risks coming from climate change.



Around 91 countries are above the global median for at least one of four categories: their climate change vulnerability, the need to reduce emissions to meet Paris Agreement targets and opportunities to protect precious land or coastal ecosystems.



Chad, Niger and Guinea-Bissau are all highly vulnerable to global warming, whereas Cabo Verde, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea all have huge conservation opportunities.



The prospect of climate change doubter Donald Trump getting back into power in the United States after November elections is another reason why there is such urgency to provide debt relief now.



&#8220;Trump has shown (during his first term) he can withdraw from an international treaty, but it would be hard to dismantle something if it was at the G20 level,&#8221; Gallagher said. &#8220;That is why this is the year to lock this in.&#8221;



(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

FILE PHOTO: The IMF logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington

Vulnerable countries need debt relief ‘now or never’, new report warns

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-408693" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-120x80.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GettyImages-154793099-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A sign stands at the entrance to the offices of Anglo American Plc in the Marshalltown district of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Anglo American Plc Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll , the first woman, external hire and non-South African to hold the job, will quit after Anglo lost $14 billion in value in the more than five years she was in charge. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



CAPE TOWN, Feb 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Restructuring of South Africa&#8217;s platinum group metals (PGM) industry in response to rising costs and falling prices could result in between 4,000 and 7,000 job cuts, the country&#8217;s Minerals Council said on Monday.



South African PGM miners, home to around 70% of global mined platinum output, are discussing the need to restructure unprofitable production, the council said at the start of the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town.



The Minerals Council said the sector, largely dependent on automakers&#8217; use of PGMs to curb exhaust emissions from engines, faces &#8220;a great deal of uncertainty&#8221; as the world pivots towards electric vehicles.



Top global PGM producer South Africa has some of the world&#8217;s oldest and deepest platinum mines, which are expensive to operate, especially when metal prices are low.



The prices of palladium and platinum fell by 40% and 15% last year, respectively, mainly because of weak demand in China.



Electricity and labour costs account for most of PGM miners&#8217; total costs, the Minerals Council said in a statement.



&#8220;In light of this, various prominent PGM miners are restructuring their operations potentially impacting between 4,000 to 7,000 jobs,&#8221; it added.



Anglo American&#8217;s&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;CEO Duncan Wanblad told delegates at the Indaba that margins for mining companies facing declining ore grades and sharply increased input costs &#8220;evaporate quickly&#8221;.



&#8220;What matters is the industry&#8217;s and government&#8217;s ability to navigate these challenges to ensure that the industry does survive and prosper &#8211; yes with smaller direct workforces, and this is a reality that the industry is contending with right now,&#8221; he said in a speech at the Cape Town conference.



Anglo&#8217;s South African PGM unit Anglo American Platinum (Amplats)&nbsp;AMSJ.J, which employs over 20,000 workers in South Africa, is reviewing costs.



Anglo American as a whole aims to cut capital expenditure by $1.8 billion by 2026, after reporting lower profits and returns for the first half of the financial year.



Sibanye Stillwater SSWJ.J, South Africa&#8217;s biggest mining sector employer, has also said its planned restructuring could lead to the closure of four loss-making PGM shafts and the loss of 4,095 jobs.



Impala Platinum IMPJ.J said it was offering voluntary job cuts to workers at its South African operations.



(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Writing by Nellie Peyton, Nelson Banya and Clara Denina; Editing by Alexander Smith, Veronica Brown and Barbara Lewis)

Anglo American Plc’s South African Headquarters As CEO Cynthia Carroll Quits

South African platinum industry could shed up to 7,000 jobs to cut costs

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="573" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LJZJUTAQVRMTHACAA5HPVNQF5I-820x573.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-453236" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LJZJUTAQVRMTHACAA5HPVNQF5I-820x573.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LJZJUTAQVRMTHACAA5HPVNQF5I-300x210.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LJZJUTAQVRMTHACAA5HPVNQF5I-129x90.jpg 129w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LJZJUTAQVRMTHACAA5HPVNQF5I-768x537.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LJZJUTAQVRMTHACAA5HPVNQF5I-1536x1074.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LJZJUTAQVRMTHACAA5HPVNQF5I-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A man counts Nigerian naira notes in a market place as people struggle with the economic hardship and cashflow problems ahead of Nigeria&#8217;s Presidential elections, in Yola, Nigeria, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LAGOS, Feb 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s second currency devaluation in less than a year and new forex rules suggest the central bank is gearing up to let the naira float freely, but a huge backlog of orders for dollars and low liquidity may stall reform momentum, investors and analysts said.



Foreign investors in particular will need more convincing that Africa&#8217;s biggest economy is finally ditching the controls that have for long distorted its currency market, making the country of 200 million people less attractive to foreign capital.



The official naira exchange rate last week plunged to as low as 1,531 per dollar from 900, well below black market levels, after the market regulator changed its closing rate calculation methodology, in a de facto devaluation. The official rate had been drifting towards parallel market levels as forex shortages funnelled demand to unofficial sources.



Also last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced limits on how much banks can hold in foreign currencies and eased rules on international money transfer operators, allowing them to quote the naira at prevailing market rates.



&#8220;You could call this a turning point,&#8221; said Kyle Chapman, FX markets analyst at London-based Ballinger &amp; Co.



&#8220;Now that there is no longer a more favourable (exchange) rate, the lack of incentives to take part in the official markets may turn into a tipping point that sees a true free float emerge if the central bank does not intervene,&#8221; Chapman added.



