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The top companies in Africa.
Once again we are pleased to present our annual rankings and reviews of the top companies in Africa. This time we have expanded our listing from the top 100 to cover the top 200 companies thereby providing a more representative continental sample.
Any review of this type is a large undertaking even for a single sizeable economy; when the scale broadens out to cover the entire continent, the task becomes monumental and well beyond the scope and size of African Business. What we have provided, in addition to the listings, is a snap-shot of company activity all over the continent. We have divided the continent into five broad sub-regions: north, west, east, central and southern. For each region we give a terse economic overview where appropriate, sub-regional rankings and selected company profiles. The profiles are not necessarily based on the size of turnover but rather on the iconic status of the companies. A few of the biggest and best known organisations do not feature in the profiles, although they appear in the rankings, in order to make room for other companies to make their continental mark. That said, the listings and profiles provide an accurate reflection of sub-regional economic activity and taken as a whole, the distribution of economic activity and scale on a continental basis. Thus, with the exception of extractive giants like Algeria's Sonatrach, Nigeria's NNPC and Botswana's Debswana, South African companies stand head and shoulders above the rest. The exceptional performance of South African companies is a clear indication of the income-generating potential of an industry-based, modern economy. The gap in turnover between South African companies and companies from the rest of Africa also accurately reflects the gap in development between South Africa and other countries in the continent--particularly in industrial manufacturing, marketing, financial services and distribution. Those gaps must be closed even as South Africa's economy strives to achieve and retain a top-tier global benchmark. North Africa [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Reforms fuel growth boom North Africa is a good place to do business. Excluding South African companies, North African companies dominate our top companies rankings, be they the oil and gas companies of Algeria and Egypt; tourism companies in Tunisia and Morocco or construction, telecoms and IT businesses throughout the sub-region. Outside Johannesburg, the stock exchanges of Casablanca, Tunis and Cairo are the most sophisticated and have the best liquidity in the continent. In terms of competitiveness, a report by the World Economic Forum ranks North African countries handsomely, with Tunisia just behind South Africa at 42nd out of the 104 countries that were classified. Markets such as Algeria and Libya are gradually being liberalised and Tunisia is facing up to stronger competition. Egypt is undergoing economic reforms and Morocco's economy has picked up considerably since the terrorist attacks of 2001. In terms of attracting business and FDI, Tunisia and Morroco have fared well. The government is keen to promote new businesses and bureaucracy has been cut dramatically. For example, you can set up a business in 14 days in Tunisia compared with the 108 days required in Botswana or 153 days required in Mozambique. Outside of the hydrocarbons industry, Morocco has attracted the largest amount of FDI in the continent with the privatisation of the national tobacco company bought by the Franco-Spanish group Altadis. Vivendi secured a 51% stake in Maroc Telecom--soon to be dual listed on both the Casablanca and Paris stock exchanges. Who will the stars of tomorrow be? Established companies are developing strongholds in their local economies but are also seeking opportunities beyond their domestic markets. Such is the case with the Orascom group; Orascom Telecom has expanded successfully into Tunisia, Algeria and other African countries, whilst Orascom Construction has secured important contracts in Libya. Telecoms, pharmaceuticals and construction are sectors which will continue to boom over the next few years with mega-projects being initiated in Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. North African countries, in particular Morocco and Tunisia, know that they need to gain strong competitive advantages in a number of sectors such as textiles and services. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The textile sector has been Tunisia's number one export earner and has driven the economy forward, but will now face strong competition from China as the WTO's multifibre trade agreement ends. Similarly, Morocco is facing increasingly stiff competition over its call-centres businesses. With a workforce that is comfortable in both French and Spanish, Morocco has been able to reach a large market with its call-centre services but the country is now facing a serious challenge from countries like Senegal, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa. Nevertheless, service indus...See the full content of this document
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