Baker McKenzie Johannesburg Archives - Page 2 of 3

12Aug

By Mike van RensburgNo Comments

African News, Business, Main

Massive increase in M&A deal value in Sub-Saharan Africa in the first half of 2021

There were 333 M&A deals announced in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in the first six months of 2021 (H1 2021), valued at USD 57.7 billion, according to Baker McKenzie's analysis of Refinitiv data. When compared to the same period last year (H1 2020) this amounted to a 14% increase in deal volume and an astounding 576% increase in deal value. H1 2020 recorded 293 M&A deals with a deal value of USD 8.5 billion. Last year was a relatively difficult year for investors in Africa, with considerable uncertainty. Pandemic impacts had a limiting effect on numerous sectors and many deals had to be postponed as a result. The boost in M&A deal value in 2021 is, in part, due to a post-COVID boom, where last year’s postponed and delayed transactions were able to proceed in the first half of 2021...

18Jun

By Baker McKenzieNo Comments

Main, South Africa News

No IPOs in Africa in the first half of 2021, but global IPO Activity on Pace to Hit Historic Highs in 2021

There were no cross-border Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) on African exchanges in the first half of 2021 (H1 2021) according to new Baker McKenzie analysis, H1 IPO Snapshot: Unfolding Trends for 2021. However, the continued global demand for special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) IPOs reached African shores in the first half of 2021 - with a cross-border listing from a South African SPAC issuer - African Gold Acquisition Corporation - into the New York Stock Exchange. Globally, however, Baker McKenzie’s analysis shows that the continued global demand for SPAC deals, as well as current high liquidity and investor enthusiasm, caused capital raising to surge to new highs in the first half of 2021, with the bulk of companies preferring to list their IPOs locally. Globally, a total of 1,26...

8Jun

By Baker McKenzieNo Comments

Ghana News, South Africa News, Tech

Implementation of cybersecurity and data protection law urgent across Africa

South Africa recently enacted cybersecurity law Darryl Bernstein, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution, and Janet MacKenzie, Partner and Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The pandemic has driven home the high value of personal data to the global economy, while also highlighting its vulnerability to abuse and attack. In response, governments around the world have been reviewing their data privacy and protection laws and regulations, including in South Africa. Global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky recently noted that cyberattacks are set to rise in African countries, especially in the key financial centres of South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. The cybersecurity firm noted that rapidly evolving digital techniques had led to an increased risk of Advan...

10May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Main

New report outlines shifting patterns of infrastructure funding in Africa

Baker McKenzie’s latest report - New Dynamics: Shifting Patterns in Africa’s Infrastructure Funding - shows the state of the African infrastructure market, and how the major global players’ approach infrastructure lending on the continent is changing. While the IJ Global data shows a decline in the value of infrastructure lending, it is expected that as economies recover, new types of financing will be unlocked. The data The report’s data shows that multilateral and bilateral lending into Africa has declined - with investment levels falling successively in 2019 and 2020 compared to peak levels seen after the financial crisis. In 2019, bilateral and multilateral lending into Africa amounted to USD 55 billion, which drops to USD 31 billion in 2020. Over the last six years, the decline is sig...

23Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Business, South Africa News

Baker McKenzie named the Most Responsive International Law Firm in South Africa and 10 other jurisdictions

The Firm has also been recognized in 15 transactional and advisory practice areas across Asia and the Middle East and Africa region. The In-House Community (IHC) 2021 has awarded Baker McKenzie the "Most Responsive International Firm of the Year" in 11 jurisdictions, including in South Africa. The other jurisdictions were China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. The Firm was also awarded "Firm of the Year" in 15 practice areas across Asia, United Arab Emirates and South Africa. South Africa won 'Firm of the Year’ for its Antitrust / Competition, Compliance/Regulatory, and Litigation and Dispute Resolution practices. Bruce Schubach, Baker McKenzie’s Head of Operations for Africa, said, “Over the challenges of th...

