South Africa’s Nedbank Group is mulling to start fixed-income funds in Mauritius and East Africa, Bloomberg reported.

According to the publication, the funds would hold securities with a maturity of less than 2.5 years and may hold as much as $250 million to $300 million.

Kevin Whitfield, head of African treasuries at Nedbank Capital, said Nedbank will decide whether to open the fund in Mauritius by the end of the year and by early 2014 for East Africa.

"We’re considering looking at East africa and Mauritius," Whitfield was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. "This is based on our experiences in Namibia, which is managed in partnership by Old Mutual and supported by Nedbank. We are looking to extend that model."

"The fund would aim to draw investors with dollars and euros that want higher returns for short-term investments than those offered by local banks. The goal would be returns of 1 percentage point to 1.5 percentage point above deposit rates in those markets," Whitfield added.