Nigeria is struggling with a record amount of government debt, high unemployment and power shortages that have contributed to years of anaemic economic growth. Oil output is shrinking, and rampant insecurity means swathes of the countryside are outside government control.



In his first days in office last year, President Bola Tinubu scrapped a costly fuel subsidy and lifted some forex controls.



But the reform drive appeared to lose steam as the naira continued to weaken without central bank intervention.



Andrew Matheny, senior economist with Goldman Sachs, said the latest devaluation made the naira look &#8220;cheap.&#8221;



&#8220;This makes foreign portfolio inflows potentially appear attractive, however only in the circumstance that other aspects of monetary policy come together,&#8221; said Matheny.



These include ending financing the budget deficit through central bank overdrafts, which increases the money supply and helped propel inflation to 28.92% in December, the highest level in nearly three decades.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forex-backlog">FOREX BACKLOG</h2>



Years of forex controls have created pent-up demand for dollars while the country struggles to raise its production of oil, its single largest export earner.



Foreign currency shortages have created a large backlog of unpaid dollar transactions, which the CBN last year put at nearly $7 billion.



On Monday, CBN governor Yemi Cardoso told broadcaster Arise TV that $2.2 billion remained outstanding and that $2.4 billion would not be honoured after an audit found irregularities.



Goldman put the backlog at $12 billion, which has kept foreign investors away due to worries they will not be able to take their money out.



&#8220;The economy is severely starved of dollars. The (forex)injections so far appear to have not made a dent,&#8221; said David Omojomolo, Africa economic at Capital Economics.



&#8220;The FX backlog to my knowledge is still large, and the pronouncements that it will be cleared &#8216;soon&#8217; made for months now appear to encourage speculation rather than stabilisation.&#8221;



The CBN will later this month hold its first monetary policy meeting since last July and it is under pressure to deliver a big hike in its benchmark interest rate from the current 18.75%.



&#8220;For us to take a more active position in the local currency market we would still need greater clarity on the direction&#8230; and exactly how they&#8217;re going to support the operations on the forex side with &#8230; the monetary policy side,&#8221; said Yvette Babb, a hard and local currency debt portfolio manager at William Blair.



The central bank&#8217;s one-year treasury bill, for example, was selling at 17% while the government&#8217;s bill sold at 11% as the government seeks to keep its borrowing costs low.



As long as big downside risks to local bond prices remain due to the unanchored nature of short-term yields with regard to the policy rate &#8211; reflected in the significant gap between the two &#8211; foreign investors will avoid local debt, said Gergely Urmossy, emerging markets strategist at Societe Generale.



&#8220;To restore the anchoring role of the policy rate, the CBN will have to deliver money market reforms,&#8221; Urmossy said.



(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos, Chijioke Ohuocha in Abuja, Rachel Savage in Johannesburg and Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

FILE PHOTO: Man counts Nigerian naira notes in a market place ahead of Nigeria’s Presidential elections in Yola

Nigeria’s latest devaluation may be ‘turning point’ in currency reform drive

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107368870-1707125204692-gettyimages-1244583117-ZAMBIA_COPPER-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-453207" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107368870-1707125204692-gettyimages-1244583117-ZAMBIA_COPPER-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107368870-1707125204692-gettyimages-1244583117-ZAMBIA_COPPER-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107368870-1707125204692-gettyimages-1244583117-ZAMBIA_COPPER-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107368870-1707125204692-gettyimages-1244583117-ZAMBIA_COPPER-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107368870-1707125204692-gettyimages-1244583117-ZAMBIA_COPPER.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A truck makes its way over the Victoria Falls bridge, spanning over the Zambezi River, linking Zambia and Zimbabwe, in Livingstone, Zambia, on Sunday, May 8, 2022. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



KoBold Metals, a California-based metals exploration company backed by billionaires including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, said that it has discovered a vast copper deposit in Zambia.



The rare discovery of a large-scale copper deposit could help in the global race to secure a supply of materials critical to the energy transition. Copper is in high demand due to its use in renewable energy and electric vehicles.



A spokesperson for KoBold Metals told CNBC on Monday that the company believes its Mingomba copper project in Zambia “will be one of the world’s biggest high-grade large copper mines.”



“It is Kakula-scale in size and grade,” KoBold Metals President Josh Goldman said in a statement shared on the firm’s social media site X. The giant Kamoa-Kakula copper mine is situated just across Zambia’s northern border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



Ivanhoe Mines, a Canadian mining company founded by billionaire magnate Robert Friedland, owns nearly 40% of the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine. It has described the complex as “the world’s fastest-growing, highest-grade [and] lowest carbon major copper mine.” It produced nearly 400,000 metric tons of copper last year.



Zambia is Africa’s second-largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



KoBold Metals says it uses artificial intelligence to create a “Google Maps” of the Earth’s crust to help find new deposits of copper, lithium, cobalt and nickel.



The Silicon Valley startup’s investors include U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Norwegian energy giant Equinor, the world’s largest mining group BHP and Breakthrough Energy, a climate and technology fund founded by Bill Gates in 2015.



Some of Breakthrough Energy’s backers are Bridgewater Associates’ Ray Dalio, Virgin Group’s Richard Branson, Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.



KoBold Metals has said it aims to start producing copper at its mine in Zambia within 10 years, in a project that could have significant economic ramifications for the African nation.



“What they’ve discovered is quite phenomenal,” said Jito Kayumba, special assistant to the Zambian president on economic, investment and development affairs.



