A Follow-Up On The African KINGs

After introducing Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Ghana as the African KINGs, we hereby extend the discussion to the 4Cs industries and companies summarized under the KINGS' index, a universe of 35 value and growth companies from the KINGs, mixed with 15 liquid, large size South/pan African companies.

From previous analyses, we note that the African KINGs closely track the MSCI Frontier Africa index. Although past performance is not a good indicator of future returns, we believe that the KINGs offer a better representation of Frontier Africa's opportunities in a smaller yet diversified sample set.

Sweet spots
In recent history, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana have been attractive investment destinations. Dedicated Frontier investors are familiar with this trio and less so with Ivory Coast as the West African giant has been held back due to a decade of civil war.

Following Qatar and the UAE graduation into Emerging Market status this year, Nigeria will soon become the second biggest weight in the MSCI Frontier Market index behind Kuwait. This not only highlights its potential, but also positions the country to Emerging Market status in the medium term; a move that will increase visibility and liquidity as more capital flows in. This is an appeal to gain first mover's advantage.