Assets & Investments

Small and innovative renewable energy projects battle to raise funds through formal channels. One possible solution is to reach out to communities with an interest in those projects to help fund them through crowdfunding initiatives.

The Protection of Foreign Investment in Africa –a first-of-its-kind short course in foreign investment law on the continent – could help investors make the most of increasingly attractive opportunities in Africa.

Investing offshore should never be a knee-jerk reaction to current events, but rather a decision that is taken as part of an overall financial plan. With elections looming and many investors in panic mode, South Africans need to make sure they are investing offshore for the right reasons.

Tension between the two economic giants in the world, China and the United States (US), might have a silver lining for Africa. The administration of president Donald Trump is set to increase investment into the continent, in a bid to counter the narrative that China's influence in Africa is rising, while the US falls off with its 'America first' approach.

There are many concerns swirling around South African investors at the moment, making it a particularly tricky time to establish a level of strategy conviction. Major geopolitical events could have any number of outcomes and in South Africa (SA), pervasive uncertainty seems to be the watchword as we inch towards elections in May. 

The Q4 2018 GDP growth numbers are encouraging in light of the tough environment that we have just emerged from. Given that we came out of a technical recession in 2018, the turnaround to see positive growth for the full year is heartening. And while it may still not be enough to address many of our structural issues, the positive signs are likely to keep the rating agencies at bay.

While the bank’s West African-associate weighed on 2017 earnings, a turnaround last year helped mitigate challenging conditions at home. Nedbank has benefitted from a turnaround at its Ecobank Transnational International (ETI) associate as growth in its home market continues to stagnate.

The food producer says there’s an oversupply of chicken in the market due to imports, while high levels of imported sugar remain even after the government increased tariffs.

The last quarter of 2018 can be described as the worst period that investors have experienced since the global meltdown of the financial markets in 2008/9. When these moments of market correction occur, astute investors sit tight while others panic and make irrational decisions.

Statistics indicate that only about 6% of South Africans are able to meet their retirement income objectives and retire comfortably. Compounding this issue is that 97% of South Africans elect to withdraw their retirement fund savings in cash when they resign or are retrenched.