It is tempting to see links between increased portfolio investment flows to Africa and May’s emerging market stutter. When foreign investors start buying treasury bills in risky, rarely heard-of African countries, surely the market is overheating and courting a correction?
Not according to investors. Matthew Vogel, head of emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) strategy at Barclays Capital, talks of “sharply improved” perceptions of African capital markets. And Razia Khan, chief economist for Africa at Standard Chartered, describes “very favourable trends” underpinning the new-found appetite for African capital market assets.
