Africa > Banking / Investment

Banking / Investment in Africa

  • Finance Minister of the Year 2016

    NEPAL, 2016/01/10 Finance Minister of the Year 2016 awards celebrate the officials that have best managed to stimulate increase and stabilise their economy. Global and Asia-Pacific Ram Sharan Mahat, former finance minister, Nepal Ram Sharan Mahat receives The Banker’s World and Asia-Pacific Finance Minister of the Year awards for his exemplary work in the aftermath of the two disastrous earthquakes that hit Nepal in 2015 and in pushing for reforms to improve governance in the country’s ministry of finance.
  • Five tips for spotting overlooked African investment opportunities in 2016

    AFRICA, 2016/01/10
  • Morocco Approved 36 Investment Projects For MAD 63 Billion in 2015

    MOROCCO, 2016/01/05 Morocco’s Investment Commission (AMDI) approved 36 investment projects in 2015 totalingMAD 62.86 billion, to generate 8,452 jobs, Minister of Industry, Trade & New Technologies, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, said. “The year 2015 posted a significant increase in terms of investment all with additional than MAD 47.36 billion and doubling the number of direct jobs to be created, that is 4,395 jobs,”Elalamy said at a press conference on Wednesday, following a conference of the Inter-MinisterialInvestment Committee, held in Rabat under the chairmanship of Chief of Government, AbdelilahBenkirane. Elalamy noted the predominance in the industrial sector in terms of investment and job creation in 2015.
  • GTB, others charge forex black market rate for card users

    NIGERIA, 2016/01/05 Nigerian banks are the ultimate currency black market traders in the way they charge users of their Visa and Mastercard. While the Central Bank sells forex to the banks at N197 to a dollar and N291.7 to the British pound sterling, charges by the banks to customers who used Naira denominated cards are closer to the black market rate, showing that the banks are profiteering on their poor customers.
  • Cairo, Riyadh to sign 12 investment deals on Jan. 5

    EGYPT, 2016/01/02 Egypt and Saudi Arabia will sign 12 memorandums for Saudi investments in Cairo as a joint committee by both nations convenes in Riyadh on January 5, according to an Egyptian government official. The committee’s conference will be chaired by Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman along with a number of ministers from both governments.
  • South Africa’s banks on solid ground

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2015/12/27 Bucking the trend of the country’s subdued economy, South Africa’s banks have again posted solid earnings, as they continue to strengthen their position through improved risk management practices and robust capital adequacy levels. Early October saw credit ratings agency Moody’s revise its outlook for the country’s banking system from negative to stable for the coming 12 to 18 months, signalling a additional positive estimate for the industry. Ratings rationale South Africa’s banking system had maintained a high level of return on equity, Nondas Nicolaides, a vice-president and senior credit officer with Moody’s, told media in October, while its Tier 1 capital ratio of 11.6% as of June provided a sufficient buffer against any increased credit losses or further economic headwinds.
  • Morocco’s insurance industry

    MOROCCO, 2015/12/26 Credit expansion and growing awareness yielded robust increase across Morocco’s insurance market, with life and savings products in particular posting strong performances in the initial half of 2015. While the domestic insurance market continues to provide steady returns, Moroccan institutions are as well building up their networks in sub-Saharan Africa, where low penetration rates and rapid economic development signal formidable increase prospects. Thanks to the expansion efforts of recent years, Moroccan insurers have emerged as major players on the continent and, according to recent rankings by Jeune Afrique magazine, presently account for five of the top-15 insurers on the continent by premiums written.
  • Investor uncertainty around president’s power play in DRC

    CONGO KINSHASA, 2015/12/18 With elections for a new president due in less than a year, the attempts of president Joseph Kabila to extend his term limit are aggravating perceptions of political risks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mining companies and other foreign investors are watching closely - and nervously. Despite marked improvements in governance and political stability over the completed few years, the Congo has from presently on to see a peaceful transfer of power since independence from Belgium in 1960. Throughout 2015, Kinshasa, the capital, and other Congolese cities have been rocked by deadly protests next Mr Kabila tried to alter the country’s constitution in order to run for a third term. His opponents accuse him of attempting a constitutional coup.
  • Banking Moves into the 21st Century

    WORLD, 2015/12/16 Global developments in finance and geopolitics are prompting a rethinking of the structure of banking and of the nature of money itself. Part other interesting news items: In Iceland, the booms and busts culminating in the banking crisis of 2008-09 have prompted lawmakers to consider a plan to remove the power to create money from private banks. In Ecuador, the central bank is responding to a shortage of US dollars (the official Ecuadorian currency) by issuing digital dollars through accounts to which everyone has access, entirely making it a bank of the people. In a November 2015 article titled “Russia Debates Unorthodox Orthodox Financial Alternative,” William Engdahl writes:
  • Private equity: Why Old Mutual is betting on growth of cycling and golf

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2015/12/11 This month Old Mutual Private Equity bought a 70% stake in MoreCorp, the parent company of South Africa’s major retailers of golf and cycling sporting equipment, The Pro Shop and Cycle Lab. It as well houses affiliate businesses such as golf driving ranges and cycling parks. According to Jacci Myburgh, chief of Old Mutual Private Equity, the investment manager sees potential for both sports in South Africa. This despite a reported decline in golf in the US due to changing lifestyles and incomes. “Yes, in the US golf has in recent years been declining. But in Asia and China, for instance, it has grown completely aggressively in recent years. So I guess we look at South Africa and see both some emerging-market characteristics and some emerged-market characteristics,” he highlighted.