Finance
Leading African bank aims to build China ties with newly opened Beijing office
Absa Group, one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services companies, aims to build stronger ties with Chinese firms as part of its global expansion strategy, amid growing investment and trade between China and Africa.
The Johannesburg, South Africa-based bank will focus on strengthening relations with state-owned entities, private companies, banks and development finance organisations via its subsidiary, which officially launched in Beijing in early May, according to Klaus-Dieter Kaempfer, CEO of Absa China.
“Absa’s strategy in China is to use our office to connect better with the head offices of Chinese corporates who do business in Africa,” he said.
With a healthy client base already in place, Absa will make its presence known and develop much closer relationships with prospective clients on the mainland, he added.
Absa’s Beijing office operates under a wholly foreign-owned enterprise licence, which allows it to provide general advisory services and research to clients based in China for transactions across Africa.
“To be clear, we are not conducting business in China, and we’re not doing domestic business,” said Kaempfer. “What we’re doing is developing relationships, advising on the capability that Absa Group has across its footprint in Africa, and our business actually gets executed there.”
The plan to open a China office was revealed by Zhu Kai, principal and head of China Corridor at Absa Corporate and Investment Bank, in May last year. The opening of the office was originally planned at the end of 2023, but the licence was only obtained in December, following which a team was hired, delaying the launch to last month.
China’s total trade with Africa increased 1.5 per cent year on year in 2023 to US$282.1 billion, while the continent’s trade deficit with the world’s second-largest economy expanded 36.4 per cent to US$65 billion, according to Chinese customs data published in February.
China’s total investments in Africa hit nearly US$11 billion in 2023, its highest since at least 2005, according to data from Washington-based think tank American Enterprise Institute.
“I think what makes Absa an attractive banking and financial services partner is the quality and the depth of our network – our core operations are in Africa, and we’ve been there for more than 100 years,” said Kaempfer.
The bank has a strong presence across a number of sectors, he added.
“We’re the leading provider of renewable-energy finance across the continent, and we have very competent teams in mining, minerals, trade finance and debt.”
The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.
The start of a new year can bring a surge of motivation around setting new goals, including financial resolutions.
One way to help those goals become reality, financial experts say, is to make them as specific as possible. Then, track your progress, while allowing flexibility for unexpected challenges.
“It’s easier to track progress when we know where we are going,” says Sylvie Scowcroft, a certified financial planner and founder of The Financial Grove in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
That’s why she encourages her clients to set clearly defined goals, often related to paying off a specific debt, saving a certain amount per month or improving their credit score.
Here are more tips from financial experts about crafting 2025 financial goals:
Pick your top priorities
Trying to accomplish too much can feel overwhelming. Instead, pick your priorities, says Cathleen Tobin, CFP and owner of Moonbridge Financial Design in Rhinebeck, New York.
She suggests focusing on those big, often emotionally-driven goals to find motivation.
“It’s more compelling than just a number,” she says. For example, do you want to make sure you’re on track for retirement or save money for a house? “Start there.”
Be as specific as possible
Scowcroft says she sees clients get tripped up by selecting overly broad goals, such as “get better with money.” Instead, she encourages people to select specific action items, such as “sign up for a budgeting tool and set aside time each month to learn where my money is going.”
That level of specificity provides direction so you know what steps to take next, she adds. For example, if your top priority is to become debt-free, then your specific goal might be to pay off an extra $200 of your debt balance each month.
Tobin says labeling savings accounts so they correspond with goals can also help. An emergency fund could be named something like “Peace of mind in 2025,” so you remember why you’re saving every time you make a transfer.
“It’s more motivating than just ‘emergency fund,’” Tobin says.
Get more financial clarity with NerdWallet
Monitor your credit, track your spending and see all of your finances together in a single place.
Track your progress
Measuring your progress as the year unfolds is also a critical component of successful goal setting, Tobin says.
She compares it to weight loss. If you want to lose 20 pounds by June, then you need to lose about a pound a week for the first six months of the year. Similarly, she says it helps to break savings goals into microsteps that specify what you need to do each week.
