African Review of Business and Technology

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Editor's note.
ONCE AGAIN WE present our annual guide to generating sets and once again the message is the same: Africa's insatiable appetitie for power is pushing sales to new highs. Last year Africa's imports of . . .

Arab-Chem Ltd.(Briefly)
ARAB-CHEM LTD, a Lagos based pharmaceutical company, is to invest N1.5bn in a new factory, according to a press report quoting the company's Managing Director, Mr Darwish Foudeh. He said the factory . . .

Bar beach.(Briefly)(Brief article)
BAR BEACH, LAGOS, is destined to become an international tourist centre, according to the Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront and Infrastructure Development, Prince Adesegun Oniru. He said the g . . .

Technotron Ltd.(Briefly)
TECHNOTRON LTD, A marketer of air-conditioning equipment, has announced that, in conjunction with its international partner, York International, a subsidiary of Johnson Controls, it plans to commenc . . .

Lonrho Springs RDC Sprl.(Briefly)
LONRHO SPRINGS RDC Sprl is to build a new water bottling factory in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo to meet the growing demand for quality bottled water in the Katanga region. Lonrho . . .

The transit time for cargo form Mombasa to Kampala had been reduced from 21 days to an average of seven days.(Briefly)(Brief art
THE TRANSIT TIME for cargo form Mombasa to Kampala had been reduced from 21 days to an average of seven days. Speaking to the press, the Rift Valley Railways (RVR) MD Roy Puffet said this was a nota . . .

Taxation on mobile phone usage in Kenya has become an important income earner for the government.(Briefly)
TAXATION ON MOBILE phone usage in Kenya has become an important income earner for the government. Monthly Review reports for December 2007 showed that tax revenues from mobile phones grew by 30 per . . .

Liberia's revenues from ships flying its flag of convenience are expected to rise to US$19mn in 2008, from US$17mn in 2007, the
LIBERIA'S REVENUES FROM ships flying its flag of convenience are expected to rise to US$19mn in 2008, from US$17mn in 2007, the company that manages the register said. Liberia's is the second bigges . . .

A ferrochrome plant is to be initiated in Zimbabwe through a joint venture initiative to be financed by the China-Africa Develop
A FERROCHROME PLANT is to be initiated in Zimbabwe through a joint venture initiative to be financed by the China-Africa Development Fund (CADF). CADF, which is financed by the China Development Ban . . .

Kingdom Meikles Africa Ltd.(Briefly)
KINGDOM MEIKLES AFRICA Ltd is to inject US$100mn into the refurbishment of its hotels as it anticipates an influx of tourists during the forthcoming 2010 soccer world cup showcase in South Africa. T . . .

The Julius Klein Diamond (JKD) Namibia group.(Briefly)
THE JULIUS KLEIN Diamond (JKD) Namibia group has become the latest entrant to the expanding diamond cutting, polishing and manufacturing industry in Namibia. The factory is the result of a partnersh . . .

Bank wins primary dealer award.(Commercial Review)
DFCU BANK LIMITED has won the Annual Primary Dealer Award for the year 2007.The deputy governor of Bank of Uganda, David Opio Okello, handed over the award to DFCU's executive director of Consumer B . . .

Tanzanian tourism drive.(Commercial Review)
TANZANIA PLANS TO attract a million foreign tourists by 2010 says the state-run Tourist Board in Dar es Salaam at the end of a major international marketing drive. The US and UK have been targeted . . .

Being low-key helps SA economy.(Commercial Review)(Brief article)
SOUTH AFRICA'S BANKING system is better placed to survive the world credit crisis than most, experts are arguing. The weak currency has strengthened exporters' hopes, government debt is down to less . . .

Benguela scheme established.(Commercial Review)
THE BENGUELA CURRENT Commission (BCC) has been recently established to assist Angola, Namibia and South Africa to implement an ecosystem approach to managing the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosys . . .

Gulf countries seek stronger links.(Commercial Review)
WITH OIL ABOVE US$100 a barrel and soft commodities soaring, rich Arabian Gulf countries are seeking out business opportunities in Africa, following the successful lead shown by Chinese traders in t . . .

