African Business and Economy News

[Matthias Offodile]

Angola: Conclusion of Kuito Airport Works Creates Expectations




Angola Press Agency (Luanda)

November 24, 2006
Posted to the web November 27, 2006

Luanda

The conclusion of the works of rehabilitation and enlargement of Joaquim Kapango airport, in Kuito city, Angola's central Bie province, set for the first quarter of 2007, is creating expectations from the local community, in view of its importance to the region's socio-economic development.

Once rehabilitated, the new Joaquim Kapango airport runway will be in position to receive heavy aircrafts.

Estimated at Usd 18 million, the second phase of the works will focus on the full fencing of the area, restructuring of the runway adjacent areas and modernisation of the passengers terminal.

A total of 115 workers are involved in the repair and enlargement of the runway that will have 2,500 metres long and 60 metres of width.

Kuito airport runway has been out of operation since 2002, as a result of the bad condition of the ground that only allowed the landing of light planes.

[You are to blame]

Article on how South Africa is doing.

Manuel pleased by news of buoyant economy

South Africa's economy remained "extremely buoyant" and the country's current account gap is expected to ease slightly, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Tuesday.

"The present economic environment is extremely buoyant. What started off as a consumer boom has been translated into rising investment," Manuel said in a speech to a trade union federation.

"Rising investment has led to employment growth, further contributing to rising consumption. We are capable of accelerating growth even further," he added.

Manuel said the pace of job creation in South Africa had risen to a point where employment is created faster than new entrants are joining the labour market, but he said more work needed to be done to sustain the trend.

Statistics South Africa said earlier on Tuesday the economy grew by 4.7 percent in the third quarter of 2006 and revised upwards growth figures for previous quarters and the last three years.

It said the economy expanded by 5.1 percent in 2005 - its highest rate in more than two decades.

The quarterly number was down on the previous three months but pointed to solid growth despite interest rate increases of 150 basis points in interest rates since June.

Manuel in February cut his economic growth forecast for 2006 to 4.4 percent.

"Higher interest rates, faster public sector infrastructure spending, the moderately weaker currency and improved performance of our exporters should allow for a slight easing of the current account deficit. However, if we do not improve our export performance, our economic performance would not be sustainable, requiring a forced slowdown in growth to re-balance the economy," Manuel said.

The central bank has repeatedly warned a yawning current account shortfall of over six percent of GDP poses a danger to the rand currency, down about 11 percent against the dollar so far this year.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?s...4748325311B216

[Matthias Offodile]

Nigeria?s GDP Rises By 7.5%

From Josephine Lohor in Abuja, 30.11.2006

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Charles Soludo, yesterday disclosed that Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has risen by 7.5 per cent.
Briefing State House Corre-spondents on the outcome of the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, Soludo also disclosed that the nation's inflation rate has fallen by 6.5 per cent.
Speaking alongside the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Frank Nweke, the CBN governor stated that in the last two years, the naira has remained relatively stable against the United States dollar.
He added that another cheering news on Nigeria's economy was that the naira has found a common meeting point at both the parallel and official markets.
Nweke, on his part, however, disclosed that the reported GDP was below the target of 10 per cent by the Federal Government at the beginning of the year.
He said before 1999, when the present administration came on board, inflation rate was in double digits but as result of on going reforms in almost all the sectors of the economy, a single digit has been realised.
The Minister added that the Economic Intelligence Unit of London and the Transparency International (TI) have all reported that the Nigerian economy, based on the performance of the Federal Government and recent index, has the potential to record appreciable growth in the nearest future.
He further said the growth recorded in the economy was propelled by the deliberate efforts by government to diversify the economy through a substantial investment in the non-oil sector, which resulted into a major boost in the agricultural sector.
According to him, the huge investment in the agricultural sector has resulted in self-sufficiency in the production of cassava, with Nigeria being the largest producer in the world; poultry, vegetable oil, among other food crops.
Nweke further stated that the FEC has approved a credit facility from the World Bank worth $180 million for some states including Kano , Bauchi, Rivers, Anambra, Jigawa and Akwa-Ibom to fight Malaria, as part of the ?Malaria Plus Intervention Package?.
Meanwhile, Vice Pres-ident Atiku Abubakar yesterday did not turn up for the weekly Economic Mana-gement Team meeting and the FEC that was presided over by President Olusegun Obasanjo.

