In deal making and M&A advisory, traditionally the space has been dominated by investment banks and the big accountancy firms. These firms have served the sector through corporate finance divisions whereas the investment banks have been among their mainstay business.
A prolonged period of poor performance from the local equity market has left many investors anxious and frustrated. While most understand the importance of taking a long-term view, it’s usually more difficult than anticipated to put this into practice. When the values of investments fall, investors’ gut instinct is to put a stop to it.
Despite ongoing trade tensions with the US, Chinese government policies and proactive market evolution continue to ensure strong opportunities for investment.
A key headline in the latest IMF projections for Sub-Saharan Africa is the revision to the GDP growth projection for 2019, down from 3.8% in October 2018 to 3.5%. Drill into the detail, however, and further trends emerge. This includes a divergence in performance between resource-dependent economies, which have faced headwinds, and more diversified economies, which show a more positive growth trajectory.
International Financial Centres (IFCs) have become a vital part of development finance for Africa in recent years - according to a recent Overseas Development Institute (ODI) report, IFCs galvanised additional finance to developing countries of $1.6trn between 2007 and 2014, much of which went into Africa.
Over the past few decades, Ireland has built a solid reputation as a fund services centre of excellence, with $4.8trn of global assets under administration across approximately 14,000 individual funds being serviced by Irish Fund Administrators. Over 16,000 professionals work in the Irish fund services industry resulting in a deep and experienced talent pool.
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If Africa is to boost regional and international trade, and if it is to support more tourism from within the continent and overseas, it will require significant investment in its airports.
Nestlé’s share price has responded well to recent developments, having risen by almost a third over the past year.
The private equity (PE) universe – of which venture capital (VC) is technically a subset - covers businesses in every sector and almost every stage of life. While investments in established companies form the bread-and-butter of most PE portfolios, it’s in early-stage ventures that many delicacies can be found. Not only do these provide an irresistible high-risk/high-return infusion, but, more importantly, investments in early-stage companies (including but not limited to VC) are essential in building the growth of an economy – and South Africa can do with an extra helping of this right now.
Never before has the need for infrastructure felt so immediate and acute. This became apparent to me as I travelled to Nairobi, Lagos, Lusaka and Gaborone during the first three months of this year.
Despite being released only in December, the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines are already in effect, and feature some significant changes, says Heleen Goussard, Head of Unlisted Investment at investment firm, RisCura.
The last few years have witnessed a growing sophistication and assertiveness of African states in dealing with foreign investors. One particular manifestation of this can be seen in the growing trend of African states, particularly those with energy and natural resources, seeking to renegotiate existing investment contracts in order to change the economic balance of those contracts and extract further value from them, write Joseph Otoo (pictured), Senior Associate, and David Elikwu, Trainee Solicitor, Mayer Brown.
Many investors ask, “How much money can I make?” before taking an investment position.
Technological innovation is having a transformational effect on the global economy, with businesses in every sector realising the importance of quality data and being agile to respond quickly to changes. The disruptive power of technology on incumbent businesses and business models varies across industries, with consumer firms hit first and, so far, hit hardest. However, this fourth industrial revolution is still in its infancy and promises to deliver even more profound shifts in ways that can’t yet be seen in the coming years.