Schedule a weekly or monthly check-in with yourself to make sure you are meeting those smaller goals along the way. You might want to review your debt payoff progress or check your credit score, for example.
“Being able to break it down into steps that can be done each week or twice a month really helps,” Tobin says.
Automate where you can
If your goal is to save more money, then setting up an automatic transfer each month can help turn that goal into reality, as long as you know you have the money in your checking account to spare.
“It reduces the mental load,” says Mike Hunsberger, CFP and owner of Next Mission Financial Planning in St. Charles, Missouri, where he primarily supports veterans and current members of the military.
He recommends starting small to ease into the change.
“I wouldn’t jump to double what you’re currently saving,” he says. For example, when it comes to saving in a retirement account, if you’re starting with a 3% contribution, you might want to bump it up to 4%, then slowly increase it from there.
“My number one piece of advice is to start small, but make sure you scale over time,” Hunsberger adds. “Because it’s gradual, you probably won’t notice it impacting your lifestyle.”
Adjust as needed
“Stay flexible,” Scowcroft says. “Part of it is just being kind to yourself and not being too rigid.”
When unexpected challenges come up, such as a big unplanned expense, you might have to pause making progress on your goal and reset.
You might even need to change your goal. Scowcroft says that doesn’t mean you “failed,” just that life changed your plans. Dwelling on any negativity won’t help your forward progress.
Team up with a friend
Sharing your goals with a friend can also make it easier to reach them, Scowcroft says.
“It really helps to have an accountability buddy,” she says.
She suggests putting a regular “money date” with your friend on the calendar so you can ask each other how you’re doing, brainstorm any challenges or even budget together side-by-side.
“It’s a fun excuse to meet up with a friend.”
Get more financial clarity with NerdWallet
Monitor your credit, track your spending and see all of your finances together in a single place.
If you asked me what the process for setting up a Roth IRA looked like, I doubt I could offer you a thorough response. The same goes for mortgages and loans and interest. When I had to fill out my first W-9 form, I was admittedly more than a bit confused.
In short, financial literacy isn’t my forte. And that’s because, like many Massachusetts public school students, I’ve never had to take any sort of personal finance class.
Indeed, throughout the debates over eliminating MCAS as a graduation requirement for high schoolers, we heard quite a bit about the state’s educational gold standard. So is it not the least bit shameful, or at least embarrassing, that our state does not require high school students to take a financial literacy class when a majority of states do?
Absolutely. And it needs to change.
Twenty-six states, including Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, have passed legislation making a personal finance course mandatory for high school students. Meanwhile, Massachusetts received an “F” from the Champlain College Center for Financial Literacy, which released a report card in 2023 evaluating how each “state delivers personal finance education in its public high schools.” In addition, a 2023 report card(link?) from the American Public Education Foundation gave the state a “C” for its financial literacy requirements — a score worse than or equal to all but six states.
Meanwhile, across the state, credit card and student loan debt have spiked to eye-popping levels. As of the second quarter of this year, the average Massachusetts resident had a credit card balance of $8,556 and $33,710.38 in student loan debt. The latter is particularly troubling for young people like myself. For the next four years, countless high school seniors throughout the Commonwealth will be attending college, paying tens of thousands of dollars on top of day-to-day expenses.
The need for personal finance courses in Massachusetts is tremendous — a need that, as per a 2021 report from the state’s Office of Economic Empowerment, is recognized almost universally among teachers and, importantly, students.
Yet, as a result of being taught next to nothing about personal finances, many of us are left ill-prepared for these new circumstances. Our understanding of credit cards is limited to, as State Treasurer Deb Goldberg so eloquently articulated to GBH, “The parent puts a plastic card into the wallet and boom: out comes money.” And so the cycle of taking out loans, accumulating massive debt, and working for years before being able to pay it off persists.
Why perpetuate the cycle when it is so clear that these classes work? According to a 2021 Ramsey Solutions survey, among the teenagers who have completed a personal finance class, nearly 80 percent said that they’ve created a monthly budget for themselves, 94 percent felt confident about saving money, and 87 percent understood how to pay income taxes. And, as noted in the OEE’s report, personal finance courses are tools that “increase social mobility for low-income or immigrant students.” Requiring such classes really couldn’t make much more sense.