[Matthias Offodile]

Angola thinking of join Opec cartel


Published: 30-NOV-06

Luanda ? Angola has plans to join the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) cartel, the county?s finance ministry has said.

Spokesman Bastos de Almeida said: "The council of ministers has said it backs Angola joining Opec."

Angola is Africa?s third largest oil producer, behind Nigeria and Libya. This has had a dramatic impact on the country?s growth. In 2005, the Southern African nation grew at 20.6 percent, the second fastest in the World, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Angola currently produces 1.4 barrels a day and the country will reach at least 2 million bpd by the end of 2007. -Business in Africa Online

[kulani]

DRC, Zambia join Eassy

BY PAUL VECCHIATTO , ITWEB JOURNALIST

[ Cape Town | ITWeb, 30 November 2006 ] - Twelve countries have signed the East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy) protocol, with the latest, Zambia, due to formalise its participation at a ceremony in Lusaka today, says SA's Department of Communications.

Yesterday, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ambassador, Beene M'Poko, signed on behalf of his country in the South African capital of Pretoria.

Edmond Kagaiga, from the e-Africa Commission, witnessed the signing on behalf of the African Union.

It is not yet known if any more of the original 23 countries that initially agreed to the Eassy memorandum of understanding would meet today's cut-off date for signing the protocol.

Communications department director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole previously said other countries were welcome to join after the deadline, but would be unable to influence the conditions of the protocol.

Zambia's signing is considered critical to the success of the land component of the whole project, as it will provide the central land link between SA and its immediate neighbours and countries such as Uganda and Rwanda.

Countries that have signed the Eassy protocol are SA, Botswana, Tanzania, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius (which signed earlier this week), Rwanda, the DRC, Uganda, Lesotho, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

During the DRC signing, Henry Chasia, head of the e-Africa Commission, said a critical number of countries had joined Eassy. He also said a meeting of the signatory countries would be held on 15 December, probably in Pretoria, where they would nominate companies from their countries that would participate in the roll-out of the system.

Communications department spokesman Richard Mantu says more countries are expected to join Eassy once the project gets under way.

Angola, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland and Kenya have yet to sign.

http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/tele...%20News&O=FPIN

[kulani]

This is good news as we have been concerned that the Eassy project (worth some $650 million) was going to flop, mainly due to Kenya pulling out of this and deciding to develop its own cable. The east african countries have been unable to benefit from fast, stable and cheaper international connectivity due to the lack of a fiber optic cable linking that part to Europe and the rest of the world much in the same way that SAT3 linked West African countries including those in the South to the rest of the world with a 120 Gigabit cable.

Their broadband services, outsourced services and ICT services market will hopefully explode due to the markets that this submarine cable will open up especially for countries like Rwanda that are transforming into ICT pioneers. I cant wait to finally see this cable break the ground.

[africa500]

Sudan to announce results of 3 oil tenders in ’07


Nov 30, 2006 (CAIRO) — Sudan’s Oil Minister Awad Ahmed al-Jaz said Thursday that the results of tenders for three oil blocks are expected to be announced next year.
(JPEG)
Awad al-Jaz

"We’ve had many small companies that have submitted applications for the blocks," he told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of an energy conference in the Egyptian capital.

One of the blocks is both onshore and in shallow waters. The other two blocks are onshore, al-Jaz added.

The Sudanese oil industry is currently dominated by investments from Chinese, Indian and Malaysian firms.

Sudan plans to double its crude oil output to 1 million barrels a day over the next two years.

"We’re currently producing about 500,000 barrels (a day), and we’re hoping to reach a total of 1 million barrels a day by around 2008," al-Jaz said.

