AfrAsia Bank, the Mauritius-based bank that specialises in corporate, private and international banking, has announced the opening of representative offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The application and granting of the representative office licence by the South African Reserve Bank was a result of the bank’s strategy to have a South African presence to capitalise on growing trade and investment between Africa and Asia.

Speaking in Cape Town today, James Benoit, CEO of AfrAsia Bank, outlined what the bank could do for clients in South Africa: “Our focus is on corporate and institutional banking, wealth management, private and international banking. We serve Mauritius and the dynamic Africa-Asia trade and investment corridor, in which Mauritius plays a vital role as a regional financial and logistics hub.”

Mauritius has no exchange controls, and with 34 double taxation agreements, the country is rapidly becoming a second home for South African and international corporates looking for a springboard to Africa and Asia, and a base from which to structure their corporate financing needs. Besides its strategic geographic location, Mauritius has a sound legal system and a business and regulatory environment ranked first by the World Bank for doing business in Africa.

“AfrAsia Bank offers a different level of focus and customisation and our intention is to build our presence in the market ahead of anticipated strong growth in Africa that will be driven by trade and investment with India and China.”

Benoit added that with Africa and Asia poised for greater influence in the global economy, AfrAsia Bank has a strategic role as a regional bank that links the two regions. In the context of Africa’s economic integration with Asia, Mauritius is the ideal conduit for trade and investment flows.

“Trade facilitation between India and Africa is a growth area and AfrAsia Bank intends to capitalise on these opportunities through regional expansion, starting in South Africa. This is also in line with our strategy to be a reference point for corporate and investment banking, private banking and global business solutions linking Mauritius and the Africa-Asia trade corridor by being closer to those markets.” explained Benoit.

Funding for South African corporates through Mauritian capital markets is viewed as a major growth area, as are project finance, residential property development and services in support of asset managers. For example, AfrAsia Bank, as a foreign institutional investor (FII) licence-holder, can offer South African asset managers access to Indian stock exchanges when diversifying international portfolios.

“The global financial crisis confirmed that fundamental shifts are taking place in the global economy. These make the need for a specialist Afro-Asian focus particularly appropriate to ensure that the associated opportunities are capitalised upon. Our intention is to introduce more and more South Africans to these opportunities,” said Benoit.

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AfrAsia Bank Limited continues its regional expansion. The bank has opened its shareholding to a new strategic partner, Intrasia Capital, a Singapore-based firm. The new shareholder, an investment, development and boutique private equity firm, will mainly contribute to the development of the Bank’s regional presence.

Intrasia Capital has invested across a wide variety of sectors and geographies, at all stages of a company’s growth: from providing seed capital through to expertise in the growth stages. Its particular expertise is in business development in Indian Ocean and Asian nations – Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

In Mauritius for example, its subsidiaries, Vitagrain and Vita Rice, are developing hybrid rice seed and rice farming projects to provide food security for Mauritius.

AfrAsia Bank’s financial performance, growth plans and strategic vision have been clearly validated by the encouraging response from new investors, the Bank said. In its previous financial year, the Bank added a South African shareholder, Trinity Financial Group. This has helped to establish two representative offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. The newly joined shareholder will also facilitate the Bank’s growth strategies which include the intention to ultimately establish a representation in Singapore.

Mr James Benoit, CEO of AfrAsia Bank, declared: “By focusing on the delivery of integrated banking services to the local and international markets coupled with our client-centric approach, AfrAsia Bank aims to be the reference point for Corporate & Investment Banking, Private Banking and Global Business Solutions linking Mauritius and the Africa-Asia trade corridor by being closer to those markets. With our new FII Licence in India and our two international shareholders facilitating our regional growth, we are delivering on our promise to be a truly one stop boutique regional bank that links these two continents together seamlessly. Both South African Trinity Financial Group, through its subsidiary Dale Capital Partners, and Intrasia Capital from Singapore with strong links to Australia and Indonesia, support our strategic vision of expanding our activities regionally.”