“There is a lot that we as Zambians can look forward to in terms of the announcement of their mine development which should be coming on stream,” Kayumba said in a video posted on social media site X on Monday.



As part of a rapid uptick in demand for critical minerals, the IEA has warned that the current global supply falls short of what is needed to transform the energy sector, given a relatively high geographical concentration of the production of many energy transition elements.



Most rare earth reserves are located in China, while Vietnam, Brazil and Russia are also major rare earths countries based on reserve volume.

107368870-1707125204692-gettyimages-1244583117-ZAMBIA_COPPER

Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos-backed startup discovers large-scale copper deposit in Zambia

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="806" height="600" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-417481" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1.png 806w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-300x223.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-121x90.png 121w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-768x572.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px" /></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 5 (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa&#8217;s MultiChoice Group on Monday said it will not continue talks with Vivendi&#8217;s Canal Plus after the board concluded that its offer significantly undervalues the company.



Canal Plus, a top shareholder in MultiChoice, had on Thursday offered 105 rand ($5.55) per share for every MultiChoice share it does not already own.



Canal Plus said the offer &#8211; worth 31.7 billion rand according to Reuters calculations &#8211; was a 40% premium to MultiChoice&#8217;s closing share price of 75 rand on Jan. 31.



MultiChoice said in a statement that a recently-conducted exercise valued the group at significantly above the offer price, excluding any potential synergies which may arise from the proposed deal.



Africa&#8217;s biggest pay TV company added that the synergies that Canal Plus has conveyed &#8220;need to be factored into any fair offer made&#8221; by the French company.



&#8220;Therefore, while the board is open to all means of maximising shareholder value, it has conveyed to Canal+ that at this proposed price, the letter does not provide a basis for further engagement,&#8221; MultiChoice said.



The board, however, remains open to engage with any party in respect of any offer which is for a fair price, it added.



Canal Plus had said its offer was non-binding and indicative but had expected to deliver a letter of firm intention to MultiChoice&#8217;s board once due diligence had been completed.



Canal Plus, which as of Thursday held a 31.67% stake in MultiChoice, raised it stake to 35.01% following the deal&#8217;s announcement, MultiChoice said in a separate statement.



As a result, MultiChoice has requested the Takeover Regulation Panel to make a ruling as to whether a mandatory offer must be made to all holders of ordinary shares in the company according to the Companies Act. 



($1 = 18.9169 rand) 



(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)

South Africa’s MultiChoice rejects Vivendi’s Canal Plus buyout offer

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367289-17067309052024-01-31t193846z_1251250014_rc26t5afcbas_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-453156" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367289-17067309052024-01-31t193846z_1251250014_rc26t5afcbas_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367289-17067309052024-01-31t193846z_1251250014_rc26t5afcbas_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367289-17067309052024-01-31t193846z_1251250014_rc26t5afcbas_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367289-17067309052024-01-31t193846z_1251250014_rc26t5afcbas_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367289-17067309052024-01-31t193846z_1251250014_rc26t5afcbas_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds a press conference following the release of the Fed’s interest rate policy decision at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., January 31, 2024.  Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell vowed in an interview aired Sunday that the central bank will proceed carefully with interest rate cuts this year and likely will move at a considerably slower pace than the market expects.



In a wide-ranging interview with “60 Minutes” after last week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Powell expressed confidence in the economy, promised he wouldn’t be swayed by this year’s presidential election, and said the pain he feared from rate hikes never really materialized.



“With the economy strong like that, we feel like we can approach the question of when to begin to reduce interest rates carefully,” he told the news magazine’s Scott Pelley, according to a transcript CBS released.



“We want to see more evidence that inflation is moving sustainably down to 2%,” Powell added. “Our confidence is rising. We just want some more confidence before we take that very important step of beginning to cut interest rates.”



As he did during a Wednesday news conference, he said it’s unlikely the FOMC will make that first move in March, which futures markets had been anticipating.



The meeting concluded with the committee holding its benchmark borrowing rate in a range between 5.25%-5.5%. In its post-meeting statement, the committee said it would not be cutting “until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving” to the 2% target.



Markets have been making aggressive bets on how many cuts the Fed would make this year. Current pricing is pointing to five quarter-percentage points reductions, though Powell backed the FOMC’s December “dot plot” grid of individual members’ estimates that pointed to just three moves.



“We’ll update [the outlook] at the March meeting. I will say, though, nothing has happened in the meantime that would lead me to think that people would dramatically change their forecasts,” he said, noting that “the time is coming” for cuts but perhaps not yet.



Powell was broadly optimistic about the economy, noting that inflation, while still above the Fed’s target, has moderated while the jobs market is strong. Nonfarm payrolls accelerated by 353,000 in January, the Labor Department reported Friday. The biggest risk, he said, is likely from geopolitical events.



During the Fed’s annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in August 2022, in the early days of the rate-hike cycle, Powell warned that the policy tightening would cause “some pain.” However, that hasn’t been the case, he said in the “60 Minutes” interview.



“It really hasn’t happened. The economy has continued to grow strongly. Job creation has been high,” he said. “So really the kind of pain that I was worried about and so many others were, we haven’t had that. And that’s a really good thing. And, you know, we want that to continue.”



In another matter, Powell reiterated that neither he nor his colleagues would be swayed by political pressure during this presidential election year.



“We do not consider politics in our decisions. We never do. And we never will,” he said.

