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MBendi Newsletter: 25 Jan 2013 The World after 2020 :: Classes Apart |
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The fortnightly MBendi Newsletter
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Instructions for updating your details or un-subscribing from this newsletter can be found at the foot of this note. If you have any other queries, you are welcome to contact me.
In this 25 Jan 2013 edition of our newsletter:
- The World after 2020 - Classes Apart
- African Business Round-up
- Around the Internet and MBendi
- Upcoming Events
- The Africa Team - Helping You to do Business in Africa!
- Useful Links
- Subscription Details
| THE WORLD AFTER 2020 - CLASSES APART |
For a
watching-where-the-world-is-going person like me, South Africa is the
perfect place to live. With it's fascinating mixture of peoples and
religions, rich and poor, modern and antiquated, allied with a vibrant
free press, one is intimately exposed to all the issues that frame
global debates. I am also immensely fortunate in that my immediate
family includes a young entrepreneur together with others at the coal
face of the country's important health and education systems.
Now economists love to calculate
Gini coefficients and use them to compare countries around the world.
Personally I prefer watching developments in the shanty town that
confronts you as you leave Cape Town's glittering new airport. For a
long time, the shacks were appalling, crowded together in an insanitary
way, flooded in winter and at the mercy of fires all year round. In
recent years some of the shacks have been replaced with government built
houses sporting electrical connections and state of the art solar hot
water systems. However, what has intrigued me more is the number of
satellite TV dishes that have sprouted on the roofs of the remaining
shacks. Clearly television and cell-phones are a priority of those with
very little else - along with baby pampers according to the comments of a
refugee from the flooded Limpopo River.
However, the latest technology is
not available to everyone. In fact, even relatively old technology
often isn't either. My doctor daughter works in a state hospital which
suffers from chronic staff shortages, much like the rest of the state
health system which is crying out for more trained professional staff.
She and her siblings are fortunate in that they received a world class
high school and university education. The library at their alma mater,
for instance, is probably one of the best in the world and the
institution produces international leaders in many fields. Their
accounting and medical graduates, for instance, are rated tops by their
global peers. Education there employs the latest technology - including a
website where applicants can download application and bursary forms in
PDF at the click of a button.
Now this might sound simple and
frankly passe. However, my daughter in law in the rural education field
tells of the difficulties faced by her local students in accessing
tertiary education. Assuming their school leaving results are good
enough, their homes have no electricity, computers or Internet access to
download a PDF, nor do their schools. So instead they have the
challenge of obtaining paper and envelope, maybe from the trading store
over the hill, and then writing to the university. There is no postbox
or post office within 50 km and they have no return address. When they
receive a single copy of their school leaving certificate from their
schools, their next challenge is to make copies of the certificate,
certify them and fax them in - remembering there are no convenient
photocopiers or fax machines for miles around.
To me this just highlights the
immense challenge of developing today's young talent so they can fill
the professional gaps that prevent the country - and the African
continent - from achieving its true potential. Until we fully understand
the problems facing those held back by their circumstances, we will
never be able to provide robust solutions to meet the needs of all.
| AFRICAN BUSINESS ROUND-UP |
Africa and the World:
International investors in the
African resources sectors have suffered one bloody nose after another in
the past two weeks - hostage taking and its sequel at an Algerian gas
plant; insurrection in Mali putting a dampener on the country's
burgeoning gold mining industry; Rio Tinto making huge write-offs of its
Mozambique coal assets; serious flooding in the Limpopo River Valley;
vitriolic attacks from South Africa's ruling ANC party on mining
companies daring to rationalise their operations (even while President
Zuma is assuring investors in Davos about the country's stable
investment climate and, in the same breath, blaming Lonmin for the
Marikana massacre when those investigating the incident are still
gathering evidence).
Jetalliance, French Dassault
Aviation, Spherus Aviation Germany have revealed plans to step into the
Nigerian market. Switzerland and Egypt signed a framework for
strengthening cooperation between both countries. Standard Chartered
Private Equity and UK-based investment manager Ashmore announced an
investment in Nigerian aluminium can manufacturer GZI. Adcock completed
the acquisition of India-based Cosme Farma. Air Tanzania is to receive
an investment of US$ 100 million from an Omani investment consortium.
