Renaissance Capital plans to expand next year into Egypt and at least three other African countries, The Moscow Times reported Thursday.
The firm, which is half-owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, may buy or start a brokerage in Egypt that would also cover Morocco and Tunisia, Clifford Sacks, chief executive officer of the South African unit and head of Pan-African Equities, said.
The Moscow-based bank, which currently operates in five African nations including Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia, also plans to move into Angola, Uganda and Rwanda, said Hasnen Varawalla, global head of corporate finance.
“Each of these countries will see a huge development in their capital markets,” Varawalla said in an interview Tuesday. “We are looking to expand into another five or six countries in Africa.”
The bank, known as RenCap, started its African business in 2007. In the past year, it participated in 24 transactions across 13 African countries, including the $955 million sale of Central African Mining & Exploration Company to Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation. – The Moscow Times
