TAR108 JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER 2019 TOP 500 AFRICAN COMPANIES

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N° 108 • JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

THE AFRICA REPORT QUARTERLY EDITION • N° 108 • JULY - AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2019

AFRICAN COMPANIES

From L-R, CEO of OCP, Mostafa Terrab; CEO of Steinhoff, Louis du Preez; and Exec VP of Globacom, Bella Disu

Growth returns for Africa’s Champions ANGOLA In search of missing billions TECH Job killer or job creator?

GHANA Grand plans seek finance

EXCLUSIVE KAGAME AND MUSEVENI, BROTHERS IN ARMS

SOUTH AFRICA Agribiz confronts land issue INTERNATIONAL EDITION Algeria 610 DA • Belgium €7.90 • Canada CA$ 12 • Denmark 80 DK • Ethiopia 200 Birr • France €7.90 • Germany €7.90 • Ghana GH¢ 35 • Kenya KES 1000 • Morocco 45 DH • Netherlands €7.90 • Nigeria 2000 NGN • Norway NK 95 • Rwanda RWF 7,500 • Sierra Leone LE 67,000 • South Africa R75 (tax incl.) • Sweden SEK 100 • Switzerland 10.90 FS • Tanzania TZS 20,000 • Tunisia 15 DT • Uganda UGX 40,000 • UK £7.2 • United States US$ 15.99 • Zambia 80 ZMW • Zimbabwe US$ 6.20 • CFA Countries 3,900 F.CFA • Euro Zone €7.90

JEUNE AFRIQUE MEDIA GROUP

TOP

82

AFRICAN COMPANIES

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

The continent’s major corporates have turned a corner and returned to growth in our new Top 500 rankings. Turnover in 2017 was still below 2012’s record figures, hindered by currency pressures and weak demand for commodities. The oil and gas sector is likely to see the most positive growth in 2019 and a continental trade deal offers opportunities in many sectors.

By PIERRE-OLIVIER ROUAOUD for Jeune Afrique and HONORÉ BANDA THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

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TOP

AFRICAN COMPANIES

rise in our ranking next year, and Sonatrach recorded a The continent’s growth and the turnover of its Top 500 turnover increase of 10% in dollar terms in 2018. companies are on the rise. In dollar terms, the turnover of our Top 500 companies grew by 11.9% year-on-year Currency pressures, which had been significant for in the fiscal year 2017. This is welcome news after the several years, particularly due to inflation and interest-rate revenue reported by the top companies dropped by 6.7% differentials between Africa and the advanced economies, in our last rankings. Discussing McKinsey & Company’s reached a peak in 2016 with the brutal devaluation of the naira in Nigeria (30%) and the Egyptian pound (48%).

‘Africa’s Overlooked Business Revolution’ report, co-author The situation has since stabilised.

Acha Leke told reporters: “You need to have patience The impact of these two factors – currenand a long-term mindset, as you will face the cies and raw materials – weakened in 2017. inevitable storms. But you will be able to see these through if you have an understanding of Thus, the activity, expressed in US dollars, of the context and have developed resilience.” several Egyptian groups is on the rise again.

EgyptAir Holdings (#99) rose 22 places. It Weak currencies and low commodity prices are obstacles to Africa’s biggest corporations is important to keep these devaluations in getting back to past highs. The total turnover mind when comparing across currencies: Percentage turnover of the Top 500 companies according to our expressed in naira, Dangote Sugar Refinery growth of the ranking is still 15.7% – and $99.8bn – lower (#237)’s turnover, for example, jumped by Top 500 African than the record of $736.8bn reported in the more than 310% in three years; expressed in companies year-onyear 2012 (see chart below). dollars, it increased by only about 10% over year in the fiscal year 2017 (US$) the period. But some countries continue to Against a backdrop of weaker macrostruggle with some of these challenges. For economic growth, the main explanations example, the Ghanaian cedi is still faltering and Angola for this drop in turnover are twofold: the price of raw will only emerge from recession this year, according to materials and currency effects. On the commodity side, the International Monetary Fund. in 2016 the price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude reached its lowest level since 2004, at $43.20 The African economy as a whole is clearly in a recovery per barrel as an annual average, according to World Bank phase. The African Development Bank (AfDB) estimated data. This hurt national oil companies such as Sonangol that continental gross domestic product growth was 3.5% in 2018, the same figure as in 2017. (#3) or Sonatrach (#1) and all oil-dependent economies, including Algeria, Nigeria, Angola and Gabon.

Metals such as copper, nickel, platinum and alumiPlaying catch-up num also followed this trend, due to fears of a sharp Growth is expected to accelerate to 4% this year and 4.1% slowdown in the Chinese economy. The average annual in 2020. This year the economies most likely to record copper price rebounded by nearly 27% in 2017 and by the highest growth – according to the IMF – of between 5.8% in 2018. As for the oil price, as an annual average, 7.5% and 8.8% are Ghana, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Côte d’Ivoire. But the AfDB indicated in its latest WTI increased by nearly 18% in 2017, then by more than 27% in 2018 to reach $64.80. Oil companies are set to macroeconomic outlook of early 2019 that this level of growth remains insufficient ‘to absorb persistent budget COMBINED TURNOVER OF TOP 500 COMPANIES and current-account deficits and debt that has sometimes ($bn) become unsustainable. Countries must therefore accelerate 736.8 their growth rates and strengthen [their] effectiveness in 728.7 creating decent jobs.’ And those rosier growth predictions 711.6 do not take into account the impact of a US-China trade 698.2 689.9 war, especially if it drags on.

All African regions, and almost all sectors, showed growth in their 2017 results. The biggest jump in turnover was in the oil and gas sector, at $13.6bn. Manufacturing, 637 telecoms and finance all recorded double-digit rises in 610.4 turnover. Diversified companies and ‘others’ were the 586.9 only sectors to drop in our Top 500 ranking.

This year, 46 companies dropped out of the Top 500, 566.9 a fairly typical number. The three largest disappear569.2 ances in terms of turnover are the South African brewer SABMiller, which no longer publishes detailed national 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 or even regional accounts since its integration into the CREDIT PHOTO

11.9 19

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THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

Mining $50.5bn 47 Diversified 32 $48.6bn Oil & Gas

$92.4bn 52

TOP CLIMBERS

Financial services 46 $45.8bn

Transport 28 $35.8bn ICT/Telecoms 55 $75.1bn

Number of companies

Manufacturing* 43 $75.9bn

5.6% 7.2% 11.8%

11.9%

Agribusiness**

Total

$637bn

7.9%

8.3%

Number of companies

7.6%

500

14.5% 6.3%

Utilities $40.1bn 36

Company

4.2% 4.9%

9.7%

$52.6bn 73

Other*** $26.8bn 19 Construction 42 $30.9bn

Retail $61.9bn 27

* Includes paper, steelmaking, electrical equipment, textiles, automobile, chemicals & plastics ** Includes food & drink, agro-food industry *** Includes media, healthcare, tourism, audit & consulting

Country

Turnover $000 (2017)

% Turnover change

Orange Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

759 450

269%

Assore

South Africa

583 407

173%

Al Ezz Dekheila Steel Co.

Egypt

1 701 648

129%

Alexandria Mineral Oils Co.

Egypt

538 938

124%

BSI Steel

South Africa

363 420

111%

Turnover $000 (2017)

% Turnover change

TOP FALLERS Company

Country

Grindrod

South Africa

247 079

-62%

Zain Sudan

Sudan

419 000

-41%

Perseus Mining Ghana

Ghana

220 604

-37%

Datatec

South Africa

3 923 715

-36%

Seven-Up Bottling Co.

Nigeria

229 074

-35%

takeovers. It is making a bigger move into the platinum ABInbev group. Fellow South African corporate JD Group was acquired by Steinhoff International. Finally, metals group with the purchase of Lonmin (#117), which the Egyptian state-owned Middle East Oil Refinery has is due to be completed before the end of this year. At the 2019 Mining Indaba, Sibanye-Stillwater chief executive not published its account for two years. But it but should do so soon: the government has planned to welcome Neal Froneman voiced worries about the firm’s home a new investor among its shareholders or to list it on base: “The investment climate in South Africa is not the stock exchange. yet conducive to investing in projects with a 10-year time horizon.”

In our ranking of oil and gas companies, On the whole, sub-Saharan Africa is profAlgeria’s Sonatrach and Angola’s Sonangol maintained their spots in the top three iting from the recent downturn in commodity companies. Both firms are in the midst of prices in order to make reforms to improve big changes. The leadership of Sonatrach the business climate. In the World Bank’s 2019 hangs in the balance of elections planned ‘Doing Business’ report, sub-Saharan Africa countries had ratified after the resignation of long-serving presiaccounted for about a third of the world’s the Continental Free dent Abdelaziz Bouteflika. And in Angola, business-focused government initiatives. Top Trade Agreement reformers included several of the countries Sonangol was in the midst of huge reforms by the end of April when President João Lourenço sacked where economies have been growing strongly, – sufficient for it to come into force its leadership in early May. That raises including Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya and Rwanda. questions about whether the new bosses Rwanda, for example, is on par with New will agree to the selling off of the assets deemed as Zealand in terms of transferring ownership of property.

Gabon is one of the few African oil exporters to enact a non-strategic by the previous team. With fields maturseries of measures to boost the private sector. ing and production dropping, the government plans to award 55 licences for oil blocks over the next six years Continental trade bloc to improve Sonangol’s bottom line.

Mining is another sector of cyclical businesses recovAreas where the continent continues to lag behind its peers ering from recent lows. Sibanye Gold (#35) reported the include access to electricity and facilitating cross-border biggest revenue rise amongst its peers in 2017, due in part trade. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement is to its acquisition of US-based miner Stillwater that year. due to come into force at the end of May, having reached the required 22 ratifications. It is set to keep boosting Despite long worker strikes in 2019 and rising electricity, intra-African trade for years to come.

Sibanye is continuing with its strategy of growth through

22

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

85

SOURCE: AFRICA REPORT RESEARCH

SECTOR BY SECTOR

TOP

AFRICAN COMPANIES

Tanger Med steams ahead

Morocco had the second-largest number of companies in the Top 500 with 64, and 8.5% of the total turnover.

The Moroccan economy is growing thanks to its wellorganised private sector, its closeness and access to European markets and key investments in logistics and energy infrastructure. The Tanger Med Port Authority (#473), which in 2018 took first place in Africa for container traffic, surpassing Durban, is inaugurating its expansion this year.

SECTOR BY SECTOR Sectors

Total 2017 turnover

Financial services

45 861 321

7.2%

46

Manufacturing*

75 975 460

11.9%

43

Agribusiness**

52 626 268

8.3%

73

Other***

26 874 113

4.2%

19

Construction

30 920 808

4.9%

42

Retail

61 979 310

9.7%

27

Utilities

40 148 356

6.3%

36

Oil & gas

92 489 911

14.5%

52

Diversified

48 650 407

7.6%

32

Mining

50 512 821

7.9%

47

ICT/Telecoms

75 188 330

11.8%

55

Transport

35 869 246

5.6%

28

637 096 352

100%

500

TOTAL

Sector as % of turnover

Number of companies

* Includes paper, steelmaking, electrical equipment, textiles, automobile, chemicals & plastics ** Includes food & drink, agro-food industry *** Includes media, healthcare, tourism, audit & consulting

Hurt by its recession, Nigeria had just 28 companies in the Top 500 this year, down three from the previous ranking. Those companies’ turnover was down to 2.9% of the total, compared to 4.2% last time. MTN Nigeria (#48) hopes that its plans to list shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange before July of this year will be a major step to improving relations with the government.

The subsidiary of the South African telecoms giant resolved conflicts with the Abuja government over unregistered SIM cards and unauthorised dividend payments. However, MTN Nigeria says it will not list until it has resolved another $2bn tax dispute with the government of Muhammadu Buhari.

Meanwhile, Safaricom (#64) is set to remain Kenya’s top corporate. Bob Collymore is set to retire in August, having overseen the firm for the most crucial years of mobile-money platform M-Pesa’s growth. A new leader will set Safaricom’s strategy as it tries to fend off the global tech companies aiming for the payments space.

METHODOLOGY This year, we sent our questionnaire to more than 14,000 companies active on the continent. After cross-checks and verification, we established a ranking of approximately 1,500 companies, which includes responses from previous years. The top-ranking 500 are published here. To allow for comparison, we apply the same rules

86

to all our data: 1) All financial data must have a clearly defined source, generally communicated to us by the companies themselves, and must refer to the year 2017 (in some cases 2017/2018); 2) If presented in the local currency, we convert the data into US dollar amounts according to the rate on 31 December 2017; 3) We include all companies that

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

fall under the legal jurisdiction of at least one of the 54 countries in Africa, which is why a holding company and a subsidiary can both feature in the list; and 4) Where we cannot obtain up-to-date figures, we use those of the previous year (marked with an asterisk and italics). After two years of silence, a company is struck off the rankings.

SOURCE : AFRICA REPORT RESEARCH

Company leaders in many countries have long complained about the lack of dialogue with African governments. At the 2019 Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame had this in mind when he said, on the subject of continental economic ingetration: “The full involvement of the African business community is critical to keep us on track.”

