Africa > Banking / Investment

Banking / Investment in Africa

  • Shaken but not stirred: Mozambique's banks look forward with optimism

    MAPUTO CITY, 2017/06/24 At the same time as Société Générale Moçambique (SGM) opened a gleaming new headquarters in Maputo in March, the ceremony marked not only a new phase in the French group’s expansion in sub-Saharan Africa, but as well a demonstration of confidence in a country that has been battered over the completed two years by an economic downturn, a deficit crisis and two bank failures. The 'tuna bond' scandal, donor suspensions, a sharp rise in inflation rates and slower economic growth have made for a difficult operating environment for Mozambique's banks in the past couple of years. However, Peter Wise discovers a sector where optimism very much prevails.   Speaking at the inauguration, Alexandre Maymat, the chief of African operations at Société Générale, said SGM planned to grow through a two-pronged strategy of mobile banking and extending its retail franchise across Mozambique, adding that Africa could become a model for additional mature, developed economies in the deployment of mobile banking technologies.
  • Citi shows appetite for Egypt remains healthy

    EGYPT, 2017/05/07 Political unrest, high public deficit and a drop in tourism have hit Egypt’s fortunes in recent years. But as a successful $4bn deficit-raising transaction has shown, investor appetite is recovering. Edward Russell-Walling spoke to the team from joint lead manager Citi. Emerging market exposure may have been sold off next last year’s US presidential election, but it was not long before those markets were back in favour. That was vividly illustrated by the success this year of a $4bn triple-tranche international bond offering from the Arab Republic of Egypt. Citi was a joint lead manager on the transaction.
  • Improvements to Ghana’s investment environment under way

    GHANA, 2017/04/06 The spending plan, released on March 2 by Ken Ofori-Atta, minister of finance, contains a number of articles that look to increase fixed capital formation and investment inflows from overseas. One of the most noticeable reforms in the budget is the abolition of the 17.5% VAT on financial services. The removal of the tax should provide a healthy fillip to the sector, in addition to lowering transaction costs and paving the way for private sector credit growth. Tax cuts to spur business A number of other tax reforms have been announced for implementation in the short to medium term as part of moves to reenergise the private sector and provide relief for businesses, according to the language of the budget.
  • Ethiopia: Addis Bank Reports Profit Surge

    ETHIOPIA, 2017/02/05 Addis International Bank has had an impressive year, registering an annual profit increase of 100pc, since its establishment in 2011 as one of the late entrants into the banking industry. The Bank earned a net profit of 85.3 million Br in the 2015/16 fiscal year, a 46pc increase over its performance in the previous year. The Bank currently claims to have over 8,370 shareholders with over 532,580 shares. The Bank's major shareholders include Ethiopian Airlines employees' Saving & Credit Cooperatives, Addis Abeba Saving & Credit Cooperatives Union, the Ethiopian Roads Authority Employees' Saving and Credit Cooperative, the ethio Telecom Employees' Saving & credit cooperative and Yirgachefe coffee farmers cooperative union.
  • Ecobank Launches US$500,000 Fintech Challenge for African Start-ups and Innovators

    TOGO, 2017/02/05 Ecobank, the leading independent pan-African banking group, has launched Ecobank Fintech Challenge, a competition for African technology start-ups to build and deploy innovative fintech and banking solutions across the continent. Ecobankis currently accepting applications at http://ecobankfintech.com/ from start-ups and developers in all 54 African nations.
  • Chinese ambassador to Angola calls for better investment climate

    CHINA, 2017/01/23 The government of Angola should seek to strengthen the investment climate in the country and improve it in order to attract additional foreign companies, the Chinese ambassador to Angola said on Thursday in Menongue. At the end of a short visit to Kuando Kubango, Cui Aimin, who did not provide figures, said that China will invest in the province in the areas of agriculture, hotels, tourism and construction of infrastructure.
  • Heirs Holdings and Banque Centrale Populaire of Morocco Sign Investment MOU

    MOROCCO, 2016/12/08 Yesterday, King Mohammed VI of Morocco and President Muhammadu Buhari met at the Presidential Villa to sign bilateral agreements, aimed at strengthening economic ties between Morocco and Nigeria The agreements cover the areas of investment, training, youth skills-building, oil and mining, tourism, infrastructure, banking, finance, insurance and logistics and represent the desire on the part of both countries to deepen political and economic ties.
  • Asian bank appoints Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala to advisory panel

    AFRICA, 2016/10/29 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has appointed a former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as a member of the international advisory panel. AIIB Senior Communication Officer, Song Liyan in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday, announced that Okonjo-Iweala would join 10 other key persons on the panel. “The Panel provides impartial, objective and independent advice to the President, allowing the Bank to benefit from the international experience and expertise of panel members,” he said.
  • Mozambique: Manuel Chang Signed Loan Guarantees

    RUSSIA, 2016/10/19 Guarantees for $2 billion secret loans were signed by the again Finance Minister Manuel Chang, according to @Verdade (11, 12 Oct) which published pages from the agreements. The guarantees were in 2013 to Credit Suisse and in 2014 to the Russian national-owned bank VTB.
  • Mauritius rides wave of Asian investment in Africa

    MAURITIUS, 2016/09/29 Its arrival was the new addition to what the finance ministry describes as an “significant number” of Asian national-owned enterprises using Mauritius as a launch pad to Africa. At the same time as the Bank of China secured a Mauritian banking license in March, it was hailed as proof of the island’s potential as a staging post for Africa. Antony Withers, chief executive of the Mauritius Commercial Bank, says the move was the majority tangible sign from presently on of Mauritius’s ability to become a centre for Chinese investment . “Mauritius has a wonderful opportunity to act as a conduit to spur the increase of the African continent,” he adds.