3 min read
African Union Launches Its Own Credit Rating Agency
The African Union (AU) launched the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) in Port Louis, Mauritius, on 7 October. The AU Assembly endorsed the agency in 2018, and its launch was postponed from September 2025. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an AU body, oversaw its establishment.
AfCRA operates independently of the AU as a private-sector-led agency, funded by shareholder capital and its own operations. It will rate governments, financial institutions and companies, and may rate non-African entities. Plus94, a South African research firm, is supporting its technical set-up. The AU says 23 African economies have no rating from Fitch, Moody’s or S&P, and the APRM estimates that less than 5% of financial instruments on the continent, by value, are rated.
AfCRA has not named its shareholders, and it still needs a licence from Mauritius’s Financial Services Commission, which licensed another agency, CARE Ratings Africa, in 2015.
Kenya Clears A Route Into The Dangote IPO
Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) approved a Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) on 5 October that lets eligible Kenyan investors buy into the Dangote Petroleum Refinery initial public offering (IPO) in Lagos, which closes on 13 October. Renaissance Capital (Kenya) will hold investors’ money in custody, subscribe through its Nigerian affiliate and list GDRs on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, subject to approval from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission. The CMA says it’s the first transaction under Kenya’s policy guidance on depositary receipts.
The offer is 4.1 billion new shares at ₦525, raising ₦2.15tn ($1.6bn) for 3.3% of the enlarged company. No existing shareholder is selling, and the proceeds fund an expansion from about 650,000 to 1.4 million barrels a day. Aliko Dangote’s stake would fall from 87.27% to about 84.39% if the offering is fully subscribed. The prospectus shows profit after tax of $1.82bn in the first half of 2026, against a $476m loss for 2025.
Abu Dhabi Miner Approaches Moma Mine Owner
Kenmare Resources, the Dublin-based operator of the Moma titanium minerals mine in northern Mozambique, said on 6 October that it had received a non-binding proposal for a possible cash offer from International Resources Holdings (IRH), a unit of Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company. Kenmare disclosed no price and confirmed the approach after a report in The Irish Times. Under Irish takeover rules, IRH must make a firm offer or withdraw by 5pm GMT on 17 November.
Kenmare’s shares rose as much as 41% to 255.5p on 6 October. In March 2025, its board rejected a 530p-a-share proposal as too low. In March 2026, the company suspended its final dividend and announced job cuts, and it has not yet agreed on an extension of its implementation agreement with Mozambique’s government. IRH bought 51% of Zambia’s Mopani copper mine in 2024 and 56% of Alphamin Resources, which runs the largest tin mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2025.
Also this Week
Ghana To Apply For BRICS Membership
- President John Mahama’s cabinet has decided Ghana will formally apply to join BRICS, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on 6 October.
- Ghana has approached India, which chairs BRICS in 2026, for help with the application.
Benin Signs Financing Deals In Paris
- Benin signed two financing agreements with the French Development Agency and a mandate letter with Bpifrance in Paris on 5 October.
- The presidency put the total at 65.5 billion West African CFA francs (about $112m), including 52.1 billion for electricity distribution.
Kenya And Tanzania Hold Rates
- The Central Bank of Kenya held its rate at 8.75% on 7 October.
- The Bank of Tanzania said on 8 October it will hold its rate at 6.25% for the fourth quarter.
FREE · TWICE A WEEK
