FirstRand: Nxasana looks to Ghana in near term

FirstRand would like to set up an operation in Ghana and was also considering Angola and Kenya, chief executive Sizwe Nxasana said yesterday. “We are quite interested in the short term to establish a banking presence in Ghana,” he said in an interview in Lusaka. “Angola and Kenya are markets that are interesting.” Nxasana said in February that he favoured “organic growth” after three deals to buy assets in Zambia, Ghana and Nigeria failed in as many years. Cross-border activities would help FirstRand to gain a better understanding of markets such as Angola and Kenya before the bank decided whether to establish operations there, he said yesterday. While FirstRand was focused on organic growth in Zambia, it would also consider acquisitions. “Should opportunities present themselves that make economic or commercial sense to us, certainly we will look at those,” he said. “We’re not actively looking right now.” – Bloomberg