African Alliance, an Africa-focused investment banking group, has launched a R65m ($5.64m) AUM unit trust, the African Alliance SA S&P; GIVI Equity Prescient Fund.
Recent drastic declines in the international oil price and the resultant sharp cuts in the local petrol price could herald a sharp turnaround in South Africa’s more immediate fortunes, according to Old Mutual Investment Group.
East African equity markets showed the best performance in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) during 2014, led by Tanzania (+22.7%), Uganda (14.1%) and Kenya (13.3%), according to a report by PineBridge Investments.
The continuous decline in crude oil prices is posing a number of challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Fusion Group.
High net worth individuals will be key driver for small and new South African funds going forward, according to some of the participants at the latest Opalesque South Africa Roundtable.
The microfinance market in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to achieve growth rates of 10-20% in 2015, according to the Microfinance Market Outlook by responsAbility Investments.
The Franco-American Alliance for Islamic Finance (FAAIF) and the African Islamic Economic Foundation (AFRIEF) have joined forces to promote Islamic finance in Africa.
Access Power MEA, a power project developer focused on the Middle East and Africa, and EREN, a renewable energy developer, have launched Access Infra Africa, a vehicle that will invest in the early stage development of power projects in Africa.
Tunisia is planning to issue $1.75bn of dollar-denominated and Islamic bonds in 2015 as it seeks funds to revive economic growth, according to the central bank governor Chadli Ayari.
The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) will start trading on the first exchange traded fund (ETF) on EGX 30 index in the Egyptian market on Wednesday, January 14, 2015.
Old Mutual has acquired a 23.3% stake in UAP Holdings, an East and Central African financial services company with a presence in six countries, for KES 8.88 bn ($97.6m).
Standard Chartered has announced the closure of its institutional cash equities, equity research and equity capital markets (ECM) activities, as the banking group continues to exit or reconfigure non-core and underperforming businesses.
TriLinc Global Impact Fund has recently approved around $3m in trade finance transactions to companies in South Africa and Zambia.
Whilst equities were in the red in 2014, it was a strong year for Africa bond indices, according to Tim Edwards, Senior Director, Index Investment Strategy at S&P; Dow Jones Indices.
