African Digest

Global fund managers see Africa as next investment haven: survey
GLOBAL institutional investors plan to boost their asset allocation in African markets over the next five years, and are shifting to long-term investment strategies for the continent, a survey showed.

51 per cent of the 158 investors polled by Invest AD and the Economist Intelligence Unit agreed that Africa’s frontier markets – which are the smallest, less developed and less liquid countries that make up emerging markets – will offer the best overall prospects for investment growth in the next decade. Investors eye Africa’s emerging middle class as the most attractive aspect for the continent, which until now has been a largely natural resources play.In terms of popularity with investors, Nigeria and Kenya top the list, followed by
Zimbabwe, Egypt, Ghana and Libya. Zambia dissolves board of ZamtelJOHANNESBURG – Zambia has dissolved the board of Libya-controlled Zamtel and appointed a new acting CEO, the government said yesterday, following its plan to take back 75 per cent in the fixed-line operator from owner LAP Green Network. The government also said in a statement that it would restructure the ownership of Zamtel to ensure Zambians own the bulk of the new company.’The President has ordered the dissolution of the board of Directors of Zamtel,’ Lusaka’s State House said in the statement. Zambia’s finance minister said on Monday the company planned to take back the 75 per cent stake, which was sold by the previous administration to the Libyan operator for $257 million.Chevron’s SA refinery to shut in February for repairJOHANNESBURG – Chevron’s 100 000 barrel-per-day South African refinery will shut down for 43 days from February 17 as the plant undergoes planned maintenance, an official said yesterday.For the first two weeks all production units at the Cape Town refinery will be down, although the company says it has taken contingency measures to obviate any shortages in Africa’s largest economy which relies on imported crude fuel.’We have put measures in place to ensure an adequate supply of fuel and other products during this period,’ Steven Parker, general manager at Chevref, said in a statement.