Kyle Smith, analyst at African Alliance Asset Management, explores the investment opportunity of South African listed companies as they become an increasingly viable proxy for African economic exposure.
In the months leading up to January 2015, the price of oil fell by 60% driven down largely by booming shale oil production, the drop in energy demands from emerging markets and the strengthening of the US dollar. By late-January of 2015, Brent Crude traded at around $50, hitting its lowest-levels since the global financial crisis in 2009. Prices however recovered to around $60-65 by the end of the first quarter of 2015 – but this still represents a major adjustment from the $90-110 average price levels we’ve seen over the last five years.
Alkan Shenyuz, CEO of Veventis, analyses the Egyptian market, the aftermath of the Arab Spring and whether it is safe to return for investors.
Mozambique liquefied natural gas (LNG) stands to transform the country and entrench it as a leading player in the global LNG industry. Developing these reserves and scaling up the currently planned LNG facility to its potentially multi-train capacity, will establish Mozambique as one of the largest exporters of LNG, a commodity of increasing global prominence.
A new $918m deal with the IMF should alleviate some of Ghana’s fiscal pressures and help restore investor confidence ahead of a critical bond issue, but further reforms will be needed to balance the budget.
Kenya in particular and East Africa as a whole are the real winners emerging from global market volatility, and 2015 will be a prosperous year for the region, says Anna Rosenberg of Frontier Strategy Group
Investing in frontier markets can come with a higher degree of volatility than more established markets, but to Dr. Mark Mobius and his team at Franklin Templeton Investments, they offer exciting potential.
Trouble was brewing long before the decision to seek IMF assistance last August, writes Said DeSaque, CEO and Principal, DeSaque Macro Research.
After five years of political instability, Madagascar’s economy, although very fragile, is starting to get investors’ attention, writes Anna Lyudvig.
Nigeria and Kenya frequently feature as the top investment destinations in Africa, with Nigeria being the clear front runner. Investors, however, are starting to view East Africa as a combined investment region that could rival the West African giant, using Kenya as a sturdy stepping stone to the wider East African region.
The listed property sector continues to show significant outperformance, despite property funds operating in a challenging environment. However, this degree of relative outperformance is not sustainable.
South Africa is in the unfortunate position of being very dependent on the actions of the US Fed and the Chinese authorities, meaning that the SA Reserve Bank cannot focus purely on domestic factors when setting interest rates, according to Izak Odendaal, Investment Analyst at Old Mutual Wealth.
