Here is your Africa Business round-up for this week - ending Friday, July 31:
1. Angola's biggest IPO in years - oversubscribed
Angola raised $329 million from selling a 15% stake in Unitel, its largest telco. The offer was 120.7% subscribed, with demand of 362bn kwanzas for shares priced at the top of the range - 40,040 kwanzas each. Trading started July 29 on BODIVA. Unitel has 21M+ customers and was previously partly owned by Isabel dos Santos before being nationalized.
2. S&P Global bets on African credit markets
S&P Global agreed to buy a majority stake in pan-African ratings agency Agusto & Co, which operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Ghana. Agusto will keep its own ratings and methodologies. The deal comes as the AU and African governments have accused global agencies of bias that raises borrowing costs.
3. Vodacom lifts targets after Safaricom deal
South Africa's Vodacom Group upgraded its medium-term EBITDA and operating free cash flow targets to early-teens growth after closing its acquisition of a controlling stake in Kenya's Safaricom. It also cut its dividend payout ratio from 75% to at least 65% of headline earnings.
4. US pushes for role in Ethiopia's $12.5bn mega-airport
The US is lobbying for its companies in Ethiopian Airlines' Bishoftu airport - a 4-runway, $12.5bn project 45km southeast of Addis Ababa aiming to be the "Dubai of Africa" by 2030. The AfDB has pledged $500M and is leading a raise of $8.7bn. Washington says participation could mean more Boeing 787s with GE Aerospace engines.
5. Mining arbitration wins
Sundance Resources won a $616M ICC award against Cameroon over the Mbalam-Nabeba iron ore deposit, one of Africa's largest undeveloped iron ore deposits. The tribunal found Cameroon breached obligations after revoking Sundance's rights.
6. Payments integration milestone
South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago announced the Angolan kwanza became the first new settlement currency added to the SADC regional RTGS system since 2013. The system now covers 15 states and 89 banks, with Angola-SADC flows at $3.77bn in 2025.
7. Finance brief - what else shaped the week
• Kenya holds rates: Central Bank of Kenya left benchmark at 8.75% for a second meeting, resisting tightening calls as fuel costs from Middle East tensions pressure inflation.
• Nigeria banking reality check: Nigeria's 5 biggest lenders saw combined profit after tax fall 16.4% to $2.24bn in 2025, from $2.68bn in 2024, as naira devaluation gains faded.
* Telecoms up: France's Orange lifted full-year guidance, citing growth in Africa and Middle East and Europe as its driver.
* FX watch: Rand firmed to 16.5275/$ on Thursday on a weaker dollar and soft producer inflation data, while traders see pressure on Zambian and Ghanaian currencies next week.