In our Top 500 ranking, South Africa remains the heavyweight in terms of its share of turnover and the number of companies represented. South African firms took 170 out of 500 spots and represented 58% of the total turnover, a rate that has remained steady over the past few years. The election of President Cyril Ramphosa as head of the country raises many hopes in terms of recovery, governance and also the reform of public companies such as South African Airways (#43), and especially Eskom (#4). Eskom’s dysfunctions have been plaguing the economy for years, particularly the mining sector.

The South African private sector is also in need of reform. Steinhoff International (#2) remains in its position at the top of the list, but it has yet to recover from its accounting crisis. It published the results of its audited accounts in May 2019 for the 2017 financial year, which produced a loss of $4.5bn and writedowns of $17bn. The audit also revealed a number of unreported transactions at the company with firms linked to members of the Steinhoff board. The full impact of the scandal has not yet been revealed and there are many shareholder suits currently in the courts.

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TOP

AFRICAN COMPANIES

‘We need small and medium enterprises […]. It can’t just be the dominance of the big retailers’ KUSENI DLAMINI Chairman, Massmart Holdings (#12)

Rank 2017

Rank 2016

Diff.

Company

Sector

Country

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

Net profits

1

1

-

Sonatrach

Petroleum

Algeria

33 200 000

10%

NA

2

2

-

Steinhoff International Holdings

Wood and paper

South Africa

23 965 629

38%

1 774 300

3

3

-

Sonangol

Petroleum

Angola

17 496 264

19%

164 190

4

5

+1

Eskom

Utilities

South Africa

14 328 762

11%

-188 736

5

6

+1

Sasol

Chemicals

South Africa

13 923 589

11%

1 737 390

6

8

+2

Shoprite Holdings

Retail

South Africa

11 387 160

21%

438 931

7

7

-

MTN Group

ICT/Telecoms

South Africa

10 730 500

0%

367 458

8

10

+2

Bidfood

Agribusiness

South Africa

10 573 632

4%

325 615

9

9

-

10

14

+4

Imperial Holdings

Diversified

South Africa

9 435 918

9%

207 149

Sanlam

Insurance

South Africa

9 204 702

46%

11

11

968 312

-

SPAR Group

Retail

South Africa

7 847 788

17%

12

146 991

12

-

Massmart Holdings

Retail

South Africa

7 593 790

14%

122 892

13

17

+4

Vodacom Group

ICT/Telecoms

South Africa

6 975 241

18%

1 256 787

14

15

+1

Naspers

Media

South Africa

6 660 000

9%

11 298 000

15

18

+3

Pick n Pay Stores Group

Retail

South Africa

6 586 794

15%

104 689

16

24

+8

Transnet

Transport

South Africa

5 886 354

24%

391 767

17

4

-13

The Bidvest Group

Diversified

South Africa

5 733 799

-14%

393 187

18

19

+1

Engen Petroleum

Petroleum

South Africa

5 655 865

3%

267 719

19

25

+6

Vodacom South Africa

ICT/Telecoms

South Africa

5 650 535

20%

NA

20

13

-7

The Bidvest Group South Africa

Diversified

South Africa

5 627 318

0%

NA

21

22

+1

Woolworths Holdings

Retail

South Africa

5 608 863

15%

439 980

22

20

-2

Suez Canal Authority

Ports

Egypt

5 600 000

12%

NA

23

26

+3

Anglo American Platinum Corp.

Mining

South Africa

5 304 963

18%

155 382

24

21

-3

Sappi

Wood and paper

South Africa

5 296 000

3%

338 000

25

28

+3

Office Chérifien des Phosphates

Mining

Morocco

5 165 570

24%

499 379

26

23

-3

Barloworld

Diversified

South Africa

5 003 809

4%

141 895

27

27

-

AngloGold Ashanti

Mining

South Africa

4 543 000

7%

-171 000

Indequity Group

Financial services

South Africa

4 357 487

22%

608 446

Old Mutual Life Assurance Co.

Financial services

South Africa

3 985 344

9%

597 786 35 678

28

-

-

29

31

+2

30

35

+5

31

16

-15

32

34

+2

33

44

+11

34

32

-2

35

56

+21

ONEE

Utilities

Morocco

3 957 434

18%

Datatec

Media

South Africa

3 923 715

-36%

44 359

Mediclinic Corporation

Healthcare

South Africa

3 871 974

14%

639 483

Kumba Iron Ore

Mining

South Africa

3 745 568

29%

1 302 901

Groupe Maroc Telecom

ICT/Telecoms

Morocco

3 723 560

7%

607 689

Sibanye Gold

Mining

South Africa

3 707 821

64%

-358 017

36

29

-7

Orascom Construction Industries

Construction

Egypt

3 678 700

-9%

85 100

37

36

-1

Al Mada (ex S.N. d'Investissement)

Diversified

Morocco

3 655 676

11%

495 928

38

45

+7

Transnet Freight Rail

Rail transport

South Africa

3 529 939

24%

NA

39

40

+1

MTN South Africa

ICT/Telecoms

South Africa

3 435 692

13%

NA

40

38

-2

Naftal*

Petroleum

Algeria

3 382 000

NA

NA

41

48

+7

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings

Healthcare

South Africa

3 328 362

29%

414 137

42

42

-

Telkom

ICT/Telecoms

South Africa

3 312 614

11%

255 040

43

-

-

South African Airways

Air transport

South Africa

3 295 008

48%

-419 952

44

41

-3

Liberty Group

Insurance

South Africa

3 227 977

8%

280 318

45

53

+8

ArcelorMittal South Africa

Metals

South Africa

3 151 417

33%

-414 137

Global Telecom Holding

ICT/Telecoms

Egypt

3 014 700

2%

-41 800

Impala Platinum Holdings

Mining

South Africa

2 975 279

14%

-653 994

46

43

-3

47

47

-

48

33

-15

MTN Nigeria

ICT/Telecoms

Nigeria

2 907 764

-15%

NA

49

37

-12

Sonelgaz

Utilities

Algeria

2 824 955

-12%

NA

50

46

-4

Gold Fields

Mining

South Africa

2 810 800

2%

-7 700

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

88

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

1-50

The cost of Ethiopian Airlines’ (#52) Chinesefunded expansion of Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, inaugurated in January 2019.

51-100 Rank 2017

Rank 2016

51

49

52

Diff.

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

Company

Sector

Country

-2

Network Healthcare Holdings

Healthcare

South Africa

2 755 935

12%

Net profits -220 394

51

-1

Ethiopian Airlines

Air transport

Ethiopia

2 710 000

12%

232 800

53

52

-1

Discovery Health

Insurance

South Africa

2 708 125

13%

362 935

54

54

-

Masscash

Retail

South Africa

2 621 776

14%

NA

55

57

+2

Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon

Construction

South Africa

2 576 782

16%

62 149

56

68

+12

Foschini

Retail

South Africa

2 546 888

33%

196 739

57

55

-2

Tiger Brands

Agribusiness

South Africa

2 527 618

10%

253 425

58

72

+14

Super Group

Auto industry

South Africa

2 412 613

28%

107 635

59

92

+33

Elsewedy Electric

Electrical equipment

Egypt

2 409 888

78%

364 285

60

73

+13

Santam

Insurance

South Africa

2 400 187

28%

145 933

61

96

+35

Ezz Steel Company

Metals

Egypt

2 344 224

84%

-88 744

62

74

+12

Clicks Group

Retail

South Africa

2 288 949

24%

103 182

63

58

-5

MMI Holdings

Insurance

South Africa

2 276 705

8%

127 682

64

62

-2

Safaricom

ICT/Telecoms

Kenya

2 243 683

10%

530 774

65

70

+5

Masswarehouse

Retail

South Africa

2 241 001

18%

NA

66

64

-2

Remgro

Diversified

South Africa

2 228 976

11%

687 106 561 682

67

66

-1

Dangote Cement

Construction

Nigeria

2 215 351

11%

68

60

-8

Maroc Telecom

ICT/Telecoms

Morocco

2 181 227

4%

NA

69

69

-

Blue Label Telecoms

ICT/Telecoms

South Africa

2 164 389

13%

84 581

70

67

-3

71

59

-12

Edgars Consolidated Stores

Retail

South Africa

2 120 192

6%

NA

Cevital

Agribusiness

Algeria

2 027 752

-3%

105 509

72

-

-

Afriquia SMDC

Petroleum

Morocco

1 994 288

NA

NA

73

75

+2

RCL Foods

Food and drink

South Africa

1 972 643

9%

70 938

74

78

+4

Distell Group

Food and drink

South Africa

1 956 877

26%

132 962

75

50

-25

Aveng

Diversified

South Africa

1 894 307

-23%

-544 242

76

80

+4

Exxaro Resources

Mining

South Africa

1 842 378

21%

487 144

77

85

+8

Sonatel

ICT/Telecoms

Senegal

1 780 416

22%

370 000

78

86

+8

Kansanshi Mining

Mining

Zambia

1 740 000

20%

NA

79

71

-8

Murray & Roberts Holdings

Construction

South Africa

1 728 022

-9%

3 876

80

87

+7

Mr Price Group

Retail

South Africa

1 723 984

20%

224 594

81

90

+9

Royal Air Maroc

Air transport

Morocco

1 704 213

20%

NA

82

159

+77

Al Ezz Dekheila Steel Company

Metals

Egypt

1 701 648

129%

NA

83

99

+16

Life Healthcare Group

Healthcare

South Africa

1 693 295

42%

90 370

84

82

-2

Massdiscounters

Retail

South Africa

1 641 899

10%

NA

85

77

-8

STEG

Utilities

Tunisia

1 640 584

2%

NA

86

101

+15

Kap International Holdings

Diversified

South Africa

1 597 675

36%

112 499

87

81

-6

Pioneer Foods Group

Food and drink

South Africa

1 580 877

6%

58 648

88

94

+6

Harmony Gold Mining Company

Mining

South Africa

1 555 761

17%

29 235

89

117

+28

KenolKobil

Petroleum

Kenya

1 523 618

54%

23 661

90

91

+1

Nampak

Wood and paper

South Africa

1 520 040

9%

28 751

91

93

+2

AECI

Chemicals

South Africa

1 492 606

11%

127 520

Flour Mills of Nigeria

Food and drink

Nigeria

1 492 344

-12%

37 443

Cosider

Construction

Algeria

1 489 786

2%

298 037 NA

92

76

-16

93

84

-9

94

61

-33

95

-

-

96

98

+2

STIR

Petroleum services

Tunisia

1 480 881

2%

Saham Group

Diversified

Morocco

1 470 000

19%

NA

Truworths International

Retail

South Africa

1 458 929

21%

231 458 49 453

97

-

-

Dis-Chem

Healthcare

South Africa

1 445 387

NA

98

88

-10

Allied Electronics Corporation

Electrical equipment

South Africa

1 427 918

0%

13 568

99

121

+22

EgyptAir Holdings

Diversified

Egypt

1 408 717

48%

292 108

100

100

-

Omnia Holdings

Chemicals

South Africa

1 402 963

19%

53 625

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

89

TOP

AFRICAN COMPANIES

Total Maroc (#104) is targeting 15 new service stations in 2019. In 2018 it launched an ‘eco-responsible’ service station near Rabat.

101-150 Rank 2017

Rank 2016

101

95

-6

102

-

-

103

83

104 105

Diff.

