Five countries accounted for 85% of private deals in Africa
Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt dominated private market deals in Africa, accounting for an overwhelming 85 per cent of all transactions in the third quarter of 2024, according to the latest Stears Private Capital in Africa Report.
Published on Wednesday, the report revealed that only 15 per cent of transactions occurred outside these major economies.
Stears referred to these five countries as its “Big 5” economies, noting they particularly attracted deals in technology and energy sectors.
The report added that investments in non-Big 5 countries were more likely to be debt-based, with 28 per cent of transactions being debt-focused compared to 18 per cent in the Big 5 countries.
Bitcoin broke $96,000 for the first time
Bitcoin’s march toward the $100,000 milestone continued on Thursday, with investors anticipating a more cryptocurrency-friendly regulatory environment under President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
Bitcoin prices surpassed $96,000 during Asian trading, reaching a peak just above $96,898.
The cryptocurrency’s value has more than doubled this year and increased by approximately 40% in the two weeks since Trump’s election as president and the emergence of several pro-cryptocurrency lawmakers in Congress.
India’s Gautam Adani was charged in the US with bribery
Gautam Adani, the billionaire chair of Indian conglomerate Adani Group and one of the world’s richest people, has been indicted in New York over his alleged involvement in a $265 million bribery scheme, according to U.S. prosecutors.
Authorities stated that Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, were accused of agreeing to pay bribes to Indian government officials to secure contracts expected to generate $2 billion in profits over 20 years, including developing India’s largest solar power plant project.
A judge has issued arrest warrants for Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani, with prosecutors planning to hand these warrants to foreign law enforcement, according to court records.
Read Also: British Virgin Islands court grants Chinese firm right to seize Nigerian $25m assets
Dangote is back to buying US crude after three months
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has resumed purchasing crude oil from the United States as part of its ongoing efforts to increase oil production and improve refining capacity.
The new purchase follows a three-month pause in buying crude from foreign countries, during which the refinery focused on domestic supply.
A Bloomberg report on Wednesday indicated that a cargo carrying two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp is scheduled for delivery to the refinery next month.
This development may suggest that the federal government’s naira-for-crude initiative has stalled or that the refinery is not receiving sufficient crude supply from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
NUPRC says IOCs are not leaving Nigeria, they’re only divesting
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has said that no international oil company is leaving Nigeria despite their divestments.
NUPRC’s Chief Executive Officer, Gbenga Komolafe, described the recent divestments by IOCs in the oil sector as “portfolio rationalisation”.
Komolafe said at the just-concluded NAPE Conference in Lagos that portfolio rationalisation was not uncommon in other jurisdictions, saying divestments give opportunities for more investments and increase local participation in the upstream sector.
“It is also important to point out that no international oil company has left Nigeria, as we even see erroneously in the media. It is good for us to note that what the industry has experienced is portfolio rationalisation, which is not uncommon in other jurisdictions. Divestment gives an opportunity for more investment and increases local participation in the upstream,” he explained.
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