Othman Bejelloum: Africa investor 100 CEO of the Year

New York - Africa investor, a leading international investment research and communications group, has announced the winners of the 2010 Africa investor Index Series Awards.

The awards were held at an exclusive, invitation-only gala ceremony on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The Africa investor Index Series Awards are the only international, pan-African awards that recognise and reward Africa’s institutional investors, stock exchanges, best-performing listed companies, stockbrokers and capital market regulators. This year’s winners, according to the Ai statement, were a mixed but uniformly respected and high-achieving group of leaders in their respective fields. CEOs from all of the Africa investor-tracked indices were recognised, including Othman Bejelloun from Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur as Africa investor 100 CEO of the Year; Africa investor 40 CEO of the Year saw Arnold Ekpe, CEO of Ecobank Transnational, take the award; Africa investor SRI 50 CEO of the Year went to Linus Gitghi of Nation Media Group; while Martin Oduor-Otieno of Kenya Commercial Bank was recognised as Africa investor SRI 30 CEO of the Year. Africa’s leading listed companies from the Africa investor-tracked indices were also hailed as Best Performing Africa investor 100 Company went to Ghana Commercial Bank; Best Performing Africa investor 40 Company was awarded to Equity Bank Kenya; and Best Performing Africa investor Sri30 Company was given to another Kenyan company, Safaricom. Zambia Sugar walked away with Best Performing Africa investor SRI 50 Company. Africa’s stock exchanges were not to be outdone as Most Innovative African Stock Exchange went to the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and Most Innovative Capital Markets Regulator was awarded to the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius. Other categories saw Coronation Africa Fund recognised as Best Africa Fund Manager; Best Africa Investment Bank went to Renaissance Investment Bank; Standard Bank was honoured for the Best Africa Research Team and Best African IPO was given to Juhayna Food Industries Egypt. Auerbach Grayson took Best Performing Broker in Africa and, finally, Best Risk Adjusted Performance by an African/South African Hedge Fund was given to Scipion Capital. Commenting on the awards Hubert Danso, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Africa investor said, “Profiling African capital market success stories through the Africa investor Index Series Awards is vital to raising awareness about the activities and developments of Africa’s capital markets and listed companies, and the increasing quality and quantity of entries received this year goes far in proving that Africa’s growing appeal to the global investment community is at a tipping point.” The Ai Index Series Awards ceremony coincides with the annual Africa investor Index Series Summit held in association with NYSE Euronext. The Summit brings together international investors, African CEOs, pension funds and capital market professionals to explore investment partnerships in African listed equities. Both the Africa investor Index Series Summit and Awards represent an unprecedented opportunity for international investors and African capital market leaders to explore investment partnerships at the New York Stock Exchange. Africa investor would like to thank its sponsors and partners, including: Summit partners and sponsors include: Ecobank, NYSE Euronext, Thomson Reuters, Standard Bank, CNBC, the African Development Bank, CI Capital, Label Vie, the African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA), the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the NEPAD Business Group. The following are Africa investor Index Series Awards Winners 2010: Africa investor 100 CEO of the Year- Othman Bejelloun, Banque Marocaine du Commerce Exterieur Africa investor 40 CEO of the Year Arnold Ekpe – Ecobank Transnational Africa investor SRI 50 CEO of the Year Linus Gitghi – Nation Media Group Africa investor SRI 30 CEO of the Year Martin Oduor - Otieno - Kenya Commercial Bank Best Africa Fund Manager- Coronation Africa Fund Best Africa Investment Bank- Renaissance Bank Investment Bank Best Africa Research Team- Standard Bank Best African IPO- Juhayna Food Industries Egypt Best Performing Broker in Africa -Auerbach Grayson Best Performing Africa investor 100 Company- Ghana Commercial Bank Best Performing Africa investor 40 Company- Equity Bank Kenya Best Performing Africa investor Sri30 Company- Safaricom Best Performing Africa investor Sri50 Company- Zambia Sugar Most Innovative African Stock Exchange- Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) Most Innovative Capital Markets -Regulator Financial Services Commission Mauritius Best Risk Adjusted Performance by an African/South African Hedge Fund-RMB Asset Management (Pty) Ltd Othman Bejelloum (photo), one of Africa's richest bankers (his personal fortune is estimated at 665 million Euros), was born in 1931 and attended the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) , one of the best schools in the world. In 2008 he was voted Arab Banker of the Year (see video).