Weaker African nations seen benefiting from free trade JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Weaker countries that fear being overwhelmed in a huge African free trade area will benefit from it in the long term, a development expert said Sunday as leaders of 26 governments began negotiations to create the zone encompassing nearly 600 million people and a combined gross domestic product of more than $800 billion.
In the short term, “you have to acknowledge the fact that within an FTA there are winners and losers,” said Kennedy Mbekeani, an African Development Bank official. But as the zone helps boost the region’s economies, he said, smaller members will benefit and find and develop sectors where they have competitive advantage.
“They should not be defensive, they should go in with an open mind,” said Mbekeani, recently appointed by his bank to help find ways to support the zone that stretches from Egypt down to South Africa and from Angola across to the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. The bank would like to see a continentwide free trade zone, and sees the south and east bloc — which accounts for half the continent’s population and GDP — as an important step in that direction. — AP
New firms join Canadian bid for Toronto exchange
TORONTO — Four new financial companies have joined a rival Canadian-only bid for TMX Group that could block a proposed merger of the Toronto and London stock exchanges.
Maple Group Acquisition Corp. announced Sunday that Desjardins Financial Group, Dundee Capital Markets, GMP Capital Inc. and Manulife Financial have signed on as investors.
Manulife is Canada’s largest insurance company and Desjardins the biggest credit union, with major financial operations in Quebec. Dundee and GMP are smaller wealth managers.
Maple, made up of a who’s who of Canada’s major financial players, has put forward a $3.67 billion bid to acquire TMX Group, which owns the Toronto exchange.
TMX rejected the bid, saying there are too many uncertainties, including regulatory and debt risks.
The bid from the London Stock Exchange is worth about $3 billion.
