Citigroup: African income set for lift-off

Citigroup sees increased sales from Africa this year as customers expand on the continent. Donna Oosthuyse, Citigroup’s South Africa head, said yesterday: “We expect growth from our flow revenue. We’ve had a couple of good years in trading because of low interest rates and the rebound in equities.” The US lender has a presence in 16 African countries, where it is involved in project financing and business and investment banking. Up to 70 percent of the US companies already operating in South Africa had a presence in another 10 African countries on average. Banks including Standard Chartered, Barclays and FirstRand are also seeking to tap African growth. – Bloomberg