IFR hosted a roundtable at its offices on June 25 to discuss developments in Sub-Saharan Capital Markets. Participating were Stuart Culverhouse of Exotix, François Ekam-Dick of Iroko Securities, Alex von Sponeck of Merrill Lynch, Francis Beddington of Standard Bank, and Ade Adebajo of Standard Chartered Bank. Sub-Saharan Africa has been firmly thrust into the capital markets spotlight for the first time. As perhaps the final frontier for global markets, the past couple of years have seen an ever

Francis Beddington - Standard Bank Francis Beddington is head of research for CEEMEA at Standard Bank PLC. He joined Standard Bank in March 2005 from JPMorgan. He joined Chase Manhattan/JPMorgan in 1997 from the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office. At the FCO, Beddington was a senior economist in the Overseas Development Administration with responsibility at one time or another for the majority the larger African and Middle Eastern economies. Beddington has a degree in Economics and E

IFR: The US pension funds have been going outside of the US over the last two years or so, and that is going to keep going. Francis Beddington: I think in Europe there has been a legacy of trading in multiple currencies anyway. So there are a lot of spare Italian swaps traders around. Alex von Sponeck: I think one very interesting thing we have seen – slightly off the subject but very relevant – is a large number of US investors, regardless of the fact that it is maybe a Reg S only deal (which i

IFR: So it will be the banks first as opposed to the corporations? Alex von Sponeck: Yes. Four banks have already come to the market in public and private format. Francis Beddington: There are two more that I know of that are in the process of coming probably in the next three or four weeks. François Ekam-Dick: But the Nigerian market is specific. It is not necessarily a reflection of other countries. Alex von Sponeck: Because of the size of the country. François Ekam-Dick: So I look at Nigeria

IFR: Africa has moved on the radar screens of the banking, capital markets and investor communities. Why Africa, why now, and what are the prospects? To get us into the conversation, let’s start with the economic outlook. Stuart, could you give us some general perspectives on the African economy (to the extent you can generalise about a continent), focusing on some of the major themes and economies? Stuart Culverhouse, Exotix: I think in headline terms, yes, Sub-Saharan Africa is not a homogenou