Citigroup, Credit Suisse await Africa asset sales for deals

Bloomberg

Citigroup Inc and Credit Suisse Group AG are expecting more African deals as governments sell assets and Ethiopia opens up.
“Privatisation is a theme we see as becoming increasingly important given the fiscal pressures faced by many African governments,” Vikas Seth, the head of global emerging markets within investment banking and capital markets at Credit Suisse Group AG, said in an interview at the World Economic Forum on Africa. “Several governments recognise the need for reform.”
“Sizable transactions” such as the Ethiopian telecoms auction and Angola’s planned privatisation of 175 companies are “keenly anticipated,” he said. Foreign enthusiasm for Africa has long been fickle. But the continent has been piecing together the largest free-trade zone. Once in motion, the African Continental Free Trade Area will cover a market of 1.2 billion people, with a combined gross domestic product of about $2.5 trillion.
Six of the world’s fastest-growing economies are in Africa.
East Africa is also drawing attention as regional firms seek to expand in Ethiopia, according to Miguel Azevedo, Citigroup’s head of investment banking for the Middle East and Africa.