107367289-17067309052024-01-31t193846z_1251250014_rc26t5afcbas_rtrmadp_0_usa-economy-fed

Powell insists the Fed will move carefully on rate cuts, with probably fewer than the market expects

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107233200-1682914795655-gettyimages-1248428651-20090101230317-99-987917-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-453152" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107233200-1682914795655-gettyimages-1248428651-20090101230317-99-987917-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107233200-1682914795655-gettyimages-1248428651-20090101230317-99-987917-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107233200-1682914795655-gettyimages-1248428651-20090101230317-99-987917-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107233200-1682914795655-gettyimages-1248428651-20090101230317-99-987917-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107233200-1682914795655-gettyimages-1248428651-20090101230317-99-987917.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Gold and silver bars of various sizes lie in a safe on a table at the precious metals dealer Pro Aurum in Munich. Sven Hoppe | Picture Alliance | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Gold and silver are expected to climb further in 2024 on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates, UBS forecasts.



“We are expecting gold to be pushed higher by a Fed easing. Also this comes with a weaker dollar” said the investment bank’s precious metals strategist Joni Teves, who expects the metal to hit $2,200 per ounce by the end of the year.



Gold prices tend to have an inverse relationship with interest rates. As interest rates dip, gold becomes more appealing compared to alternative investments like bonds, which would yield weaker returns in a low interest rate environment.&nbsp;



In turn, lower rates weaken the dollar, making gold cheaper for international buyers, driving up demand.



While there is still much uncertainty on the timing and extent of rate cuts, UBS maintained its expectations for the Federal Reserve to ease policy. Last week, the Fed announced its decision to leave rates unchanged in January, on top of shooting down hopes of a rate cut in March. 



The bullion’s appeal as a safe haven asset has risen since Israel’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7, which contributed to gold prices notching an all-time high of $2,100 an ounce last month.



“We do think investors will start to build allocations to gold in an environment where there is a lot of macro uncertainty [and] geopolitical risks,” said Teves.



Prospects for gold’s “poorer cousin” are also optimistic, with silver on course to “really, really shine.”



Silver is not as common of a geopolitical and safety haven compared to gold, which partly explains why it has underperformed gold in the last few years, the strategist said. But the tables could turn in its favor when the Fed eases.



“In a scenario where the Fed is easing, we think silver can do really well. It tends to outperform a move in gold,” Teves said. “Silver has been underperforming gold quite a lot. So there is a lot of catching up to do and I think the move could be quite dramatic,” she added.



Silver’s performance is tied closely to the health of the overall economy due to its wide industrial applications. The precious metal is commonly incorporated in the manufacturing of automobiles, solar panels, jewelry and electronics.



Gold last traded at $2,052 per ounce, while silver was priced at $22.69 per ounce.

107233200-1682914795655-gettyimages-1248428651-20090101230317-99-987917

Gold prices to hit $2,200 and a ‘dramatic’ outperformance awaits silver in 2024, says UBS

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KF2GGOYQNFOS7EACK4EZNF5B3U-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-452889" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KF2GGOYQNFOS7EACK4EZNF5B3U-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KF2GGOYQNFOS7EACK4EZNF5B3U-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KF2GGOYQNFOS7EACK4EZNF5B3U-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KF2GGOYQNFOS7EACK4EZNF5B3U-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KF2GGOYQNFOS7EACK4EZNF5B3U-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/KF2GGOYQNFOS7EACK4EZNF5B3U-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Hage Gottfried Geingob, President of Namibia, speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 2, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 4 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Namibia&#8217;s President Hage Geingob, 82, died in hospital early on Sunday, the presidency said, weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer.



Geingob had been in charge of the thinly populated and mostly arid southern African country since 2015, the year he announced he had survived prostate cancer.



Vice President Nangolo Mbumba takes the helm in Namibia &#8211; a mining hotspot with significant deposits of diamonds and the electric car battery ingredient lithium &#8211; until presidential and parliamentary elections at the end of the year.



A presidency post on social media platform X did not give a cause of death, but late last month the presidency said he had travelled to the United States for &#8220;a two-day novel treatment for cancerous cells&#8221;, after being diagnosed following a regular medical check-up.



Born in 1941, Geingob was a prominent politician since before Namibia achieved independence from white minority-ruled South Africa in 1990.



He chaired the body that drafted Namibia&#8217;s constitution, then became its first prime minister at independence on March 21 of that year, a position he retained until 2002.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chains-of-injustice">&#8216;CHAINS OF INJUSTICE&#8217;</h2>



In 2007, Geingob became vice president of the governing South West Africa People&#8217;s Organisation (SWAPO), which he had joined as an agitator for independence when Namibia was still known as South West Africa.



SWAPO has remained in power in Namibia unchallenged since independence. The former German colony is technically an upper middle-income country but one with huge disparities in wealth.



&#8220;There were no textbooks to prepare us for accomplishing the task of development and shared prosperity after independence,&#8221; he said in a speech to mark the day in 2018. &#8220;We needed to build a Namibia in which the chains of the injustices of the past would be broken.&#8221;



Geingob served as trade and industry minister before becoming prime minister again in 2012.



He won the 2014 election with 87% of the vote but only narrowly avoided a runoff with a little more than half the votes in a subsequent poll in November 2019.



That election followed a government bribery scandal, in which officials were alleged to have awarded horse mackerel quotas to Iceland&#8217;s biggest fishing firm, Samherji, in exchange for kickbacks, according to local media reports. The resultant outcry led to the resignation of two ministers.



The following year, Geingob lamented that Namibia&#8217;s wealth still remained concentrated in the hands of its white minority.



