“Time Out! Wait a minute! That has got to stop. Please do not ever call it the dark continent again. It’s not OK! There is probably more sunshine on that continent than any other place on the planet. I had to take a leap of faith and say nobody is doing anything about changing the perception of Africa through the most powerful medium we know, as humans, and that’s television” – James Makawa, Co-Founder, The Africa Channel
James Makawa is using the power of television to change stereotypes of Africa by providing a positive image of the continent.
Source(s): CNN
Sub-Saharan African markets are attracting interest from foreign fund managers seeking to diversify risks in their global portfolio. Andre DeSimone, Executive Director at Kestrel Capital tells us why Africa’s stock markets continue to perform remarkably well despite their small size and low liquidity.
The global financial crisis affected African markets resulting in, among other problems, the drying up of credit lines. What is the status now?
As Africa’s financial system was not highly integrated with America’s or Europe’s, it was not so heavily impacted by the global financial crisis. Also, most African countries never experienced the sort of financial, real estate, or consumer leverage that was experienced in the US and Europe, for example. Aside from a few Nigerian banks, generally the banking systems in Africa weathered the storm quite well. In fact, in Kenya, no major bank suffered badly and many, if not most, continued to record positive earnings growth over the past year. So while the days of easy credit may be gone, in places like Kenya credit is still available to creditworthy clients and real estate development continues briskly. Read the rest of this entry »
Zimbabwe is a market that is too exotic to be top of mind for the average international investor, but not for Investec Asset Management, according to Hendrik du Toit, chief executive of the group.
Investec has been buying into Zimbabwe for some time, he says, making use of its South African roots and exploiting its advantage in the area.
It has been increasing exposure in its Africa fund and Africa Frontier private equity fund, though liquidity in the market remains an issue, says Mr du Toit.
Despite recent political turbulence following remarks by prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai that he would “disengage” from working with Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s president, and his ZANU PF party, Mr du Toit remains optimistic about the long-term fundamentals for post-Mugabe Zimbabwe.
In an interview before this incident, Mr du Toit said there were a couple of triggers that had made the country a talking point for “Africa enthusiasts”. These were the positive effects from the switch to using US dollars from local currency, and the influence the government’s coalition partner, Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is having on the economy.
Mr du Toit said before the most recent upheaval: “It is very difficult to call a bottom in a place that’s been down but we’ve seen triggers [such as the shift to using the US dollar]. There is a more palatable partner that is by and large in charge of the economy, which is a powerful signal.” Read the rest of this entry »
Investopedia naked short selling as: “The illegal practice of short selling shares that have not been affirmatively determined to exist. Ordinarily, traders must borrow a stock, or determine that it can be borrowed, before they sell it short. But due to various loopholes in the rules and discrepancies between paper and electronic trading systems, naked shorting continues to happen.”
South African investors should have no concern that the issues surrounding the banning of certain forms of short selling in some international markets are relevant to South Africa.
“A clear distinction needs to be made between the practice of “naked” short selling and “covered” short selling in markets,” says Ian Hamilton, Chairman of the South African Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). Read the rest of this entry »
Namibian mobile operator Cell One will be rebranded as ‘Leo’ in a process to begin next month.
Egypt-based parent Orascom Telecom, which took over the reins of 2G/3G operator Powercom (trading as Cell One) at the start of this year, explained that the name (pronounced ‘lay-o’) was taken from the Swahili word meaning ‘today’, while also representing the Spanish ‘lion’, and would replace a branding that had become too ‘old school’ and did not resonate well with the public.
The Egyptian group added that the new brand will eventually be adopted by other subsidiaries of its Telecel Globe division in Zimbabwe (Telecel Zimbabwe), Burundi (U-Com Burundi) and the Central African Republic (Telecel Centrafrique). Read the rest of this entry »
Zimbabwe is expected to be producing a million ounces of platinum a year, within the next 10 to 15 years, Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines President Victor Gapare said on Wednesday.
Victor Gapare told the Omega Mining in Africa conference in Johannesburg that the country was currently producing at a rate of 170 000 oz/year and there were good prospects for growth.
Gapare said that the development of the Zimplats and Mimosa operations were examples of the progress that could be made by the Zimbabwe mining industry in a liberalized macroeconomic environment. “If you look at the development of the two operations, you can understand what a good fiscal arrangement can do to benefit a country … When you get to Zimplats or Mimosa, you think you’re in a different country, because they are able to keep their money, they are able to invest money, and they are reaping the benefits,” Gapare said. Read the rest of this entry »
The market value of Zimbabwe stocks may rise to $5 billion by the end 2009, a 500% gain from an estimated $1 billion in February, when trading resumed after a three-month closure, according to Renaissance Capital.
The market capitalization of shares on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange has a 10% chance of reaching $5 billion by the end of this year and a 60% possibility of increasing to $4.5 billion, from $4.08 billion yesterday, analysts led by Harare-based Dzika Danha wrote in a research note today.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono ordered the shutdown of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in November, alleging some traders were engaged in fraud, as President Robert Mugabe blamed pressure from western countries for pushing the economy toward collapse. The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange resumed trading in U.S. dollars on Feb. 19, a week after a new coalition government was sworn in under a power-sharing agreement between Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Read the rest of this entry »
Econet Wireless Global, which owns Zimbabwe’s largest telecommunications company, and Sweden’s Ericsson have signed a deal to expand Econet’s network in Zimbabwe, the two firms said on Thursday.
Econet Wireless Global’s subsidiary, mobile phone operator Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, has over 1.2 million subscribers in Zimbabwe and plans to expand its network to increase that number to 5 million by the end of 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
Botswana-listed Imara Asset Management is endeavouring to raise money for its Zimbabwe Value fund amid tentative signs of hope in Zimbabwe’s economy.
“We have seen a vast improvement since dollarisation. Prices have started to come down and we have started to see some foreign [investment] inflows,” said Grant Flanagan, Chief Investment Officer of Imara Zimbabwe and a native of the country.
The fund intends to invest in 10-15 projects in areas such as agriculture, diamond, gold, platinum, and coal mining.
Imara, a pan-African investment house, has a track record in the country. In 2007, it launched the Imara Zimbabwe fund, focused on the domestic stock market. Read the rest of this entry »
Zimbabwean broadcaster James Makawa talks about his latest media venture, Africa HD. According to James Makawa, the goal of Africa HD is to be Africa’s “first factory generating high-definition (HD) content out of Africa for global consumption because HD is the future.”
