'We Need Private Capital Investments' in Africa, Says UBA's Elumelu
Speaking to Bloomberg's Jennifer Zabasajja at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, African tycoon Tony Elumelu stressed the continent's plan to diversify. The chairman of the United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu, said that Africa is a "great destination" for investment. "The global south is beginning to look within for opportunities," he explained as Gulf countries show more interest in investing in the African continent. Citing infrastructure problems, particularly for electricity, Elumelu stressed the importance of private capital investments. (Source: Bloomberg)
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News24
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- News24
Turkish crackdown on Africans, higher prices stall 'suitcase trade'
• For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page. Porters roam the narrow streets of Laleli in central Istanbul carrying parcels ready for shipment to customers all over the world. The maze of alleys that lead down to the Sea of Marmara have long been the centre of the "suitcase trade" to sub-Saharan Africa, a route through which merchants carry goods back and forth in their baggage. But Laleli's informal shipping scene, once a bustling hub of cross-continental trade, is now facing growing pressure from rising costs and tougher residency rules imposed by Turkish authorities. African traders, who helped drive demand for Turkish goods through the "kargo" system -- small-scale shipping services between Turkish wholesalers and buyers across Africa - say business has slumped, even as official export figures continue to rise. While some still make round trips, most trade now moves through shipping services. For agents like Fadil Bayero -- a Cameroonian who runs a kargo business that ships clothing, cosmetics and home textiles from Turkey to clients across Africa -- business is slow. Turkish products have a very good reputation in Africa, he said. "Before this room was filled to the ceiling. Today it is half-empty," the 39-year-old said. Like many Africans in the neighbourhood, he claimed that shipments have dropped, even as Turkish exports to Africa have generally soared -- from $11.5 billion (R207 billion) in 2017 to $19.4 billion last year. Turkish textiles, once known for their affordability, have grown more expensive in recent years. Merchants say inflation -- above 35 percent since late 2021 -- has pushed African buyers toward cheaper suppliers in China and Egypt. But for Bayero, the explanation lies elsewhere. "It's not inflation that's the problem, it's the arrests. Many people have been deported," he said. Since 2022, Turkey's migration policy has toughened, with the authorities blocking new residence permit applications in several districts of Istanbul, including Fatih, where Laleli is located. The goal is to limit the proportion of foreigners to 20 percent per neighbourhood. "The stores, the streets, everything is empty now," said Franck, one of Bayero's colleagues. "Look out the window -- the sellers sit all day drinking tea while waiting for customers." A few streets away, Shamsu Abdullahi examined his spreadsheets. In his dimly lit room, dozens of bundles are stacked on the white tiled floor, awaiting shipment. Since January, he and his two colleagues have shipped over 20 tons of goods by air freight and filled the equivalent of 15 maritime containers. The Nigerian has also made around 15 round trips to his homeland, bringing 80 kilos (176 pounds) of goods with him on each journey. "My residence permit expires in two months, and I think the authorities won't renew it," he said. He and his associates generate over a million euros a year in revenue. "It's money spent in Turkey that fuels the local economy," he said. Historian Issouf Binate, a lecturer at Alassane Ouattara University in the Ivory Coast, said much of the trade is informal, making it hard to track. "It's difficult to provide figures on the volume of Turkey's exports to Africa because many businesses are informal," he said. "Kargos" are "transitional businesses", with improvised activity shared between friends or family members. Many in Laleli now believe that the golden age of the "kargo" and suitcase trading is over. "In one year we went from about three tons of shipments per week to 1.5," said a young Congolese who has lived in Istanbul for five years and asked not to be named. "Even if we still manage to find low-cost products, we cannot compete with China," he added. Arslan Arslan, a Turkish merchant who sells African dresses a few metres (yards) away, painted the same picture. "Before, I had customers from morning to evening... but the authorities sent them back." Now Arslan searches for his African customers on social media. "I'm on Telegram, Instagram, Facebook. But here, everything has become expensive," he said. "I've lost 70 percent of my revenue in a year."
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an hour ago
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There's Been No Shortage Of Growth Recently For Abbott Laboratories' (NYSE:ABT) Returns On Capital
If you're looking for a multi-bagger, there's a few things to keep an eye out for. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. This shows us that it's a compounding machine, able to continually reinvest its earnings back into the business and generate higher returns. So on that note, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) looks quite promising in regards to its trends of return on capital. We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Abbott Laboratories is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.11 = US$7.9b ÷ (US$81b - US$13b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2025). Therefore, Abbott Laboratories has an ROCE of 11%. In absolute terms, that's a pretty normal return, and it's somewhat close to the Medical Equipment industry average of 10%. See our latest analysis for Abbott Laboratories In the above chart we have measured Abbott Laboratories' prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free analyst report for Abbott Laboratories . Investors would be pleased with what's happening at Abbott Laboratories. The data shows that returns on capital have increased substantially over the last five years to 11%. Basically the business is earning more per dollar of capital invested and in addition to that, 22% more capital is being employed now too. So we're very much inspired by what we're seeing at Abbott Laboratories thanks to its ability to profitably reinvest capital. In summary, it's great to see that Abbott Laboratories can compound returns by consistently reinvesting capital at increasing rates of return, because these are some of the key ingredients of those highly sought after multi-baggers. And investors seem to expect more of this going forward, since the stock has rewarded shareholders with a 62% return over the last five years. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Abbott Laboratories can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead. Like most companies, Abbott Laboratories does come with some risks, and we've found 1 warning sign that you should be aware of. While Abbott Laboratories may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