&#8220;Distribution is an issue, but how do we do it?&#8221; Geingob said in a virtual session at an event organised by international organisation Horasis.



&#8220;We have a racial issue here, a historical racial divide. Now you say we must grab from the whites and give it to the Blacks, it&#8217;s not going to work,&#8221; he said.



His comments came after the government rescinded as unworkable a policy that would have made it mandatory for white-owned businesses to sell a 25% stake to Black Namibians.



Geingob died at Lady Pohamba Hospital in Windhoek, where he was receiving treatment from his medical team, the presidency said.



(Reporting by Tim Cocks in Johannesburg and Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing ; by William Mallard)

FILE PHOTO: Namibian President Hage Geingob

Namibia’s President Hage Geingob, 82, dies after cancer diagnosis

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="509" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEH0I0PQ-OZABS.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-452347" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEH0I0PQ-OZABS.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEH0I0PQ-OZABS-300x191.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEH0I0PQ-OZABS-141x90.jpg 141w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/LYNXMPEH0I0PQ-OZABS-768x489.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company&#8217;s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, November 20, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LUSAKA, Feb 2 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zambia has agreed to restructure a $1.5 billion debt owed by Mopani Copper Mines to Glencore, which arose from its acquisition of Mopani in 2021, state-owned mining firm ZCCM-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH)&nbsp;ZCCM.LZ&nbsp;said on Friday.



Last November, Zambia picked the United Arab Emirates&#8217; International Resources Holdings (IRH) as the new strategic equity investor in Mopani, to take up a 51% stake in return for a $1.1 billion capital injection. IRH&#8217;s interest in Mopani will be held through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Delta Mining Ltd.



As part of the deal, IRH, a unit of Abu Dhabi&#8217;s most valuable listed company, International Holdings Company (IHC), will provide $400 million as a shareholder loan towards clearing Mopani&#8217;s debt. Of that, $300 million is earmarked for the Glencore debt and the remaining $100 million will be used to settle third-party letters of credit secured by Glencore for Mopani.



&#8220;The effect of this is that the gross debt owed by Mopani to Glencore &#8230; will be replaced by the above shareholder loan owed to Delta of up to $400 million, resulting in an overall net reduction in Mopani debt of over $1.2 billion,&#8221; ZCCM-IH said.



Glencore was not immediately available to comment.



Mopani and Glencore also agreed on a royalty agreement which will see the global commodities giant receiving an unspecified share of Mopani&#8217;s profit in the event that the copper price exceeds $12,000 per ton.



ZCCM-IH said &#8220;the relationship between Glencore and Mopani will be restructured&#8221; following the agreed settlements and &#8220;there shall be no indebtedness between Glencore and Mopani&#8221;.



IRH&#8217;s investment will provide funding to support Mopani&#8217;s target to raise its output to 200,000 tons of copper annually in the next three years, ZCCM-IH said.



The miner produced 72,694 metric tons of copper in 2022, down from 87,618 metric tons in 2021.



(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Nelson Banya and David Evans)

FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar

Zambia to restructure $1.5 bln Glencore debt with new Mopani investor

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107308670-1695930955313-gettyimages-1478432952-118-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-452310" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107308670-1695930955313-gettyimages-1478432952-118-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107308670-1695930955313-gettyimages-1478432952-118-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107308670-1695930955313-gettyimages-1478432952-118-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107308670-1695930955313-gettyimages-1478432952-118-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107308670-1695930955313-gettyimages-1478432952-118.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Gold purchases from central banks led to last year’s surge, with purchases exceeding 1,000 tons for two consecutive years. Traffic_analyzer | Istock | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Gold demand hit record highs in 2023 as persistent geopolitical tensions and weakness in China’s economy pushed investors toward the safe haven asset, the World Gold Council said in report.



Total gold transactions stood at 4,899 tons last year compared with 4,741 tons in 2022, inclusive of over the counter deals as well as stock flows that reflect changes to inventories on commodity exchanges.



Unlike trading conducted by an exchange, OTC transactions take place directly between two parties.



The biggest drivers of gold demand in 2023 were the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the slowdown in China’s economy — and these could continue boosting the metal’s prices well into 2024, said Shaokai Fan, head of central banks at WGC.&nbsp;



Prices hit an all-time high of $2,100 an ounce in December as central banks as well as retail investors increased purchases of gold — central bank purchases have exceeded 1,000 tons for two consecutive years. 



“2023 was the second highest year in history of central bank gold buying, within a hair’s breadth of the record high in 2022,” Fan told CNBC in a Zoom interview.&nbsp;



The report showed that the People’s Bank of China was the biggest buyer of gold at 225 tons last year, bumping up its stock to 2,235 tons.



“If you as an individual will see that your own central bank is buying large amounts of gold, you’re at the very least more aware of gold … Or maybe you’re even influenced by the fact that your central bank is buying a lot of gold, you may think of gold as a personal&nbsp;investment as well,”&nbsp; Fan said.&nbsp;



China’s real estate crisis has also pushed more investors toward gold, he highlighted.



China Evergrande, once among the country’s largest property developers, was ordered by a Hong Kong court to liquidate after the company failed to reach an 11th-hour deal over the weekend to restructure.



The country’s investments in gold bars and coins rose 28% from 2023 and stood at 280 tons last year.



