Africa

Almost five years after the Nigerian Pensions Reform Bill was passed into law, has the country seen significant benefits from the creation of a pension system? Dorothee Gnaedinger investigates

US - African stock markets will launch a campaign to attract more investors from the US and Europe to boost liquidity in their markets, said Sunil Benimadhu, chief executive officer of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.

SOUTH AFRICA - Trustees have a duty to recover profits made by pension fund administrators that have not been disclosed to pension schemes, the pension funds adjudicator (PFA) has ruled.

SOUTH AFRICA - The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) has declared its support for a lawsuit against Investec Employee Benefits (IEB), in which the South African Equity Workers Association (SAEWU) is seeking R4bn (US$470m) over allegations...

SOUTH AFRICA -The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has processed 5,000 applications for pensions from men aged between 63 and 64 since the new Social Assistance Amendment Act came into effect on 14 July.

SOUTH AFRICA - Leading figures in the South African pensions industry have called for confidence to be restored in the country's pensions system, following a series of scandals.

AFRICA/DENMARK - The DKK440bn (US$92bn) ATP fund has confirmed it is considering divesting from mining firm Anglo American over its continuing activity in Zimbabwe.

SOUTH AFRICA - Watson Wyatt has completed its acquisition of a 20% stake in consulting firm Fifth Quadrant, as revealed exclusively by Global Pensions in December ( www.globalpensions.com , 3 December 2007).

AFRICA - Talks have been held in Nigeria and Ghana to investigate establishing a fiduciary ratings agency in a bid to improve the continent's investment competitiveness.

Investors considering entering African frontier markets should do so sooner rather than later to take advantage of the growth opportunities in the area, warned one expert.