By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank has appointed one of its senior managers, Yevgeny Kolbin, as CEO of SberCloud, a subsidiary running a cloud platform for the ecosystem of Russia’s biggest lender. In his new role, Kolbin, who until now has headed Sberbank’s Digital Corporate Bank division, replaces Mikhail Lobotsky, who will stay on in SberCloud as… Continue Reading
Public Funds Summit in Arizona to focus on pensions
The Public Funds Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, on January 6-8 will address a range of public sector issues, including investment and ethics regulations, and will focus on public pension funds. Although the conference, organised by New York-based Opal Group, will be a public sector event, attendance will not be limited to public sector figures. The… Continue Reading
Russia’s Sberbank carries through senior staff moves
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank has parted company with Andrei Sharov, its head of government relations, moved head of marketing Vladislav (Vlad) Kreinin to the position of chief growth officer in the unit overseeing the bank’s ecosystem, and promoted senior executive Natalya Dudina to the role of head of human resources. Sberbank has credited Sharov with… Continue Reading
Sberbank, 500 Startups finish second joint accelerator for Russian firms
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank and San Francisco-based venture capital firm 500 Startups have finished the second seed accelerator in a joint programme for Russian technology start-ups. Sberbank invests in companies that take part in the programme. It pledged to put 6m roubles ($97,000) into each of 14 start-ups that were involved in… Continue Reading
RenCap hires Grigory Sedov as global head of private clients
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investment bank Renaissance Capital has hired Grigory Sedov as global head of private clients. As his previous role, Sedov was partner and deputy CEO of Russian investment firm Aton, which focuses on services for wealthy individuals. Sedov will be in charge of expanding RenCap’s range of services for private clients across the… Continue Reading
Silicon Valley’s Fort Ross invests in Kryon to promote business automation in Russia
By Andrei Skvarsky. Silicon Valley-based Russia-focused company Fort Ross Ventures has made an investment in multinational technology firm Kryon that is expected to boost the use of its automation solutions by Russian businesses. Kryon has developed a platform that comprises process discovery and robotic process automation (RPA) tools. The platform is used by companies including… Continue Reading
CORRECTION- Renaissance Capital makes senior hire for Nigeria investment banking team
(Correcting the job description of the newcomer, who is not head of the investment banking service). By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow-based investment bank Renaissance Capital has hired Oladipupo Adekanmbi, previously an adviser at Nigeria’s FBNQuest Merchant Bank, as vice-president, investment banking, Nigeria. A statement from RenCap, a bank focusing on emerging and frontier markets across the… Continue Reading
Sberbank’s Kazakhstan subsidiary to replace CEO
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank JSC, the Kazakh subsidiary of Russia’s largest lender Sberbank, is due to replace its CEO early next month as incumbent Alexander Kamalov is moving to another role in the Sberbank group and his first deputy, Yeldar Tenizbayev, will take up the reins. Tenizbayev is scheduled to take his new position on… Continue Reading
California city hosting educational forum on marketplace lending
A city in California is hosting an educational forum on December 8-10 on marketplace lending and alternative financing for investors, asset managers, family offices, insurers, lawyers, regulators and others. The Marketplace Lending & Alternative Financing Summit in Dana Point has dozens of topics on its agenda. They include online lending trends in the United States… Continue Reading
Sberbank’s intl business to be overseen by Denizbank ex-senior exec Timur Kozintsev
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank International will have a new chief executive as from the start of 2020 with Timur Kozintsev, a former senior figure at Turkey’s Denizbank, replacing Igor Kolomeysky at the helm of the international business division of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender. Kozintsev was hired by Sberbank in 2013 and, as its director for… Continue Reading
Russia’s Sberbank carries out big promo campaign, sells bonds worth $26.8m
By Andrei Skvarsky. Hundreds of thousands of people took advantage of an annual promotion campaign by Sberbank last month which, besides a bunch of special offers, enabled Russia’s biggest lender to sell bonds worth 1.71bn roubles ($26.8m). There were offers in a wide range of services, including medical treatment, tour operating, car sales and taxi… Continue Reading
One of Inflexion’s portfolio firms makes five buyouts in November
By Andrei Skvarsky. British investment company Inflexion Private Equity has announced that its portfolio company Radius Payment Solutions, a fuel card manager, made five acquisitions in November. Inflexion owns a minority stake in Radius, which is based in Britain and has offices in various parts of Europe. Radius’s five acquisitions are two vehicle tracking companies,… Continue Reading
Bankers, pension trustees, consultants, lawyers to gather at Alternative Investing Summit in California
Bankers, consultants, lawyers and others are going to get together at an alternative investing conference in California early in December to look at a range of issues such as risks, asset allocation options, and cost cutting options. The agenda for the Alternative Investing Summit in Dana Point on December 4-6 also includes opportunities in emerging… Continue Reading
Germany pledges 20m-euro soft loan to Namibia to support SMEs, rural families
By Andrei Skvarsky. The German government has pledged a concessional loan of 325m Namibian dollars (20m euros) to Namibia under a November 15 agreement to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and rural and remotely-located households in the African country. The money would be provided by German state-owned development bank KfW to Namibian national postal… Continue Reading
Sberbank moves into logistics market via SberLogistics subsidiary