The Chairman and CEO of Intrasia Capital, Mr. Graeme Robertson, remarked that the strategic vision of AfrAsia Bank was compelling to Intrasia’s own growth strategies. “We have been greatly impressed by the growing footprint of AfrAsia Bank as an innovative financial services provider bridging the gap between Africa and Australasia. The Indian Ocean Rim provides bountiful opportunities for smaller banks and Intrasia is pleased to be joining with AfrAsia to help grow these opportunities,” said Mr Robertson.

“We see tremendous business opportunities from Singapore on the Global Business front and AfrAsia can tap those markets by demonstrating the advantages of using Mauritius as a platform for investment from Singapore to Africa,” he added.

AfrAsia Bank pursues its regional expansion by welcoming a new shareholder, Intrasia Capital from Singapore.

The new partner is an investment and development body, and a boutique private equity firm. Based in Singapore, it will help AfrAsia Bank to better establish its presence at the regional level.

Intrasia Capital is mainly focused on investments. Its specialty resides in the development private and public companies of high growth potential in the energy, real estate, agricultural and financial services sector.

Last year, AfrAsia Bank had opened up its capital to a new partner, the Trinity Financial Group from South Africa. That had allowed the former to open two offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town, respectively. With the new comer, AfrAsia Bank is considering a representation in Singapore to further enhance its regional network.

The ambition of AfrAsia Bank is to become a reference as a merchant bank, investment bank, private bank and “global business” linking Mauritius to the commercial corridor between Asia and Africa. The Trinity Financial Group and Intrasia Capital share the same vision of extending the bank’s activities throughout the Indian Ocean rim region, said James Benoit, Chief Executive of AfrAsia Bank.

In Mauritius, Intrasia Capital is a financial partner of Vitagrain, a company engaged in the production of hybrid rice seeds.

The Trinity Financial Group has announced the acquisition of 70% of the capital of Dale Capital Partners Holding and is to revive its historic strategy of investing in the finance, leisure, food and IT sectors. The Trinity Financial Group will, from now on, be known as the Dale Capital Group Ltd. Furthermore, the company intends to reduce the value of its shares threefold, which will be, from March onwards, listed in rupees instead of dollars as was the case so far.

The company wants to be more approachable for Mauritian and South African investors.

This article was translated from the french language article below:

La compagnie souhaite être plus abordable pour les investisseurs mauriciens et de l’Afrique du Sud.

An FII is an institution established or incorporated outside India, which proposes to make investments in securities in India and regulated under the strict provisions of the SEBI. Sub-Account on the other hand means “any person resident outside India, on whose behalf investments are proposed to be made in India by a FII and who is registered as a sub-account under these regulations.” A foreign investor who does not wish to go through the full administrative hassle of applying and registering as an FII, may invest in India as a sub-account. This route has become one of the most utilised by investors to access the Indian market. It includes foreign corporates, foreign individuals and institutions, sovereign wealth funds, funds or portfolios established or incorporated outside India. There are less disclosure requirements and simpler documentation in the case of sub-account. Only one form is required to be completed, unless SEBI asks for constitutive documents. Moreover, it is the FII which applies to SEBI for sub-account registration. Eligibility criteria for sub-account registration are less stringent as compared to FII registration. Hence, the funds / entities which are not eligible for FII registration can be registered as sub-accounts, provided they are eligible for sub-account registration. For example, a fund that has been recently set up can invest in India as a sub-account of an FII although it cannot be registered as an FII.

“We are very pleased to have received SEBI’s approval and license. The Banking Industry is amongst the fastest growing sectors in the country and International business presents an interesting opportunity.” said James Benoit, AfrAsia Bank CEO. “It is not yet a crowded investment market here and we think that there is great merit in delivering solutions rather than just launch products. It is this investor centric approach built on customer oriented communication, long term relationships and enduring wealth creation that will seek to differentiate AfrAsia Bank. This is an important step in our strategy to tap the Indian market.” reiterated Mr James Benoit.

