Baring Asset Management appointed Staffan Lindfeldt as head of Global Emerging Market Equities, and will be responsible for leading and managing the Global Emerging Market (GEMs) Equities Team. Joining from Handelsbanken Asset Management in Stockholm where he has been chief portfolio manager for Global Emerging Markets since 2006, Lindfeldt will be the lead investment manager on several of… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: Africa
Renaissance Capital strengthens South Africa research team with new hires.
Renaissance Capital has boosted its South Africa equity research team with the appointment of Zaheer Joosub as Vice President, covering the South African retail sector; and Ahmed Motara as Vice-President, covering the property sector. Joosub joins Renaissance from Citigroup, where he has worked as an equity analyst for the past nine years. He was ranked in the top-five… Continue Reading
Marsh appoints head of business development for MENA region
Marsh has appointed Neil Irwin to lead the firm’s business development across its Middle East and North Africa region. He will be based in Dubai and joins the region’s executive committee, reporting to Robert Makhoul, chief executive officer, Marsh MENA. After joining 1991, Irwin has held a variety of strategic business development, consulting and senior management positions within… Continue Reading
Deutsche Bank appoints regional head of global transaction banking for MEA
Deutsche Bank announced the appointment of Harold Leenen, as the regional head of global transaction banking (GTB) for the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Leenen takes over from Sriram Iyer, who will relocate to London as global head of Deutsche Bank’s trust & agency services group, which provides trustee, agency, escrow and related services to corporate clients,… Continue Reading
GOLDMAN SACHS COMMENT: A Few Days in Africa
By Jim O’Neill, Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management. I spent three days in Africa this week, or to be precise, Cape Town and briefly {{{*}}} Johannesburg in South Africa, as well as Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria. I attach the charts from my presentation about Africa’s potential, its challenges, and its current and future position… Continue Reading
J. P. Morgan: futures markets can help end global food shortages
By Andrei Skvarsky. J.P. Morgan, the US-based bulge bracket investment bank, argues that price benchmarks set in futures markets can help to get rid of distribution and other imbalances that leave 868m people across the world undernourished. {{{*}}} Today’s global food supply exceeds minimum dietary energy requirements by 50%, and the fact that so many people… Continue Reading
EBRD invests US$ 24.3 million in Egyptian white goods manufacturer
The EBRD is launching its first project with an Egyptian owned company and is now actively providing support to the four reforming economies in the Middle East and North Africa. The EBRD is lending 150 million Egyptian pounds (US$ 24.3 million) to Universal Metallurgical Company S.A.E. to finance the completion of a plant that will… Continue Reading
GOLDMAN SACHS COMMENT: Will the BRICS Announce a BRICS Development Bank?
By Jim O’Neill, Goldman Sachs Asset Management (weekly “Vewpoints”) Most stock markets enjoyed a further rally last week with a lot of subsequent media attention especially surrounding the succession of record highs in the Dow Jones index in the US, although the S&P is still yet to vault its pre-crisis highs. It wasn’t such a… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Goldman Sachs hires ex-Deutsche banker to run MENA unit
Goldman Sachs has hired Saleh Romeih, who left Deutsche Bank in September, as head of {{{*}}} securities division distribution for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), according to a financial market source. Romeih, who spent 18 years at Deutsche, was the German bank’s head for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa,… Continue Reading
RenCap hosting one-to-one pan-Africa investor conference
Moscow’s Renaissance Capital, seeing Africa as “a golden opportuunity for investors”, is hosting a three-day annual one-to-one pan-Africa investor conference in Lagos which opened on February 11. {{{*}}} “Against the current backdrop of global market instability, Africa remains a source of tremendous growth and opportunity”, RenCap said in a statement. The current fourth Pan-Africa Investor… Continue Reading
Abraaj hires EMPEA chief for top brass role
{{{?:0}}} The Abraaj Group, a Dubai-based private equity and venture capital firm, has handed a top managerial role to Sarah Alexander, head and co-founder of the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA), an independent global business promotion body. In her new job, which she takes up next month, Alexander will look after the North American… Continue Reading
RenCap: Africa a great place to invest
By Andrei Skvarsky. A Renaissance Capital team of analysts have brought out a book making a passionate case for investment in Africa, crediting the continent’s economy with developing by leaps and bounds. “The economies of most African nations have transformed beyond recognition, and are set to surpass the growth seen in Asia and India over… Continue Reading
VTB Capital hires ex-Royal Bank of Scotland researcher as chief economist for MEA
