Concerto Launches Independent Fixed Income Data Portal and First Pan-African Local Currency Bond Index

FRANKFURT, Germany, October 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Concerto Financial Solutions (CFS) has launched a comprehensive fixed income data portal, including benchmark indices, measuring the performance of African local currency sovereign debt. The CFS Pan-African Bond Index (CABI) has a market capitalization of over $ 200 billion and is the first African bond index independent of banks and other market participants.

"The strong growth in African economies needs increased long-term, sustainable financing via the local currency bond markets", said Michael Abraham, Managing Partner of Concerto. "The CFS African Bond index series has clear, publicly available index rules, which makes these growing markets more transparent for domestic and international investors, who can use them as reliable benchmarks for these truly dynamic markets."

The headline index enables investors to gauge developments in Africa's most advanced bond markets and to make allocation and investment decisions on a Pan African, regional or country basis. The indices are calculated daily using closing prices from major financial institutions and are available in local currency, US-dollar, Euro and Rand.

Country selection is based on an improved methodology originally created by CFS for the African Development Bank's African Financial Market initiative (AFMI) to improve financial market transparency. The CABI currently includes sovereign bonds from Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, South Africa and Zambia with a further 8 countries under consideration for future inclusion. Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western African regional indices are also derived from the universe of domestic government bonds.

The fixed income data and indices fill a gap for domestic and international investors by providing the most reliable and independent source of data on a Pan African basis.  The bond indices are available on https://data.concerto-fs.com and include a standard range of analytical values. The data portal will in future also include T-Bill data and indices for a wider range of countries.

Christian Schedling Managing Partner and Head of Index Development also indicated that "Investor appetite for domestic African bonds is increasing as a result both of the continent's strong and sustained economic growth prospects and the global search for yield.  Concerto's CABI provides a unique performance benchmark for investors looking to diversify their fixed income portfolio or to broaden their overall exposure to frontier markets. By providing accessible, reliable data CABI will attract more investors to Africa's bond markets and, ultimately, serve to improve market liquidity and transparency."

Notes to Editors

About Concerto Financial Solutions

Incorporated in Frankfurt, Germany, Concerto is a full-service index provider and consultant to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, exchanges and development organizations. For more information, please visit: www.concerto-fs.com.

Contact:
Michael Abraham
Concerto Financial Solutions
+49-69-247-5583-50
[email protected]

SOURCE Concerto Financial Solutions GmbH

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED