Africa

Societe Generale (BRVM:SGBC, GSE:SOGEGH) and Absa Group Limited (JSE:ABSP), two leading banks on the African continent, announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to roll out a commercial agreement and expand their activities through the development of a pan-African wholesale banking offering. Separately, Absa agreed to acquire Societe Generale’s custody, trustee and clearing services operated in South Africa, enabling Absa to advance its growth strategy.

The African Development Bank’s Board has approved the institution’s 2019 borrowing program to the tune of US$7.24 billion from capital markets.

Sub-Saharan African economies are still recovering from the slowdown in 2015-16, but growth is slower than expected, according to the October 2018 issue of Africa’s Pulse, the bi-annual analysis of the state of African economies by the World Bank. The average growth rate in the region is estimated at 2.7 percent in 2018, which represents a slight increase from 2.3 percent in 2017.

Global sukuk issuance is expected to reach $90-$100 billion in 2018, in line with 2017 levels, says Moody's Investors Service.