More IFSC companies to start operations

Brian Benza
Staff Writer | Friday February 8, 2008 00:00

In the 2008-2009 budget speech on Monday, the minister said that since its inception in 2001-2002, the IFSC has accredited 39 companies, 19 of which are already operational.

'A further nine are expected to commence operations during 2008. In July last year, government published regulations to underpin the International Insurance Act of 2005, in that way making Botswana an attractive location from which a wide range of insurance services can be provided to non-residents and in currencies other than the pula. 'The introduction of these regulations will also allow the Botswana IFSC to attract companies interested in setting up reinsurance or captive insurance business in Botswana,' said the minister.

The IFSC is a government agency whose role is to establish and develop Botswana as a world-class hub to facilitate the delivery of a wide range of cross-border financial services to clients in other countries.

Meanwhile, the IFSC has said it will issue a statement in the next few weeks about the companies that will come on board this year. The IFSC 2007 annual report says at least two firms were scheduled to start operations this year. The two firms are Runway Asset Management (RAM), which leases aircraft on the African market, and Enterprise Fedha Finance Company (EFFCO), a leasing and asset-backed financing. The report said that RAM sponsors have identified a significant pipeline of leasing and asset management opportunities in Africa. The company provides aircraft to clients utilising a value-added model focusing on financial structuring and active asset management. It already has clients in Angola, South Africa, Nigeria and Jordan. Naturelink, a subsidiary of Imperial Holdings of South Africa, will operate the aircraft. The IFSC report said the other company, EFFCO, will offer a wide range of financial products. These included finance leases, operating leases, debt factoring, invoice discounting, supply contract financing, insurance premium leasing and property lease financing.

EFFCO already has a pipeline of applications worth $40 million (about P248.4 million). But the company will initially focus on work in South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia and then expand to Angola, Malawi and Mozambique.