PPP finance chosen in Botswana.(Commercial Review)(Brief article)
BOTSWANA'S GOVERNMENT ADVERTISED in the international press for expressions of interest in participation in a novel public-private partnership for the design, construction, capital financing and fac . . .

Ghana and Uganda recruit consultants.(Commercial Review)
THE GOVERNMENTS OF Ghana and Uganda are recruiting consultants for major economic planning projects. As part of the National Medium-term Private Sector Development Strategy Accra is now evaluating . . .

UNCTAD's role to reduce poverty; Accra conference coming.(Commercial Review)(Conference news)
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY has a "special duty" to spread recently promising global economic growth to the "poorest of the poor," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said recently. The UNC . . .

Gold hits US$1,000 a troy ounce.(Commodity Report)
GOLD REACHED A US$1,000 a troy ounce on 13 March, an all time record high and at the time of writing was continuing to hold up at around that level. The precious metal has been pushed higher by a we . . .

Robusta falls.(Commodity Report)
AS WITH COCOA, robusta coffee futures saw multi-year highs in recent weeks, with the benchmark second position contract (May) reaching a 12-and-a-half year high on LIFFE on 5 March. Strong buying by . . .

Cocoa futures slip on investor sell-off.(Commodity Report)
COCOA FUTURES EXPERIENCED mixed fortunes of late, largely on the back of funds and speculator activity. Recent weeks saw futures prices driven up to multi-year highs as funds and speculators piled i . . .

Copper cools on US economy gloom and Chinese reluctance.(Commodity Report)
COPPER PRICES CONTINUED their recent rally into early March, with the three-month price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) registering another record on 6 March of US$8,882 a tonne. Prices were supp . . .

Tea prices mixed.(Commodity Report)
PRICES FOR KENYAN tea at the weekly tea auctions held in Mombasa have been somewhat mixed in recent weeks on account of quality variations. At the 19 March auction, best Broken Pekoe Ones (BP1s) sol . . .

Platinum falters.(Commodity Report)
AFTER REACHING AN all-time record of US$2,192 an ounce on 21 February, platinum for the most part continued to trade above US$2,000 an ounce in the first half of March. However, the precious metal s . . .

Executives' calendar.(Calendar)
APRIL 1-4 Telecomp Maroc 2008. Solutions IT CASABLANCA 6th International Telecommunications and Information Technology Exhibition. Fairtrade GmbH. www.telecomp-mar . . .

Lufthansa launches flights to Angola.(Business Travel)
LUFTHANSA GERMAN AIRLINES announced its new flights to Angola at the German/Angolan Economic Forum held in Franfurt in February. The airline's Vice President Sales and Service for Southeast Europe, . . .

EgyptAir Holding orders six jets.(Business Travel)
EGYPTAIR HOLDING COMPANY has ordered six additional Embraer 170 aircraft. Deliveries will begin in 2009. The original contract, covering six firm orders and six options (now confirmed), was announce . . .

Five-star hotel for Lubumbashi.(Business Travel)
LONRHO HAS BEEN awarded the redevelopment and subsequent management contract for the Karavia Hotel in Lubumbashi by the Government of the Democratic Republic Of Congo (DRC). A new company, Karavia 2 . . .

North American Airlines.(Briefly)
NORTH AMERICAN AIRLINES is reported to have announced that its scheduled service between the US and Lagos and Accra will be discontinued on 20 May. The Nigerian press commented that demand for the s . . .

Nigeria's Federal government.(Briefly)
NIGERIA'S FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has completed plans to sell six of the country's major airports to private investors to operate and fund maintenance under a public-private partnership agreement, accord . . .

Ghana.(Oil News)
A SECOND OIL discovery has been made in the West Cape Three Points licence, where US firm Kosmos is the operator. The Odum-1 well--drilled only 13km east of the first find, Mahogany-1--found an oil . . .

Nigeria gives go-ahead for Usan field.(Oil News)
FRANCE'S TOTAL HAS launched a four-year project to bring the Usan field on stream, following approvals from Nigeria's petroleum authorities. The large oilfield--a 2002 discovery--lies about 100km of . . .