By Andrei Skvarsky. VTB Capital has hired Raza Agha from Royal Bank of Scotland as chief economist for the Middle East and Africa. Agha will be based in London, according to a statement from the Moscow-headquartered brokerage arm of Russia’s VTB Group. He had worked at the World Bank, the Netherlands’ ABN AMRO, the Pakistani… Continue Reading
RenCap carries out reshuffle to beef up equity products group
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital has carried through an internal reshuffle to improve cross-regional coordination in its equity products group by making senior appointments in New York, London, Russia and South Africa. Rupert Hope and Florian Hellmich were promoted to global co-heads of distribution in New York and London respectively. They will oversee operations in… Continue Reading
RenCap makes two promotions in Africa equity products team
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital has announced two promotions in its Africa-focused equity products group, with Ali Khalpey being appointed as head of South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa equities and Stanley Kariuki as head of equities for Kenya. Khalpey, who joined Renaissance in January 2010 and is based in Johannesburg, was head of equities for… Continue Reading
Deutsche Bank's CEEMEA top brass part company with senior figure
By Andrei Skvarsky. Deutsche Bank has parted company with Saleh Romeih, head of central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at the firm’s capital markets and treasury solutions (CMTS) unit. Nizar Al-Bassam, head of markets sales and coverage for the region, has been named as Romeih’s replacement, according to Bloomberg. Romeih is credited with… Continue Reading
Abraaj, US govt launch $400m Middle East private equity fund
By Andrei Skvarsky. Abraaj Capital, a leading Middle East private equity firm, is going to set up a $400m fund to boost small- and medium-scale business in North Africa and the Middle East and has signed a $150m deal with the US government to partially finance the project. Egypt is “one of the core target… Continue Reading
RenCap beefs up global business with dozen appointments
By Andrei Skvarsky. Renaissance Capital has beefed up its operations across the globe this month with a series of senior hires and staff moves. The appointees have filled equity products, research, electronic trading and other positions at RenCap, the Moscow-headquartered investment bank said in a series of statements. They include five senior managers in the… Continue Reading
GOLDMAN SACHS COMMENT: Apple, China and the Growth Markets
By Jim O’Neill, Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management. This past week, I spent 3 days in the US, in New York and Chicago. The main purpose of my NY visit was to host our 2nd GSAM Growth Markets Summit, which was quite an event, with many interesting speakers, panels and a great list of clients.… Continue Reading
Renaissance promotes Merzlenko, Andrews to partners
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Renaissance Group has appointed two of its top bankers, Alexander Merzlenko and Nick Andrews, as partners. Merzlenko joined Renaissance Capital in 2000. In 2009, he was appointed as RenCap’s head of Russian investment banking and financing, and in 2011 given an additional role as Renaissance Group’s deputy CEO for Russia. He… Continue Reading
VTB Capital makes new hires in Middle East and Africa
In line with VTB Capital’s global expansion strategy, James Williams, Head of Middle East Equity Trading, Nick Bye, Middle East Equity Structuring, Karim Nsouli, Head of Middle East Cash Equity Sales & Sales Trading, Ali Salam, Head of Strategic Equity Distribution – Middle East and Ziad Al Amin, Head of Multi Product Origination and Distribution… Continue Reading
VTB Capital appoints CEO for Middle-East and Africa
Makram Abboud has been appointed as CEO Middle East & Africa and Co-Head of the International Multi-Product Origination and Distribution group for VTB Capital plc. In both these roles, Makram will be responsible for the development and implementation of VTB Capital’s International Client Franchise strategy internationally and in MENA, where VTB Capital’s goal is to… Continue Reading
Renaissance parts company with two senior managers
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Renaissance Group has parted company with Ashar Qureshi, head of its fund management business, and Yury Gruzglin, global head of fixed income, currencies and commodities. Qureshi combined his role as chief executive of Renaissance Asset Management with the position of vice chairman of Renaissance Group. Qureshi joined the group in February… Continue Reading
Jordan asks to join EBRD
By Andrei Skvarsky. Jordan has asked to join the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with a view to receiving EBRD funding, the European institution said in a statement. Jordan has now joined Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia in seeking EBRD membership. The four nations are the target of support under the “Deauville Partnership”, launched at… Continue Reading
RenCap hires economist for Turkey, Eastern European countries, Egypt
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian broker Renaissance Capital has hired Mert Yildiz from Kuwait China Investment Company as economist for Turkey, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Egypt. Yildiz, who will be based in London, worked as an economist at the Istanbul operation of Dutch bank ING before joining Kuwait China Investment Company, RenCap said in a statement. Continue Reading