| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. A US court ruling against a French banking giant potentially raises questions about who finances Africa’s future. A federal jury in New York last week found BNP Paribas liable for its role in enabling the genocide committed against civilians in Sudan by the Omar al-Bashir dictatorship from 2002 to 2008.  BNP Paribas’ headquarters in Paris. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg The jurors awarded $21 million to three plaintiffs as part of a test case for claims of more than 20,000 Sudanese now living in the US. The ruling triggered speculation that the Paris-based lender will ultimately need to settle the case and potentially be on the hook for billions of dollars, sending its shares tumbling. “We maintain that settlement is the most likely outcome since BNP’s risk of losing across the entire class is too costly,” said Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Litigation Analyst Elliott Z Stein. While BNP has denied it’s under pressure to settle and has vowed to appeal the order, multinational lenders will be watching to see if the case sets new rules that make them legally responsible for human-rights abuses in countries under sanctions in which they operate.  WATCH: Bloomberg’s Tom Metcalf reports on the court ruling linking the lender to human-rights abuses in Sudan. A large BNP payout would spawn increased compliance pressures that might lead risk-averse Western lenders to retreat further from African markets. On a continent where the bulk of Africa’s cross-border payment transactions are routed offshore for settlement, that may lead to a squeeze on cross-border trade funding. It may also open the space for banks from China, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere to step in to clear payments, finance trade and facilitate foreign investment. In addition, it could provide a fillip for initiatives like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System that seeks to boost continental trade using African currencies. It’s uncertain when there will be further clarity on the BNP case, but the ripple effects point to a shakeup in Africa’s financial landscape. — Paul Richardson and Tom Metcalf Key stories and opinion:
BNP Drops as Sudan Verdict Raises Fear of Costly Settlement
BNP Paribas Faces Human Rights Claims Over Sudan Work
Sudan Faces $130 Billion Bill to Rebuild War-Shattered Country
We Can’t Bear to Think About Sudan and Haiti: Andreas Kluth
Sudan Ravaged by a Civil War the World Has Overlooked: QuickTake
The Bloomberg Africa Business Summit, an official sideline event of B20 South Africa 2025, convenes global leaders on Nov. 17 and 18 to address the critical issues shaping Africa’s future. Click here for more details.  | | | One of the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottlers agreed to buy a controlling stake in another, creating a bottling giant in Africa in a transaction valued at about $2.6 billion. Coca-Cola HBC will buy 75% of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa from Coca-Cola Co. and Gutsche Family Investments to to add 14 markets on the continent to its portfolio. The bottling firm, which operates across Europe as well as in Nigeria and Egypt, plans a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.  Shelves stacked with bottles of Coca-Cola. Photographer: Mayolo Lopez Guiterrez/Bloomberg US President Donald Trump’s senior envoy for Arab and African affairs said peace negotiations in Libya and the Democratic Republic of Congo are progressing, and his team is working hard to halt fighting in Sudan. “We think it’s achievable,” Massad Boulos said in an interview in Rome of a deal in Libya, which has been mired in chaos since Muammar Qaddafi’s ouster in 2011. He described the civil war in Sudan as “currently the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis.” Zimbabwe’s ruling party resolved to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure by two years until 2030, and ordered the government to take the legal steps to enact the decision. The move was necessary to “ensure continuity, stability and sustained transformation,’’ said Ziyambi Ziyambi, the Zimbabwe African Union-Patriotic Front’s secretary for legal affairs. The announcement follows reports of tensions between Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga over a push by the president’s supporters to ensure he stays in office beyond 2028.  A Zanu-PF election poster. Photographer: Cynthia R Matonhodze/Bloomberg Ethiopia started talks with China to convert at least part of the $5.38 billion it owes Beijing into yuan-denominated loans, following an example set by Kenya that bolsters the Asian nation’s efforts to internationalize its currency. Eyob Tekalign, Ethiopia’s central bank governor, said he began discussions for a potential swap with the Export-Import Bank of China and the People’s Bank of China during a visit to Beijing last month. Ethiopia joins to a growing list of countries turning to the yuan for cheaper financing. Last month, two assassins made an appointment to see bankruptcy lawyer Bouwer van Niekerk. After he identified himself, they shot him dead in the boardroom of his firm’s Johannesburg offices. The brazen murder is part of a growing trend in South Africa, a country long dogged by violent crime: hit-men targeting professionals instrumental in fighting corruption. Judges, lawyers and forensic accountants who fear they could be next are having their cars armor-plated.  A pamphlet with a picture of slain lawyer Bouwer van Niekerk at his memorial service. Photographer: Deaan Vivier/Gallo Images/Getty Images The World Bank will lend Uganda more than $2 billion, resuming concessional financing two years after halting support to the East African nation over its anti-LGBTQ laws. The loans will fund the construction of roads, bridges, electricity transmission and other infrastructure over the next three years. Ugandan authorities also expect to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund about a new program after January elections, Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi said. Thank you for your responses to our weekly Next Africa Quiz and congratulations to Deon Fourie, who was first to correctly identify Nigeria as the African nation that’s expanding its first oil-export terminal to be built in half a century. Global investors are looking at African nations with fresh eyes, not only for their vast natural resources but also for the region’s role in the realignment of trade worldwide. To help investors understand the industries and locations where they might deploy capital, Bloomberg Economics developed a scorecard for 19 African countries, assigning risk ratings based on five key factors. The risk-o-meter incorporates dozens of indicators such as gross domestic product per capita and logistics performance, with a negative number indicating higher risk. Thanks for reading. We’ll be back in your inbox with the next edition on Friday. Send any feedback to mcohen21@bloomberg.net. | 