Al-Jaz earlier confirmed that his country was close to joining the 11-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that supplies around 40% of the world’s daily oil consumption.

"Yes we have concluded some measures already and we are closer to joining," he said.

Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil producer after Nigeria, is also poised to join. The joining of the two new members will significantly boost OPEC’s influence over global oil markets.

On nuclear power, al-Jaz said Sudan had no plans to develop its own program.

"There are no preliminary plans or anything to develop a nuclear program. We have enough issues to deal with," he said.

Several countries in the Middle East and Africa, including OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, have had discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency about developing nuclear power programs to supplement their overall energy supplies.

(Dow Jones)

[Matthias Offodile]

Nigeria to top Africa's mobile market

afrol News, 22 November 2006 - It is predicted that Nigeria, which is Africa's most populated country, is set to lead mobile phone market in the continent in 2007, surpassing South Africa. Also, the Nigerian mobile subscriptions will exceed 30 million at the end of 2006.

At the moment, South Africa - Africa's giant economy - leads the mobile market in the continent. Its mobile - or cell phone, as they are called in South Africa - subscriptions are expected to shoot up to 35 million by the year's end.

These predictions were disclosed by Informa Telecoms & Media's World Cellular Information Service, which is a searchable online database that provides constantly updated sources of research on the wireless industry worldwide. The body also provides business intelligence and strategic services to the global telecoms and media markets.

According to the database, it is also predicted that there will be 44 million mobile phone users in Nigeria by the end of 2007 compared to 40 million estimated users in South Africa, meaning that Nigeria will take on the African lead sometimes next year.

Going by the current statistics, Nigeria - that currently account for 14 percent of Africa's total mobile users - is expected to increase the number of users by 5 percent before the year ends. In addition, the country is expected to add 13 million subscriptions totally over the year 2006, which increases the subscriptions to 44 percent.

The reason for Nigeria still to lag after South Africa is that there still is a low percentage of Nigerians using a mobile phone. "With an estimated 130 million inhabitants, Nigeria is Africa's most populated country. Despite a high yearly growth (181 percent over 2004 and 96 percent over 2005), the country's penetration rate was still at 19 percent in September 2006 compared to 77 percent in South Africa at the same period," explained Informa Telecoms and Media principal analyst, Devine Kofiloto.

Currently, Nigeria is a very competitive market with four GSM players and five CDMA networks actively involved in the mobile field.

And as of September 2006, Informa Telecoms maintained, Nigeria counted 25 million mobile users, with MTN leading the market as it held a 41 percent share. Globacom and Celtel respectively controlled 29 percent and 24 percent of the market, while M-Tel was at 4 percent. Of all mobile users in Nigeria, the five CDMA networks represented only 2 percent.

By staff writer

© afrol News


Nigeria will top the 100 million mark by 2010!

[naijalove]

I like the privatization of the Mobile Market. You can see how much can be done if we allow private insitutions to supply goods to the Nigerian market. I think this market is very vibrant and can also be tapped into if we open up and privatize electricity, water supply and infrastructure (roads, e.t.c). Alot will be achieved.

Globacom is a recent indigenously Nigerian company and I am impressed how they racked up 29% market share within 1.5 years. I would like them to control the Nigerian mobile market. Currently they are the fastest growing company in Nigeria.

[kulani]

A model that could be of benefit to Nigeria as a financing model for infrastructure, is Public Private Partnerships (PPP) which is becoming increasingly popular in Southern Africa to help finance infrastructure development. Most recently the Gautrain rapid rail project in SA is being co-financed using this model as a partnership between govt and private partners. It is also a sign of confidence for private investors when the government itself is committed to investing in a partnership and it also help the government to not run out of financial resources by tapping into private investment for critical infrastructure projects.

That said, the signs of Nigeria's fast economic growth are many in Ghana, where i have been seeing a whole host of Nigerian banks (Zenith, Standard Trust, GTBank, Fidelity, Inter Continental Bank etc) expanding into Ghana and other West African countries. I have been quite impressed by their aggressiveness and ability to change the rules of the game in a banking sector like Ghana's that has largely been an old boys club that has mostly been too comfortable and failed to make access to a bank account for the majority of people in Ghana.