“Chinese investors are worried about the future of other asset classes, and they’re turning to gold as a way to protect their investment portfolios,” Fan said. Gold has actually done very well in renminbi terms, and very well compared to other asset classes in China.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gold-jewelry-purchases"><a></a>Gold jewelry purchases</h2>



Data from the World Gold Council showed that&nbsp;China dethroned India as the world’s largest gold&nbsp;jewelry buyer in 2023.&nbsp;



People in China bought 603 tons of gold Jewelry in 2023, a 10% increase from the previous year.&nbsp;



This was largely due to a rise in weddings that were postponed after the economy reopened from the pandemic in late 2022, Fan noted. 



He&nbsp;elaborated that gold purchases could rise further as the Lunar New Year approaches, and according to Asian folklore, the upcoming Year of the Dragon is a good year to have children.&nbsp;



“More babies will generally [cause] a positive impact on gold demand,” Fan said, but warned that China’s gold demand could fall after the first quarter of 2024.&nbsp;



Apart from rising gold prices and a slowdown in economic growth, this year is predicted to be a less auspicious year for marriages, the WGC report said.&nbsp;India too will have just 16 auspicious wedding dates in the first quarter, compared with 28 last year.



Gold Jewelry purchases fell by 6% in 2023 to 562 tons from the previous year due to the country’s price sensitive market, Fan said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>2024 outlook&nbsp;</h2>



Gold purchases this year are unlikely to meet 2023 levels, but a fall in inflation could prevent a drastic drop in demand, WGC said.&nbsp;



“Should inflation drop significantly consumers might start to feel wealthier in real terms, which could mitigate some of the drop in demand.” 



Inflation in the U.S. came in at 3.3% on a 12-month basis in 2023, still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell saying Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Reserve was unlikely to cut interest rates in March.



The announcement triggered a 3% fall in gold prices which stood at $2,064 during Asia’s Thursday morning trading session.



“During periods of persistent strong hyperinflation, gold does very well. But during moderate inflationary periods, gold can go either way. It might be determined by other factors as well,” Fan said.

107308670-1695930955313-gettyimages-1478432952-118

Gold demand hit record highs in 2023 amid geopolitical risks, China weakness

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1804152399-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-452135" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1804152399-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1804152399-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1804152399-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1804152399-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1804152399-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/GettyImages-1804152399-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes before group photo ahead of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on November 26, 2023. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is on the cusp of a surprise move from Mercedes to Ferrari for the 2025 season, according to multiple media reports.



Both Sky Sports and BBC Sport reported on the news and suggested that formal confirmation could come as early as Thursday. ESPN, meanwhile, cited sources within Formula 1 as saying the deal was “as good as done.”



CNBC was not able to independently verify the reports.



Mercedes declined to comment when contacted by CNBC. A spokesperson at Ferrari was not immediately available to comment.



A move to Ferrari, one of the most iconic teams in the history of motorsport, would bring an end to a remarkably successful partnership. Hamilton first signed with Mercedes in 2013 and went on to win six of his seven world titles with the team between 2014 and 2020.



The prospect of Hamilton joining Ferrari has been the subject of intense speculation over recent years, although Hamilton has previously said he intends to stay with Mercedes for the rest of his life.



In August of last year, Hamilton signed a new two-year deal with Mercedes to keep him on board through the 2025 season, although it’s not clear whether the contract included an exit clause.



Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described the team’s partnership with Hamilton at the time as “one of the most successful in the sport’s history” adding that it was “always a formality” they would continue with “F1′s biggest global star.”



If Hamilton were to leave Mercedes for Ferrari, it is reported he would likely replace Ferrari’s&nbsp;Carlos Sainz given that&nbsp;his teammate, Charles Leclerc,&nbsp;recently signed a fresh contract extension.



The start of the next Formula 1 season gets underway in Bahrain from Feb. 29.

F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2023

Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes and join Ferrari in shock move: Reports

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="542" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VD3Z4T2SLNI6BBBICXVUAKWUBI-820x542.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-452096" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VD3Z4T2SLNI6BBBICXVUAKWUBI-820x542.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VD3Z4T2SLNI6BBBICXVUAKWUBI-300x198.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VD3Z4T2SLNI6BBBICXVUAKWUBI-136x90.jpg 136w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VD3Z4T2SLNI6BBBICXVUAKWUBI-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VD3Z4T2SLNI6BBBICXVUAKWUBI-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/VD3Z4T2SLNI6BBBICXVUAKWUBI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Board building on Constitution Avenue is pictured in Washington, U.S., on March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Feb 1 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Major central banks stood pat on interest rates in January, as the much anticipated change of course in the global monetary policy draws closer while emerging market peers ploughed on with rate cuts.



January saw five of the central banks overseeing the 10 most heavily traded currencies &#8211; the U.S. Federal Reserve, the ECB, the Bank of Japan, Bank of Canada and Norges Bank &#8211; hold rate setting meetings with none changing rates. That follows on from eight meetings in December where only Norway hiked.



&#8220;Interest rates are set to remain front and centre in 2024,&#8221; Philip Shaw at Investec said in a research note. &#8220;However, in a departure from the last two years, now the question is not how far central banks will raise rates, but when and how far they will cut.&#8221;



Fed chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday delivered a sweeping endorsement of the U.S. economy&#8217;s strength and said the next rate move would be lower. But he also pushed back against markets betting on a move as soon as March, with expectations now anticipating a first Fed cut in May.



Meanwhile, emerging economies &#8211; which have been frontrunning both the tightening and the easing cycle &#8211; ploughed on with rate cuts.



Five of the Reuters sample of 18 central banks in developing economies cut rates in January &#8211; matching the December number which had been the highest number in at least three years. Across the Reuters markets sample, 12 central banks held rate setting meetings last month.