AfrAsia Bank has also entered into a strategic tie up with leading ICICI Bank for providing custodial services in India to its clients. AfrAsia’s relationship with the largest private sector bank of India has grown in strength in recent months. To provide most professional and seamless service to clients at most competitive margin, AfrAsia has also put in place various relationships with some of the most reputed and efficient broking houses based in Mumbai. The Bank is now fast developing capabilities for other value added services related to this activity, which will come with personalized services for which the Bank has already carved a niche for itself.

What common denominators can map the route to this potential? Singapore as Asia’s greatest services centre and Mauritius as the investor friendly conduit to the African potential.

Four aggressive and focused, interrelated corporate groups have come together to present what they conceive is a great opportunity for both nations to benefit from their location, and investment regime to open the African and Indian Ocean Rim to explosive interchange with Asia.

This is not just about banking it is about opportunity.

Intrasia Capital recently co-hosted a presentation on the theme “Asia meets Africa” in collaboration with AfrAsia Bank Limited and Intercontinental Trust Limited from Mauritius and the Superwoman Group from Australia. Held on the 6th of October at the Art House in Singapore, this event brought together over 150 Singaporean and Malaysian professionals from the financial services industry. The presentation highlighted the many unique business growth opportunities between Asia and Africa; a growing phenomenon often called “south-south” or “Indian Ocean Rim” trade. Using their own experiences of working together, the companies showcased the various opportunities, facilities and advantages of using Mauritius as a robust, professional platform for outbound investments into Africa while acknowledging Singapore as a natural spring board to and from Asia.

In his introduction, the event’s moderator, Graeme Robertson from Intrasia Capital spoke about the parallel between Singapore as a gateway to Asia and co-operation with Mauritius as the gateway to Africa. “Let us not focus on competition but cooperation – where Singapore can benefit both from the international tax-effective corporate structure of Mauritius towards investment in Africa and its central location as a service centre for the Indian Ocean Rim, as well as providing Mauritius with the facilities for onward investment in Asia.” added Mr Robertson.

By video, Mr Maurice Lam, Chairman of the Mauritian Board of Investment and a Director of AfrAsia Bank Limited, introduced Mauritius’s development as a growing business and financial hub.
Five years ago, using Singapore as a model, the Mauritius government started a program to reform the economy of Mauritius so that it becomes more opened to the world and has a business climate conducive to doing business. The aim was to transform Mauritius into a platform for global business with a particular emphasis on services. “Mauritius is now ranked 17th in the World Bank Doing Business 2010, a confirmation the much improved business climate in Mauritius. It is becoming the base for Asian companies doing business in Africa.” said Mr Lam.

As far as the Mauritian Global Business sector is concerned, there are presently around 35,000 businesses and investment funds engaged in a wide range of global activities making use of the Mauritius global financial services platform. More than 550 investment funds alone with a Net Asset Value in excess of USD50 billion has made Mauritius the number one investor into India over the past decade and is the conduit for tax effective investment in Africa.

From one of Mauritius’ leading international management companies, Mr. Ben Lim, CEO of Intercontinental Trust Limited, spoke about Mauritius as the new international financial centre and further gave an overview of the tax and treaty advantages of using this Indian Ocean Island as a platform for outbound investments into both Africa and Asia. Mr Lim said, “China has chosen Mauritius as a base for its expansion into the African continent. Through the Jin Fei project, China will invest over S$ 1 Billion in Mauritius over the next five years. The Mauritius set up will give China duty free access to Africa and the USA through the regional association Mauritius is a member of including the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (“COMESA”) and the Southern African Development Community (“SADC”).”

Ms Anna Borzi AM, Head of Superwoman Global Funds, identified women as a powerful investing force. Women, she outlined, are informed and concerned investors, particularly with regard to food security and humanitarian issues. This had particular resonance, she said, with Superwoman’s launch of a world first wholesale Global Food Security Fund in Mauritius. Ms Borzi also drew attention to the World Summit on Food Security being held next November in Rome, underlining the extremely timely and pressing nature of this issue. Packets distributed by Ms Borzi contained an average daily rice intake and proved a potent symbol of food security as a global issue demanding action.