[Matthias Offodile]

'Gabon's inflation won't exceed 2% in 2006'

Posted 27 Nov 2006

Libreville – Gabon’s inflation would not exceed 2 percent this year, said the Central Bank of Central African States (BEAC).

The bank said that despite increases in consumer prices, it did not expect inflation to go above 2 percent.

Gabon has had low inflation for several years. Inflation was 2.9 percent in 1999, 1.5 percent for the following two years, before edging up to 2.3 percent in 2002 and then dropping to 0.5 percent in 2003.

The BEAC was also optimistic that Gabon shows a strong increase in sustainable job creation for the year.

The BEAC said: "The level of employment will be stable thanks to the negotiations undertaken by the employers' organisations, trade unions and the government.” -Business in Africa

[naijalove]

Originally Posted by kulani

A model that could be of benefit to Nigeria as a financing model for infrastructure, is Public Private Partnerships (PPP) which is becoming increasingly popular in Southern Africa to help finance infrastructure development. Most recently the Gautrain rapid rail project in SA is being co-financed using this model as a partnership between govt and private partners. It is also a sign of confidence for private investors when the government itself is committed to investing in a partnership and it also help the government to not run out of financial resources by tapping into private investment for critical infrastructure projects.

Those are the kind of ideas I am talking about. We have this either or approach in Nigeria where its either all government or all private. Most of the failure of infrastructure in Nigeria can be attributed to government controlled enterprises which ironically had no motivation to serve the public or make business profit whatsoever.

We are now left with an industrialization bottleneck of electric power needs. I would love to see the PPP model you mentioned applied to meet electrification targets. I dont see how Nigerian goverment can go at the electrification project alone. It is too costly.

[kulani]

Angola oil 'could be a curse'
04/12/2006 16:03

http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/defa...518-25_2040007

Angola could end up cursed by its natural resources unless it uses its soaring oil revenues wisely by investing in much-needed infrastructure, while improving transparency, a World Bank economist said on Monday.

"The oil curse is a possibility here - but it has the opportunity to change the curse into a blessing if it puts good policies in place and improves transparency," Francisco Carneiro told Reuters.

Last week the World Bank released a new report on Angola which advises the government to make a full transition from a centralised economy to a free market and better manage its spending.

Angola has one of the fastest growing economies in the world - projected to grow 31.4% in 2007, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Oil fuels economy

Oil production, buoyed by the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002 and heavy foreign investment, has risen more than 10% to 1.4 million barrels per day since last year. Output is expected to hit 2 million bpd in 2007.

Carneiro warned that time is running out to ensure that its newfound economic fortune is put to good use, in vital areas like infrastructure and employment.

"Oil will peak in five to six years and then decline. To build the infrastructure will take time, so needs must be managed with civil society participation," he said.

Critics have for long bemoaned what they see as the Angolan government's opaque finances. Earlier this year the government for the first time published its signature bonuses received from companies bidding for new offshore acreage.

Pointing the finger

But Carneiro said this is not sufficient and accused state-oil company Sonangol of continuing to operate outside the budget.

He said, worryingly, the rise in oil production and accompanying exchange-rate appreciation has seen a steep decline in agricultural exports, rendering it difficult to develop local industries and create employment.

"Government is spending money but not generating employment. This is a serious concern - government has to be more up front about how to help the poor," Carneiro said.

Angola's relations with the World Bank and the IMF have been strained due to the Bank's concerns about corruption and a lack of democratic progress.

The government has responded by strengthening political and financial ties with developing nations, particularly China, which has provided more than $3bn in oil-backed credit and loans since 2005.

[kulani]

The emergence of China backed financial aid for African countries is something that is beginning to become common and is poised to limit the roles of the traditional Bretton woods institutions (IMF and World Bank). The angolan article above claims that nearly $3 billion worth of financial aid packages that are backed by oil have been provided for Angola by Beijing. Is this a good thing for Africa, how do we see the relationships being different now that the African governments are cosying up with the Chinese and rejecting the Western controlled IMF and World Bank. Just some questions and food for thought.