Policy makers in Brazil, Hungary, Colombia and Chile all extended their easing push, while Israel joined the fray, delivering the first rate cut in four years. The moves brought the January rate cut tally to 275 basis point &#8211; the biggest monthly total since May 2022.



Turkey was the sole outlier in January, delivering another 250 bps rate hike to shore up its battered currency and tackle sticky inflation, though the central bank said it had now completed its aggressive tightening cycle.



Analysts predicted that monetary easing would continue to broaden out in the months ahead.



&#8220;Mexico&#8217;s central bank will probably be the next to cut rates later this quarter, and many Asian central banks will join the fray in April and May, which is sooner than most expect,&#8221; said William Jackson at Capital Economics in a note to clients.



(Reporting by Karin Strohecker and Sumanta Sen; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Board building is pictured in Washington

Major central bank rates plateau in January ahead of expected cuts

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="408" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1076949610-612x612-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400697" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1076949610-612x612-1.jpg 612w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1076949610-612x612-1-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Double exposure of coin stack with city background and world map, financial graph, world map and global network business concept idea, element by NASA.</figcaption></figure>



Feb 1 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Emerging market currencies were range-bound against a firm dollar on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against hopes of an early rate cut, while stocks edged higher as investors digested mixed business activity data from the region.



MSCI&#8217;s index of emerging market (EM) currencies&nbsp;.MIEM00000CUS&nbsp;was muted at 0922 GMT, while the dollar&nbsp;=USD&nbsp;held close to its highest level since mid-December.



The Fed held rates steady late Wednesday, as widely expected, but Powell, at a conference following the decision, said a rate cut at the March meeting was unlikely, leading investors to shift bets of the first cut to May.



&#8220;Markets have a tendency of being impatient when waiting for major central banks led by the Fed to start monetary policy easing after being hooked over many years&#8230;to low-interest rates,&#8221; said Piotr Matys, senior FX analyst at In Touch Capital Markets.



&#8220;This explains why investors ended up disappointed with remarks from Chair Powell. Consequently, the dollar is broadly stronger and EM currencies are weaker.&#8221;



The South African rand&nbsp;ZAR=&nbsp;slipped 0.1% against the dollar, and the Israeli shekel&nbsp;ILS=&nbsp;moved 0.2% lower.



Asian currencies were mixed with China&#8217;s yuan&nbsp;CNY=CFXS&nbsp;down 0.2% versus the dollar.



A gauge of regional stocks&nbsp;.MSCIEF&nbsp;rose 0.4% after two straight days of losses.



EM assets started 2024 on a sour note, logging declines in January due to uncertainty around the timing of U.S. interest rate cuts and fresh evidence of China&#8217;s uneven economic growth.



China&#8217;s blue-chip index .CSI300 closed up 0.1% on Thursday after a private-sector survey showed the country&#8217;s factory activity expanded modestly in January. Hong Kong&#8217;s Hang Seng .HSI gained 0.5%.



South Korean shares .KS11 advanced 1.8% following data which showed domestic factory activity expanded in January for the first time in 19 months.



Indian shares .NSEI, .BSESN lost momentum after the government presented its last budget before a national election due by May. The country&#8217;s factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in four months in January.



In other news, Pakistan&#8217;s election panel has summoned top security officials for a meeting on Thursday to discuss increasing violence in the country&#8217;s western provinces ahead of next week&#8217;s national election.



(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar: Editing by Tasim Zahid)

istockphoto-1076949610-612×612-1

Currencies meander after Fed rate cut pushback, PMIs in focus

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="615" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MRZTA6S36JOK3F7VXZRUYJE4XE-820x615.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-452045" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MRZTA6S36JOK3F7VXZRUYJE4XE-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MRZTA6S36JOK3F7VXZRUYJE4XE-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MRZTA6S36JOK3F7VXZRUYJE4XE-120x90.jpg 120w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MRZTA6S36JOK3F7VXZRUYJE4XE-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MRZTA6S36JOK3F7VXZRUYJE4XE-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/MRZTA6S36JOK3F7VXZRUYJE4XE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: West African leaders gather for Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Head of States and Government meeting in Abuja, Nigeria August 10, 2023. REUTERS/Abraham Achirga/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



DAKAR, Jan 31 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Mali&nbsp;said on Wednesday it was not planning to leave West Africa&#8217;s currency zone while Burkino Faso indicated it would do so after they and Niger announced their withdrawal from the region&#8217;s political bloc in protest.



In a blow to hard-fought regional integration, the three military-led nations, among the world&#8217;s poorest, are planning to quit the 15-member Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) after being criticised for their respective coups.



That has left uncertain their future in the eight-nation West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA or WAEMU) which uses a common currency, the CFA franc, pegged to the euro.



Asked whether Mali planned to leave UEMOA, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop told Reuters: &#8220;Mali is withdrawing from ECOWAS but remains a member of UEMOA.&#8221;



Speaking separately about their decision to leave ECOWAS, Burkina Faso&#8217;s military leader Ibrahim Traore said a departure from the monetary union was on the cards.



&#8220;This means that in some time you will tackle the currency, which is the CFA?&#8221; journalist Alain Foka asked Traore in a video posted on his YouTube channel. &#8220;Probably,&#8221; Traore replied.



Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are all ruled by military officers who seized power in coups since 2020 and have resisted ECOWAS&#8217; and other outside pressure to restore democracy.