Mrs Borzi also elaborated on the benefits of Mauritius-Singapore-Australia linkage. “The advantages and effectiveness of Mauritius as a domicile for Superwoman’s Food Security Fund is a reflection of both the quality of its services and its location.” said Ms Borzi.

On the banking sector, Mr James Benoit, CEO of AfrAsia Bank, elaborated on the range of products and services offered by the Bank to the investors. “Our focused approach on Private, Corporate and International Banking in the region has allowed us to grow successfully in only 2 years of operation. With the opening of our representative office in Cape Town, we are pursuing our strategy to be a regional player by being closer to our markets and filling a service gap that the current global crisis has created.” said Mr Benoit. “Working with Intrasia and groups like InterContinental, we can make Africa, the Last Emerging Market, the new opportunity for customers in Asia” he added.

In line with AfrAsia Bank’s strategy to promote Mauritius and be a regional cross border business hub, key staff from this banking institution have been to several continents including Europe, Africa and now Asia where they have hosted such types of seminars. On some other occasions, they have accompanied members from the Mauritian Board of Investment to promote the country as the ideal location for trade in the region and how AfrAsia Bank can help investors in their various sectors of activities.

Undaunted by a lack of rice industry in Singapore, a group of businessmen here – including Transview Holdings chairman Tan Ching Khoon – have created a company that could hold the key to solving hunger problems worldwide.

Vita Grain Group, which is backed by US $60 million of funding, owns more than 20 different strains of hybrid rice seeds that give higher-yielding, healthier crops. In field trials, its hybrid lines have been shown to produce as much as 12 tonnes of rice per hectare a year – about three times the worldwide average yield of 3.5-4 tonnes per ha per year.

‘It makes the argument for hybrid so compelling that it’s almost become an international priority for governments,’ said Vita Grain chairman Graeme Robertson.

For example, a hectare of land would need about 20kg of a particular grade of hybrid rice seed to grow a crop. If two crops can be grown a year, 40kg of hybrid seeds would be needed. Since hybrid seeds can only be used once, at US $4 per kg of seeds, it would cost the farmer US $160 a year.
Normal rice grains may be free, but the annual yield of 2 tonne per ha per year achieved in many developing countries is significantly lower than the 10 tonnes per ha per year possible with Vita Grain’s hybrid seeds. Assuming the current raw rice price of US $200 per tonne, the output with hybrid seeds would have raked in US $2,000 for the farmer, while normal rice would only yield US $400.
Apart from its higher yield, Vita Grain’s hybrid seeds also boast of lower glycemic index (GI) levels (high GI food gives rise to diabetes and obesity). The company has already started mass production of the seeds on 50 ha of land in Mauritius. This will be raised to 500 ha of land by July next year and 1,000 ha of land by December next year.

‘More than 1,000 ha of seed land in Mauritius can produce, at 4 tonne per ha, 4,000 tonnes of hybrid rice seeds,’ said Mr Robertson. ‘And you need 40kg of hybrid seeds in one year to grow, say 10 tonnes of rice, but it’s probably 16 tonnes or higher than that. So the capacity is huge.’

The impact on food security issues could also be huge. Although the Singapore-based firm is yet to have formal discussions with authorities here, it says its priority will be to support stock-piling of rice in Singapore – which imports about 330,000 tonnes of rice a year – if the need arises.

The company counts geneticist Abed Chaudhury as its chief scientist and shareholder. Vita Grain is eyeing private equity firms with an interest in food security to raise a further US $10-50 million for expansion.

‘To develop 10,000 ha of rice would cost us about US $25 million. US $10 million of funding, plus our own investment, will cover that,’ said Mr Robertson. He forecasts a 25 per cent return on investment over the next two to three years.

With new investments, Vita Grain will be able to explore further seed production in Asia, the US and South America, as well as rice production using its own seeds. The company is also setting up a rice mill in Mauritius and is in talks with partners in Botswana, Madagascar and Mozambique to develop rice production units that could, at the same time, improve the livelihoods of the local communities.

‘The risk is in infringement of our intellectual property because it takes many years of research and development to reach where we are today,’ said Transview’s Mr Tan, who is executive director of Vita Grain. ‘This is why our people are on the ground monitoring our programmes every day.’

