African Markets - Factors to watch on July 21

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

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GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks were a fraction firmer on Monday as investors set aside geopolitical concerns for the moment to focus on the generally upbeat flow of U.S. corporate earnings ahead of a host of results due this week.

WORLD OIL PRICES

Brent crude held steady above $107 a barrel on Monday with investors closely watching an intensifying geopolitical crisis between Moscow and the West over the downing of a civilian jet in Ukraine last week.

EMERGING MARKETS

CAMEROON COCOA Cameroon's local cocoa grinders purchased 32,042 tonnes of beans for grinding by the end of June, up from 30,496 tonnes in the same period in the 2012/13 season, according to statistics from the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB) seen on Friday.

AFRICA DEBT Kenya's sale of a re-opened two-year Treasury bond next week is likely to meet with good demand from investors while yields on Nigerian Treasuries could fall due to good liquidity in the markets.

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS South African stocks ended slightly lower on Friday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine undermined demand for risky assets, adding to growing worries about valuations.

South Africa's rand recovered its footing against the dollar on Friday, shaking off the previous day's late bout of risk aversion triggered by the downing of a Malaysian plane in Ukraine.

NIGERIA MARKETS Nigeria's interbank lending rate was unchanged for the second straight week at an average of 10.50 percent on Friday, supported by ample liquidity as the central bank held back issuance of fresh open market operation (OMO) bills.

NIGERIA LENDING RATE Nigeria's central bank will leave interest rates unchanged for the 17th time in a row on Tuesday as it tries to balance controlling inflation and supporting the naira currency with fostering growth, a Reuters poll found.

NIGERIA DRINKS FIRM SALE Nigerian drinks company Chi Ltd is exploring options including a potential sale that could value it at as much as $1 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.

NIGERIA TRANSCORP Nigerian conglomerate Transcorp plans to invest around $110 million to expand its hotel network in Africa's biggest economy as it seeks to tap into a growing market for business travellers, its chief executive said on Saturday.

KENYA MARKETS The Kenyan shilling lost ground against the dollar on Friday, though still clinging to its recent tight range, and falling Treasury yields could put further pressure on the currency, market players said.

KENYA DAIRY FIRM SALE French food group Danone said it was buying a 40 percent stake in Brookside, East Africa's top dairy producer, as part of plans to expand in new markets while growth is weak in Europe and the economy slows in China.

KENYA WINE MARKETER SALE Kenya has agreed to sell a 26 percent stake in a wines and spirits marketer to South Africa's Distell Group for 860 million shillings ($9.81 million), Kenya's Privatisation Commission said on Friday.

KENYA SECURITY Gunmen killed at least four people and injured several others in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa on Sunday, police said.

In another incident, gunmen killed at least three people when they ambushed a bus along Kenya's northern coast on Friday, a local official said.

SOUTH SUDAN UNREST South Sudanese rebels and government soldiers clashed in the northern town of Nasir on Sunday, adding to fears that a shaky ceasefire agreement signed in May could totally collapse.

GHANA MARKETS Losses by Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL)and PZ Cussons Ghana (PZC)pulled down the GSE Composite index 0.4 percent, or 9.53 points, to close Friday's trading at 2,332.62 points, the bourse said.

GHANA T-BILL YIELD The Bank of Ghana said the yield on its 91-day bill rose to a fresh three-year high of 24.8385 percent at Friday's auction, from 24.3109 percent at the last sale.

GHANA COCOA Ghana cocoa industry regulator Cocobod will buy at least 950,000 tonnes of cocoa in the 2014/15 crop year, which begins in October, up 5.5 percent on forecasts for the current harvest, according to a parliamentary document and an official.

CONGO EXPLORATION Italian oil and gas group Eni said it signed a deal to explore for hydrocarbons in the Republic of Congo's coastal basin, expanding its foothold in sub-Saharan Africa's No. 4 oil producer.

ANGOLA BANK Angola's president personally ordered that the state guarantee up to $5.7 billion in troubled loans belonging to the Angolan unit of Portugal's financially compromised Banco Espirito Santo, a Portuguese newspaper said on Saturday.

Angola has broken its silence over its connection to Banco Espirito Santo, but its admission of bad loans in the local subsidiary focuses attention on a generous state guarantee covering most of this flawed loan portfolio.