Swiss-based investors are on the verge of acquiring a stake in Turnall
Holdings in Zimbabwe. US investors are to buy a US$ 1 billion stake in
Egyptian company Orascom Construction. The Indian government will partly
finance thermal power stations in Zimbabwe to tune of US$ 300 million.
As you read on, remember that the full company news releases and summaries associated with all these items are available on the MBendi website. Where you see hypertext links on the names of some of the companies mentioned in our newsletter, these are to web pages of MBendi clients for whom we provide non-intrusive, but effective, public relations support.Investment and Projects:
NWK acquired a 60% interest in
Dunavant Zambia. A Nigerian nitrogen fertiliser plant is set to receive a
US$ 250 million loan from OPIC. The Rwandan government has said it will
invest US$ 4.7 billion in the country's energy sector. The IFC has
invested US$ 127.5 million in a trade facility in Mauritania. Ghana
accepted US$ 213 million in bids for its three-year bonds. Nigeria has
revealed plans to commission the remodelling of 11 airports in 2013.
Kenya's CIC Insurance has shelved plans for an initial public offering.
Mauritius sold all US$ 13.54 million worth of 364-day Treasury bills.
The weighted average yield on Kenya's 91-day Treasury bills dipped to
20.769%. Nigeria plans to raise between US$ 1.49 billion in 10-year
sovereign bonds. A railway line to connect Rwanda,
Burundi and Tanzania is now under construction. Transnet is in talks on a
copper transport line linking South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Morocco is planning structural reform of
its state pension system. Capitalisation of the Dar es Salaam Stock
Exchange) has increased to SH 13.25 trillion. The IFC is to further
develop its support to SME financing, and will work with the Government
of Senegal to streamline its investment climate. Uganda plans to
construct about 800,000 affordable housing units for US$ 20 billion. On
the Business Opportunities section of MBendi.com, interested parties can find opportunities
in a range of sectors.
Trade and Transport:Dubai-based carrier Emirates has revealed plans to add more than 1,600 seats a week to its Lusaka, Zambia and Harare, Zimbabwe routes from February. Mauritius' trade deficit widened 7.8% to 7.8 billion rupees. Ugandan traders ended a strike after President Yoweri Museveni said the central bank would look into ways of easing the pain of high borrowing costs.
Mining:
Governance: Amplats held discussions with the Department of
Mineral Resources following the company's announcement of its business
review proposals. Areva agreed to pay Niger US$ 46.71 million in
compensation for delays to its Imouraren uranium mining project.Corporate / M&A: PMI Gold and Keegan announced an interim order for merger of equals. Anglo American Platinum said is has "taken action to create a sustainable, competitive and profitable platinum business". Inmet rejected a US$ 5.2 billion takeover bid by First Quantum Minerals. Handeni Gold has completed a private placement. Ghana Gold Corporation announced the acquisition of 100% of the assets of WAP and resource information on the Jukwa concession. An MOU provides potential entry into a major Togolese phosphate project for Minemakers Limited. First Uranium announced that it received US$ 25 million, being the balance of the US$ 335 million purchase price for the shares of Mine Waste Solutions. China Development Bank has approved the US$ 650 million loan for the development of the Bakubung Platinum Mine in South Africa. Mukuba will acquire all of the copper assets held by Benzu Resources in the Katanga Copper Belt of DRC. Harmony commenced Kusasalethu Mine discussions. Superior received shareholder and regulatory approval to an agreement on the Mangalisa Project, South Africa. Sentula disposed of its of Megacube assets. Nevsun commented on its approach to human rights at the Bisha Mine in Eritrea. Ferrex outlined a growth strategy to advanced its portfolio of iron ore and manganese assets in Africa. Great Basin is voluntary delisting from NYSE. Ghana Gold Corporation has acquired 100% of West African Projects Consult Ltd. Sibanye Gold will be listed as a separate and independent company on the JSE. First Quantum Minerals plans to invest US$ 275 million in a new nickel mine in Zambia. Impact Minerals has earned a 51% participating interest in the Xade Nickel-Copper-PGE project in Botswana. Uranium One may delist after it entered into a definitive agreement with JSC Atomredmetzoloto.
