Andrew Stegmann

Millions shaved off SA Tourism’s budget

randnotereuters1SA Tourism has effectively lost R50 million (€3m) of its overseas marketing budget as a result of the weakened rand, SA Tourism Acting CEO, Sthembiso Dlamini, told Tourism Update this week.

Speaking on the side-lines of the ITB tradeshow in Berlin, Dlamini said the organisation would always be vulnerable to currency fluctuations.

However, she was upbeat about the organisation’s ability to market South Africa despite this challenge. She said the key was to look at creative and innovative ways to market the country, leveraging partnerships. Dlamini said these included partnering with embassies and also joint marketing agreements with trade.

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Andrew Stegmann

NIGER’S TROUBLED ELECTION CYCLE

Flag_of_Niger_5!3.svgNiger will hold a presidential run-off election on 20 March. Following the initial round, held on 21 February, the two top candidates were President Mahamadou Issoufou (48 percent of the vote) and opposition leader Hama Amadou (17 percent of the vote).

Amadou came second despite currently being incarcerated. He has been detained since November on human trafficking charges; he alleges the charges are politically motivated. On 8 March, the opposition Coalition for an Alternative, which supports Amadou’s candidacy, announced that it would boycott the run-off poll, citing election fraud and Amadou’s continued detention. The coalition has also asked its members to suspend participating in national assembly sessions, and the national election commission. Amadou is expected to stand trial on 23 March, following the run-off poll.

Analysis

The election period has been closely contested; however, the continued detention of Amadou has increased political tensions considerably between the regime and the opposition.

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Andrew Stegmann

How Foreign Investments In Africa Create A New Young Wealthy Class

nigeriajets21-620x350A huge inflow of capital from all parts of the world into Africa has helped create a new class of super wealthy Africans and there’s no sign it will stop anytime soon, says Peter Welborn, chairman of U.K.-based real estate firm Knight Frank Africa.
Entrepreneurship, innovations and investments from North America, Europe, China and the Gulf are increasing the population of super wealthy individuals in Africa faster than the global average, according to the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2016.
The proportion of super rich Africans is expected to increase by 54 percent from 2015 to 2025 compared to the global average of 41 percent in the same period, ShanghaiDaily reported.
An ultra high net worth individual is defined as having investable assets of $30 million plus. Here’s how the classes break down, according to Investopedia:
The high net worth “club” is $1 million in liquid financial assets. An investor with less than $1 million but more than $100,000 is considered to be “affluent”, or perhaps even “sub-HNWI”. The upper end of HNWI is around $5 million, at which point the client is then referred to as “very HNWI”. More than $50 million in wealth classifies a person as “ultra HNWI”.

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Andrew Stegmann

Chinese Investment Boosts Africa’s Property Market

china-africaThe inflow of Chinese investments into Africa’s real estate sector has had a positive effect on the continent’s property sector, experts said on Thursday.
Peter Welborn, Africa chairman of global real estate consultancy Knight Frank, told Xinhua in Nairobi that in some Africa countries such as Tanzania, there has been a lowering of office rent as a direct result of Chinese built commercial and residential houses.
“Chinese investors have increased the supply of buildings and hence reduced the prices for rent,” Welborn said during the launch of the firm’s Wealth Report 2016.
Welborn said Africans prefer to work with foreign investors who believe in the continent’s future.
“The Chinese have been preemptive in believing in Africa and that’s why they have been successful in the real estate sector,” he said, adding that the typical model that Chinese investors use is to partner with local investors.
“The Chinese provide the funds while the local partner provides the land. In this way, under-developed land is developed to create modern commercial and residential buildings,” he said.

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