The three countries, battling insurgencies from militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, have created a new pact known as the Alliance of Sahel States and declared their intention to strengthen political, economic and monetary union.



Critics of the CFA franc see it as a relic of French colonialism while proponents say it has provided financial stability in a turbulent region.



Moody&#8217;s ratings agency said economic growth was at risk.



&#8220;While not our baseline expectation, an exit from WAEMU would be much more detrimental to sovereigns leaving the monetary union because of the credit support that WAEMU membership provides in terms of macroeconomic stability and reduced external vulnerability,&#8221; it added.



The ECOWAS region&#8217;s trade and services flows are worth nearly $150 billion a year.



(Reporting by Giulia Paravicini and Bate Felix; Writing by Bhargav Acharya and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Tom Hogue and Andrew Cawthorne)

Burkina may quit West African currency union, but not Mali

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="806" height="600" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-417481" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1.png 806w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-300x223.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-121x90.png 121w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multichoice-logo-1-768x572.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 806px) 100vw, 806px" /></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Feb 1 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Vivendi&#8217;s&nbsp;VIV.PA&nbsp;Canal Plus has offered to buy all the shares it does not own in South Africa&#8217;s MultiChoice Group&nbsp;MCGJ.J&nbsp;&#8211; a deal worth roughly $1.7 billion and one that it says would help the pay TV company thrive in a competitive international market.



Canal Plus, the top shareholder in MultiChoice with a 31.67% stake according to LSEG data, said it would likely pay 105 rand in cash per share, a 40% premium to MultiChoice&#8217;s closing share price on Wednesday.



Shares in MultiChoice surged more in Thursday morning trade but were still far below the offer price indicating a lack of investor confidence that the deal would definitely go through. They were last up 23% at 92 rand.



Canal Plus said its current offer, worth 31.7 billion rand according to Reuters calculations, is non-binding and indicative and that once due diligence has been completed, it intends to deliver a letter of firm intention to MultiChoice&#8217;s board.



MultiChoice, which operates in 50 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, said it has received a letter from the French media company and would update shareholders should there be any further developments.



&#8220;For MultiChoice to continue to thrive in Africa it will require a strategy that enhances its scale as well as strengthened local and global expertise. Our potential offer, if successful, would be an important next step for MultiChoice to realise its full potential,&#8221; Maxime Saada, chairman and CEO of Canal Plus, said in a statement.



MultiChoice has over the years invested billions of rand to fight off competition from international streaming giants such as Netflix&nbsp;NFLX.O, Amazon&nbsp;AMZN.O&nbsp;and Disney&nbsp;DIS.N. Netflix, for example, has also been investing in local content.



Saada added that the deal would give MultiChoice the resources to invest in scale, local African talent and stories.



As part of MultiChoice&#8217;s efforts to fight off competition, it partnered last year with Comcast&#8217;s&nbsp;CMCSA.O&nbsp;NBCUniversal and Sky to revamp MultiChoice&#8217;s existing Showmax streaming service, which now offers LIVE Premier League content.



Canal Plus also said that it actively plans to list following proposals by parent company Vivendi to split into four entities and ultimately would like to also list in South Africa.



($1 = 18.7137 rand)



(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Additional reporting by Disha Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

Vivendi’s Canal+ submits offer to acquire South Africa’s Multichoice

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/HU3MKIDLCRMEBMPYFQ4XMM6YFM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-451804" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/HU3MKIDLCRMEBMPYFQ4XMM6YFM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/HU3MKIDLCRMEBMPYFQ4XMM6YFM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/HU3MKIDLCRMEBMPYFQ4XMM6YFM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/HU3MKIDLCRMEBMPYFQ4XMM6YFM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/HU3MKIDLCRMEBMPYFQ4XMM6YFM-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/HU3MKIDLCRMEBMPYFQ4XMM6YFM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside the Moody&#8217;s Corporation headquarters in Manhattan, New York, U.S., November 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 31 (Reuters) &#8211; The decision of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to exit the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) could hinder the bloc&#8217;s economic growth, Moody&#8217;s ratings agency said on Wednesday.



It would be much more detrimental if they also decided to leave the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), though that was not expected, the agency added.



The three junta-led countries announced on Sunday that they were planning to leave ECOWAS, the region&#8217;s main economic and political bloc. Their position on also leaving the monetary union has not been made clear.



&#8220;The three countries&#8217; departures would disrupt the economic integration that is ECOWAS&#8217; raison d&#8217;etre and weigh on business confidence, potentially hindering the bloc&#8217;s economic growth,&#8221; said Moody&#8217;s in a statement.



&#8220;While not our baseline expectation, an exit from WAEMU would be much more detrimental to sovereigns leaving the monetary union because of the credit support that WAEMU membership provides in terms of macroeconomic stability and reduced external vulnerability,&#8221; it added.



Mali&#8217;s foreign minister on Wednesday told Reuters that Mali would remain a member of the eight-nation monetary union, which uses the West Africa CFA franc currency pegged to the euro.



However, in an interview shared by the three Sahel states information service on Wednesday, Burkina Faso&#8217;s military leader Ibrahim Traore said that they would &#8220;probably&#8221; leave the currency zone.



Such an exit would be credit negative for the West African Development Bank, the monetary union&#8217;s development bank, because Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger accounted for 17% of its paid-in capital and 35% of its loan portfolio at the end of 2022, said Moody&#8217;s.



(Reporting by Rachel Savage; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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Currencies meander after Fed rate cut pushback, PMIs in focus

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Moody’s: West African countries’ exit from regional bloc could hinder growth

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