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Cover Story
Over the course of the past quarter, This is Africa has been speaking with senior figures in the banking industry across the continent, as well as to some of the sector’s leading analysts and investors. No two banks are the same, but across almost all TIA’s conversations, three key themes emerged:
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Tunisian Foreign Affairs Minister Kamel Morjane PHOTOS: AFP/getty images
Negotiations over expanding Tunisia’s integration into the European Union are raising questions about the efficacy of Brussels’ soft power mechanisms in promoting political reform in the Southern Mediterranean
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Andry Rajoelina PHOTOS: Getty
“We are on the path to reform and this is the first time that the one in power will not run in the next presidential election. This has always been a problem in Madagascar and in Africa, because those in power always want to stay”
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Brazil PHOTOS:Bloomberg
Brazil is actively sharing its experience in agriculture with Africa, and there are hopes that this might be a critical contribution towards realising the continent’s elusive ‘green revolution’
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Building on a qualified success
Ten years after the Clinton administration adopted the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a groundbreaking piece of trade legislation, Agoa’s architects are petitioning to take it a stage further and increase US investment in Africa
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Anna Tibaijuka: Exclusive Interview
Africa’s urbanisation must be understood and managed to prevent growing inequalities from becoming a source of conflict, according to Anna Tibaijuka, under-secretary-general of the United Nations and executive director of urban development body UN Habitat.
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Kaberuka’s revolution
Quiet streets greeted the African Development Bank’s return to Abidjan, its former headquarters, this May for its 45th annual meetings. The bank left in 2003, precipitated by the deteriorating security situation in the city as Côte d’Ivoire slid into civil war. Today it occupies three buildings in Tunis – a “Temporary Relocation Agency” that has begun to seem less and less temporary. Its dislocation has been frustrating for bank staff and for international partners, but with elections in Côte d’Ivoire repeatedly postponed an imminent return has seemed unlikely.
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Mobile money goes mainstream
When Vodafone launched the M-Pesa mobile money transfer service through its subsidiary Safaricom in Kenya in February 2007, few could have predicted its success. Originally developed with funding by the UK’s Department for International Development, it has quickly outgrown its development roots. By April of this year the service had 9.5m active users and accounted for approximately $330m worth of person-to-person transactions.
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Indian demand fuels African cashew trade
West Africa is developing into an increasingly significant producer and processor of cashew nuts, feeding into lucrative markets in India
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Nurturing innovation
The Nile Exchange is one of a number of initiatives designed to provide a boost to Egypt’s small- and medium-sized enterprises but these are just a small step on the difficult path towards creating a culture of entrepreneurship in the region
Articles from The Banker
- Is the European high yield market coming of age? Good reaction: Chemical company Ineos raised €870m on the high-yield market The European high-yield market was, for years, driven by leveraged buyout activity. Now corporates are accessing the market in their own right. So, is European high yield coming of age? Writer Joanne Hart
- Post-crisis reality bites for Spain's Cajas The cranes in Spain: a collapse in Spain's property market has created significant difficulties for the country's financial institutions Once considered one of the better-placed survivors of the financial crisis, the property bubble bursting in Spain has hit the country's savings banks hard, resulting in calls for consolidation in the sector. Writer Rodrigo Amaral
- Top 1000 World Banks 2010 Many Western banks are rebounding from the huge losses of 2008 and have strengthened their grasp on the top of the rankings, but elsewhere the pain is just beginning. Philip Alexander reports.
- Landesbanken under pressure to restructure Under review: there have been calls for Bayern LB (headquarters pictured) to be sold following its recent difficulties The German Landesbanken were hit hard by the financial crisis, and bailouts at both state and federal level have allowed the national government and the EU to increase the pressure for both restructuring and reform. Writer Michael Marray
- BNP Paribas consolidates crisis gains Martin Egan, global head of primary markets and origination, and Arne Groes, global head of distribution, at BNP Paribas BNP Paribas has had a good crisis. Now, after a reorganisation at the top level of the investment bank, the challenge is to consolidate the gains it has made and expand its US and Asian presence, a task that its new global head of primary markets and origination and global head of distribution are relishing. Writer Geraldine Lambe
Articles from Foreign Direct Investment (fDi)
- Editor's note: Think the world’s gone pear-shaped? Try a banana A rare, enforced stint at home left Courtney Fingar pondering the shape of the post-crisis world. After struggling to fit a spherical peg into a banana-shaped hole, the conclusion was that the world, emerging and developed, is much more complex, and interwoven, than many people realise.
- Advance with hope The chairman of the Trade Bank of Iraq tells Courtney Fingar how things are looking up in Iraq, with banks seeing progress with letters of credit and discussions in place to help finance the projects earmarked for the country.
- Middle East Cities of the Future 2010/11: Now accepting entries In December 2010, fDi Magazine will publish a ranking of the economic, business and financial strengths of cities in the Middle East. We want to find those cities, small and large, with the best prospects for inward investment, economic development and business expansion. We will be looking at more than 60 criteria covering everything from cost effectiveness to human resources and infrastructure.
- Plotting their next move In the aftermath of the global downturn, many companies are relocating to areas that offer tax breaks. However, for companies relocating, and areas hoping to attract their business, there is more to think about than just financial incentives, as Spencer Anderson reports.
- Big business The new free-trade area covering south-east Asia and china is causing companies to rethink their crossborder strategies and reorganise their supply chains in the region. Y Y Tang reports.
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Interviews
Andry Rajoelina
“We are on the path to reform and this is the first time that the one in power will not run in the next presidential election...”
Anna Tibaijuka
Africa’s urbanisation must be understood and managed to prevent growing inequalities from becoming a source of conflict, according to Anna Tibaijuka,...
