Mmegi

Ninety-One eyes private debt for pension inflows

Seeing opportunities: Seboni
Seeing opportunities: Seboni

Leading asset management firm, Ninety-One Botswana, is seeing opportunities for the returning pension fund billions in private debt as well as infrastructure credit, transactions that would grow the local economy.

Ninety-One Botswana managing director, Martinus Seboni, told BusinessWeek that more businesses were moving away from the traditional funding sources for the expansion. The asset manager is part of a global group with assets under management of about $160 billion.

“We think the next growth area is private debt and in particular credit that is not listed,” he said on the sidelines of a recent stakeholder update by the asset manager. “So what we are seeing is that a lot of mid-sized companies are looking to expand and grow their businesses. “Traditionally, they go to the banks to borrow that money because they have had that relationship and are more comfortable going there. “We are saying they are beginning to open up their balance sheets to allow other capital to come in. “And so for that, we think there’s an opportunity.”

Editor's Comment
Micro-procurement maze demands urgent reform

Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...

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