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

Company

Sector

Country

Tongaat-Hulett Group

Food and drink

South Africa

1 371 466

5%

Net profits

Vivo Energy Maroc

Petroleum services

Morocco

1 371 289

NA

NA

-20

Oando

Petroleum services

Nigeria

1 367 597

-8%

54 376

142

+38

Total Maroc

Petroleum services

Morocco

1 308 672

66%

105 746

97

-8

Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania

Retail

Tanzania

1 292 748

3%

NA

106

-

-

Petrojet

Petroleum

Egypt

1 291 680

NA

NA

107

108

+1

Saham Finances

Insurance

Morocco

1 272 623

21%

111 498

108

127

+19

Sun International

Tourism

South Africa

1 260 583

43%

-969

109

124

+15

EOH Holdings

ICT/Telecoms

South Africa

1 250 934

35%

94 738

67 112

110

102

-8

Adcorp Holdings

Services

South Africa

1 237 679

6%

-45 309

111

112

+1

SNH

Petroleum

Cameroon

1 211 082

17%

523 349

112

106

-6

Hosken Consolidated Investments

Diversified

South Africa

1 208 213

12%

159 613

113

89

-24

Ethio Telecom

ICT/Telecoms

Ethiopia

1 208 023

-15%

NA

114

107

-7

RMI Holdings

Insurance

South Africa

1 203 970

12%

299 216

Tullow Ghana

Petroleum

Ghana

1 196 100

79%

NA

Marjane Holding

Retail

Morocco

1 171 500

12%

NA

115

181

+66

116

109

-7

117

104

-13

Lonmin

Mining

South Africa

1 166 000

4%

-1 152 000 193 980

118

213

+95

COMILOG

Mining

Gabon

1 160 220

100%

119

65

-54

The Arab Contractors

Construction

Egypt

1 133 983

16%

NA

120

119

-1

Tsogo Sun Holdings

Tourism

South Africa

1 128 621

16%

174 280

121

110

-11

PSG Group

Insurance

South Africa

1 127 087

8%

196 005

122

152

+30

EgyptAir Airlines

Air transport

Egypt

1 123 767

-91%

70 253

123

118

-5

Société Nationale de Raffinage

Petroleum

Cameroon

1 090 583

33%

NA

124

-

-

Algérie Télécom Mobilis

ICT/Telecoms

Algeria

1 086 120

0%

NA

125

122

-3

Compagnie Ivoirienne d'Électricité

Utilities

Côte d'Ivoire

1 085 668

14%

3 636

126

131

+5

Total Kenya

Petroleum services

Kenya

1 069 666

25%

26 287

127

126

-1

Anglovaal Industries

Food and drink

South Africa

1 064 788

20%

125 436

Massbuild

Construction

South Africa

1 049 363

14%

NA

Telecom Egypt

ICT/Telecoms

Egypt

1 042 739

34%

171 396 35 857

128

125

-3

129

144

+15

131

139

+8

Alviva Holdings (ex-Pinnacle Hldg)

Electrical equipment

South Africa

1 034 657

30%

130

153

+23

Mota-Engil Africa

Construction

South Africa

1 030 643

38%

47 668

132

197

+65

Ghana Oil Company

Petroleum services

Ghana

1 028 599

7%

14 693

133

137

+4

Transnet Port Terminals

Transport

South Africa

1 000 859

24%

NA

134

129

-5

Astral Foods

Agribusiness

South Africa

997 477

15%

60 967

135

133

-2

Ghabbour Auto

Auto industry

Egypt

991 594

18%

-40 640

136

184

+48

SONABHY

Petroleum services

Burkina Faso

985 754

50%

49 366

137

143

+6

Orange Côte d'Ivoire

ICT/Telecoms

Côte d’Ivoire

985 155

27%

117 121

138

136

-2

IBL (ex-GML)

Diversified

Mauritius

975 346

18%

58 404

139

140

+1

Rand Water

Utilities

South Africa

967 586

22%

191 805

140

147

+7

Holmarcom Group

Diversified

Morocco

962 228

25%

NA

141

120

-21

Olam Group Cote d'Ivoire*

Agribusiness

Côte d’Ivoire

955 276

-101%

-6 642

142

192

+50

Société Africaine de Raffinage

Refining

Senegal

954 617

51%

4 411

143

161

+18

Groupe SIFCA

Agribusiness

Côte d'Ivoire

954 032

30%

54 309

144

113

-31

Nigerian Breweries

Food and drink

Nigeria

947 547

-7%

90 884

145

203

+58

Renault Commerce Maroc

Auto industry

Morocco

946 400

NA

NA

146

148

+2

Transnet National Ports Authority

Transport

South Africa

944 811

25%

NA

147

-

-

Lixia Capsia Gestionis

Financial services

Morocco

924 193

NA

55 811

Optimum Telecom Algeria

ICT/Telecoms

Algeria

915 000

-12%

NA

Total Gabon

Petroleum services

Gabon

914 141

23%

108 031

Transnet Rail Engineering

Rail transport

South Africa

908 550

33%

NA

148

111

-37

149

154

+5

150

176

+26

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

90

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

‘Our vision is to grow the region to 1m ounce [of gold] per annum in the next two to three years’ ALFRED BAKU Executive VP West Africa, Gold Fields (#153)

Rank 2017

Rank 2016

Diff.

Company

Sector

Country

151

235

+84

Pétrole du Maghreb

Petroleum services

Morocco

905 250

NA

NA

152

116

-36

Ooredoo Algeria

ICT/Telecoms

Algeria

898 204

-10%

NA

153

-

-

154

145

-9

155

178

156

135

157

157

-

Label’ Vie

158

115

-43

Group Five Holdings

159

170

+11

Growthpoint Properties

160

138

-22

Lafargeholcim Maroc

161

141

-20

162

165

+3

163

158

-5

164

182

+18

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

Net profits

Gold Fields Ghana

Mining

Ghana

891 100

0%

105 800

COSUMAR

Agribusiness

Morocco

887 358

15%

105 254

+23

Choppies Enterprises

Retail

Botswana

884 000

30%

7 454

-21

Kenya Power and Lighting

Utilities

Kenya

882 736

6%

69 755

Retail

Morocco

881 243

19%

25 653

Construction

South Africa

872 265

-13%

-62 399

Construction

South Africa

865 424

22%

682 180

Construction

Morocco

860 840

7%

205 226

Taqa Morocco

Utilities

Morocco

860 740

9%

107 971

Wafa Assurance

Insurance

Morocco

857 325

19%

87 224

CMH Group

Auto industry

South Africa

853 843

15%

19 985

Stefanutti Stocks Holdings

Construction

South Africa

847 223

28%

-41 029

165

-

-

Algérie Télécom

ICT/Telecoms

Algeria

844 760

-1%

NA

166

204

+38

CDC Gestion

Financial services

Tunisia

844 481

39%

257 677

167

149

-18

PetroSA

Petroleum services

South Africa

841 382

12%

-53 753

168

151

-17

MTN Ghana (Scancom Ghana Ltd)

ICT/Telecoms

Ghana

838 450

12%

NA

169

196

+27

Econet Wireless

ICT/Telecoms

Zimbabwe

831 597

34%

132 291

170

171

+1

Pretoria Portland Cement Company

Construction

South Africa

829 486

19%

2 988

171

166

-5

Lafarge Africa

Construction

Nigeria

822 672

15%

-95 154

172

162

-10

Hulamin

Metals

South Africa

820 497

12%

26 831

173

163

-10

Mpact

Wood and paper

South Africa

817 267

12%

23 219

174

167

-7

Clover Holdings

Food and drink

South Africa

812 332

14%

12 781

175

123

-52

Total Nigeria

Petroleum services

Nigeria

792 172

-16%

22 053

176

146

-30

PGI Holding-Amengroup

Diversified

Tunisia

790 189

3%

80 188

177

199

+22

Reunert

Electrical equipment

South Africa

789 267

28%

92 228

178

222

+44

Société Nationale d'Électricité

Utilities

Senegal

788 492

46%

NA

179

193

+14

Cashbuild

Construction

South Africa

785 766

25%

37 916 55 763

180

103

-77

Poulina Group Holding

Diversified

Tunisia

780 425

-30%

181

134

-47

Invicta Holdings

Auto industry

South Africa

778 511

-7%

18 677

182

114

-68

Kenya Airways

Air transport

Kenya

775 670

-24%

-58 378

183

105

-78

Condor Electronics

Electrical equipment

Algeria

770 904

-30%

36 971

184

173

-11

Lydec

Utilities

Morocco

768 605

10%

21 316

185

188

+3

Metair Investments

Auto industry

South Africa

768 565

18%

47 452

186

186

-

African Reinsurance Corporation

Insurance

Nigeria

746 829

14%

87 928

187

297

+110

Al Ezz Rolling Mills

Metals

Egypt

746 591

98%

NA

188

485

+297

Orange Burkina Faso

ICT/Telecoms

Burkina Faso

759 450

269%

NA

189

198

+9

Sanam Agro

Agribusiness

Morocco

755 477

19%

NA

190

155

-35

Aurecon*

Construction

South Africa

743 400

NA

NA

191

195

+4

Mondi Group South Africa

Wood and paper

South Africa

739 192

18%

NA

192

174

-18

African Rainbow Minerals

Mining

South Africa

728 374

5%

115 648

193

190

-3

Kloof Gold Mining Company

Mining

South Africa

714 330

11%

77 320

194

189

-5

Orange Egypt

ICT/Telecoms

Egypt

711 967

10%

-92 466

195

169

-26

Tarkwa Mines

Mining

Ghana

710 800

0%

85 400

196

267

+71

Sofitex

Agribusiness

Burkina Faso

700 000

65%

NA

197

180

-17

Centrale Danone

Food and drink

Morocco

694 274

4%

12 248

198

215

+17

Johannesburg Water Company

Utilities

South Africa

694 018

21%

23 528

199

187

-12

Raubex

Construction

South Africa

689 872

6%

36 559

200

160

-40

Zeder Investments

Agribusiness

South Africa

685 249

-8%

16 798

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

91

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

151-200

TOP

AFRICAN COMPANIES

Pan-African e-commerce giant Jumia Group (#219) listed 17.6% of its shares with an initial offer of $14.50 on the NYSE in April 2019.

201-250 Rank 2017

Rank 2016

Diff.

201

-

-

202

217

+15

203

201

-2

204

177

-27

205

209

+4

206

221

+15

207

214

+7

208

175

209 210 211 212

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

Company

Sector

Country

Liquid Telecom

ICT/Telecoms

Mauritius

680 948

NA

Net profits 138

RMB Holdings

Financial services

South Africa

678 303

22%

662 394

East African Breweries Group

Food and drink

Kenya

674 372

9%

81 740

Trencor

Sea transport

South Africa

673 861

-1%

-46 841

Nestlé Nigeria

Food and drink

Nigeria

671 416

14%

92 740

Total Côte d'Ivoire

Petroleum services

Côte d'Ivoire

662 885

23%

19 072

RMA

Insurance

Morocco

662 877

15%

NA

-33

Driefontein Mine

Mining

South Africa

652 290

-4%

33 338

225

+16

Orange Mali

ICT/Telecoms

Mali

649 833

23%

NA

207

-3

AGIL

Petroleum services

Tunisia

647 280

9%

6 775

202

-9

Nigerian Bottling Company

Food and drink

Nigeria

637 043

4%

NA

216

+4

Axian Group

Diversified

Madagascar

637 000

12%

NA

213

172

-41

Groupe Addoha Douja Promotion

Construction

Morocco

630 107

-10%

92 250

214

240

+26

Redefine Properties

Construction

South Africa

627 514

32%

274 605

215

282

+67

Munich Reinsurance Co. of Africa

Insurance

South Africa

624 180

56%

NA

216

128

-88

Tanzania Electric Supply Company

Utilities

Tanzania

622 738

NA

65 842

217

223

+6

SA des Brasseries du Cameroun

Food and drink

Cameroon

616 548

14%

40 147

218

226

+8

Air Mauritius

Air transport

Mauritius

610 659

16%

5 395

219

-

-

Jumia Group

Retail

Nigeria

606 315

NA

-197 761

220

228

+8

MTN Côte d'Ivoire

ICT/Telecoms

Côte d'Ivoire

599 320

15%

NA

221

224

+3

Orange Maroc

ICT/Telecoms

Morocco

594 908

14%

42 178

222

208

-14

Catoca Sociedade Mineira*

Mining

Angola

593 617

NA

NA

223

200

-23

East African Breweries Kenya

Food and drink

Kenya

592 260

-4%

NA

224

271

+47

Eastern Company

Agribusiness

Egypt

591 984

42%

167 268

225

232

+7

226

442

+216

227

243

228

211

229

183

230

238

+8

231

298

+67

232

257

+25

233

250

234 235

Ciel Group

Diversified

Mauritius

583 836

18%

32 970

Assore

Mining

South Africa

583 407

173%

414 972

+16

OK Zimbabwe

Retail

Zimbabwe

582 878

23%

16 631

-17

Innscor Africa

Agribusiness

Zimbabwe

580 303

-1%

34 449

-46

Volta River Authority

Utilities

Ghana

579 997

-3%

-94 941

Delta Corporation

Food and drink

Zimbabwe

572 227

18%

88 508

Oriental Weavers Company

Textile

Egypt

571 368

54%

41 657

Vivo Energy Côte d'Ivoire

Petroleum

Côte d'Ivoire

569 887

31%

9 158

+17

Northam Platinum

Mining

South Africa

569 466

23%

-51 359

292

+58

Famous Brands

Tourism

South Africa

567 185

48%

5 116

242

+7

Total Sénégal

Petroleum services

Senegal

566 657

20%

7 606

236

237

+1

Société Tunisienne de l’Air

Air transport

Tunisia

563 799

17%

-140 000

237

218

-19

Dangote Sugar Refinery

Agribusiness

Nigeria

562 162

2%

109 405

238

194

-44

Airports Company of South Africa

Air transport

South Africa

557 732

-11%

68 041

239

233

-6

Metropolitan Life

Insurance

South Africa

557 082

13%

NA

240

263

+23

Groupe Managem

Mining

Morocco

553 749

29%

93 625

241

206

-35

Oceana Group

Agribusiness

South Africa

549 808

-8%

38 712

242

234

-8

Essakane Gold Mine

Mining

Burkina Faso

547 400

3%

NA

243

258

+15

Bell Equipment

Auto industry

South Africa

546 469

25%

21 971

244

227

-17

Société des Mines de Loulo

Mining

Mali

544 941

4%

313 491

245

415

+170

Alexandria Mineral Oils Company

Petroleum

Egypt

538 938

124%

61 807

246

231

-15

Auto Hall

Auto industry

Morocco

538 312

8%

17 767

247

248

+1

Holding Al Omrane

Construction

Morocco

537 643

3%

26 994

248

251

+3

Meikles Africa

Diversified

Zimbabwe

534 930

17%

8 194

249

236

-13

Eneo Cameroon

Utilities

Cameroon

533 741

10%

7 885

250

-

-

Sonatel Mobiles

ICT/Telecoms

Senegal

532 627

NA

NA

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

92

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

South Africa’s Ascendis Health (#257) jumped 105 positions in this year’s ranking of the Top 500 Companies, climbing from #362 last year.

