20100726
Reuters

Emerging and frontier equity funds in Africa returned to positive territory last week, attracting net inflows of cash after previously breaking a 44-week winning streak, fund tracker EPFR Global said.

With many investors worried about growth in developed economies, bond and emerging market equity funds, including those in fast-growing Africa, had fared well in mid-July, Washington-based EPFR said.

"Africa Regional Funds resumed their winning ways, attracting fresh money for the 45th time in 46 weeks," it said, without giving figures.

EPFR recorded net inflows of more than $480 million to Africa regional funds in the first half of the year, an indication of investor appetite for the poorest continent, whose economies rode out last year's slowdown surprisingly well.

For a foreign portfolio investor, 'frontier' sub-Saharan Africa generally means Nigeria and Kenya due to a lack of adequate liquidity in smaller markets such as Uganda, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana or Zimbabwe.

The continent's biggest and most sophisticated economy, South Africa, is classified as an emerging market.

Kenya's stock index is up by a third this year, compared with a 21 percent gain in Nigeria and a 3.3 percent rise in South Africa.