African Markets - Factors to watch on July 19

NAIROBI, July 19 (Reuters) - The following company announcements, scheduled economic
indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on
Thursday.

- - - - -
EVENTS
* Central Bank of Kenya auctions 91-day Treasury bills worth 3 billion
shillings ($35.65 million).
* Bank of Mauritius auctions 182-day Treasury bills worth a total 400 million
rupees ($12.82 million).

GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian shares rose on Thursday as strong corporate profits from U.S. bellwethers
allayed fears of a slowdown in earnings, particularly for the beleaguered tech
sector, while the euro steadied after overnight weakness.

WORLD OIL PRICES
Brent crude held steady above $105 on Thursday, near a seven-week high on
geopolitical fears, while comments by the U.S. Fed about the world's biggest
economy avoiding a double-dip recession renewed hopes of a recovery in oil
demand growth.

EMERGING MARKETS
For the top emerging markets news, double click on

AFRICA STOCKS
For the latest news on African stocks, click on

AFRICA FIXED INCOME
For news on African fixed income, click on

SOUTH AFRICAN MARKETS
South African stocks rose for the first time in three days on Wednesday, gaining
1.2 percent as investors bet recent underperformers like Kumba Iron Ore
and Assore had fallen too far.

South African bond yields remained near record lows on Wednesday amid
sustained foreign buying and the rand held steady in anticipation of a central
bank interest rate decision on Thursday.

US DEAL WITH E.AFRICA BLOC
The United States has proposed a new trade deal with the East African Community
(EAC) common market, underscoring the growing interest of American businesses in
investing in Africa, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama said on
Wednesday.

NIGERIA INFLATION
Nigeria's consumer price inflation rose marginally in June, statistics showed on
Wednesday, supporting expectations that the central bank will hold interest
rates steady at 12 percent next week.

NIGERIA MARKETS
Nigeria's stock index rose to more than an 11-month month high on
Wednesday, lifted by gains in the banking sector following strong earnings and
an increase in foreign capital inflows.

The Nigerian naira eased against the U.S. dollar on the interbank
on Wednesday after large dollar sales by state-owned energy firm NNPC and at a
central bank currency auction failed to quell demand for the greenback.

NIGERIA BANK'S EUROBOND
Nigeria's Access Bank plans to issue a $350 million five-year
Eurobond with pricing in the 7 percent range, a banking source with knowledge of
the deal told Reuters on Wednesday.

KENYA MARKETS
The Kenyan shilling was little changed against the dollar on Tuesday,
supported by tea exporters who sold greenbacks during the country's weekly
auction, while shares gave up gains made in the previous session.

GHANA BUDGET
Ghana's government asked parliament on Wednesday to allow extra spending before
elections due later this year, stoking investor concerns over public finances in
the West African country which last year started enjoying its first commercial
oil revenues.

UGANDA T-BOND
The yield on Uganda's two-year paper fell at an oversubscribed auction worth 100
billion shillings ($40.49 million) on Wednesday to 14.8 percent from 15.2
percent at the last auction in May.

UGANDA ROADS
The Ugandan government is looking to raise nearly $1 billion through
contractor-financing arrangements to enable the east African country to build
1,900 kilometres of roads, a senior official said on Wednesday.

MAURITIUS T-BILL
Mauritius' central bank said on Wednesday it would sell 1.4 billion rupees
($44.87 million) of a reopened three-year Treasury note on July 25.

RWANDA BANK STAKE
Emerging markets private equity group Actis has sold its controlling stake in
Banque Commerciale du Rwanda to a group of investors after helping the central
African state's banking sector reach a large portion of the population.

ZIMBABWE ECONOMY
Zimbabwe has axed its 2012 growth forecast to 5.6 percent from the 9.4 percent
projected earlier, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said on Wednesday, blaming a
poor harvest, lack of donor funding and policy inconsistencies.

For the latest precious metals report click on

For the latest base metals report click on

For the latest crude oil report click on

($1 = 84.1500 Kenyan shillings)
($1 = 31.2000 Mauritius rupees)