251-300 Rank 2017

Rank 2016

Diff.

Company

Sector

Country

251

274

+23

CDG Développement

Services

Morocco

532 500

30%

NA

252

219

-33

South African Broadcasting Corp.

Media

South Africa

531 276

-3%

-50 207

253

229

-24

58 593

254

383

+129

255

255

-

256

262

+6

257

362

+105

258

275

259

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

Net profits

Biopharm

Pharmaceuticals

Algeria

528 057

2%

IPS West Africa

Diversified

Côte d'Ivoire

525 210

97%

NA

Produce Buying Company

Agribusiness

Ghana

522 060

18%

-6 571

Qalaa Holdings

Financial services

Egypt

521 294

21%

-264 738

Ascendis Health

Healthcare

South Africa

519 693

83%

24 819

+17

Kaap Agri Ltd

Agribusiness

South Africa

518 132

26%

19 497

249

-10

CTP Holdings

Media

South Africa

517 443

11%

36 746

260

261

+1

Saham Assurance Maroc

Insurance

Morocco

516 103

20%

46 917

261

241

-20

Sudatel Telecom Group

ICT/Telecoms

Sudan

513 160

8%

45 020

262

244

-18

Zimplats Holdings

Mining

Zimbabwe

512 549

9%

45 538

263

205

-58

SNIM

Mining

Mauritania

510 835

-15%

2 271

264

212

-52

Pharmacie Centrale de Tunisie

Healthcare

Tunisia

506 936

NA

-58 396

265

270

+5

Tradex

Petroleum services

Cameroon

506 767

21%

20 278

266

-

-

Nakumatt Holdings

Retail

Kenya

501 120

NA

-30 720

ETAP

Petroleum services

Tunisia

494 313

25%

44 839

Comair

Air transport

South Africa

489 707

13%

23 983

Lesieur Cristal

Food and drink

Morocco

481 085

22%

18 972

Adcock Ingram Holdings

Pharmaceuticals

South Africa

479 396

19%

45 316

267

285

+18

268

260

-8

269

286

+17

270

279

+9

271

305

+34

Talaat Moustafa Group

Construction

Egypt

479 045

33%

74 513

272

287

+15

Sefalana Holding Company

Food and drink

Botswana

477 880

22%

17 562

273

281

+8

Hudaco Industries

Auto industry

South Africa

476 613

19%

34 093

274

317

+43

Eterna Oil & Gas

Chemicals

Nigeria

475 833

37%

5 505

275

273

-2

Merafe Resources

Mining

South Africa

475 591

15%

73 824

276

278

+2

Hollard Insurance

Insurance

South Africa

473 250

17%

69 086

277

256

-21

Zalar Holding

Agribusiness

Morocco

471 919

7%

3 182

278

314

+36

Afriquia Gaz

Gas

Morocco

471 164

35%

61 086

279

300

+21

Namibian Power Corporation

Utilities

Namibia

468 880

28%

81 114

280

293

+13

Siicegypt

Agribusiness

Egypt

466 867

23%

17 220

281

296

+15

Pioneers Holding

Financial services

Egypt

462 717

23%

41 654

282

280

-2

African Oxygen

Chemicals

South Africa

459 767

14%

51 525

283

259

-24

Vodacom Tanzania

ICT/Telecoms

Tanzania

458 475

6%

86 090

284

276

-8

Electricidade de Moçambique

Utilities

Mozambique

454 290

12%

-47 538

285

295

+10

Prosuma Group

Retail

Côte d'Ivoire

453 555

20%

2 714

286

396

+110

Seplat Petroleum Development Co.

Petroleum

Nigeria

452 179

78%

265 230

287

277

-10

Lewis Group

Retail

South Africa

448 767

11%

21 329

288

-

-

CMDT

Agribusiness

Mali

448 350

29%

NA

289

272

-17

Vodacom DRC

ICT/Telecoms

RDC

448 541

8%

-86 979

290

269

-21

Aveng Steel

Metals

South Africa

443 534

5%

NA

291

290

-1

Axa Assurance Maroc

Insurance

Morocco

437 843

13%

34 932

292

440

+148

eXtract Group (ex Eqstra Holdings)

Auto industry

South Africa

437 558

103%

-157 240

293

335

+42

Salam Gaz

Petroleum services

Morocco

436 650

34%

NA

294

254

-40

MTN Cameroon

ICT/Telecoms

Cameroon

433 923

-3%

NA

295

288

-7

Eclosia Group

Food and drink

Mauritius

432 300

10%

NA

296

294

-2

Ciments du Maroc

Construction

Morocco

430 367

13%

107 033

297

319

+22

Waco International

Construction

South Africa

428 050

24%

21 550

298

291

-7

Mustek

Media

South Africa

423 437

10%

5 954

299

245

-54

Tunisie Telecom

ICT/Telecoms

Tunisia

423 374

-10%

NA

300

284

-16

MTN Uganda

ICT/Telecoms

Uganda

419 387

6%

NA

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

93

TOP

AFRICAN COMPANIES

‘Now that Isimba Dam is on board […], we [must] make more investments into our networks’ SELESTINO BABUNGI CEO of Umeme (#310)

Rank 2017

Rank 2016

Diff.

Company

Sector

Country

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

301

168

-133

Zain Sudan

ICT/Telecoms

Sudan

419 000

-41%

302

-

-

Mutuelle Taamine Chaabi

Insurance

Morocco

414 125

54%

NA

303

375

+72

Total Petroleum Ghana

Petroleum services

Ghana

409 386

50%

7 188 NA

Net profits 65 000

304

246

-58

North Mara Gold Mine

Mining

Tanzania

408 213

-13%

305

264

-41

Ooredoo Tunisia

ICT/Telecoms

Tunisia

407 714

-5%

NA

306

289

-17

SFBT

Food and drink

Tunisia

405 710

4%

72 511

307

425

+118

Bissa Gold

Mining

Burkina Faso

402 883

75%

NA

308

-

-

Société Gabonaise de Raffinage

Petroleum services

Gabon

402 640

-3%

NA

309

324

+15

Office National des Aéroports

Air transport

Morocco

399 056

19%

57 084

310

311

+1

Umeme

Utilities

Uganda

398 636

12%

9 583

311

308

-3

Espitalier Noël Group

Diversified

Mauritius

397 929

11%

36 961

312

361

+49

MISR Insurance Company

Insurance

Egypt

396 827

40%

NA

313

354

+41

Société Nationale de Sidérurgie

Metals

Morocco

395 588

34%

4 663

314

322

+8

315

265

-50

316

435

+119

317

252

-65

318

310

-8

319

247

-72

320

-

-

321

376

322

266

323 324

ONCF

Rail transport

Morocco

394 050

17%

-59 534

Beatrix Mine

Mining

South Africa

393 770

-8%

-33 847

Maghreb Steel

Metals

Morocco

392 542

49%

-12 917

Julius Berger Nigeria

Construction

Nigeria

390 199

-14%

7 073

Copperbelt Energy Corporation

Utilities

Zambia

389 532

10%

48 378

Tanzania Breweries

Food and drink

Tanzania

386 112

-18%

21 374

Kenya Ports Authority

Ports

Kenya

385 939

4%

91 314

+55

Maurel & Prom Gabon

Petroleum

Gabon

385 172

27%

NA

-56

Société Magasin Général

Retail

Tunisia

384 216

-10%

4 200

344

+21

Raya Holding

Electrical equipment

Egypt

378 822

21%

5 797

479

+155

Al Ezz Flat Steel

Metals

Egypt

378 013

105%

NA

325

-

-

Entreprise Nationale de Forage

Petroleum

Algeria

375 142

6%

NA

326

351

+25

Rhodes Food Group Holdings

Food and drink

South Africa

370 956

23%

18 962

327

299

-28

Basil Read Holdings

Construction

South Africa

369 973

-1%

-81 641

328

339

+11

Société des Mines de Tongon

Mining

Côte d'Ivoire

368 765

16%

171 202

329

337

+8

Sania Compagnie

Agribusiness

Côte d'Ivoire

367 643

14%

7 763

330

326

-4

MTN Sudan

ICT/Telecoms

Sudan

366 650

10%

NA

331

307

-24

Société des Mines de Gounkoto

Mining

Mali

366 510

3%

204 922

332

350

+18

Palm Hills Development Company

Construction

Egypt

365 305

20%

52 592

333

498

+165

BSI Steel

Metals

South Africa

363 420

111%

NA

334

334

-

NSIA Participations

Diversified

Côte d'Ivoire

363 275

11%

10 369 -63 939

335

321

-14

Suez Cement Company

Construction

Egypt

363 244

8%

336

342

+6

Transnet Pipelines

Petroleum

South Africa

362 451

15%

NA

337

331

-6

South African Post Office

Services

South Africa

359 263

9%

-73 347

338

239

-99

Forte Oil

Petroleum

Nigeria

355 970

-26%

33 623

339

306

-33

South Deep Gold Mine

Mining

South Africa

354 100

-1%

-25 300

340

347

+7

SOLIBRA

Food and drink

Côte d'Ivoire

353 871

15%

7 778

341

332

-9

Consolidated Infrastructure Group

Construction

South Africa

352 830

7%

-12 151

342

268

-74

Ceca-Gadis

Retail

Gabon

350 811

0%

1 373

343

313

-30

Egypt Kuwait Holding Company

Diversified

Egypt

348 762

-1%

138 184

Tigo Tanzania

ICT/Telecoms

Tanzania

348 000

0%

NA

Novus Holdings

Wood and paper

South Africa

347 922

11%

5 687

344

318

-26

345

343

-2

346

328

-18

Guinness Nigeria

Food and drink

Nigeria

346 280

4%

5 290

347

302

-45

Bamburi Cement

Construction

Kenya

345 350

-5%

18 941

Maghrébail

Financial services

Morocco

345 049

9%

9 936

Dangote Flour Mills

Agribusiness

Nigeria

344 972

0%

33 355

11 (ex Mobil Oil Nigeria)

Petroleum

Nigeria

344 457

13%

20 677

348

341

-7

349

320

-29

350

348

-2

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

94

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

301-350

Number of service stations owned by Puma Energy Zambia (#352) as of April 2019, located in the main towns and cities of Zambia.

351-400 Rank 2017

Rank 2016

Diff.

351

323

352

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

Company

Sector

Country

-28

SEEG

Utilities

Gabon

344 223

2%

Net profits NA

336

-16

Puma Energy Zambia

Petroleum

Zambia

341 300

5%

5 393

353

379

+26

Juhayna Food Industries

Food and drink

Egypt

340 597

26%

11 105

354

340

-14

Kibali Gold Mine

Mining

RDC

339 683

6%

129 454

355

253

-102

AFC

Chemicals

Egypt

338 172

NA

125 701

356

301

-55

Aveng Mining

Mining

South Africa

337 900

-7%

8 884

357

355

-2

Santova Logistics

Transport

South Africa

333 017

13%

5 756

358

360

+2

Alexander Forbes

Financial services

South Africa

330 631

16%

26 409

359

408

+49

ADvTECH Group

Services

South Africa

330 058

36%

30 689

360

363

+3

Quantum Foods Holdings

Food and drink

South Africa

327 231

15%

10 306

361

315

-46

Alliances Dév. Immobilier

Construction

Morocco

321 176

-8%

26 756

362

327

-35

SGTM

Construction

Morocco

320 644

-16%

18 490

363

338

-25

Délice Holding

Food and drink

Tunisia

320 433

0%

15 577

364

372

+8

Conoil

Petroleum services

Nigeria

317 661

15%

4 341

365

392

+27

Chirano Gold Mine

Mining

Ghana

317 600

23%

NA

366

357

-9

Coronation Fund Managers

Financial services

South Africa

316 498

8%

122 997

367

407

+40

Autoroutes du Maroc

Construction

Morocco

316 180

NA

4 793

368

433

+65

Golden Star Resources

Mining

Ghana

315 497

43%

40 959

369

370

+1

370

397

+27

371

-

-

372

401

+29

373

365

374

367

375

432

376

409

377

377

-

378

447

+69

379

-

-

380

405

381

309

Airtel Uganda

ICT/Telecoms

Uganda

311 858

12%

66 154

Onatel

ICT/Telecoms

Burkina Faso

309 905

22%

62 118

Enl Land Ltd

Agribusiness

Mauritius

308 289

82%

40 272

Energie du Mali

Utilities

Mali

307 219

24%

-40 443

-8

Bidvest Namibia

Diversified

Namibia

304 986

8%

4 992

-7

Ciel Textile

Textile

Mauritius

302 871

8%

16 183

+57

Vodacom Mozambique

ICT/Telecoms

Mozambique

302 042

36%

53 544

+33

Vivo Energy Mauritius

Petroleum services

Mauritius

301 683

24%

7 794

Delta Holding

Diversified

Morocco

300 598

10%

22 453

Tasiast Mauritanie

Mining

Mauritania

298 400

43%

NA

Italtile

Construction

South Africa

296 389

15%

68 242

+25

Orange Guinée

ICT/Telecoms

Guinea

295 728

21%

NA

-72

MRS Oil

Petroleum services

Nigeria

294 493

-17%

3 809

382

329

-53

National Foods Holdings

Food and drink

Zimbabwe

289 508

-12%

13 705

383

399

+16

Ciments de l'Atlas

Construction

Morocco

288 701

15%

62 875

384

382

-2

ENGTP

Petroleum

Algeria

286 072

7%

24 791

385

410

+25

Royal Bafokeng Platinum

Mining

South Africa

282 539

16%

53 059

386

-

-

Compagnie Générale Immobilière

Construction

Morocco

281 995

38%

-126 536

387

364

-23

Kenya Electricity Generating Co.