Equatorial Guinea.(Oil News)
PLANS TO CONSTRUCT a second train at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) complex at Punta Europa, on Bioko island, are firming-up. A government announcement said Marathon and partners had agreed "to p . . .

Angola.(Oil News)(Brief article)
THE FIRST WELL to target a difficult pre-salt structure in the Cabindan onshore was non-commercial but it found "a thick world-class source rock", according to the operator, Australia's Roc. Oil was . . .

Nigeria.(Oil News)
AFREN -- A UK-BASED firm founded by a former head of Opec, Rilwanu Lukman--has set up a 50:50 joint venture with Nigeria's Global Energy Company to pursue gas interests. The new company, Afren Globa . . .

Algeria.(Oil News)
CONSTRUCTION WORK HAS started on the Medgaz pipeline, to be the country's third gas pipeline to Europe. Medgaz will run from the coast at Beni Saf to Almeria, Spain, initially carrying eight billion . . .

Gabon.(Oil News)(Brief article)
TOTAL IS TO redevelop its Anguille field, on stream since 1966, in a US$2bn project which should lift production from the present 7,500 barrels/day to over 30,000 barrels/day in 2013-14. The firm wi . . .

Shariah-style banking takes centre stage: to see how banks respond to new market dynamics, it's been instructive to watch the gr
A WORLDWIDE MARKET of 1.3bn customers is enough to change any industry. However, until fairly recently major banking groups saw the different demands of Muslim customers--or, rather, potential custo . . .

Exchange rates.(Financial Forecast)
Exchange Rates The currencies shown below are valued at the middle rates between buying and selling on 17 March. The rates are an indication of the value and are not intended to be used as the basis . . .

Forecast movements against the dollar.(Financial Forecast)
Forecast movements against the dollar 17 March May July Country 2008 (actual) 2008 2008 Japan (Yen) 100.2 95-100 . . .

Dollar debacle.
AS DRAMATIC A month on the foreign exchanges as remembered left the markets reeling mid-March. And that was before a major US bank had to be humiliatingly sold for a knock-down sum; difficulties in . . .

Post-election violence causes regional fallout: post-election violence in Kenya has already left its mark on East African busine
THE HOPE NOW is that President Mwai Kibaki and his new Executive Prime Minister Ralia Odinga can keep to the spirit of their power-sharing deal in a way that averts further bloodshed and unifies rat . . .

Good governance and gems attract investors: as a new era dawns at the top, things are looking good for Africa's 'miracle economy
IN ITS BLUEPRINT series of January 2008, Standard Bank's Group Economics team writes that: "Prudent macroeconomic policies and significant capital investments over the past few decades have transfor . . .

Stock exchange goes from strength to strength: Botswana's national bourse has an expanding role and its turnover almost doubled
THE BOTSWANA STOCK Exchange is the national bourse given the responsibility to operate and regulate the equities and fixed interest securities market. The Botswana Share Market (BSM) initially came . . .

The drive to diversify: Ronald Watts, who worked under Seretse Khama before he was sworn in as President in 1966, reflects on th
To RISE FROM being one of the poorest and least developed countries in the continent to being, over several years, the largest exporter of rough diamonds in the world has been amazing. The retention . . .

Building new institutions.
GABORONE IS THE home for some of Southern Africa's soundest institutions. The Southern African Development Community's headquarters is there, so is USAID's Regional Center for Southern Africa. The U . . .

Money transfer services by mobile phone: Mwangi Mumero reports on the growth in demand for domestic money transfer, from electro
EVEN WITH THE expansion of financial services in Kenya, 60 per cent of the population still remains unbanked. The majority of the unbanked cite huge monthly charges on account holders and opt to kee . . .

Increase security whilst cutting printer costs: the growth of IT has undoubtedly helped you to cut costs and improve efficiency,
YOU MAY NOT realise it, but the so-called simple acts of printing and copying take up a tremendous percentage of the IT and facilities infrastructure in the average office, taking up a large chunk o . . .

Being energy efficient can cut your costs: electricity costs have become an increasing fraction of the total cost of ownership f
ELECTRICAL POWER COSTS over the life of a data centre may exceed the costs of the electrical power system including the UPS and also may exceed the cost of the IT equipment. That should be correct . . .