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
Sberbank says sensational data theft fully solved
By Andrei Skvarsky. The source of last week’s sensational leak of Sberbank credit card details took “hours” to find out, Russia’s biggest lender said in announcing that the theft had been fully solved. The bank said in a statement that the data, which were put on sale in the black market, had been stolen by… Continue Reading
VC4A names 12 African startups to pitch to investors at Cape Town forum
By Andrei Skvarsky. Venture Capital for Africa (VC4A), a Netherlands-based startup promotion platform, has named 12 African startups that have been selected to pitch their business at an investors’ conference in Cape Town in November. The 12 companies, four of which are Egyptian, three Nigerian, four South African, and one Algerian, will showcase their projects… Continue Reading
CORRECTION: African Development Bank hosts investment promo event for North Africa
(Correcting ‘nearly half a decade’ to ‘nearly half a century’ in bottom para) By Andrei Skvarsky. The African Development Bank (AfDB) last week hosted a seminar in Tunis to advertise private investment opportunities in North Africa. The two-day event brought together nearly 200 participants from 23 countries who represented civil engineering, public works and other… Continue Reading
Mashreq, Emirates NBD launch digital solutions to help UAE’s traditional banking-plagued SME community
By Andrei Skvarsky. United Arab Emirates banks Mashreq and Emirates NBD have launched pioneering digital banking propositions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in what can solve a major problem for an economy nearly entirely consisting of SMEs. Abu Dhabi-based daily The National, citing the UAE government, said SMEs account for about 98 per cent… Continue Reading
New FX broker, Finior Capital, joins Abu Dhabi intl financial centre
By Andrei Skvarsky. A new company, foreign exchange (forex) brokerage Finior Capital, has been launched at the international financial centre in Abu Dhabi. While forex is its main specialism, Finior also offers brokerage services in metals, oil and other commodities trade, according to its newly-launched website, which has versions in English, Chinese and Arabic. Finior… Continue Reading
Thomson Reuters acquires FC Business Intelligence
Thomson Reuters has announced it has acquired FC Business Intelligence (FCBI), a global business-to-business events specialist, which will now be rebranded Reuters Events and operated as part of the Reuters News division of the world’s largest multimedia news provider. FCBI, which is based in London, organises conferences and exhibitions for diverse sectors including insurance, energy,… Continue Reading
REMINDER: International Collateral Management Forum to open in Vienna on Sept 26
This is a reminder about the International Collateral Management Forum in Vienna on September 26-27, a conference where European Commission officials, bankers and others are going to discuss challenges brought about by new regulations and other issues. The forum will bring together institutions including the European Commission, the European Association of CCP Clearing Houses (EACH – an organisation… Continue Reading
Sberbank’s Lev Khasis confirmed as Rambler chair after stake purchase
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank first deputy CEO Lev Khasis has been confirmed as chairman of the board of directors of Rambler Group after the latter became Russia’s largest media and entertainment company by selling nearly half its capital to the country’s biggest lender. Khasis, who keeps his Sberbank position, will have a one-year stint as… Continue Reading
Permira Debt Managers closes one more fund as part of structured credit strategy
By Andrei Skvarsky. London-based debt investment company Permira Debt Managers (PDM) has closed one more – the fifth – fund as part a 1.4bn-euro ($1.5bn) structured credit strategy launched in 2010. What PDM designates as the Sigma strategy specialises in investing in collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) with a total of 1bn euros ($1.1bn) having been… Continue Reading
Russia’s Sberbank hires Anna Kozlovskaya from Mastercard as PR chief
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has hired Anna Kozlovskaya from Mastercard as head of public relations. Kozlovskaya’s appointment takes effect on October 3, the bank said in a statement. At Mastercard, Kozlovskaya was head of communications for what the New York-based financial services corporation describes as “high growth European markets”, putting, among others,… Continue Reading