African Banker’s World

INVESTMENT

IFC invests in Nigeria mall

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will invest $9.5m in Jabi Lake Mall to support demand for modern business infrastructure and retail space in Abuja, Nigeria. The project will help create about 350 construction jobs and 900 long-term, retail-sector jobs. Once complete, it will be Nigeria’s largest shopping mall with over 30,000 square metres of shopping space. The project’s primary sponsor is the Actis Africa Real Estate Fund 2. Duval Properties is the joint venture partner alongside Actis.

CDC invests in Cameroon power

CDC, the UK’s development finance institution, has committed up to $20m into Cameroon’s national electricity utility company, Société Nationale d’Electricité (SONEL), and in two independent power plants, Kribi and Dibamba. The investments have been made as part of the overall $202m transaction led by Actis.

LEGAL

RBZ cancels bank licence

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe cancelled Capital Bank’s banking licence, the main reason given being undercapitalisation. A report by Industrial Psychology Consultants established that Zimbabweans favour international banks to handle their funds.

Zim limits bank ownership

In its 2012 Banking Amendment Bill, Zimbabwe aims to prevent institutions from owning more than 25% of a bank without authorisation from its finance minister. Individual shareholders will be limited to holding 5%. The Bill will also prohibit banks from buying their own stock or making loans using their shares as security.

ISLAMIC FINANCE

First West African sukuk launched

Senegal launched its CFA100bn ($207m) sukuk, the first major Islamic bond by a West African nation, clearing the path for the continent’s biggest economies, South Africa and Nigeria. “There is tremendous potential for Islamic finance in Africa,” says Datuk Ahmed Abdel Karim, chief executive of the Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation. 

Farid Masood, senior advisor at Jeddah’s Islamic Development Bank says sukuk could help African countries to leverage “strategic relationships” with cash-rich countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and others.

The UK became the first Western country to launch a sukuk. The £200m bond was oversubscribed 10 times at $2bn.

CAPITAL MARKETS

West African capital markets could integrate

Capital markets across West Africa may soon be integrated to boost regional trading and liquidity flow among member states. “Integration of our capital markets will bring about formidable benefits, and help increase the breadth and depth of markets across our region,” said Arunma Oteh, director-general of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The West African capital market would comprise the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the Côte d’Ivoire Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) with a potential total valuation of £120bn.

Union to raise $750m
Union Bank of Nigeria’s shareholders gave approval to raising $750m in medium-term funding, which the bank says will be used to boost lending to the power, telecom and oil sectors. It is expected to raise the funds through the issuance of debt instrument(s), tenured bond(s) and Tier II securities or a combination of the financing options.

INTERNATIONAL

Ex-Im approves $1bn

The Export-Import Bank of the US (Ex-Im Bank) authorised $1.1bn to finance US exports to sub-Saharan Africa in the first seven months of fiscal year 2014. It is increasing the number of sub-Saharan authorisations, most of which benefit small exporters of spare parts, consumer goods and products supported through the Bank’s short-term export-credit insurance. In FY 2014 to date, it has approved over 100 authorisations for US exports to the region and is on track to exceed the record-high of 188 sub-Saharan Africa authorisations in FY 2013.