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Banking Different is becoming a reality. On a corporate side, while debt level of corporates in Mauritius have stabilised, we are unlikely to
see a significant demand in new loans. Corporate restructuring means that we may further grow in bond issuance, asset backed securities,
commercial paper as corporate seek to take advantage of excess of liquidity in the system with attractive prices instead of going through
traditional banking. Innovative banking is a must and we must competitively position ourselves as a financial services provider both on
the regional and global front. In line with the latter said, South Africa is a key market to bank on, with some high growth and relatively
stable and stand out economies like Kenya, Ethiopia and Côte d’Ivoire.
Despite African economies diverging in their growth paths from 2010 to 2015, the continent’s overall outlook remains promising. Africa’s
collective GDP is still expanding faster than the world average, and it is forecasted to accelerate over the next ve years to become the
world’s second-fastest-growing region once again. Africa could nearly double its manufacturing output from $500 billion today to $930
billion in 2025, provided countries take decisive action to create an improved environment for manufacturers.
South Africa’s challenging political environment will offer headwinds, with investor sentiment toward the country likely to remain subdued
preceding the December 2017 National Elective Conference. Between 2017 and 2025, the market is projected to expand by 2.8% in real
terms. Investment into improved logistics will dominate the investment focus, as the government works to facilitate the movement of
bulk freight- key to economic growth even in a low price environment- and stabilise the country’s power supply.
The Kenyan economy will continue to outperform the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa over 2017-2018 and growth prospects remain bright
beyond that. While growth will be aided by continued structural reforms to health, education and agriculture, it is expected that
infrastructure investment acts as the main growth driver. More specifically, continued expansion of the transport network, improvements
to power generation capacity and the growing real estate sector in Nairobi underpin the positive outlook on the Kenyan construction
sector.
Mauritius has successfully established itself as a recognized financial center. The FSPA has led initiatives to encourage further growth by
attracting treasury headquarters, family office management and other key functions. Benefits for Mauritian diaspora have also led to
an increase in specialized skills and wealth returning to the island. Successful global entrepreneurs have managed their international
investments from Mauritius to profit from the political and currency stability while still enjoying a low relative cost of operations.
AfrAsia has been at the pinnacle of this Mauritius opportunity as a Domestically Systemic Bank. Investment management is growing to
service the number of pensions, successful businesses and wealthy individuals who wish to keep their wealth safe. Cross pollination
of investment ideas is on the increase with the recent Africa Pensions conference held here. AfrAsia Capital Management offers our
valued clients international investment expertise on our open architecture platform facilitating direct access to the world’s leading
developed and emerging markets. We have established trusted relationships with institutions, family offices, pension funds, successful
entrepreneurs and business leaders across 22 countries.
Brexit, “the Trump effect”’, OPEC negotiations, Macron’s election, escalating North Korean threats, and many other factors have created
interesting investment opportunities that require a hawks eye on the global market to maximize benefits. Our focus is to preserve and
generate wealth by allocation to the world’s top performing funds, equities, bonds, structured products, REITs and niche opportunities,
in execution only or discretionary management mandates. We have a unique deep understanding of our bespoke clients’ needs and the
ability to facilitate holistic investment solutions and gearing where necessary from one boutique bank.
Bilal Adam
CEO
AfrAsia Capital
Management
Robin Smither
Senior Executive,
Corporate Banking