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Showing posts from May, 2016

Africa, Population, Exports & Agriculture: Does any country get it?

Dear Africa interested individuals:                                                                When a country has a large population in comparison to most other countries in the world, its has to overly prioritize feeding its population.  Efforts should be focused on responsible agricultural investment within the populous country.  Beyond feeding a country's population and generating produce for internal consumption and export, agriculture is also the world's largest provider of jobs.   The twenty (20) most populous countries in the world as at 2015 are: 1. China 2. India 3. USA 4. Indonesia 5. Brazil 6. Pakistan 7. Nigeria 8. Bangladesh 9. Russia 10. Japan 11. Mexico 12. Phillipines 13. Ethiopia  14. Vietnam 15. Egypt 16. Iran 17. Germany 18. Turkey 19. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 20. Thailand     There are four (4) African countries among the twenty most populous countries in the world.  How are these coun

29 African Banks: Off-Balance Sheet Transactions & Leverage Interplay (Update)

Dear Africa interested individuals:                                                        Banks have been encouraged over the years to reveal more of their liabilities and potential liabilities on the balance sheet instead of off it.  This act helps improve transparency and gives investors a better chance to predict the likelihood of sudden and extreme deterioration across key financial performance indicators.   Potential risks to the balance sheet that are not on it,are usually found in the notes as contingent liabilities .  Guarantees, letters of credit, performance bonds and bankers' acceptances are usually listed off the balance sheet.  Some banks (like First Rand) have decided to put their bankers acceptances on the balance sheet.  The Central Bank of Nigeria under Sanusi issued a directive for all banks in Nigeria to move their bankers' acceptances onto the balance sheet.  Not all banks have complied with this directive and I am not aware of any reversal through

An article from the Guardian on Naira Devaluation

http://guardian.ng/opinion/naira-devaluation-proponents-got-it-wrong/ The above article from the Guardian Newspaper ( not prepared by me) shares my opinion that the Naira does not require further devaluation to make Nigeria better for its people and the economy . My original article is available on this blog titled: "Naira Devaluation." Have a nice weekend.  

UBA Nigeria & Equity Bank Kenya: Wisdom or Exuberance?

Dear Africa Interested Individuals:                                                         Two divergent comments from two bank CEOs crossed the airwaves this month and got me thinking all of a sudden.  As I pondered on the unfolding development, I had a brain flash and here is the end product.   Equity Bank CEO: James Mwangi announced this month that Equity Bank has suspended its African expansion plans due to slowing economic growth across countries of interest.  Equity Bank had planned to expand into Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Mozambique and Zambia as a first level priority.  A slide in commodity prices has caused African currencies to tumble and sent reverberating economic shocks across the continent.  Tunisia, Ghana and Angola have already received IMF aid with Zambia likely next in line.   Equity Bank will instead focus on deepening its presence in markets in which it already operates by growing branch networks.   Equity Bank still intends to achieve its original target of

Stock Exchanges need Independent Managers

http://www.theafricareport.com/East-Horn-Africa/jude-fejokwu-stock-exchanges-need-independent-managers.html                                           Tell others to tell others about this Blog

BULLS EYE on Tiger Brands...

Dear Africa interested individuals,                                                                  My article titled "Forte Oil: The market is waking up."  I mentioned that investors should buy Tiger brands as an event driven purchase.  I said it will return at least 50% in a few weeks.  The stock has already returned 70% since the day I mentioned this. I also spoke about Forte Oil.  It's the only stock today, May 13, 2016 among stocks in the Energy sector that is experiencing excess supply.  The positive vibe towards the sector is due to the deregulation of the downstream sector in Nigeria.  Investors apparently see more income in the short term. I f you have two years or less to wait and do not mind making 200% in exchange for your patience, then invest in FBN Holdings.  Don't ask yourself in the future: how did I miss that?       Tell others to tell others about this blog.

BRVM: West Africa's Regional Stock Exchange forging ahead

Dear Africa interested individuals:                                                         I was privileged to be invited to attend an event in New York with the CEO of BOURSE REGIONALE DES VALEURS MOBILIERES (BRVM )as the speaker.  He came to speak to US frontier market fund managers about the progress the exchange has made and plans for the future.  BRVM is the 6th (sixth) largest stock exchange in Africa by market capitalization.  The top five are: Johannesburg, Nigeria, Casablanca, Egypt and Nairobi.    Major takeaways: 1. Two stocks out of the thirty-nine listed companies on the Exchange are widely held by foreign institutional investors.  The two are:   A. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) is held by 30 foreign investors.   B. Sonatel  (Telecom) is held by 27 foreign investors.   Both stocks provide the most public financial and operational disclosure among all the listed companies on the BRVM.  We can see clearly see the appeal to foreign investors.

Is South Africa just SAVVY or is the rest of Africa just VAPID?

Dear Africa Interested Individuals:                                                          South Africa is Africa's second largest economy (dethroned two years ago by Nigeria) and most advanced economy.  South Africa is competing perennially as the   second   largest investor (foreign direct investment) in Africa typically behind the United States of America. South Africa has continually made it difficult for other African countries' companies to break into its market or export products into South Africa that these African countries have an absolute and/or comparative advantage over South Africa in through protectionist policies and high import tariff barriers . South Africa's foray into the continent creates relatively few  new   job opportunities.  This is despite the country being the second largest FDI investor in Africa and its massive investment outlay across the African continent from Morocco to Mozambique. There are over 60 successful South African

Market Update from articles posted on May 3, 2016

Dear Africa interested individuals,                                                         I said in the post script of my article about Forte Oil dated May 3, 2016 that Tigerbrands is an event driven 'play' that should be acted upon. The only  stock with the largest and maximum gain (10.00%)  for stocks traded on May 4, 2016 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange was Tigerbrands. I also wrote an article on where there is value and picked FBN to generate at least 200% within two years.  Both articles were published more than four hours before trading started on May 4, 2016. The stock with the largest volume & value traded for May 4,2016 was FBN Holdings .  The stock traded 117,002,338 shares valued at approximately $2.1m .  No other stock among the 87 stocks traded on May 4, 2016 traded more shares or more value.                                                 Until next time, hold on tenaciously to the                                            TRUTH: The Real Underst

Forte Oil: The market is finally waking up...

Dear Africa Interested Individuals:                                                         I wrote an article about Forte Oil on August 4, 2015 on this blog.   You should read or reread it as applicable .  Prior to that article, I had sent an email about the company's Q1 2015 result which was opaque and not fully reflective of the business reality of the company at the time.  The CFO of the company respectfully disagreed with me and the stock declined briefly and then went on a run during the last four months of 2015.  My conviction did not waver.  The price was rising artificially in my opinion.  One day, the price support will end and the price will fall to its equilibrium point as we are witnessing presently.  I believe its landing point should hover around N150.00.  Wish I could short...  In February, 2016 on this blog under the title: "Passing through the Nigerian market today" I also spoke about the share price of Forte Oil which was at N342.00 on that day.