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LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Newly Africa-focused Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital has launched a stock index covering 11 markets in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting growing interest in the region, the bank said on Wednesday.

The RC SSA 50 index is made up of 50 equities and represents 62 percent of the total market capitalisation of the domiciled sub-Saharan equity market, at $61.3 billion, Renaissance Capital, also known as RenCap, said in a statement.

The index covers equities in Botswana, the West African regional stock exchange Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Monetaires (BRVM), Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The base date of the index is Jan. 2, 2007, and the total dollar return of the index since inception is 39 percent, compared with a gain of 29 percent in the benchmark MSCI global emerging equity index, the bank said.

Investors have shown an increasing interest in Africa as they search for higher returns within emerging markets, but lack of liquidity remains a deterrent.

RenCap, a 12-year old firm with brokering, private equity and a $4.5 billion asset management business, told Reuters earlier this year it plans to double its $500 million investment into Africa by next year and aims to help African firms raise capital on global markets.

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.  

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Former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said it is possible that the euro could replace the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of choice.

According to an advance copy of an interview to be published in Thursday’s edition of the German magazine Stern, Greenspan said that the dollar is still slightly ahead in its use as a reserve currency, but added that “it doesn’t have all that much of an advantage” anymore.

The euro has been soaring against the U.S. currency in recent weeks, hitting all-time high of $1.3927 last week as the dollar has fallen on turbulent market conditions stemming from the ongoing U.S. subprime crisis. The Fed meets this week and is expected to lower its benchmark interest rate from the current 5.25 percent.

Greenspan said that at the end of 2006, some 25 percent of all currency reserves held by central banks were held in euros, compared to 66 percent for the U.S. dollar.

In terms of being used as a payment for cross-border transactions, the euro is trailing the dollar only slightly with 39 percent to 43 percent.

Greenspan said the European Central Bank has become “a serious factor in the global economy.”

He said the increased usage of the euro as a reserve currency has led to a lowering of interest rates in the euro zone, which has “without any doubt contributed to the current economic growth.”

© 2007 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

By press time of the article above, the US Federal Reserve had not yet announced its intentions to cut benchmark rates by half a percentage point.

As of the time of this posting the rate stood at 4.75% bringing new surge in the markets around the world with the Dow Jones gaining over 300 points in one day … thanks a trillion.

Brainwave R Mumba, Sr.

Market Reaction Around The World …

StarPhoenix Interest rates decision spurs Australian stock market Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia - 1 hour ago THE US central bank’s decision to slash interest rates for the first time in four years spurred the Australian stock market to its biggest one-day rise in a … Fed Cuts Rate Half Point, and Stock Markets Soar New York Times Fed lowers interest rate, and stock markets soar Kansas City Star Fed’s Rate Cut Korea Times TheStreet.com (subscription) - San Jose Mercury News all 2,326 news articles » Aljazeera.net Asia markets soar after US rate cut Aljazeera.net, Qatar - 8 hours ago Asian stock markets have seen strong gains, following the first cut in US interest rates for four years. Shares on Wednesday were up by more than 3 per cent … Asia Stocks Jump After Wall Street Surge Washington Post Most Asian markets lower; Tokyo stocks fall amid renewed concern … International Herald Tribune Financials weigh on Asian stock markets Financial Times Euro2day - Euro2day all 393 news articles » StarPhoenix Toronto stocks seen rising on commodities Reuters Canada, Canada - 3 hours ago TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto’s main stock market index was seen opening higher on Wednesday as the US Federal Reserve’s bigger-than-expected interest rate … Stocks surge post-Fed Globe and Mail Toronto stocks steady ahead of Fed decision Reuters Canada Toronto stocks steady before Fed decision Reuters Canada Globe and Mail - The Canadian Press all 146 news articles » Montreal Gazette Clash Of The Emirates Forbes, NY - 21 hours ago … could give Nasdaq an extra-thick financial shield against the ambitions of Dubai as well as more investment in international stock markets for Qatar. … Stockholm shares close lower, but OMX up on M&A speculation - UPDATE Forbes all 48 news articles » Hindu Stock markets, rupee scale record highs Earthtimes.org - 2 hours ago The 30-stock Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index (Sensex) rose 653.63 points or 4.2 percent to 16322.75 at close. All the components of the index were … Markets surge on Fed Reserves rate cut buzz Business Standard Sensex breaches 16000 mark; up 653 points at close Zee News Sensex recovers initial losses in late morning deals Hindu Hindu - Economic Times all 87 news articles » Stock Market Update - Wed Sep 19 12:00:01 EDT 2007 Reuters - 11 minutes ago … 5.5% gain in the stock. The feeling that the market is getting a bit overbought on a short-term basis could invite some afternoon selling interest. … Stock Market Update - Wed Sep 19 09:45:01 EDT 2007 Reuters - 2 hours ago COM] The stock market has started the session on an upbeat note as the good vibes from yesterday’s trading continue to be felt. … Global stock markets rally after US interest-rate cut Belfast Telegraph, United Kingdom - 8 hours ago Stock markets across the world are continuing to rally amid signs that the global credit crunch is starting to ease. The rally follows a decision by the US … Stock Market Update - Wed Sep 19 10:35:01 EDT 2007 Reuters - 1 hour ago COM] Buying interest has calmed after the excited start that followed yesterday’s rate-cut rally and the huge gains in foreign markets overnight. … Capital News 9 After Fed cut, debt market problems persist CNNMoney.com - 1 hour ago Global stock markets cheered Tuesday after the central bank cut the target for a key short-term interest rate. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial … AP Executive Morning Briefing The Associated Press Debt Market Looks to Fed to Restore Confidence New York Times Wall St. awaits the other Fed guy CNNMoney.com CNN-IBN - USA Today all 157 news articles »

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The Zambian Enterprise is among the world’s premier emerging market sports synonymous to what Russia was 10 years ago; but it is the only sport in the Sub-Saharan region.

The Lusaka Stock Exchange rose by an amazing 82% in the last 12 months and the mortgage business is taking shape with 15 year mortgages available to qualified buyers. 

Other sports are Nigeria in West Africa and Pakistan in the Middle East. For Nigeria in terms of population, natural resources and amount of privatization that is slated to occur, among other things their index is up 108% in the last one year. Their government (Nigerian) has over $64 billion dollars in reserves while Zambia’s currently stands at $183 million dollars. 

Pakistan on the other hand their K100 was only up 52% and trailed way behind Zambia’s and is relatively insulated against any major global market moves, either up or down, just because there is still not a lot of foreign money there. 

(while it took the man and son in this picture 10 years to build his house, it only takes months with Lilayi Project)

Therefore, Zambia remains the most favorable destination and its economy is likely to triple in the next five (5) years. With the above in mind coupled with the emerging middle class whose net worth is likely to increase due to their equity in real estate holdings, secondary derivatives are likely to spur the economy for at least 15 years in a row. 

New home buyers today are likely going to mine gold just like what happened to California during the dot.com boom. Homes that are being bought for say $X will soon be valued at over $3X should the economy triple.  

Government royalties which were at 0.6% will more than quadruple should government reach tentative agreements with mining companies to peg them at 3.0% thereby exponentially increasing our reserves.  

With already $30.00 million dollars set aside by government for infra-structural development, unemployment will soon be on a decline. 

Overall, Zambia’s outlook has never been better; the only problem is that our market is such a small one in terms of consumerism but the Japanese realized that too earlier on and turned theirs into an export economy. Zambians abroad need to seriously start looking at their stake in this pie … thanks a trillion.

Brainwave R Mumba, Sr. 

CEO & President – Zambian Chronicle 

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