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, in pursuing a diversification strategy, has moved into the country’s logistics market via SberLogistics, a newly founded subsidiary that has already put in place an extensive nationwide deliveries network and has large-scale near-term development plans. SberLogistics, which is based in Moscow and was set up in May 2019… Continue Reading
Uzbekistan reforms aim to build domestic capital market
By Quinn Martin, Managing Partner, Frontier.* Uzbekistan is on a roll with its economic reforms. This year alone, the country has issued a wildly successful debut Eurobond, kicked off an ambitious privatisation program, lifted restrictions on repatriation of corporate profits and floated its currency, thus eliminating a troublesome dual exchange rate system. Investors – both… Continue Reading
Alexander Morozov resigning as Sberbank CFO
By Andrei Skvarsky. Alexander Morozov is stepping down as the chief financial officer of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender. Morozov will pass over his formal position as CFO to Alexandra Buriko, currently an adviser to Sberbank CEO Herman Gref, as from January 1. However, he will exercise the top oversight of the lender’s financial affairs until… Continue Reading
Francesco Pascalizi joins Fabrizio Carretti as Permira co-head for Italy
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investment company Permira has announced it has elevated a member of its Italian team, Francesco Pascalizi, to the position of co-head for Italy to join Fabrizio Carretti in co-running the London-headquartered global firm’s Italian operation. Pascalizi, who will be based in Milan, joined Permira in 2007 and is a member of its… Continue Reading
PDM loan helps Equistone buy out service provider for cancer patients
By Andrei Skvarsky. A loan from debt investor Permira Debt Managers (PDM) has helped private equity firm Equistone Partners Europe to acquire Omnicare, a German provider of oncological services and cancer drugs. PDM-advised funds acted as senior secured lender in the buyout project, the London-headquartered debt investment company said in a statement. Most of Equistone’s… Continue Reading
Telco forum to mull buyouts in Africa as ways to boost profits
By Andrei Skvarsky. Numerous telecommunications companies are getting together for an Africa-focused conference late this month to discuss the future of buyouts in Africa’s financial technology sector and other industries in the continent as potential ways of making higher profits. TMT Finance Africa 2019, to be held in London on November 28, is expected to… Continue Reading
Sberbank to buy minority stake in MFT tech firm from Gazprombank
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, has signed a preliminary non-binding deal to buy a minority stake in Russian digital projects specialist MF Tekhnologii (MFT) from Gazprombank, another major Russian lender. MFT is a joint venture set up in June 2018 by Gazprombank, oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s USM Holdings, Russian mobile phone operator Megafon, and… Continue Reading
NOTICE: Digital Banking Summit put off till April 20-21, venue changed to Lagos
The Digital Banking Summit that was scheduled for November 25, 2019, and was to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, has been put off until April 20-21, 2020, and will take place in Lagos, Nigeria, the organisers, the ICSA company, have announced. The event website is now https://nigeriadigitalbanking.com/. Continue Reading
HYCM broker to run 1-day course on Gulf-centred advanced forex trade
By Andrei Skvarsky. London-headquartered foreign exchange (forex) broker HYCM is going to run a one-day training course in Dubai on November 1 on Gulf-centred advanced forex trade. “Becoming a Pro Trader: Master the Forex Market” will be a three-part course and will be in English. The parts are “embrace fundamental and technical analysis”, “monitor sentiment,… Continue Reading
AfDB, S. Korean govt paying for search for ways to diversify Angola exports
By Andrei Skvarsky. The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the South Korean government are funding a study aimed at finding ways to improve the business environment in Angola and diversify its exports. The money for the research, commissioned by the Angolan government, comes via the KOAFEC Trust Fund, a bilateral facility set up by the… Continue Reading
Russia’s Sovcombank sells 85 pc of debut Eurobond to European, US, Asian investors
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Sovcombank debuted in the global debt market this month with its first-ever Eurobond issue, 85 per cent of which was sold to European, US and Asian banks and investment firms with total demand that exceeded the bonds’ combined face value by more than one-third. Citi, J.P. Morgan, UBS, Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, and… Continue Reading
Nedbank co-sponsoring event to boost women’s role in African economies
By Andrei Skvarsky. Nedbank, one of South Africa’s biggest lenders, is co-sponsoring a planned high-profile conference late this month that aims to promote the role of women in African economies. The theme of the conference, to be held in Cape Town on October 29-30, is “Enhancing Impact: Digitalisation, Investment and Intra-African Trade”, according to the… Continue Reading
Marlin announces new investments
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investment company Marlin Equity Partners has announced that it has bought out Whitlock, a systems integrator and technology management firm, and that it has made a growth equity investment in regulatory compliance software provider SmartSearch. Marlin, a global company with more than $6.7bn of capital under management, has completed more than 150… Continue Reading
PDM loan helps Bridgepoint buy Qualitest software testing firm
By Andrei Skvarsky. Specialist debt investor Permira Debt Managers has enlarged the 150-company list of recipients of its financial support by lending to private equity group Bridgepoint to help it to buy out software testing company Qualitest. PDM’s Permira Credit Solutions Fund acted as senior secured lender in providing Bridgepoint with a loan that enabled… Continue Reading
Paxful bitcoin bourse upbeat about use of cryptos in Africa
By Andrei Skvarsky. According to bitcoin exchange Paxful, African businesses use cryptocurrencies on a rapidly increasing scale and many Africans see them as an opportunity to start a business. Africa is the “fastest-growing customer base” of the Delaware-based exchange company, Paxful said in a statement, putting its global number of users at nearly three million.… Continue Reading