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Focus on Africa: Local knowledge is key to financing
27 March 2009
Africa remains a region where understanding the vagaries of local jurisdictions is crucial for investors in mitigating risk. During this downturn the best opportunities may be open to partnerships between local and international banks.
Read more:
Africa
Risk
Nedbank
Investec
RMB
HSH Norbank
South African Aiways
Ethiopian Airways
Arik Air
Spanning more than 60 territories, the world’s second largest and second most populous continent should be a key market in airfinance. And given the lack of road and rail infrastructure in many African countries, it would seem an unmissable opportunity for financiers.
But a combination of poor credit profiles amongst African carriers and the complexities of risk in the various jurisdictions deter the uninitiated investor. This is becoming more pronounced during the downturn as investors take refuge in solid credits. But for those with local insight, there are opportunities to tap this potentially huge market.
Risky business
“In the past there has maybe been a handful of carriers in Africa you can do business with,” says Volker Fabian, head of aviation, Europe, Middle East, Africa and India, at HSH Nordbank. Outside North Africa, the list of sound carriers would include South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and potentially recent Nigerian...
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