The Regional Integration Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade has been the assigned role of facilitator and coordinator as regards all activities and projects in the Region.

According to Minister Boolell, cross border initiative in the field of food security is crucial for Mauritius. The Government has earmarked a sum of Rs 1 billion through the creation of the Food Security Fund in the 2008/9 budget. This fund was created with the intention to encourage farmers and crop producers to increase food production.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, has used all its diplomatic weight to acquire prime land with good and appropriate logistics in Mozambique. Over and above the 5000 hectares earmarked for Mauritius on the Central Province, Mozambique has been willing to offer to Mauritius 10,000 more hectares in the district of Marracuene, some 70 kilometers from the city of Maputo, are now available. This land is on the priority list for rice cultivation according to the Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture. Again, not too far from Maputo, a further 5000 hectares has been negotiated.

“The deal we are talking about sounds terrific, both in theory and practice. In theory, we can secure reliable supply of food, mitigate price shocks and reduce speculative commodity trade. In practice, it allows our investors to look beyond frontiers. This is not the time for us to put our proposed mega project on the blackburner. We need to become alert and take a more serious and responsible attitude”, stated Arvin Boolell.

The 10,000 hectares at Marracuene are now subject to a rapid submission of a rice project, and this will be followed by the signing of a long-term lease. It is proposed that the Government of Mauritius takes ownership of the lease and then sub-lease it to a consortium or investors or to lead investors on terms which satisfy both the interests of the investors and the nation in its search for some level of food security.

“I want the project we are going to develop together to be a show case, demonstrate our entrepreneurship skill, our effort to address the food security and our responsibility vis-à-vis our friendly neighbouring countries. We should not be seen as colonisers. We need to bear in mind that any success gained in this project would be a stepping-stone towards similar ventures in other parts of Africa. The doors are open for more investors to join the two lead investors, Vita Grain Ltd of Singapore and the Ning Group in Swaziland. The doors are equally open to new projects on other land to be made available”, Minister Boolell highlighted.

Already, two lead investors have come forward and have shown substantial interest in a rice project covering the 10,000 hectares. The first one is Vita Grain Ltd, a Singaporean company registered in Mauritius already at project stage of developing hybrid rice varieties in Mauritius. It has already submitted its project proposal of $43.5m on the Mozambican rice venture. This project includes milling of the rice. The second one is Mr Gaetan Ning of the Ning Group based in Swaziland and is on successful business in cattle-rearing, vegetables growing and fast-food chains. He is visiting the 10,000 hectares shortly.

Dr Abel Chaudhury, a high-profile rice scientist working both for Vita Grain Ltd and for the Food Security Development Centre having MSIRI & FARC as partners, has proposed a scientific tour at the end of September 2009 on the Mozambican land. In collaboration with the Mozambican Ministry of Agriculture, he will develop pilot plots with some 50 rice varieties. In his view, the outcome of this experiment would provide more reliable answers to the soil/climate suitability.

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Through this Agreement 500 hectares of land will be released by the Rose Belle Sugar Estate for the development of a hybrid rice seed industry in Mauritius. The Singapore based company Vita Grain Pte Ltd possesses innovative knowledge and expertise for the cultivation of non-hybrid and hybrid rice seed with specialised traits such as low glycemic index hybrid cereal. It uses advanced growing techniques so as to promote the improvement of nutrition and food security in both developing and developed countries.

Some 1 000 hectares are required for the implementation of this project which will also take on board small holders in the future. Mauritius has been opted by the Vita Company for various reasons such as its economic and political stability, its pest and disease free environment and its strategic location.

The Agreement is the second one signed between Vita Grain Group and Mauritian authorities. The first one was signed for the setting up of a hybrid seed rice production centre which involves the Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute (MSIRI) and the Agricultural Research Extension Unit (AREU). The creation of this centre in Mauritius will enable these Institutes to further develop research and study into hybrid rice lines and other food crops, thus positioning our country as a regional powerhouse for hybrid seed research in the future.

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