Utilities

Kenya

281 941

0%

86 948

388

403

+15

One Tech Holding

Electrical equipment

Tunisia

281 782

15%

19 610

389

366

-23

Groupe Benamor*

Food and drink

Algeria

281 765

0%

9 371

390

-

-

Motraco

Utilities

Mozambique

281 700

NA

7 300

391

345

-46

Distribution & Warehousing Network Refining

South Africa

280 934

-10%

-34 441

392

473

+81

Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Co.

Petroleum

Egypt

280 531

49%

63 555

393

443

+50

Leal Group

Diversified

Mauritius

280 316

32%

6 449

394

359

-35

MTN Benin

ICT/Telecoms

Benin

280 237

-4%

NA

395

353

-42

Cervejas de Moçambique

Food and drink

Mozambique

280 058

66%

34 231

396

481

+85

SAPH

Agribusiness

Côte d'Ivoire

278 122

53%

23 536

397

402

+5

Princes Tuna

Agribusiness

Mauritius

277 860

13%

-2 310

398

448

+50

Nestlé Côte d'Ivoire

Food and drink

Côte d'Ivoire

275 460

33%

-7 883

399

394

-5

New Mauritius Hotels

Tourism

Mauritius

274 597

7%

-1 095

400

387

-13

Press Corporation

Diversified

Malawi

272 653

4%

53 955

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

95

TOP

AFRICAN COMPANIES

Unilever Nigeria (#420)’s revenue hit N72.3bn ($201m) in 2018, a 10.7% increase year on year from 2017. Profit after tax was N10.5bn.

401-450 Rank 2017

Rank 2016

Diff.

401

391

402

393

403 404

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

Company

Sector

Country

-10

Peermont Global

Tourism

South Africa

272 016

5%

Net profits NA

-9

Jubilee Holdings

Insurance

Kenya

271 957

6%

40 611

398

-5

Marsa Maroc

Transport

Morocco

270 000

7%

63 300

385

-19

Airtel DRC*

ICT/Telecoms

RDC

265 140

98%

NA

405

411

+6

Société Minière de Dinguiraye

Mining

Guinea

263 523

9%

NA

406

352

-54

SEMAFO Burkina Faso

Mining

Burkina Faso

258 993

-14%

NA

407

428

+21

Bryte Insurance Company

Insurance

South Africa

258 432

15%

NA

408

419

+11

Brasseries du Maroc

Food and drink

Morocco

258 339

10%

43 393

409

446

+37

Alteo

Agribusiness

Mauritius

257 334

23%

30 953

410

-

-

TGCC

Construction

Morocco

256 697

4%

24 419

411

420

+9

CCR

Insurance

Algeria

256 282

6%

25 570

412

-

-

Hyprop Investments

Construction

South Africa

255 819

15%

221 842

Zambeef

Food and drink

Zambia

255 796

17%

343

Botswana Power Corp.*

Utilities

Botswana

254 678

NA

NA

Avbob Industries

Insurance

South Africa

252 803

29%

33 410

413

434

+21

414

-

-

415

460

+45

416

412

-4

Tullow Gabon

Petroleum

Gabon

251 800

4%

NA

417

386

-31

GIPLAIT

Food and drink

Algeria

249 980

NA

NA

418

429

+11

Aveng Grinaker-LTA

Construction

South Africa

249 791

11%

NA

419

436

+17

Rogers & Co

Diversified

Mauritius

249 668

14%

32 408

420

427

+7

Unilever Nigeria

Chemicals

Nigeria

249 621

10%

20 488

421

456

+35

Axia Corporation

Retail

Zimbabwe

248 262

26%

15 274

422

185

-237

Grindrod

Transport

South Africa

247 079

-62%

-41 016

423

477

+54

PALMCI

Agribusiness

Côte d'Ivoire

246 677

33%

15 936

424

374

-50

UAC of Nigeria

Diversified

Nigeria

245 240

-11%

3 642

425

449

+24

Orange Tunisie

ICT/Telecoms

Tunisia

244 273

NA

NA

426

495

+69

Deneb Investments

Financial services

South Africa

243 142

15%

1 791

427

-

-

428

466

+38

Cairo Poultry

Food and drink

Egypt

242 584

67%

20 532

Atlanta Assurances

Insurance

Morocco

241 879

27%

429

-

-

20 558

Kenya Pipeline Company

Petroleum

Kenya

241 295

10%

430

414

-16

76 431

Al Arafa Holding

Textile

Egypt

239 937

0%

431

439

+8

6 587

Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation

Agribusiness

Swaziland

239 185

11%

24 580

432

373

-59

433

457

+24

Maridive & Oil Services

Petroleum

Egypt

238 835

-13%

20 483

RADEEMA

Utilities

Morocco

238 603

24%

434

423

-11

-3 222

Middle & West Delta Flour Mills

Food and drink

Egypt

238 455

2%

435

-

-

2 864

Gabon Special Economic Zone

Services

Gabon

238 390

NA

112 591

436

472

437

389

+36

Nu World Holdings

Transport

South Africa

238 083

27%

13 769

-48

Engen DRC*

Petroleum

RDC

236 088

-10%

438

6 871

400

-38

Zambia Sugar

Agribusiness

Zambia

234 593

-6%

1 124

439

-

-

Groupe Intelcia

Services

Morocco

234 300

85%

NA

440

422

-18

CDCI

Retail

Côte d'Ivoire

233 091

NA

NA

441

413

-28

SNMVT Monoprix

Retail

Tunisia

232 858

-3%

-126

442

494

+52

TAQA Arabia

Petroleum

Egypt

232 699

32%

11 422

443

418

-25

SCAMA

Auto industry

Morocco

231 852

-2%

2 305

444

461

+17

Botswana Insurance Holdings

Insurance

Botswana

231 680

19%

39 500

445

-

-

446

416

-30

Leadway Assurance Company

Insurance

Nigeria

231 487

35%

38 050

Société Nationale d’Assurances

Insurance

Algeria

229 611

-4%

447

312

-135

28 023

Seven-Up Bottling Company

Food and drink

Nigeria

229 074

-35%

448

426

-22

NA

Banro Congo Mining*

Mining

RDC

228 346

NA

449

-

NA

-

Workforce Holdings

Services

South Africa

226 765

24%

7 818

450

-

-

Brimstone Investment Corporation

Financial services

South Africa

224 790

15%

11 878

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

96

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

‘Customer centricity is not just another catchphrase for us, rather it is a business philosophy’ JONAS MUSHOSHO Group CEO of Old Mutual Zimbabwe (#491)

Rank 2017

Rank 2016

Diff.

Company

Sector

Country

Turnover (2017)

Turnover change

451

462

+11

Britam Holdings

Insurance

Kenya

223 664

15%

18 318

452

-

-

The Rand Mutual Assurance Co.

Insurance

South Africa

223 185

33%

64 259

453

390

-63

PZ Cussons Nigeria

Chemicals

Nigeria

221 520

-14%

5 300

454

459

+5

Engen Botswana

Petroleum

Botswana

221 436

17%

14 730

455

463

+8

Transnational Corp. of Nigeria

Diversified

Nigeria

220 784

14%

29 170

456

316

-140

Perseus Mining Ghana

Mining

Ghana

220 604

-37%

NA

457

-

-

Agbaou Gold Operations

Mining

Côte d'Ivoire

219 748

-10%

81 626

458

458

-

MTN Zambia

ICT/Telecoms

Zambia

219 183

12%

NA

459

490

+31

Namibia Breweries

Food and drink

Namibia

218 777

23%

32 117

460

441

-19

Airtel Zambia

ICT/Telecoms

Zambia

218 029

2%

36 143

461

430

-31

Rössing Uranium Mine

Mining

Namibia

217 713

-3%

157

462

444

-18

Guelb Moghrein Copper-Gold Mine

Mining

Mauritania

217 000

2%

NA

463

438

-25

MDJS*

Tourism

Morocco

216 860

NA

NA

464

421

-43

Airtel Tanzania

ICT/Telecoms

Tanzania

215 841

-8%

-48 317

Net profits

465

-

-

Groupe Sipromad

Diversified

Madagascar

214 615

25%

NA

466

451

-15

Société Centrale de Réassurance

Insurance

Morocco

214 467

6%

52 394

467

484

+17

FEICOM

Services

Cameroon

213 359

19%

NA

468

404

-64

MTN Congo

ICT/Telecoms

Congo

212 318

-14%

NA

469

465

-4

Sechaba Brewery Holdings

Food and drink

Botswana

212 216

39%

11 148

470

492

+22

Eqdom

Insurance

Morocco

212 075

20%

14 511

471

431

-40

Buzwagi Gold Mine

Mining

Tanzania

206 255

-8%

NA

472

486

+14

Peregrine Holdings

Diversified

South Africa

206 099

15%

41 444 70 535

473

-

-

Tanger Med Port Authority

Ports

Morocco

205 415

24%

474

487

+13

Airports of Mauritius

Air transport

Mauritius

205 065

15%

NA

475

500

+25

Compagnie d'Assurances Sanad

Insurance

Morocco

204 560

19%

8 587

476

488

+12

Value Group

Transport

South Africa

202 969

14%

6 620

477

-

-

Umgeni Water-Amanzi

Utilities

South Africa

202 669

17%

60 255

478

-

-

IndianOil Mauritius

Petroleum

Mauritius

202 580

21%

2 329

479

-

-

CFM

Rail transport

Mozambique

201 030

33%

50 473 6 594

480

-

-

481

491

+10

482

-

-

ELB Group

Construction

South Africa

200 325

55%

Gabon Telecom

ICT/Telecoms

Gabon

199 855

-2%

NA

Les Eaux Minérales d'Oulmès

Food and drink

Morocco

199 387

23%

20 792

CAAT

Insurance

Algeria

199 367

-1%

21 636

Afrimat

Construction

South Africa

198 410

23%

19 817

Résidences Dar Saada

Construction

Morocco

198 101

-3%

35 180

483

452

-31

484

-

-

485

450

-35

486

437

-49

Aveng Manufacturing

Construction

South Africa

197 377

-8%

NA

487

497

+10

Honeywell Flour Mills

Agribusiness

Nigeria

196 560

14%

12 174

488

-

-

Swan Group

Insurance

Mauritius

196 375

15%

7 649

489

-

-

Aptis (ex TNS Tobacco Company)

Agribusiness

Mauritius

195 976

27%

NA

490

-

-

Sodecoton

Agribusiness

Cameroon

195 810

NA

NA

491

471

-20

Old Mutual Zimbabwe

Insurance

Zimbabwe

194 763

3%

219 262

492

-

-

Upper Egypt Flour Mills

Food and drink

Egypt

193 864

13%

NA

493

-

-

Britam Kenya

Insurance

Kenya

193 487

14%

NA

494

499

+5

Illovo Sugar Malawi

Agribusiness

Malawi

192 794

12%

8 025

495

-

-

Currimjee Jeewanjee & Co.

Diversified

Mauritius

191 912

17%

NA

496

-

-

Middle Egypt Flour Mills

Food and drink

Egypt

190 270

19%

NA

497

493

-4

DRDgold

Mining

South Africa

188 970

7%

1 106

498

368

-130

Mauritius Telecom

ICT/Telecoms

Mauritius

188 922

-32%

-2 839

499

-

-

Sénégalaise des Eaux

Utilities

Senegal

188 490

25%

NA

500

-

-

Jiro Sy Rano Malagasy

Utilities

Madagascar

188 124

21%

-26 369

2017 results in thousands of US dollars; *in italics 2016 results; NA: not available

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

451-500

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AFRICAN COMPANIES

INTERVIEW

JAMES MWORIA Greenfields just don't work for us

The CEO of investment firm Centum has had a stratospheric rise at the company. He is now building up a $500m fund to target mid-cap companies in East Africa Interview by NICHOLAS NORBROOK TAR: Is there a capital drought in Africa? Or is it a project drought?