Other: Stonewall Resources
is restarting mining at some of the 40 closed gold mines around
Pilgrim’s Rest and Sabie in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Due diligence on
Galileo’s acquisition of REI Nkombwa Hill Rare Earth Project in Zambia
has been finalised. Ivanplats' Kamoa DRC project now ranks as Africa's
largest high-grade copper discovery. Balamara Resources' final tender
document for the world-class Togo Phosphate Project is complete. High
River Gold construction of its Bissa Mine in Burkina Faso is now
complete. Great Quest's Malian subsidiary was granted a research permit
for the Aderfoul concession. Coal advised that, following heavy rains in
the Limpopo Province, operations at its Vele Colliery have been forced
to stop due to flooding. Nevsun Resources advised that
its Bisha Mine in western Eritrea continues operations as normal.
Sunridge Gold is to complete the feasibility study and apply for a
mining license for the Asmara Project, Eritrea. New Dawn Mining
announced an illegal and unprotected work stoppage at its Dalny Mine in
Zimbabwe. Stellar Diamonds announced the renewal of its Droujba diamond
exploration licence in Guinea. Randgold's Loulo-Gounkoto and Morila are
operating normally following the declaration of a state of emergency in
Mali.
MBendi's Mining News
provides recent press releases for the following companies as well as
an archive of more than 100,000 other news items and releases:
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Corporate / M&A / Finance:
Trafigura completed the sale of a
20% stake of subsidiary Puma Energy to Sonangol. Tullow Oil completed
the Spring Energy acquisition. Gulfsands Petroleum completed a US$ 19
million acquisition of Cabre Maroc from Caithness Petroleum.
International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, a branch of the Islamic
Development Bank, has provided funds worth US$ 265 million to Egyptian
General Petroleum Corporation.
Governance: The Paris Criminal Court has commenced the trial
of Total and its senior managers in a potential corruption case dating
back eleven years. Nigeria has discovered a discrepancy of more than US$
4 billion a year between the amount of motor fuel it subsidises and
actual consumption. Sudan started confiscating some oil exports from
South Sudan to meet unpaid transit fees. The Rwandan government will
invest US$ 4.7 billion in the country's energy sector.
Upstream: Eni has pulled
out of Mali. Alberta Oilsands acquired an interest in the Kalembe and
Fatuma blocks in a deal with Pan African Oil.
Downstream:The IFC has invested US$ 127.5 million in a trade facility that will finance Mauritania's entire refined energy imports. SAIT has updated their calendar of events for 2013.Chemicals: A Nigerian nitrogen fertiliser plant is set to receive a US$ 250 million loan from OPIC.
MBendi's Oil and Energy News
provides recent press releases for the following companies as well as
an archive of more than 100,000 other news items and releases:
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Electrical Power / Renewables / Telecoms:
Electrical Power: The
World Bank approved a grant of US$ 5.2 million for Djibouti to increase
access of underserved populations to electricity. The African
Development Bank approved a third round of loans, worth US$ 115 million,
for construction of the power transmission line between Ethiopia and
Kenya. KenGen's Kindaruma Unit II has been handed over to the company
after an upgrade by Andritz Hydro of Austria and Iran's Farab Company.
China will provide Cote d'Ivoire with a loan of US$ 500 million for the
construction of a hydroelectric dam. The Indian government will partly
finance the refurbishment of three thermal power stations in Zimbabwe
which will cost the Zimbabwe Power Company US$ 300 million. The National
Energy Regulator of South African is holding public
hearings on the current Eskom application for electricity tariff
increases. Jubilee announced that its South African subsidiary, Power
Alt , achieved its targeted sales of 5.1 MW of generated power into the
South African national electricity grid.
Telecoms: A drop has been
proposed in interconnection rates in Tanzania. Higher Investment
Committee has given its consent for the sale of a 15% stake in the
capital of "Tunisiana" to Qatar Telecom. Barclays Bank of Kenya has
launched PINGIT, a mobile money transfer service. Western Union and
Ecobank launched an Account Based Money Transfer service in Kenya.
Agriculture, Food, Water and Beverages:
Zambia has robust maize stocks
and sees little risk in using them to partly fill a regional gap.
