Abraaj Group set on Africa

MIDDLE Eastern private equity investor Abraaj Group has placed Africa at the core to its investment strategy, as it bets the continent’s rising middle class will consume more goods. The Dubaibased group, which manages $10 billion (R136bn) across its funds, already has about $3bn invested in Africa in more than 40 companies, spanning health care, mining and dairy. Chief executive Arif Naqvi said he continued to believe in the opportunities that were offered by the continent. “It’s the consumption-driven economies that we focus on a lot,” Naqvi said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. “In those economies, as people emerge into the middle classes and move into cities, they’re going to want more product, more infrastructure.” He noted there could be shortterm problems in particular countries due to currency fluctuations or other things, but said the long-term trend of increased consumption would not stop. Abraaj invested in Indorama, the largest fertiliser manufacturer in sub-Saharan Africa, in October. Naqvi said he would be interested in buying Barclays Group’s Africa business if it were to come back on the block. “I think the real reality is it’s run by a fantastic management team, it’s got a great owner that has said it eventually wants to divest of it. Those activities stopped a year ago,” Navqui said. “If it were ever to come back to the table of course we would look at it.” – Reuters