WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-09-15 Time: 11:00:02 Posted By: News Poster
By Sure Kamhunga
Johannesburg – FIRSTRAND is not aspiring to have an international investor as an equity partner even though it will not slam the door shut if opportunity knocks, says group CEO Sizwe Nxasana.
Mr Nxasana says being part of a global lender is not necessarily the answer to its growth strategy, particularly in Africa, where it aspires to be “the African financial services group of choice”.
He was speaking to Business Day yesterday after impressing analysts with a 39% rise in group normalised headline earnings for the year to June.
“We are not looking (for an international partner),” he says.
His comments for now put to rest speculation that FirstRand is eager to get an investor as has Nedbank , which is being courted by HSBC in a deal potentially worth up to 7bn.
But analyst Patrice Rassou from Sanlam Investment Management says it does not necessarily mean that FirstRand has closed the door. “Obviously they won’t talk about if they do not have anything on the table,” he says.
If HSBC succeeds – as expected – in buying up to 70% of Nedbank from Old Mutual , FirstRand would be left exposed as the only top four South African lender without a global partner as an owner or key shareholder.
Absa , the market leader, is majority owned by Barclays Bank, while Standard Bank has the Chinese state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as a shareholder, with a 20% stake.
But Mr Nxasana is unfazed.
He says that FirstRand has a winning formula when it comes to Africa. This formula does not necessarily need a big brother for financial muscle or support.
“We really do not think so at all. Our expansion into Africa is based on the strategy that we have got in the countries that we have identified. We have adequate capital and there should be no hindrance at all by the fact that we have competitors with international partners.
“It (the fact that competitors have bigger partners) makes it more interesting but we are capable with the management of the group to execute the (FirstRand) strategy,” he says.
The group wants to expand its footprint on the continent in retail banking through First National Bank (FNB).
Under CEO Michael Jordaan, FNB already has operations in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia, and has applied to operate in Tanzania.
A representative office has been opened in Angola, where Mr Jordaan says he expects to eventually open FNB operations, probably by next year.
Mr Jordaan says growth in Africa is a natural progression from the South African market, where FNB is the third largest and rapidly closing the gap on its two larger rivals, Absa and Standard Bank.
“We have already applied to open in Tanzania and we are ready to go in terms of people, systems and premises,” he says. “We will also continue to invest in Zambia and Mozambique by opening more branches and (installing) ATMs,” says Mr Jordaan.
In Nigeria, FirstRand wants to join the growing queue of local and international lenders who are keen to enter Africa’s most populous country by either buying some of the distressed banks rescued by the country’s central bank or start a greenfield operation.
But analysts warn starting from scratch could be an expensive and unprofitable venture.
Mr Rassou says he is not convinced with Mr Nxasana’s argument that the group could go it alone without eventually succumbing to the overtures of a deep- pocketed investor.
“I think in SA they are large enough to be able to compete, but where they need to grow an international network, be it in Africa or Asia, they might need more than just a joint venture,” Mr Rassou says.
“I think with the Chinese, we have more to teach them than them teaching us (because) they are still traditional bankers and do not know much about investment banking (for example),” he says.
Mr Nxasana says it is difficult to say how much the group will spend on its expansion on the continent as each market is different.
Original Source: 
Original date published: 15 September 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201009150408.html?viewall=1