[SE9]

Kenya Airways voted 'Most Respected Company' in East Africa

Kenya Airways (KQ) has been voted as the most respected company in East Africa for the second year in a row.

The airline takes the 2006 East Africa’s Most Respected Companies Award for the second year in a row after business leaders threw their support behind it’s massive expansion into Africa, the Far East and Europe.

KQ also emerged as the most respected company in Kenya, with Tanzania Breweries taking the honours in Tanzania. MTN won Uganda’s most respected firm award at the 7th annual survey, whose results were released on Saturday.

Within the industry sectors, Homegrown was for the third year voted the top firm in agriculture sector.

Standard Chartered Bank won the financial services sector for the second year running, while Serena Hotels came out top in the hotels and tourism sector.

East African Breweries took the manufacturing sector award, while Nakumatt, thanks to its growing market share and massive expansion programme, was named the top company within the Services sector.

Safaricom, with a subscriber base of 4.7 million, maintained its lead in the Telecommunications and ICT sector even though it had to beat off a tough challenge from MTN Uganda and Celtel (Tanzania).

New entrants among the to-ranked companies were Precision Air of Tanzania, which was third in the Services sector, and Kempinski Hotel (Uganda), which took the second position in the hotels and Tourism Sector.

Mumias Sugar moved from the third place in 2005 to second this year in the agriculture, while Mukwano Group of Uganda took the third place in the manufacturing sector after EABL and Bidco Oil.

PricewaterHousecoopers (PWC) country leader, Mr Charles Muchene, the director of the survey said a total of 308 CEOs participated this year’s survey, an increase from the previous year’s 291.

Participation levels in Uganda had increased to 96, while Tanzania had 102 respectively.

Muchene said business leaders are placing more premiums on the need for focused expansion, strategy and visionary leadership.

The quality of services and products were also key factors that influenced the voting patterns.

[Matthias Offodile]

December 5th, 2006

Nigeria partners S/Africa on nuclear energy infrastructure

Nigeria and South Africa have begun preliminary discussions on building nuclear energy infrastructure in the country, following the recent approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the country to generate electricity.

EJIOFOR ALIKE

A source at the Federal Ministry of Power told BusinessDay that the choice of South Africa was based on a number of factors including the fact that it was home to Africa’s only nuclear power plant at Koeberg, near Cape Town.

According to the source, the country is also developing new pebble-bed nuclear technology which will be more suited to developing countries like Nigeria.

Lastly, European, Asian and American nuclear power companies, the source said, would not agree to invest in the developments of nuclear energy in Nigeria unless there was extremely large regional market the investments would support.

Th source said South Africa was seeking to build an integrated regional nuclear energy market for the continent and was considering the establishment of a regional nuclear and radiation safety regulatory forum.

The source disclosed that high-level talks were continuing between Nigerian officials led by Liyel Imoke, minister of power and Bulelwa Sonjica, South Africa’s minister of minerals and energy, as well as Rob Adam, the chief executive of the country’s Nuclear Energy Corporation.

The discussions, he said, also border on how to strengthen regulatory frameworks, infrastructure and safety standards in the region.

According to the source, despite increasing world interest in nuclear power as an alternative to coal and gas-powered electricity generation, Africa is still far behind in nuclear technology and this has led to power shortages which retard economic development.

They attributed this to huge costs and lack of technical expertise, adding that without huge investments, the infrastructure necessary for nuclear energy cannot be established.

Statistics shows that less than 5,000 people work in the nuclear sector in the whole of Africa, compared to 70,000 in Areva, the world’s biggest nuclear reactor manufacturer.

Apart of Nigeria, other countries such as Egypt and Tunisia have made their intentions to build nuclear power stations while there are already existing research reactors in South Africa, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Morocco.

FEC had earlier this month approved the construction of nuclear power plant to generate electricity as part of the Federal Government’s renewed efforts to increase power generation to 40,000 megawatts by 2015.

However, latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency has opposed Africa’s regional approach to nuclear programme. The agency condemned this "one-size-fits-all approach for African countries".

According to the report, how countries trade off things like accident risks, cheap electricity, pollution, jobs, import dependence, and climate change is at least partly a matter of personal and national preference.

The report maintained that these were areas of legitimate disagreement among the affected countries, no matter their commitment and faith in the programme, adding that new nuclear programmes in the world were unnecessary.

According to it, if today’s increasing energy needs are met, it would be because developed countries with existing nuclear infrastructure built more plants and not because a host of new countries decided to start building new nuclear plants.

[africa500]

Kuwaiti firm to expand mobile network in Sudan


Dec 4, 2006 (KUWAIT) — A Kuwaiti telecommunication company said planning to invest 140 millions euros in order to expand its network and cover the major parts of the country.

The Kuwaiti Mobile Telecommunication Company (KMT) announced that it will invest 140 million euros, equal to 184.7 million dollars, to expand its network in Sudan.


The delegate member of the Kuwaiti Telecommunication Company, Saad Al-Barak, announced that the company has made reduction in the call prices for its customers.

He said that Mobitel is targeting 4.5 million customers in the second quarter of the year 2007.

Al-Barak indicated that Mobitel plans to extend its network to more 70 cities and towns and around 4,300 kilometers of major roads in Sudan, toward making the cell phone service available to around 80% of the population in Sudan.

The Kuwaiti Mobile Communication Company has utilized 300 million euros, since its purchasing of Mobitel Company in February 2006, for enhancing its communication services and introduction of modern technology in Sudan.

(ST)

[africa500]

Kuwaiti investments in Sudan up to USD two billion - Minister


Dec 3, 2006 (KUWAIT) — Sudanese Minister of Finance and Economy Al-Zubair Hassan said Sunday that the Kuwaiti investments that top the list of Arab investments in his country, are up to USD two billion.
(JPEG)
Al-Zubair Ahmed al-Hassan

This came while speaking to KUNA after arrival here at invitation from the Kuwait-based Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation (IAIGC) and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to take part in a symposium titled "Investment Climate in the Sudan and the relevant guarantees," slated for Monday at the Chamber’s headquarters.

He indicated the robust relations between both countries and reminded that Kuwait started investments in Sudan in the seventies and that the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) eased lot of assistance to beef up his country’s economy.

He stressed that the Khartoum gathering, held last month, underlined the need for cooperation and strategic partnership with GCC states.

The minister predicted further Kuwaiti investments in his country including the establishment of an over USD one billion capital bank.

Hassan cited the purchase of the Sudanese national telecommunications company, Mobitel, by the Kuwait-based MTC (Mobile Telecommunications Company) and advent of other Kuwaiti companies for running business in the Sudan such as the Aref Group.

The Sudan, he went on, started its open economic policy in recent years and this came against the backdrop of economic stability, rise of the economic growth rate as well as political and security stability.

[africa500]

Sudan exports 27,000 Tons of Sugar to Europe


Dec 3, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The ACP agreed to allocated to Sudan the biggest share of sugar exportation to the European Union during the 2006-2007, the official SUNA reported.

Sudan Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, Ali Yousif, said that the ministerial meeting of the Less Developed Countries (LDC) Group on Sugar approved an agreement on cooperation between the ACP countries which export sugar to Europe.

He indicated that Sudan share of exporting sugar to Europe during the period from 2006 till 2007 has reached 27,000 tons of raw sugar, which is the biggest share of sugar to be exported to Europe by an LDC of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group.

Yousif said that the agreement deals with organization of the exportation of sugar to the European Union during the period July, 2006- 2007.

The Minister of Industry, Jalal Yousif Al-Degair, Sunday chaired at the Friendship Hall the ministerial meeting of the LDC Group on Sugar, in the context of the Ministerial Council of the Fifth Summit of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) which being held in Khartoum during Dec. 3-8.

[ahmed007]

dang, sudan is sure doin da thang