News and developments on African capital markets: African securities, African stock exchanges, African equities, African bonds, African private equity/venture capital, and African social impact investment. Twitter @africancapital, LinkedIn African Securities Exchanges group.
The International Finance Corporation plans to invest up to $700 million in new African telecommunications projects in this year and the next, says Reuters.
Government leaders, regulators and decision-makers across Africa recognize the success of private equity in growing companies, creating jobs and developing infrastructure. They are actively considering ways of encouraging flows of capital, both international and domestic, into private equity.
NYSE Euronext Inc. has seen a threefold increase in the trading of African stocks on its exchanges over the past 5 years and twice as many exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on Africa in the past 12 to 18 months.
Templeton fund manager Mark Mobius picks China and Nigeria as tips over the next 12 months, according to an interview with Reuters. Mobius oversees more than $40 billion as chairman of Franklin Templeton’s Emerging Markets Group.
Markets are reacting quickly to the news that Laurent Gbagbo was sworn in as president of Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday (4 Dec). The World Bank and African Development Bank on Sunday said in a joint statement: “The African Development Bank and the World Bank, longstanding multilateral development partners of Côte d’Ivoire, view with great concern and frustration the events unfolding in Côte d’Ivoire.”
Impact investing represents big shift for Africa, as highlighted at this week’s Social Capital 09 conference in San Francisco.