SOUTH African financial services group Alexander Forbes unveiled strong interim earnings growth this week and said it planned further overseas acquisitions, providing scope for a near-term rise in its share. The financial risk services company, which gets half of its revenue from abroad, reported a 33% increase in headline earnings to 68.5 cents a share in the six months to end-September from 51.5 cents last year. Its operating revenue climbed by 31% to R1.4bn rand. Excluding acquisitions, earnings were up by 22% with good growth recorded across Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America. – Reuters