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Angola hikes capital requirements for banks; Netanyahu opposes early elections

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Angola hikes capital requirements for banks; Netanyahu opposes early elections

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there is no reason for elections to take place early in June as media reports have suggested, amid intensifying corruption probes linked to him, the Agence France-Press reported. Netanyahu and his wife Sara were questioned by Israeli police Friday over their links with the majority shareholder of telecommunications company Bezeq, the Financial Times reported.

* The Israeli Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Authority outlined proposed guidelines aimed at preventing a controlling shareholder in a financial institution from being chairman of that company, Globes wrote. Such rules would require the chairmen of Harel Insurance Investments and Menorah Mivtachim Holdings Ltd., Yair Hamburger and Eran Griffel, to step down from their roles.

* Banque Saudi Fransi reported fourth-quarter 2017 net profit of 423 million Saudi Arabian riyals, a 13.1% increase from 374 million riyals in the year-ago period. The board recommended a dividend distribution of 35 halalas per share, after deduction of zakat, for the second half of 2017.

* Shuaa Capital PSC CEO Fawad Tariq Khan said the company aims to post 2018 profits in excess of 100 million United Arab Emirates dirhams, to be driven by its investment banking and capital markets businesses, Gulf News reported.

* Roughly 30 companies across the Gulf Cooperation Council are expected to go public this year, according to a report by Kuwait Financial Centre, the Times of Oman noted.

* The Iranian government sold 693.6 million shares or a 17.14% stake in Alborz Insurance Co. to a consortium of pension funds and an investment company for 1,301 Iranian rials per share, the Financial Tribune wrote.

* Masoud Karbasian, Iran's minister of economic affairs and finance, said the government plans to rate certified banks from the next fiscal year beginning March 21, the Financial Tribune reported.

* S&P Global Ratings affirmed Lebanon's long- and short-term foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings at B-/B. The outlook remains stable.

* Capital Intelligence Ratings affirmed Egypt's long- and short-term foreign- and local-currency ratings at B/B, and revised the outlook on the country's ratings to positive from stable.

EAST AND WEST AFRICA

* Moody's assigned first-time local- and foreign-currency issuer ratings of B1 to Tanzania, with a negative outlook, citing constraints to the east African country's economic, institutional and fiscal health.

* S&P affirmed Cape Verde's long- and short-term foreign- and local-currency sovereign credit ratings at B/B. The outlook is stable.

* The IMF urged Ghana to enact laws to increase revenues by at least 0.5% of GDP before the fund reviews a $918 million credit facility program next month, Reuters reported.

* Ghana became a sovereign shareholder in the African Finance Corp. with an initial equity investment of $10 million and a commitment to invest a further $40 million.

* Papa Kwesi Nduom, president of Ghana-based Groupe Nduom, signaled that the company is working on plans to start transactions in cryptocurrencies, Citi Business News wrote. "[W]e are going to make sure that the cryptocurrency revolution that is going on doesn't pass us by," Nduom reportedly said.

* Banque Internationale pour le Mali, majority-owned by Morocco-based Attijariwafa Bank SA, replaced its director general, Hassan Oustani, with Mohamed Ghazi, formerly director general of Crédit du Sénégal, according to Financial Afrik.

* The Economic Community of West African States ordered Guinea-Bissau's five commercial banks to freeze the accounts of 19 people associated with the country's political crisis, including the son of President José Mário Vaz, Financial Afrik wrote.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

* The Angolan central bank raised the minimum share capital requirements for local commercial banks to 7.5 billion Angolan kwanzas from 2.5 billion kwanzas and gave lenders until 2018-end to meet the new threshold, Macauhub and Expansão reported. The central bank said banks that will fail to meet the requirement should "consider alternatives, including mergers."

* Nedbank Group Ltd. reported full-year 2017 preliminary audited profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of 11.62 billion South African rand, up from 10.13 billion rand a year ago.

* Liberty Holdings Ltd. CEO David Munro said the company, which has abandoned plans to acquire a 75% stake in a Nigerian long-term insurer, will not be making any acquisitions until it has restored its health, Moneyweb noted. The South African insurance company reported an increase in full-year earnings attributable to shareholders to 3.12 billion rand in 2017 from 2.21 billion rand the previous year.

* African Phoenix Investments Ltd. said John Evans stepped down as financial director and a board member Feb. 28.

* Peter Schlebusch stepped down as CEO of Standard Bank Group Ltd.'s personal and business bank. He will be replaced by Zweli Manyathi.

* Louis Paul Motaze will head Cameroon's finance ministry as part of changes made by President Paul Biya to his cabinet, Bloomberg News wrote.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: China plans economic supervision overhaul; Australian asset manager mulls M&A

Leo Magno, Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton, and Helen Popper contributed to this report.

The Daily Dose Middle East and Africa has an editorial deadline of 4 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription. S&P Global Ratings and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.