Africa’s largest firm sets sights on the US

Naspers aims to raise its exposure to start-ups to identify new internet prospects and also limit impact of a US rate hike

Naspers Ltd plans to increase its exposure to US technology startups as Africa’s biggest company by market value seeks to limit the impact of a US interest-rate rise and identify new internet growth prospects, chief executive officer Bob van Dijk said.

The company invested $100 million (Dh367 million) in September in Letgo, a US mobile-only classifieds-ads application, and plans further spending on companies based around San Francisco, the CEO said in an interview on November 28.

Naspers could base “a number of investment professionals” in the Bay Area to identify the right deals, he said.

“We will probably have more focus on the Bay Area than we’ve had previously,” Van Dijk said. “If we see the right opportunities we could see ourselves put a good amount of capital there.”

A greater focus on the US would represent a new direction for Cape Town-based Naspers, which has operations in more than 130 countries and has historically targeted emerging markets including China, India and Russia.

The company owns subSaharan Africa’s biggest pay-TV provider, while its biggest investment is a 34 per cent stake in Chinese Internet business Tencent Holdings Ltd, valued at about $64 billion.

Fed move

Naspers is braced for the US Federal Reserve to announce an interest rate rise, which would probably lead to the strengthening of the dollar and subsequent pressure on currencies in emerging markets where Naspers operates, Van Dijk said.

The company has currency-hedging in place to help limit the blow, he said.