Zimbabwe will require at least US$ 131 million in aid this year, the
bulk for food assistance after a failed farming season left nearly 1.7
million facing hunger. SABMiller's December 2012 quarterly production
figures showed that lager beer volumes grew by 5%.
Finance:
The World Bank executed a US$ 1
billion currency swap transaction for Morocco to manage its exposure to
the US dollar. China will provide Cote d'Ivoire with a loan of US$ 500
million for the construction of a hydroelectric dam. International
Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (IITFC), a branch of the Islamic
Development Bank, has provided funds worth US$ 265 million to Egyptian
General Petroleum Corp. The AfDB: has approved an equity investment of
US$ 24 million in the East African Development Bank; has approved a line
of credit of EUR 13 million to support small and medium enterprises and
industries in Niger; has approved loans worth US$ 115 million for
construction of power transmission line between Ethiopia, Kenya. Ex-Im
Bank has authorised a US$ 155.4 million direct loan
to Ghana to finance a hospital expansion in Accra. The German Government
will provide an additional EUR 1 million in humanitarian aid to Mali.
Registered MBendi users can request an African finance spreadsheet from our website.
African Statistics:South Africa: Vehicle sales showed a 9.2% increase by the end of 2012. The seasonally adjusted Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) contracted 2.1 points. Growth in retail sales quickened to 3.4% year-on-year in November.
Rest of Africa: Rwanda's
annual urban inflation fell to 3.88% in December. Namibia's headline
consumer inflation was down to 6.3% year-on-year in December. Nigeria's
government earned gross revenues of 581 billion naira (US$ 3.7 billion)
in December. Ivory Coast's year-on-year consumer price inflation rose to
3.4% in December. Angola's headline consumer inflation braked to 9.02%
year-on-year in December. Tanzania's economic growth slowed to 6.4% in
the third quarter of 2011. Tanzania's inflation rate for 2011 jumped to
12.7%. A rise in alcohol and tobacco taxes increased Mauritius' revenue
collection by 7.6%. Zimbabwe's headline consumer inflation rate
quickened to 4.9%.
Bribery and Corruption:
Nigeria has discovered a
discrepancy of more than US$ 4 billion a year between the amount of
motor fuel it subsidises and actual consumption, a legislative committee
said. Zambia's government has seized bank accounts belonging to
telecoms group Zamtel, majority-owned by Libya's LAP Green Networks, as
part of a money-laundering investigation. The World Bank debarred ARINC
Incorporated, a US-registered engineering and systems integration
company, for a violation of the Bank’s Procurement Guidelines in the
Bank-financed Airports Development project in Egypt. The World Bank
debarred Energoprojekt Niskogradnja, a Serbian civil engineering and
contracting company, for misconduct in a Bank-financed roads and
development project in Uganda.
Politics:
Central African Republic
President Francois Bozize dismissed his prime minister and dissolved the
cabinet. Ghana's newly elected president has named Seth Terkper as
finance minister. Central African Republic's government and rebels have
agreed to a temporary ceasefire deal. Zimbabwean leaders said they had
resolved disputes over a proposed new constitution. The United States
has agreed to a French request for airlift capacity to help France move
its troops and equipment to Mali. South Sudan started withdrawing its
army from the border with Sudan to set up a buffer zone. Russia is
considering withdrawing its military helicopters servicing the U.N.
peacekeeping force in South Sudan. An agreement has been reached on
Djibouti's contribution of resources to the AU Mission in Somalia
(AMISOM). Ugandan police fired teargas and held opposition leader Kizza
Besigye and several allies in a police cell to stop them leading an
anti-government protest. Kenya's president rejected plans by members of
parliament to triple their end-of-term bonuses. Gun and bomb attacks by
Islamist insurgents in the northern Nigerian city of Kano killed at
least 178 people. The latest edition of Africa Confidential
provides commentary on, amongst other things, elections in Nigeria,
Ghana and Kenya; wars in Mali and the Great Lakes region; and troubles
in the Horn of Africa.
If your organisation has achieved something significant in Africa and we missed it, then please E-mail your news release to news@mbendi.com.
| AROUND THE INTERNET AND MBENDI |
There's a new branded directory entry web page for Trenchless Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd.,
a company that specializes in the designs, engineering and installation
of a wide range of small to medium-diameter, mid-distance HDD work and
utility installations such as road, river, and creek crossings. Axium Education, an educational NGO operating in South Africa's rural Eastern Cape, introduced their new staff members.