I think there is more of a shortage of market-validated and feasible projects. The project development lifecycle if you are doing, say, infrastructure projects is a very long one. So although there are many projects that have been mooted, the process from conception to financial close – getting all the ducks in a row – is a very long one.

We are not moving fast enough in getting to bankability.

There are issues with changing regulations. Governments – that’s one issue. Then on the company side, companies that can absorb large pools of capital are also not that many. So the only opportunity you have is replacement capital, and a lot of businesses are held by families (see page 107) and they are not selling.

In Nairobi, it can feel like there are more malls than there are shoppers. Is there a risk of a bubble in the property sector?

These developments are cyclical. What tends to happen is pent-up market demand. The development side responds with an assumption of that growth. And from the point where the decision is made to the point where the developments come on stream, it’s anywhere from three to six years. In that period, you can have a lot of supply arriving at the same time, which is not a coordinated supply – it’s market supply. We have the same problem with hotels.

What are the most dynamic areas outside the capital?

We invest across the board. We are investing on the coast in Mombasa. That’s a residential development called Vipingo. It started a year ago. We have so far sold over

98

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

‘I CAN DELEGATE OPERATIONS, BUT YOU MUST OWN STRATEGY, YOU MUST OWN TALENT’ 400 residential units. We are also building an industrial park, and we have our anchor customer for that. We have our own desalination plant, [and we are] investing in a private port plus an urban road.

We have also sold a site for retail and lifestyle. We have sold a site to a developer for a hotel. So that is coming along well.

We also have bottling plants scattered across the country – a plant in Nyeri, a plant in Eldoret, one in Kisii. Our banks are also across the whole country, so while we have the headquarters in Nairobi, we operate nationally and regionally.

How did you go beyond the borders of Kenya? What has worked?

What we have tended to do is to help our portfolio companies to expand. Our strategy is that once you have scale in your own market, then you expand in the region.

That has worked for us [with insurance company UAP, publisher Longman and asset manager Platinum]. What

Do you share the optimism in the East African Community?

We used to have East African Airlines and several other regional companies. In the 1970s, we were actually a lot more integrated than [we are] today. My own feeling is that in reality we are falling back. We used to have it, but not any more, for various reasons. The political unity that was there is not what it was.

INVESTING IN HIS FUTURE 1996-98 CPA in accounting and finance, Strathmore University.

1997-2001 Bachelor of Law, University of Nairobi.

2001 Began working as a filing clerk at Centrum Investment Company.

How do you navigate this? Obviously you want to have regional investment.

Yes, and that’s part of the challenge.

Obviously you remain apolitical. But if you look at how companies have established themselves, they are not regional companies. They are companies with a regional presence. You’ve established a stand-alone unit in each country, but they’re not – to an extent – integrated. We are not there yet. Each of these companies has a national approach.

2005 Appointed chief investment officer at Centum.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Do you find difficulties in, say, getting senior appointments confirmed in a country like Tanzania? How do you manage it?

December 2006 Joined Regional work permits is an issue across TransCentury as head the board, even for us in Kenya when we of investments. try to bring expatriates into our some of our portfolio companies. For example, a 2008 Returned to school we developed with an international Centum, aged 30, partner, trying to bring in some of their as its CEO and managing director. teachers from other schools, and we had a big challenge with work permits. So the work permit issue is not just between East Africans, it’s also outsiders coming in, and that’s likely because of unemployment.

What we’ve done to mitigate it is that we developed talent centrally that we intend to locate in other countries.

So if you want to do business in Tanzania, I have several people, And we’ve employed Tanzanians, working for us in Kenya and other places.

has not worked is where we have developed companies from scratch. Greenfields just don’t work. They have taken a lot of time and scaling up is difficult. Maybe at that early stage you need an owner-manager, an entrepreneur who is there, because you don’t have processes set up and all the rest. When you do put those processes in, it increases the costs, which increases the break-even level. So perhaps the conclusion is that it is best run by an entrepreneur-type leader and our capital is best deployed at a different level.

How far down the track are you looking with that strategy?

So we started at graduate level, entry level. [...] I have even taken people I have hired from other countries who have developed to a certain level and then I have placed them or got them senior jobs in their home countries at other companies, with the intention that when we are ready and I go to that market I will be able to say “Come back”.

I know I will need this person in the future. If you don’t have talent, you can’t execute strategy. It is a big portion of a CEO’s job. I can delegate operations, but you must own strategy, you must own talent.

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

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AFRICAN COMPANIES

143rd in our 2019 exclusive ranking

Despite a downward trend for palm oil prices, 2017 was a very good year

AGRIBUSINESS

SIFCA heads downstream

Faced with falling palm oil and rubber prices, the Ivorian agribusiness giant is making a shift to consumer products, while modernising plants and increasing yields

By JULIEN WAGNER for Jeune Afrique

For several years, the Ivorian agro-industrial giant Groupe SIFCA (#143), led by chief executive Pierre Billon and chairman Alassane Doumbia, has been talking up its plans to diversify downstream in three key sectors: palm oil, rubber and sugar. The time could now be ripe to make a move.

For the past decade, SIFCA has been bound by a noncompete clause with British-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever. This resulted from the 2008 transfer of all the latter’s shares in Palmci and PHCI to SIFCA and Nauvu Investments – a joint venture by Singaporean groups Wilmar and Olam. Since the clause expired last year, SIFCA is now considering selling consumer products such as detergent, soap, oil, margarine, sweets and biscuits. This move could significantly change the fortunes of Côte d’Ivoire’s largest private-sector employer and its 33,000 employees.

“The group is now free to develop downstream and will not hold back,” says Hamza Haji of the ratings

100 THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

agency Wara. According to him, this diversification is essential for SIFCA as “it would reduce its dependence on raw materials”.

As with any agribusiness company, its results have been fluctuating in response to rubber prices in Singapore and palm oil prices in Kuala Lumpur. In 2015 SIFCA just about managed to break even. Despite the downturn, 2017 turned out to be a good year, with €84m ($94m) in net profit.

But 2018 did not look so bright. “Palm oil and especially rubber prices have been on a downward trend since 2012, which has had a significant impact on the business,” says Boris Afran, a financial analyst at SGI Hudson & Cie.

Rice comes on board

The downstream shift will be a gradual process for the Abidjan-based group, which already owns consumer product brands such as Palme d’Or, Dinor and Dora in edible oils, Saint Avé and Delicia in margarine and Sucrivoire for sugar.

Since last year, Sania, SIFCA’s edible-oil subsidiary, has also been marketing rice under the Dinor brand, which

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AFRICAN COMPANIES

could be developed through established Ivorian production chains.

This portfolio expansion was made possible by Wilmar, its 27% shareholder since May 2018, one of whose main strengths is trading in Asia.

According to Jean-Louis Kodo, a special adviser to chairman Doumbia, another avenue is non-food products.

“Sania already processes palm nuts into refined oil and then into byproducts for the cosmetics industry,” he says. “The top customer is Unilever. Soon we will be making soap ourselves!”

To achieve this diversification, SIFCA must produce more, while continuing to satisfy its major customers such as Wilmar and Michelin – buyers of palm oil and rubber, respectively.

SAPH has improved the efficienty of its rubber production

SAPH

TOP

10 6 521m CFA francs 36000tn

plant in Liberia has partnered with SIFCA on this project.

In addition to its agricultural inGreen energy loan vestments, SIFCA is modernising its Last year the group obtained a production facilities. Rubber subsidturnover in 2017 (+14.5%) €90m syndicated loan from France’s iary SAPH has managed to reduce Proparco aid agency, the Dutch deits break-even point per kilogram velopment bank FMO and Société of rubber from $4.10 to $1.09 in five Générale to finance its transformayears. The group is applying this of rubber produced in 2017 strategy across all its sectors. tion, agricultural development and diversification programme in green The sugar sector is a protected marenergy (biomass). “This funding is ket in Côte d’Ivoire. SICAF’s Sucrivoire subsidiary operates a duopoly with intended to support our industrial of raw palm oil in 2017 SUCAF, a subsidiary for SOMDIAA development. All subsidiaries will benefit from this on the basis of valigroup. Sucrivoire is planning to invest dated investment budgets,” says Kodo. €158.5m by 2023 to increase white The loan was well received by ansugar production from 77,000tn in Ivorian leader in rubber production the 2016-2017 season to 170,000tn. alysts, who were reassured by the presence of a private bank at the “SIFCA is in a comfortable position table. Moreover, the funding came at the right time as when it comes to sugar in Côte d’Ivoire”, observes Wara’s SIFCA had made major investments to modernise its Haji, “but, [as with] palm oil and rubber, the group is not satisfied with its current situation and wants to implants, improve its performance, increase agricultural yields and acquire land. prove its margins. In addition, the Ivorian government is considering further opening the market to imports, in SIFCA is increasingly expanding beyond Côte d’Ivoire. particular to satisfy food manufacturers”, he explains.

“We are developing our agricultural activities in Liberia with our subsidiaries CRC [rubber] and MOPP [palm oil], For SIFCA, a significant increase in production would have a twofold benefit: it would better cover demand in in Nigeria with Rubber Estates Nigeria and in Ghana through Wilmar Africa Ltd, Benso Oil Palm Plantation order to satisfy government requirements, while achieving and Ghana Rubber Estates,” adds Kodo. economies of scale.

Liberia, in particular, offers great opportunities.

Analysts are optimistic about SIFCA’s trajectory.

The West African country accounts for only 5% of the “SIFCA can very well reach €1bn in turnover quite 275,000tn of palm oil produced by SIFCA, but if the group quickly [compared to around €800m in 2017],” says continues planting at the current rate, “the country could Haji. “If commodity prices rise in 2020 – this is the trend expected by experts – and if the group succeeds represent the equivalent of half of Ivorian production within 10 years,” says Kodo. Indonesian conglomerate in developing its finished products division, SIFCA will then be on another level,” he concludes.

Sinar Mas, which is building a giant palm-nut processing subsidiaries

countries

275000tn 28%

102 THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

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CÔTE D’IVOIRE

© MICHAEL JUNG - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Progress for a new generation

The 12th Mo Ibrahim Forum was held in Abidjan from 5 to 7 April, as if in recognition of Côte d’Ivoire having achieved, in ten years, the continent’s most significant progress in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG). The theme of this year’s edition, “African youth, migration and jobs”, was also an opportunity for the country to highlight the government reforms undertaken in recent years for this very reason: to offer Côte d’Ivoire’s young people better prospects.

© JACQUES TORREGANO/DIVERGENCE

MORE INVESTMENT IN HUMAN CAPITAL, STARTING WITH HEALTH

How to turn a crisis into an opportunity The obser vation is compelling: 80% of African migrants base their decision on the lack of jobs and an unfavourable economic environment. This is one of the many statistics revealed at the Mo Ibrahim Forum, which took place in Abidjan in early April.

This 12th edition of the Forum focused on the issue of African migration and was attended by more than 1,200 people. It mobilised African experts and politicians who, for three days, channelled their efforts and expertise into identifying the causes of a crisis which Mo Ibrahim himself believes can be seen as “an opportunity to be seized”. For this to happen, the leaders of each country have to “guarantee their own citizens the education and opportunities they deserve, before it is too late”.

In this regard, many speakers repeatedly reiterated the need to “invest more in human capital, especially health and education”.

The message was heard loud and clear in Côte d’Ivoire, where public authorities are

133 BILLION CFA FRANCS EARMARKED FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

© KARELNOPPE - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

AND EDUCATION

already ahead of the game, not waiting for the Forum’s conclusions to take action.

During the discussions, Abdourahmane Cissé, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, reviewed the many efforts made by his country to put in place the necessar y tools for the integration of the younger generations into the labour market, including, first and foremost, vocational training.

Improving the basic education system Through its decentralisation policy, introduced in 2012, Côte d’Ivoire has made significant investments in educational facilities across the country. While universities are covered by a specific 180 billion CFA franc programme, the entire school system has undergone extensive development.

For example, there are currently 15 specialist technical education institutions. However this number is set to increase to 38 by 2020. To do this, the public authorities have earmarked a budget of 133 billion CFA francs, once again illustrating their desire to improve the vocational training of young people in order to boost their employment potential.

In support of this process, the government has also decided to invest in fostering access to first jobs, through various tax incentives and the introduction of internships for young graduates.

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However, its attention is also focused on basic education, in primary and secondary schools, with the building of new junior and senior high schools. This proactive policy has rapidly proved successful, with the enrolment rate for children aged 6 to 16 exceeding 95% since 2015, compared with less than 75% ten years earlier.

Industry, a real source of jobs To create jobs for this growing and increasingly skilled young population, the Ivorian government is set on industrialising the country’s economy, especially in the area of agriculture.

“We must attract our young people to the agricultural sector in order to create a new class of agro-entrepreneurs,” stressed Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in Abidjan.

≥ A cocoa paste manufacturing plant.

CREATE A NEW CLASS OF AGRO-ENTREPRENEURS

Here again, Côte d’Ivoire is already aware that local processing of its natural resources is the only way to secure an industrial future, a source of jobs for the population and added value for private companies. Agribusiness alone accounts for three-quarters of the Ivorian manufacturing sector, led by the cocoa sector which locally processes 30% of its exported volumes.