At my own high school, Brookline High School, financial literacy is offered in the form of a popular elective, “The World of Money: Practical Studies in Finance and Investment,” which “integrates the basic principles of economics, money management, investing, and technology,” according to the course catalog. Every spring, as course selection rolls around, hundreds of students eye this semester-long course, but with only so many spots, most cannot take it — and, consequently, miss out on an opportunity to learn about financial literacy.
Recognizing the imminent need to educate ourselves on matters of taxes, loans, investments, and more, several members of Brookline High School’s Student Council, including myself, have proposed amendments to our student handbook that would incorporate a financial literacy component in our graduation requirements and incorporate personal finance lessons into our weekly advisory classes. Our work would ensure that such important life skills are accessible to all students, not merely for those lucky enough to find a place in the class.
But while such efforts are certainly a step in the right direction on this issue, they are not enough. Financial literacy should not be a privilege for schools with a proactive student body; it is a fundamental aspect of our lives, and our state’s education system must begin reflecting that. The state must require personal finance courses for graduation — it’s the smartest investment we can make.
Ravin Bhatia is a senior at Brookline High School.
DALLAS, Dec. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE: NREF) (the “Company”) today announced a dividend for its 8.50% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (NYSE: NREF PRA) of $0.53125 per share. The dividend will be payable on January 27, 2025, to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 15, 2025.
About NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc.
NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc., is a publicly traded REIT, with its common stock and Series A Preferred Stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NREF” and “NREF PRA,” respectively, primarily focused on originating, structuring and investing in first-lien mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, convertible notes, multifamily properties and common equity investments, as well as multifamily and single-family rental commercial mortgage-backed securities securitizations, promissory notes and mortgage-backed securities. More information about the Company is available at nref.nexpoint.com.
CONTACTS
Investor Relations
Kristen Griffith
IR@nexpoint.com
Media Relations
Prosek Partners for NexPoint
pro-nexpoint@prosek.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nexpoint-real-estate-finance-inc-announces-series-a-preferred-stock-dividend-302339003.html
SOURCE NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc.
Ravens rout Texans on Christmas, inch closer to division title
How iOS 18.2 now lets you share your AirTag's location with anyone
After court loss, Albertsons and Kroger trade accusations over demise of mega-grocery-chain deal
Beyoncé brings 'Cowboy Carter' to the NFL on Netflix
Wendy Williams Has Fiery Confrontation With Caretakers, On-Camera
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Five journalists killed in Israeli strike near Gaza hospital
NYC cab jumps curb, injures 7 on Christmas Day
Marjorie Taylor Greene wants death penalty for migrant who allegedly set woman on fire on subway: 'Finish him'
Who is Europe's top investor in space in 2023?
American Airlines lifts ground stop that froze Christmas Eve travelers
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24924653/236780_Google_AntiTrust_Trial_Custom_Art_CVirginia__0003_1.png "Google’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps")
Technology5 days agoGoogle’s counteroffer to the government trying to break it up is unbundling Android apps
-
News6 days agoNovo Nordisk shares tumble as weight-loss drug trial data disappoints
-
Politics6 days agoIllegal immigrant sexually abused child in the U.S. after being removed from the country five times
-
Entertainment6 days ago'It's a little holiday gift': Inside the Weeknd's free Santa Monica show for his biggest fans
-
Lifestyle6 days agoThink you can't dance? Get up and try these tips in our comic. We dare you!
-
Technology1 week agoFox News AI Newsletter: OpenAI responds to Elon Musk's lawsuit
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25672934/Metaphor_Key_Art_Horizontal.png "There’s a reason Metaphor: ReFantanzio’s battle music sounds as cool as it does")
Technology1 day agoThere’s a reason Metaphor: ReFantanzio’s battle music sounds as cool as it does
-
News2 days agoFrance’s new premier selects Eric Lombard as finance minister