16Apr

By Baker McKenzieNo Comments

Botswana News, Egypt News, Main, Mauritius News, Morocco News, South Africa News

Competition law in post-pandemic Africa a key driver for market participation, consumer protection and fair practices

With the growth of economies across Africa, competition law has remained one of the key drivers for effective market participation, consumer protection and fair business practices. However, the global pandemic introduced new challenges for competition authorities in Africa and abroad, with each enforcer pursuing the most beneficial enforcement method for its national or regional jurisdiction. According to Lerisha Naidu, Partner in Baker McKenzie’s Competition & Antitrust Practice in Johannesburg, “These efforts were aimed at curbing the persistence of unjustified price hikes, anticompetitive cooperation between competitors and other harmful business practices that sought to undermine competition. In addition to the urgent responses to the unprecedented impacts of the global COVID-19 c...

7Apr

By Prenisha GovenderNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

South Africa: The South African revenue service joins the global rise of crypto-wars

By Prenisha Govender, Associate and Keketso Kgomosotho, Candidate Attorney, Tax Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg. The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies worldwide, which is increasingly leading to its stronger footing in international business, has awakened tax authorities everywhere to a possible new revenue stream from unreported gains. Over recent years, we've seen a marked increase in crackdowns on cryptocurrency traders - all the way from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States (US) to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the United Kingdom (UK), and now the South African Revenue Service (SARS). It was only a matter of time until SARS joined the party, given that in terms of both market value and volume, South Africa is reported to be one of the top t...

9Mar

By Prenisha GovenderNo Comments

Business, South Africa News

New Export Tax on Chrome Ore Intended to Resurrect the Ferrochrome Industry, but challenges prevail

By Prenisha Govender, Associate, Tax, and Angelo Tzarevski, Senior Associate, Competition & Antitrust, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg The South African Government recently approved a tax on South Africa’s exported chrome, although the tax percentage and further details are still to be announced. The ferrochrome ore industry has been severely threatened in recent years, mostly due to increases in electricity tariffs for heavy use industries, which, combined with the unreliable supply of electricity in South Africa, have crippled the industry to such an extent that reportedly 40% of the country’s ferrochrome mines have been unable to continue production. Some industry stakeholders have suggested that a special electricity tariff would be a better way to support the ailing industry, stating...

Deal making slows across Africa but post-pandemic opportunities look interesting

6Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Ethiopia News, Ghana News, Kenya News, Main, Mauritius News, Mozambique News, Nigeria News, South Africa News

Deal making slows across Africa but post-pandemic opportunities look interesting

Deal making activity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) dropped in the second half of 2020 (H2 2020), when compared to the second half of 2019 (H2 2019) and year-on-year, deals were also down in both volume and value compared to 2019. As the continent gears up for post-pandemic recovery in 2021, the opportunities presented by free trade across the continent, foreign investment opportunities due to new partnerships and trade relationships, as well as the post-pandemic focus on technology, healthcare and renewable energy, will be key factors in attracting valuable mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity to the region. Further, South Africa’s deal volume and value both dropped in 2020, with the industrials and healthcare sector attracting the biggest investments. Ghana stood out as a country that...

29Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Egypt News, Ghana News, Kenya News, Main, Mauritius News, Nigeria News, South Africa News

African dealmaking decreases, the Africa’s Free Trade Agreement expected to boost recovery

Dealmaking activity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) dropped in the second half of 2020 (H2 2020), when compared to the second half of 2019 (H2 2019) and year-on-year, deals were also down in both volume and value when compared to 2019. According to Baker McKenzie’s analysis of Refinitiv data, M&A transactions dropped in SSA in H2 2020, down 4% compared to H2 2019 with 329 deals in the period. Deal value fell by 17% to USD8.9 billion in the second half of 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. For the full year 2020, transactions dropped by 8%, with 625 deals in 2020, and deal value dropped by 33%, with deals valued at USD17.4 billion in total for 2020. However, as Africa gears up for its post-pandemic recovery, it appears that the opportunities presented by the recent launch of fr...