In a wide-ranging interview, the head of Africa’s biggest bank by assets told Semafor the task force sought to increase the availability and efficiency of public and private investments, support the expansion of infrastructure projects, and ensure that funding for infrastructure is sustainable and resilient.
The aim, said Tshabalala, is to craft a set of recommendations that improve the focus on strategic sectors like energy and technology while creating conditions for better public-private collaboration.
Improving access to infrastructure finance in Africa and other emerging markets requires a “clearly understandable, more modern set of rules and regulations that pertain to private, public partnerships,” said the South African banker.
He also said the task force would also consider new foreign exchange products to help emerging market currencies cope with global market vagaries. Boosting emerging markets trade required greater access to guarantee and foreign exchange products, Tshabalala added.
Another proposal under consideration is the creation of a “cost of capital commission” — a body to address the cost of capital in Africa, which has historically contributed to problems around debt sustainability.
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