Company news in brief

Standard Bank eyes bulking up in East AfricaStandard Bank Group would consider doing an acquisition as it seeks to gain a greater foothold in east Africa, a region that’s been aided by increased ties to the Middle East.



The lender will first prioritise growing its market share organically, Sim Tshabalala, chief executive officer of Standard Bank, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin at the World Economic Forum in Davos.



“We’re also looking to look at buying market share in appropriate parts of the competitive environment, like for example where people are selling their books,” Tshabalala said. “We’re looking at opportunities to partner with others, and indeed we look for judiciously priced and appropriate opportunities to make acquisitions where they make sense.”



With R3.03 trillion in assets as of June, Standard Bank is Africa’s biggest lender. The company already has a presence in 20 African nations as well as in the US, China, United Arab Emirates, Isle of Man, Jersey and the UK.



East Africa’s economy has been expected to expand faster than other regions on the continent, aided by public spending on infrastructure, a push by governments to diversify their economies beyond agriculture and deeper regional trade. Countries like Kenya and Tanzania are expected to have some of the best-performing economies in the world this year.



“The first thing to do there is to grow organically, look for opportunities for our clients, look at what they’re buying, help them to make those acquisitions, look at the projects that they’re executing, help them to finance them, help them to raise the capital that they need, help people as they build,” Tshabalala said. – Fin24/BloombergSanlam banks on India



Sanlam, Africa’s biggest insurer, is banking on India to boost profit in the short term and help counter tepid economic growth at home in South Africa.



The Cape Town-based firm has the potential to triple the proportion of profit it derives from India within a decade, chief executive officer Paul Hanratty said. Sanlam has partnered with the Shriram Capital Group in the South Asian nation since 2005 and that country now makes up about 10% of profit.



India’s US$3.4 trillion economy is expanding almost five times quicker than Sanlam’s home market, with the World Bank forecasting 6.4% growth this year. That’s helped more than double the number of Indians earning over US$10 000 annually to 60 million in the past nine years, luring firms such as Sanlam and BlackRock Inc. to set up local ventures.



The partnership with Shriram, which operates a listed financing business and two insurance firms, gives it a foothold in a country with a population that exceeds Africa’s.



Sanlam’s shares have climbed 33% over the past 12 months, the biggest gain in the Johannesburg stock exchange’s gauge of four life assurance companies. The bourse’s benchmark index has dropped almost 8% in the period.



Sanlam depends on South Africa for about 75% of its revenue, but power shortages that have led to rotational blackouts are driving up costs and hobbling the economy.



Outside India, the CEO sees potential in some other African markets. There are about 10 countries on the continent that “move the dial for Sanlam,” and the insurer lacks the scale it should have in some of these, Hanratty said. – Fin24/Bloomberg