Although still far from the 50% targeted in the 2016-2020 National Development Plan (NDP), new tax incentives are expected to be adopted soon to encourage the local processing of cocoa beans.

Despite being Africa’s largest cashew nut producer, Côte d’Ivoire still only processes just 10% of the 800,000 tons of cashew nuts it produces each year, spurring the government to take a closer look at the sector, particularly

as it already employs 225,000 people. The plastic, chemical and leather sectors are also significant sources of employment, alongside the many other primary and tertiary activities that make the Ivorian economy one of the most diversified in West Africa today.

© JACQUES TORREGANO/DIVERGENCE

Local content is the way forward

≥ The Castel bottling plant.

Côte d’Ivoire has established a sound employment policy strategy, detailed in its national plan presented in 2016. It aims to create 200,000 jobs per year by 2020, especially among particularly vulnerable groups such as women and young people. Pre-empting the findings of the Abidjan Forum, the National Employment Policy (NEP) provides for improving the correlation between supply and demand reflected in the labour market, and for streamlining the institutional framework and labour legislation to further support economic activity.

The document also includes improvements to the national statistical system to facilitate a better understanding of events. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, in its report, also points out that not only is there a general lack of reliable data available on the continent, but that it is often incomplete and leads to misperceptions that restrict the application of prescribed policies.

IIAG REPORT FIGURES (2008 - 2018 COMPARISON SOURCE MO IBRAHIM FOUNDATION)

+15.9 points

recorded by Côte d’Ivoire for Participation and Human Rights, the second strongest progression on the continent

+ 36.7 points recorded by Côte d’Ivoire in terms of Budgetary and Financial Management, the fifth best progression in Africa

+23.2 points

recorded by Côte d’Ivoire in the area of Transparency, the biggest progression in Africa

+22.6 points

recorded by Côte d’Ivoire in respect of the Rule of Law, the second best improvement on the continent

+38.8 points

recorded by Côte d’Ivoire in terms of Aligning the Education System with Market Needs, one of the few positive results

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The NEP has ensured that this does not happen in Côte d’Ivoire and the country has already fulfilled some of its promises in support of youth employment, starting with the establishment of a Youth Employment Agency (YEA) in 2016.

It operates as a one-stop shop, with the added bonus of tax incentives, without resorting to giving priority to citizens, which is what many other African countries have done.

Over the past year, the Ivorian government has been considering introducing quotas reserved for local mining industry workers. This trial could then be extended to other sectors and cover all major current or future large-scale projects in the country. In addition to directly recruiting a national workforce, local content contributes to the setting up and operation of Ivorian SMEs, increasing technology transfers and developing workforce skills. It is now seen by international experts as the essential tool for fostering inclusive growth in a country.

Growth and transparency

In 2016, a one-stop Youth Employment Agency (YEA) was established.

200,000 JOBS PER YEAR BY 2020, ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

This mechanism reinforces the many others that have enabled Côte d’Ivoire to now post the best progress in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG). The country ranked 22nd in 2018, up from 41st ten years earlier, having succeeded in improving its scores in each of the four categories of the index: Safety & Rule of Law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development.

It is in terms of transparency, democratic participation and educational and health policies that Côte d’Ivoire’s scores have made the most progress in ten years. “A very positive outcome,” said the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in its conclusions. This is expected to further strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s attractiveness to private investors who will create the Ivorian jobs of tomorrow.

© JACQUES TORREGANO/DIVERGENCE

The government of Côte d’Ivoire is well aware that, in terms of growth and transparency, it still has a long way to go. The country’s robust growth rates of recent years – more than 8% on average – have not been enough to lift a broad segment of the population out of poverty, a problem faced by every country on the continent. To meet the challenge of poverty reduction, the government adopted its Priority Action Plan (PAP) to fight poverty in early 2018.

<

A PRIORITY ACTION PLAN (PAP) HAS BEEN IN PLACE TO FIGHT POVERTY

DIFCOM/DF - PHOTOS : D.R. UNLESS OTHERWISE MENTIONED

SINCE 2018,

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AFRICAN COMPANIES

FAMILY BUSINESSES

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

How do successful familyowned African firms beat the odds to survive past the first generation and continue to evolve?

Hassen Khelifati, the chief executive of Alliance Assurances in Algeria, recalls the brutal change in minimum capital requirements in the insurance industry that required a quick financial injection in 2010. “It was quite a difficult conversation with the family to get them to open up their equity and go towards the market, but now we are in agribusiness, food, education,” he recalls.

Letting go African capitalism is a tapestry of gradually: companies, which are often family Jean Kacou Diagou, founder of NSIA owned. The management of family Participations, companies bring its own set of proband his daughter lems, like improving governance and Janine Diagou, CEO handling successions. Alliance had one of the happier trajectories.

It is not the only path available. Take Nigeria’s Diamond Bank. Set up by Pascal Dozie in 1990, it was an innovator and market leader in several categories. Pascal handed the task of running the bank over to his son Uzoma Dozie, who became CEO in 2014. Things did not go well, and the bank’s death spiral ended when it was bought by Access Bank in late 2018.

There is a saying beloved of money managers: ‘The first generation makes it, the second generation spends it, and the third generation blows it.’ Luc Rigouzzo of Amethis Capital says: “In my career in both Latin America and Africa, I have seen tragic stories where family groups didn’t have the courage to tell people

JEAN-MARIE HEIDINGER/HANS LUCAS

By NICHOLAS NORBROOK

[read ‘other family members’] that they needed to behave like shareholders and not managers and get out of the operational side of things.” Rigouzzo has long worked with family businesses. He reminds those he works with that just because you own it, doesn’t mean you should necessarily run it.

This challenge has become a priority for Rita Maria Zniber of Morocco’s Diana Holding, who wants to avoid the third-generation curse: “We are a family group that has only really just started to open up to the kind of corporate governance that will ensure our sustainability.”

Be wary of nepotism

The group recently restructured its agricultural companies into a sub-holding and sold 22.6% of the equity to Fipar-Holding, an investment fund owned by Morocco’s state-owned Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion. “It is these institutional partners that allow you take the right path and especially allow you to be certain that nepotism will never be the Achilles heel of the group,” Zniber says.

THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

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AFRICAN COMPANIES

77

Checks and balances: Rita Maria Zniber, CEO of Diana Holding

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

For many private-equity operators in Africa, the business model is quite different to that seen in, say, the United States. Ziad Oueslati, managing director and co-founder of Tunis-based AfricInvest, preaches the benefits of outside partners to deliver corporate governance in family-owned companies. In East Asia, there was a step change in growth when those types of companies reorganised; Oueslati says family businesses in Africa are heading in the same direction.

For Rigouzzo, one of Amethis’s success stories has been Kenya’s Ramco Group, a large conglomerate. Amethis took a 30% stake in Ramco Plexus, the printing division of Ramco Group, freeing up capital for the conglomerate’s expansion into East Africa. Amit Patel, chief executive of Ramco Group, says the change came by building trust.

“We didn’t even know that we wanted to divest until we had the conversations over the course of a year,” he recalls. “We thought: ‘Let’s open ourselves up to Africa and the world.’”

The restructuring and rationalisation can quickly produce benefits. That may be because of Nigerian familymany of these companies historowned businesses ically grew in an opportunistic intend to pass on to rather than a planned fashion. As the next generation, according to PwC Patel says, “People tell me: ‘You are a confused group. You are in everything,’ but that is simply because wherever we saw an opportunity, we just dived in.” And while this can makes for fast growth, it can mean that the relevant corporate structures to underpin the business may be lacking.

Knowing when to look for partnerships

For Yohannes Mekbebe of Côte d’Ivoire’s Yeshi Group, this problem has become more apparent in the past few years.

“Our story starts in 1979, with a partnership between my mom and the Beydoun family from Lebanon,” Mekbebe tells The Africa Report. It has grown into a sprawling conglomerate of 10 companies in eight countries, operating SHARE OF LARGE COMPANIES THAT ARE FAMILY-OWNED (%) As of 2013 or closest available year, based on location of headquarters

Southeast Asia Latin America

70-80

India

70-80

Eastern Europe

60-70

Middle East

60-70

China Africa

35-45 30-40

108 THEAFRICAREPORT / N° 108 / JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2019

SOURCE: MCKINSEY

80-90

in retail, building materials, imports and distribution, with a big chunk of the business focused on steel rebar for the construction industry.

His company finances property developments in all of its markets because “developers need space and time to execute payments. And it is becoming a real problem for us, as we are operating as a bank in many of these markets,” says Mekbebe, “and yet we don’t have a finance division to address these needs.” As a result, the Yeshi Group is looking for the right partnership to help it grow – perhaps a fintech company to help with payments, or maybe Visa, says Mekbebe.

Cedric de Spéville, chief executive of the Eclosia Group (#295) in Mauritius, has relied on partners to help him learn. “In wheat milling, for example, we brought in an equity partner to bring real knowledge transfer,” he says. “And we are doing an aquarium in Mauritius.

Rather than overpay consultants, we have brought in a player from the industry.”

Discussions about foreign investors buying shares in a family business can quickly turn hostile, however. For good reason, argues Yeshi’s Mekbebe. Family groups often have their own hidden jewels, the value of which is only just being recognised: distribution networks. Mekbebe says they are critical to doing business on the continent.

“Building a distribution channel in an African country can take 10 years, if not a generation. It’s what we all owe to the generations that preceded us,” he says. “And as a family business, you can be quite defensive over that.”

Certainly, Mohammed Dewji, chief executive of MeTL, attributes the success he has had in taking on the Unilevers and Coca-Colas of this world to “our very

strong distribution network that reaches right into the hinterland and lets us focus on the bottom-of-the-pyramid customer.”

But the right partners are needed, if speed is of the essence. For example, Eclosia took 25 years to get to know the market and set up its operation in nearby Madagascar. “And it is not even that big,” says De Spéville. This would take too long for the small investments on Eclosia’s radar in Kenya and Rwanda, he says.

NSAI to carry on its impressive trajectory. But in 2018 the banking arm of the business lost a third of its value on the regional bourse due to the collapse of SAF Cacao and a bad case of payment-card fraud. At this point JKD was at pains to show investors that the succession is a gradual process. “This group was built of family-owned brick by brick. I want to make sure that the companies survive torch is passed well. One fine morning, you to the 2nd generation, will be surprised,” he told our sister magazine according to the Family Firm Institute Jeune Afrique.

More haste, less speed Successions can go less smoothly. Search the annals of legal cases in most countries, and there is Ultimately, the biggest obstacle a family business can face one constant: epic battles involving one side of a family is succession planning. “My father took me to China to trade fairs when I was 12 years old,” says Dewji. “That was in dispute with another. No one fights quite like a family, especially when there is a great deal of money involved. in 1987. You can imagine China in 1987? […] In hindsight, he was trying to train me to get where I am today. And There is no MBA programme to teach how to deal with so I am a father of three children, and you have to give this. Here, the strategies have to be very human. For De them freedom. But you also have to try to influence, to Spéville of Eclosia Group, it is all about investing time give them that mentality: ‘I have built this. I really need in communication. “I have two sisters who don’t live in your help to take it to another level.’”

Mauritius. I could quite easily say, ‘I am the CEO. I am Choosing the right moment to step down is key. At 73, driving the group’ and leave them to one side. But I don’t.

Jean Kacou Diagou (JKD), Côte d’Ivoire’s second-richest I explain what is going on, and I try to get their opinions,” man, might have been planning to put his feet up as chairhe says. “And this will help, not only as a sounding board, man of NSIA Participations (#334), the banking and but to help get through bad times, which inevitably there will be as a business. No one grows in linear fashion.” insurance group he founded in 1995. His daughter Janine, already group CEO, is credited with bringing in National Bank of Canada as an investor in 2015, Swiss Re in 2017, and the acquisition of Diamond Bank’s assets in francophone West Africa. Everything looked set for

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While some family businesses choose to bring in partners for expertise, to tackle financing constraints and to rationalise and streamline their operations, others prefer to go it alone.

MeTL Group in Tanzania “was founded by my father and my grandmother,” says Mohammed Dewji, now group CEO. He explains how they coped with funding MeTL’s growth in a country that lacks a strong financial sector: “When I came back from university, the biggest bank we had was Barclays Bank.

Their paid-up capital was $2m. The maximum they could lend you was 20% [of their paid-up capital]”.

BRUNO LEVY FOR JA

MeTL CHOOSES THE INDEPENDENT ROUTE

Thinking big: Mohammed Dewji, CEO of MeTL

Dewji was certain that a loan of $400,000 was not enough, and so took a plane to South Africa to convince bankers there. “And it was difficult to go as a family business and ask for money. It took time. But eventually we worked up to a syndicated loan with various banks – Investec, RMB, Rabo,

Standard Bank – with lines of credit of over $200m,” he says.

That has allowed the company to create industrial divisions. With the heavyweight competition of ABN, Bunge and Cargil, “margins in trading have become very tight. We needed to add value,” concludes Dewji.

