African Markets - Factors to watch on Jan. 8

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

- - - - - EVENTS: *Madagascar's high court expected to announce presidential results *Ex-head of Ethiopian military conglomerate METEC due in court *Mozambique ex-finance minister faces extradition hearing

GLOBAL MARKETS Most Asian shares were propped up on Tuesday by hopes that Washington and Beijing may be inching towards a trade deal and that U.S. Federal Reserve would halt its tightening if economic growth slows further. MKTS/GLOB

WORLD OIL PRICES Oil prices were stable on Tuesday, supported by hopes that talks under way in Beijing involving U.S. and Chinese officials could end trade disputes between the world's biggest economies, while OPEC-led supply cuts also tightened markets. O/R

SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS The South African rand strengthened against the dollar on Monday, adding to strong gains last week as dovish comments by the Federal Reserve chair hurt the U.S. currency.

MARKETS The Kenyan shilling KES= firmed against the dollar on Monday due to inflows from horticulture exports and offshore investors buying government debt meeting dollar demand from oil importers, traders said.

TOURISM Kenya's earnings from tourism jumped by almost a third in 2018 from the previous year to 157.4 billion shillings ($1.55 billion), after the number of visitors rose by 37 percent, the tourism ministry said on Monday.

MARKETS The Ugandan shilling UGX= weakened slightly on Monday, undercut by an uptick in demand from manufacturing firms and players in the interbank market, traders said.

COUP Gabon foiled an attempted military coup on Monday, killing two suspected plotters and capturing seven others just hours after they took over state radio in a bid to end 50 years of rule by President Ali Bongo's family.

COFFEE A Tanzanian ban on exporting raw coffee is unlikely to have a significant impact since the industry already processes much of its output, a union official said on Monday.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA Ophir Energy Plc OPHR.L said it expects to report a non-cash write down of $300 million in its full-year results after being denied the extension of a block licence which houses a liquid natural gas project in Equatorial Guinea.

POLITICS Yahya Jammeh was going to be "trouble" for Gambia from the moment he seized power, the first witness to a commission convened to investigate rights abuses under his presidency said on Monday. CREDIT SUISSE Mozambique has indicted 18 citizens for their involvement in fraud involving $2 billion in loans to state-owned companies, the attorney general's office (AGO) said on Monday, in a scandal that has ensnared two major international banks. PROTESTS

Sudan said on Monday it had detained more than 800 people since protests began nearly three weeks ago in the most persistent challenge to President Omar al-Bashir's three-decade rule. ECONOMY Zimbabwe's largest brewer Delta Corporation DLTA.ZI hiked beer prices by 25 percent on Monday citing high local costs, announcing the move days after it was forced to abandon another plan to accept only hard currency payments for its products.

ECONOMY/STRIKE Zimbabwean teachers will strike from Tuesday to press for U.S. dollar salaries as talks with the government failed to bring a breakthrough, a union said, adding pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to contain a runaway currency crisis.

COAST COCOA Scarce rainfall and dry winds last week in most of Ivory Coast's cocoa-growing regions have raised concerns about the April-to-September mid-crop, farmers said on Monday.

ITSCI Congo's biggest miner of coltan, an ore that is the source of metals used in mobile phones, says it is leaving the ITSCI certification scheme, relied on by major companies as a guarantee that minerals are free from human rights abuses.