The Editorial Team |

Moody’s assigns (P)B1 to Côte d’Ivoire

Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s) has assigned a provisional long-term (P)B1 rating to the Government of Côte d’Ivoire’s forthcoming bond issue. The senior unsecured bond will rank pari passu with all of Côte d’Ivoire’s current and future senior unsecured debt. The rating is aligned with Côte d’Ivoire’s long-term issuer rating of B1. Moody’s currently has a positive outlook on Côte d’Ivoire’s issuer rating. The provisional (P)B1 rating is based on the preliminary prospectus dated 13…

Ethiopia sets sights on building new airport, beyond Addis Ababa expansion project

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A major infrastructure project in Ethiopia designed to expand the capacity for handling passengers passing through the capital’s airport is on course for completion in 2018, but moves are already under way to build an additional airport. Bole International Airport, on the edge of Addis Ababa, will be able to triple the number of passengers it handles from the current level of around seven million annually when the expansion project is completed, Ethiopian Airports enterprise…

How to choose the market that matches your convictions

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MOST people have a fairly good idea of what is driving the financial markets. But much of the time, only a few are any good at choosing the right market to express their views of what’s going on. A good example of this is the overly bearish view of the Eurozone throughout 2013 by professional forecasters. While many were anticipating euro weakness, it took until the first quarter of 2014 before we saw a major…

Cross-border expansion of Nigerian banks: has it improved the continent’s regulatory and supervisory frameworks?

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Nigerian banks expanded into other African countries following the 2004 consolidation that increased minimum capital requirements more than tenfold. Most banks expanded their operations domestically and internationally by increasing branch networks in the domestic market and opening subsidiaries abroad. United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Access Bank combined are operating in more than 20 countries on the continent. Cross-border expansion has taken place through the setup of subsidiaries, thus adding to the number of banks…

This week on the frontiers: Nigeria grabs fund managers’ attention

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Within the past week, Nigeria postponed its presidential election, begged for more international help in fighting Boko Haram, saw its currency plumb a new record low, and joined a list of countries that ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is poised to downgrade. The impact on investors? They’re starting to like what they see. Michael Levy, manager of Barings’ $50m frontier markets fund, says the country’s market is starting to be “extremely cheaply valued”. In an…

What’s driving African banking…and what’s stalling it?

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Very few Africans make use of formal financial services. In fact, only 24% of adult Sub-Saharan Africans had a bank account in 2012, while the global average was 50%, says the Global Findex Database. In the following countries less than 10% had an account that year: Sudan, Senegal, DRC, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Madagascar and Mali. The main reason for this low level of financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is low income. Closely…

Runa Alam Considers Why Africa’s Opportunities Far Outweigh Its Risks

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Runa Alam is something of a private equity pioneer. Alam co-founded Development Partners International, which she calls the first pan-African firm, in 2007. London-based DPI’s clients now include the $9.3 billion Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System and International Finance Corp., the private sector development arm of the World Bank Group. In a region where private equity general partners complain about a paucity of exit opportunities, DPI has managed eight initial public offerings and six corporate…

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