“The Highest Returns in the World”.

Matthew Green at the FT reports on the Nigerian Capital Markets:

Some banking stocks have trebled in the past six months alone – the most spectacular sign of the shift in the country’s status from marginal emerging market play to star performer.
Driven by a combination of government reforms, debt relief and high oil prices at a time of heightened appetite for new types of risk, the gains have revealed a glimpse of untapped potential and looming hazards...A tougher line on money laundering and a newly-awarded BB- sovereign debt rating added to the allure at a time when global funds were turning to Africa as an antidote to dwindling returns in established pastures.
The sheer size of the country’s debt and equity markets has enticed hedge funds that worry about liquidity in smaller sub-Saharan countries, while strong domestic buying insulated Nigeria from a global sell-off in March