As part of making it easier for visitors using our extensive directory of products and services to find suppliers, we now list alternative suppliers of products on each product or service page.| UPCOMING EVENTS |
The following list of upcoming events taking place around the world - just a fraction of the events listed in the Events Directory
on MBendi.com - will be of interest to our readers in all sectors. Just
click on the links below to get more information and contact the
organisers:
Mining Indaba LLC is the organiser of Investing in African Mining Indaba 2013 starting 4 February 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa.Citac is the organiser of the Oil Trading, Contracts and Operations starting 25 Feb 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya
Global Pacific & Partners is the organiser of the 7th Africa Economic Forum 2013 starting 6 March 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The African Refiners Association is the organiser of African Refiners Week 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa commencing on 18 March 2013
Citac is the organiser of the African Downstream Workshops starting 21 March 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa
Global Pacific & Partners is the organiser of the 9th Western Africa Oil, Gas & Energy Conference 2013 starting 22 April 2013 in Windhoek, Namibia.Exhibition Management Services is the organiser of the SA Industry & Technology Fair 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa, commencing on 14 May 2013
Citac is the organiser of the Oil Market Fundamentals starting 13 May 2013 in Accra, Ghana
McNaughton & Associates are the organisers of Petro.t.ex Africa 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa, commencing on 14 May 2013.
Exhibition Management Services is the organiser of Watertec 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa, commencing on 14 May 2013
ACE Event Management is organising the co-located Water Africa 2013 and West Africa Building & Construction 2013 from 22-24 May, 2013 in Accra, Ghana. Similar events are planned for November 2013 in Nigeria.
Citac is the organiser of the Trading and Operations starting 10 June 2013 in Abidjan, Côte d'IvoireGlobal Pacific & Partners is the organiser of the 4th Eastern Africa Oil, Gas & Energy Conference 2013 starting 20 June 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Pennwell Group is the organiser of POWER-GEN Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, commencing on 17 March 2014.
Global Pacific & Partners is the organiser of the 10th Maghreb Mediterranean MidEast Upstream starting 3 June 2013 in Paris, France
The Pennwell Group is the organiser of DistribuTECH Africa in Sandton, South Africa, commencing on 30 October 2013.
The CP Training Consortium
provides Contracting and Procurement training for organisations from a
wide range of industrial sectors, including telecommunications, cement
and utilities, as well as a broad cross section of the oil and gas
sector.
Exhibition Management Services is the organiser of the 11th West African International Telecommunications Exhibition & Conference and The West
African International Trade Exhibition for Retail Products - WAITEX (note these events have been postponed).
Event organisers can request our event advertising ratecard
in order to get details of our highly effective event advertising
package, used by all the organisers of the events listed above. We also
provide a directory of event venues around the world.
| THE AFRICA TEAM - HELPING YOU TO DO BUSINESS IN AFRICA! |
- AEL Mining Services is a leading developer, producer and supplier of commercial explosives, initiating systems and blasting services for mining, quarrying and construction markets in Africa and Indonesia.
- The Brenthurst Foundation is on the frontier of knowledge in contributing to a debate around strategies and policies for strengthening Africa's economic performance.
- CITAC, the Downstream African Energy Specialists, has an unrivalled knowledge of refining, trading and petroleum products marketing throughout Africa.
- Exchange Data International Limitedprovides closing prices, corporate actions and dividend data for African stock exchanges as well as African reference data.
- The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), financing Africa's growth
- London based Platinum Integrations Ltd is a one stop international consulting firm that assists companies that want to do business in Africa.
- Whitehouse & Associates, specialists in African market research
Copies of previous newsletters
can be found on our website. If you have colleagues or associates who
would benefit from using the MBendi website, we would appreciate your
forwarding this newsletter to them.
Regards
Brian
MBendi Information Services (Pty) Ltd
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)21 671-9898 / 671-9889
Fax +27 (0)21 671-6316
E-mail: marketing@mbendi.com
PO Box 23498, Claremont, 7735, South Africa
Fax +27 (0)21 671-6316
E-mail: marketing@mbendi.com
PO Box 23498, Claremont, 7735, South Africa
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