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INTERVIEW

TONY ATTAH

‘We need to raise our game’ With competition growing rapidly across the continent and the globe, NLNG wants to move quickly ahead with a new unit to process liquefied natural gas (LNG) Interview by NICHOLAS NORBROOK in Kigali Tony Attah, the chief executive of Nigeria LNG (NLNG) argues that the next decades will belong to natural gas.

“We have been riding on the back of oil for more than 50 years,” says Attah, “now it is time to fly on the wings of gas. Most people don’t realise that Nigeria is more a gas nation than an oil one.”

The optimism is partly driven by where gas sits on the spectrum that runs from emission-heavy fossil fuels to renewable energy. “Gas is cleaner, fundamentally cleaner than coal, at least four times cleaner, maybe two or three times cleaner than oil,” says Attah. As such, it is the ideal ‘amphibian’ energy source to bridge the gap between the massive baseload requirements of modern industrial economies and a carbon-free future.

There are other dynamics at play, too. For example, Germany’s turn away from nuclear power has made it the world’s largest natural gas importer, while Asian countries such as Japan have also become large importers of natural gas.

“We are seven billion [people on earth] today. Over nine billion by 2050, which is not really that far off,” says Attah. The dynamics are “more population, higher demand for energy but also new pressures around environmental challenges that the world is facing.”

Nonetheless, Attah says it is important for NLNG not to rest on its laurels. The pace of innovation is such that it is “enough to keep you awake at night as a CEO – everyone wants to be the disruptor, no one wants to be disrupted.” The explosion in popularity of solar-driven mini-grids, for example, or decentralised power distribution projects, make it tough to predict future energy requirements.

That uncertainty, however, was not the cause of the great hiatus in NLNG’s growth. “If I step back,

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between 1999 and 2006 Nigeria LNG was the fastest-growing gas plant in the world. Every 18 months we were adding a new train,” Attah tells The Africa Report. Rather, he says, the complexity of managing the initial six trains stalled the implementation of the seventh much-trailed train – a purification and liquefaction unit.

“We only started production 20 years ago, so we’re not really a very old country in terms of the LNG market. We’re just beginning to mature,” says Attah.

The financial position of the company has also improved because it has paid off its debts.

“We have paid off the mortgage. It gives you a bit of flexibility to approach the market again,” he says. Train 7 would be a big boost for the company, increasing production from 22m tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 30MTPA. For comparison, the global gas giant Qatar produces around 77MPTA. The project is now slowly coming out of the blocks. Two front-end engineering and design (FEED) contracts were tendered in 2018, won

by Saipem and KBR. “We have a dual FEED strategy, so we signed off two consortia to carry out the

‘EVERYONE WANTS TO BE THE DISRUPTOR, NO ONE WANTS TO BE DISRUPTED’

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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HYDROCARBONS CAREER 1987 Earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Ibadan 1997 Graduated from the University of Benin with a master’s in business administration 1991 Hired by Shell Petroleum Development Company, later working in project commissioning and core engineering 2013 Vice-president for human resources of Shell sub-Saharan Africa 2014 Named managing director of Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company 2 September 2016 Appointed CEO of NLNG, replacing Babs Omotowa

design in a competitive bid,” says Attah, who adds that NLNG will scrutinise those bids in July, ahead of the final investment decision in the last quarter of the year.

Nigeria has been making progress on local content.

Since 2010, all oil and gas projects in Nigeria by law must have a certain percentage of work done by companies in the country. That presents challenges in the case of LNG. “The capacity to play in the cryogenic world – where we cool liquids to -162°C – that’s not something that Nigeria has a lot of capacity in.”

100% Nigerian

NLNG has found some creative solutions that use inhouse knowledge, building from scratch in Nigeria rather than importing modules from abroad. “I have 100% Nigerian management. I don’t have any expatriate or foreign expert on my leadership team,” says Attah. “If you [were] to roll back the clock 20 years, you’d be lucky to find one Nigerian on the leadership team of this company. That is a major transition in terms of knowledge transfer, technology transfer and capacity building […].”

For Attah, Train 7 will be a turning point and the beginning of a new phase of energy development for the country. It is not too ambitious, he argues, to see Nigeria being the next Qatar, “growing multiple locations, growing multiple LNG plants”.

“Look at the resource base that Nigeria has. We have done a survey of reserve-to-LNG capacity. It is minute compared to others,” says Attah. Trinidad and Tobago, for example, has a 15MPTA plant, with 100trn cubic feet (TCF) of reserves. “I have over 200TCF of gas, plus 600TCF potential, which is why today we are number nine in the world [of countries ranked by gas reserves].

But if we prove our 600TCF, we go to number four. So the scope for gas in Nigeria is immense.”

He is acutely aware of other countries that are also ramping up their production capacity. While Qatar previously led the world with 77MPTA, Australia has usurped the top spot, now producing 89MPTA. The US is climbing strongly. “If most of the capacity there that we read about comes to fruition […] we don’t want to be pushed too far down. We need to raise our game.”

While praising the government’s support for NLNG, he has had to negotiate the occasional hostile attempt by legislators to unpick some of the corporation’s tax exemptions – once in 2008 and again in 2016. “I think it’s safe to say that there were quite a few misconceptions,” says Attah. “And you cannot start to dig at the foundation of a company of this pedigree that delivers absolute value to the country. Today we are more than $100bn in revenues generated and over $15bn in dividends to governments. That’s huge. We are the largest taxpayer in the country.”

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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED/ELSEWEDY

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ELECTRICITY

ELSEWEDY’S POWER PLAYS By diversifying its projects and markets, the Egyptian cable manufacturer is inking billions of dollars in new deals and forging ahead in the renewable energy field

By ARIANE LAVRILLEUX in Cairo for Jeune Afrique and HONORÉ BANDA Egypt’s Elsewedy Electric (#59) has been on a signing spree, grabbing contracts large and small. The biggest was the $2.9bn joint venture with compatriot company The Arab Contractors (#119) to build the controversial Rufiji Dam in Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve, signed in December of last year. The project is due to add 2,125 MW to the national grid – which will nearly double its capacity – but international campaigners have complained that it will do irreparable harm to wildlife habitats.

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At the signing, Elsewedy’s chief executive Ahmed Elsewedy told media: “With this unprecedented contract, Elsewedy Electric and its partner are supporting Tanzania’s economic development by exploiting the country’s water resources to build an affordable, reliable and sustainable energy mix for Tanzania’s future.”

In the same month, Elsewedy signed a $500m loan with the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank. Those funds will help it to develop new projects, like a planned new manufacturing unit in Uganda.

Meanwhile, cameras were flashing on 28 January, during the visit of France’s President Emmanuel Macron to

business, which was passed from father to son, is not only number one in power cables and telecoms in Egypt, where it owns nine factories, but it has also established itself with success in 25 countries and has nearly 14,000 employees worldwide. Its 2018 turnover was 1% lower compared to the previous year, but Elsewedy recorded growth of 12% in its last quarter, which allowed it to end the year without any debt.

Now the largest cable manufacturer in the region, Elsewedy Electric generates 55% of its turnover from cable production in Egypt and about 10 other countries.

While cables remains its core business, they are no longer its main growth driver. Since it launched its continental drive in 2002, the company has changed its scale. Its ambition is now to become a provider of integrated solutions, developing, equipping and managing electricity networks on national or regional levels.

The group has already developed around 10 turnkey installations in Angola, Ghana and Mauritania, where it has delivered electrical substations at the same time as transmission lines: “We plan to double the number of these integrated projects over the next five years. By producing everything from A to Z, from cable to engineering, we have a solid competitive advantage,” says Tarek Wahby, head of Elsewedy Electric’s turnkey installations Africa sales office. in Angola, Ghana and However, there is no question of a radical Mauritania are part change. The company wants to continue of Elsewedy’s rapidly to move forward on several fronts by setexpanding integrated ting up plants on the continent and selling solutions business transformers (such as in Ethiopia, Nigeria Cairo. In photos, the director of Elsewedy Electric’s inand Zambia) as well as buying land to use for industrial ternational relations signed an agreement with the chief parks. In both areas, its market research has led Elsewedy executive of France’s Montagne et Neige Développement to focus on Uganda. It is one of the fastest-growing Group (MND Group). MND’s Xavier Gallot-Lavallée said countries on the continent, with 6% growth in 2018, he was “particularly proud” to forge a new alliance with and has a big infrastructure deficit. the Middle East and North African cable leader, which The company is also on the lookout for other African exports to nearly 110 countries. markets. It set up operations in Morocco in October 2018 in the hope of participating in the country’s expanding In this small cablecar specialist, which employs nearly renewables sector.

400 people, Elsewedy Electric saw an opportunity to develop new markets in cable transport – a technology In terms of exports, Elsewedy Electric is also at a that has something to offer many growing cities in the strategic turning point in its development. While 50% region that lack public transport. So could people one day of its production is purchased locally in Egypt, mainly be going to the top of the pyramids of Giza in a cablecar? by the state and its public companies, the company plans to expand into Latin America and Asia. The Continental drive method is the same as in Africa: do not focus on a These new partnerships illustrate the Egyptian giant’s single business segment but fill in the gaps in each country’s market. This is done by favouring the endesire to continue its diversification, with activities rangergy sector, whose growth forecasts exceed those of ing from cars to telecommunications and energy. Listed on the Egyptian stock exchange, Elsewedy Electric has telecommunications. As a result, Elsewedy Electric successfully integrated into the global market without was able to become the leading producer of cables and transformers in Algeria by setting up as a pioneer in distancing itself from the family that founded it and the country where it was launched 80 years ago. The 2002. This position has enabled it to establish itself Cables are the heart of Elsewedy Electric’s business, with nine factories in Egypt, but are no longer the main driver of the company’s growth

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throughout the entire energy production and distribution chain and to participate in major projects such as the Algiers airport and metro.

If Elsewedy Electric is thinking about the construction of new production units in Asia, its strategy is also about regaining export markets, particularly in Africa, where Chinese competition on prices is fierce. The international certifications for its products have helped Elsewedy to compete, and the devaluation of the Egyptian pound also boosted its sales outside its domestic market.

must be much more sophisticated and decentralised than they are today in order to deliver and store electricity according to demand.

For the moment, the Egyptian company is developing smart meters for its local market of 97 million inhabitants, and for Europe through its Slovenian subsidiary Iskraemeco, acquired in 2008. “We have taken this global trend into account, and we want to improve on the other components of smart grids,” says Wahby.

In the meantime, Elsewedy Electric has positioned itself as one of the key investors in the world’s largest solar park, which is under Riding the pound construction in Benban, southern Egypt.

By the end of this year, its six million solar The currency devaluation, at the end of 2016 km2: size of the was a double-edged sword for Elsewedy, which panels will cover an area of nearly 37km2 and world’s largest solar makes a large part of its sales in dollars and could supply up to 350,000 inhabitants with park, being built euros. In 2017, its turnover in Egyptian pounds electricity. The production will be managed in Benban, Egypt with jumped by 74%. Elsewedy safeguarded its

by Elsewedy Electric and France’s EDF, which investment, from profits, with a 15% net margin compared to will sell it to the Egyptian public electricity Elsewedy Electric 16% in 2016. At the same time, the firm was company for $0.084 per kWh, a price aligned hit by rising copper prices. In 2018, sales stagnated at with those of the French company in France.

E£42.49bn ($2.5bn), with an 11.7% net margin.

It is precisely this type of international partnership that Elsewedy Electric intends to develop in order to With the currency losing half its value, Elsewedy Electric’s products have become cheaper than Indian, gain a foothold in the renewable energy market. At the dawn of the rush, and against giants such as Prysmian Chinese or Turkish imports. In addition, the trade and Siemens, Elsewedy Electric is betting on gradual agreements signed by Egypt with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the adaptation without abandoning its history as a cable European Union give it privileged access to these marsalesman – the reason for its success. kets. This is enough to offset the increase in copper prices.

Elsewedy Electric is also just beginning to shift to smart grids, which are growing rapidly thanks to renewable energy. Since solar and wind energy production is intermittent, grids

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AN AMBITIOUS ENGINEER When Ahmed Elsewedy took over the management of family affairs in 1986, he already knew the small trading company created by his father in 1938 by heart. Apprenticed during his studies as an electrical engineer at Cairo University, he gradually rose through the ranks. That lucrative cable business became Arab Cables, the number-one manufacturer in the sector in Egypt. But this was not enough for the young Ahmed, who dreams of new markets. In Zambia, Ghana and also in the Middle East, he built several factories. In about 10 years, the group

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Ahmed Elsewedy: a son with vision

grew from a single factory to about 30 sites. Ahmed renamed the company Elsewedy Electric, and it joined the club of the world’s major cable producers like Prysmian and Nexans.

He pushed the company – listed on the stock exchange in May 2006 – to operate along the entire electricity chain, from production to energy distribution. Today, the multinational

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company operates in seven sectors: cables, electrical products, telecoms, transformers, wind power, turnkey installations (from engineering to distribution) and energy management solutions (smart grids). This globetrotter chairs the Egyptian business councils focused on China, Lebanon and Ethiopia.

A.L.