{"id":846082,"date":"2025-12-27T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=846082"},"modified":"2025-12-27T07:14:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:14:52","slug":"major-south-african-bank-buys-a-slice-of-dubai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/banking\/846082\/major-south-african-bank-buys-a-slice-of-dubai\/","title":{"rendered":"Major South African bank buys a slice of Dubai"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FirstRand is set to benefit from the acquisition of 20% the JSE-listed Dubai-based giant Optasia, with the bank expanding into digital channels.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking with Business Day TV<\/a>, Robert Towell from Sasfin Wealth chose FirstRand as his stock pick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Towell said that all of the banks are offering good investment opportunities, with dividend yields of around 6%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Sasfin Wealth remains optimistic about FirstRand, despite a slight setback from a regulatory fine from the UK regarding its motor finance business.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Towell said that FirstRand, which owns FNB, RMB, Wesbank, and many more, also has room to grow in the digital banking space.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company recently acquired a 20% stake in Optasia ahead of the UAE-based company\u2019s listing on the JSE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Optasia provides fintech services to people across emerging markets, working with prominent companies such as MTN, Vodacom, and Standard Bank, among others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FirstRand previously said that the investment in Optaisa represents an exciting opportunity to leverage a proven fintech platform that solves the lending needs of underbanked or unbanked clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These underbanked or unbanked consumers often struggle to access traditional credit products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOptasia\u2019s ability to pre-score customers, process microloans at scale, and use mobile data sales as a credit collection mechanism is highly innovative,\u201d said FirstRand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is clearly meeting the needs of millions of customers in 38 countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FirstRand stated that FNB will be able to leverage Optasia to accelerate its own growth strategy in underrepresented markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirstRand are not going to stand still and let the incumbents take over the banking sector. South Africa is still a place you can invest in, and we like FirstRand at these levels,\u201d said Towell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FirstRand’s P\/E ratio currently stands at around 10.5, with the company having an attractive  5.4% dividend yield<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go straight into Optasia <\/h2>\n\n\n
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While FirstRand is set to benefit from its stake in Optasia, South African investors can also benefit from directly investing in the company following its UPO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keagan Higgins, Investment Analyst at Anchor Capital, picked Optasia as a stock pick for 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Group estimates a potential reach of c. 860 million underserved mobile network members through its telecom rails and data network partners,\u201d said Higgins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly around 120 million are currently active users. That difference signals a significant runway for growth as Optasia deepens penetration within its existing footprint.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With traditional banks struggling to price and distribute small-ticket credit efficiently, Optasia fills the gap using mobile channels and already has a deep customer dataset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This dataset allows it to enhance its credit models, a competitive moat that is difficult for new entrants to replicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Momentum is strong, with management guiding a 50% revenue growth in FY25, and 25% in FY26, driven by deeper penetration of micro-financing products and geographic expansion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFY25E marks a step-change because FY24 reflects a lower comparison base before the platform\u2019s recent scale-up, while 1H25 has already shown accelerating volumes and an improving product mix,\u201d said Higgins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe next growth leg should come from deepening penetration across Optasia\u2019s existing footprint, especially in Africa, with Asia remaining an attractive additional runway.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that South and South-East Asia offer large underbanked populations, high mobile and wallet penetration, and telecoms partners with strong daily engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there are risks, like possible regulatory shifts, Higgins said that Optasia\u2019s embedded distribution model and continuously learning credit engine can help mitigate these risks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A standout feature for Optasia is the valuation disconnect, with the stock trading at a forward P\/E ratio of 17, which appears low given management\u2019s medium-term guidance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe strategic stake acquired by FirstRand adds a further layer of long-term optionality, both as a validation of the model and a potential future corporate tailwind,\u201d noted Higgins. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Source: Company reports, Anchor Capital estimates<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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Source: Company reports, Anchor Capital estimates<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FirstRand, the owner of FNB and RMB, is offering good value to investors, with the company set to grow in the digital banking space after buying a slice of Dubai-based Optasia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":815757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[961],"tags":[11827,4088,23769,12300],"class_list":["post-846082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","tag-anchor-capital","tag-firstrand","tag-optasia","tag-sasfin-wealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846082"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":846805,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846082\/revisions\/846805"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}