AfricaMe-Team, Auteur à Africa M.E.

Libya sovereign fund claimant denounces U.N.-backed govt’s management plan

25 August 2016 Comments (0) Latest Updates from Reuters, Politics Like

Demonstration_in_Bayda_(Libya,_2011-07-22)

By Claire Milhench

LONDON (Reuters) – A claimant to the chairmanship of Libya’s $67 billion sovereign fund on Monday denounced the appointment by the country’s United Nations-backed government of a panel to run the fund, saying he had not been formally asked to step down.

Last week, the Government of National Accord (GNA) appointed a five-member caretaker committee to run the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA). The announcement was welcomed by Western governments, but it did not list AbdulMagid Breish amongst the panel members.

The GNA was designed to resolve a conflict that flared up in 2014, when an armed alliance took control of institutions in Tripoli and the newly elected parliament relocated to the east.

The hope was that it would reunify institutions such as the central bank and the LIA, but opposition to the GNA continues with the parliament in the east of Libya voting on Monday against a motion of confidence in the Tripoli-based administration.

The LIA has been hampered by a long-running leadership dispute, which mirrors the split nature of the country and its institutions following the fall of Gaddafi in 2011. This has led to multiple individuals claiming to lead key bodies such as the LIA, the central bank and the national oil company.

Breish was one of two men who claimed to be chairman of the LIA. He was appointed chairman in June 2013, but stepped aside a year later, then said he had been reinstated following a decision by the Libyan Court of Appeal.

His rival, Hassan Bouhadi, was appointed chairman by the authorities in the east of Libya. But he resigned earlier this month, saying political infighting had made it too difficult for him to carry out his duties.

He has been replaced by Ali Shamekh, who was installed as chief executive officer of the LIA by the Tobruk-based board of trustees.

In a statement issued on Monday, Breish questioned whether the GNA’s move complied with Libyan law and challenged the technical expertise of the five-member panel.

The statement said Breish had not yet received a formal notice mandating him to hand over his responsibilities, but on receipt of this, he would make an application to the Libyan courts to clarify the legal position.

“While I accept and share the Government of National Accord’s desire to unify the Libyan Investment Authority, it is my responsibility as chairman and CEO to ensure that it is done in compliance with Libyan law, that the technical expertise is in place to manage the institution and its funds, and that multi-million dollar litigations that we are pursuing in overseas courts are not adversely affected,” he said.

“I am therefore seeking an expedited court ruling to clarify the current legal position.”

The LIA is currently embroiled in two lawsuits against investment banks Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale, seeking over $3 billion lost in trades carried out under the Gaddafi regime.

Breish’s statement added that he was holding discussions with the directors of the Tobruk-appointed board of trustees, with the aim of establishing a single, united board of directors. A formal meeting is expected early next week, it said.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton and Andrew Roche)

Kenya finalises agreement for development of crude oil pipeline

24 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Economy Like

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya has finalised an agreement with oil explorer Tullow Oil and its partners Africa Oil and A.P. Moller-Maersk for the development of a crude oil pipeline, as it bids to become an oil exporter, the president’s office said.

Tullow and Africa Oil first struck oil in the Lokichar Basin in the country’s northwest in 2012. The recoverable reserves are an estimated 750 million barrels of crude.

The two firms were 50-50 partners in blocks 10 BB and 13T where the discoveries were made. Africa Oil has since sold a 25 percent stake in those blocks to A.P. Moller-Maersk.

A statement from President Uhuru Kenyatta’s office quoted Energy and Petroleum Minister Charles Keter as saying the three partners and the government had finalised the pipeline’s development plan.

“He said the Government and its upstream partners, Tullow Oil, Africa Oil and Maersk Companies, have concluded a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) for the development of the pipeline,” the statement said.

In April, Keter said the pipeline – to run 891 km between Lokichar and Lamu on Kenya’s coast – would cost $2.1 billion and should be completed by 2021.

The government and the companies are pushing to start small scale crude oil production in 2017, at about 2,000 barrels per day to be initially transported by road.

“We have started and we are not moving back. We want to be at the top of the pile. So, we have set a path and by 2019, Kenya is going to be a major oil producer and exporter,” Kenyatta said.

The statement said Tullow Oil had confirmed it would start production in March 2017 and quoted Paul McDade, its chief operating officer, as saying the company would be ready to start exports in June next year.

Neighbouring Uganda is also looking to build a pipeline to export its oil. Though it initially favoured a route though Kenya, Kampala has decided to build its pipeline through Tanzania instead.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Aaron Maasho and Mark Potter)

South African assets sink after police summon finance minister

24 August 2016 Comments (0) Economy, Latest Updates from Reuters, Politics Like

By Joe Brock and Mfuneko Toyana

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African assets slumped on Wednesday after an elite police unit summoned Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan over an investigation into a suspected rogue spy unit in the tax service, fuelling speculation that there was a plot to oust him.

Gordhan and other former officials at the South African Revenue Service (SARS) must report to the Hawks on Thursday morning in relation to contravention of surveillance regulations, a source close to the matter told Reuters.

The announcement added to investors’ worries about leadership at the finance ministry as Africa’s most developed economy teeters on the edge of recession and credit rating agencies consider downgrading it to “junk” status by year-end.

Shadow finance minister David Maynier urged authorities not to take any more formal steps against Gordhan.

“The arrest of the finance minister would shatter investor confidence, risk a sovereign ratings downgrade and be a disaster for the already fragile zero growth, zero jobs economy in South Africa,” the member of the opposition Democratic Alliance said in a statement.

The Treasury confirmed the Hawks had contacted Gordhan and that he was seeking legal advice, but declined to go into further details.

Gordhan is due to speak at a debate in Cape Town at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said it did not comment on ongoing investigations.

The rand extended losses after dropping 3 percent the previous session when the news about Gordhan emerged.

Bonds also slumped with the yield on benchmark 2026 issue rising 46 basis points to 8.935 percent. South Africa’s stock market banking index opened almost four percent down.

“PLOT TO OUST GORDHAN”

A Zuma-backed plan to build a fleet of nuclear power plants, at a cost of as much as $60 billion, has been a cause of tension with the Treasury for months and is likely adding to pressure on Gordhan’s position, analysts say.

Russian state-backed companies are the favourites to win the nuclear bid, industry sources say.

“This is all part of a plot to oust Gordhan,” political analyst Prince Mashele said. “Gordhan refuses to sign-off on the Russian nuclear deal.”

Gordhan has refused to be drawn publicly on whether he supports the nuclear project but has said South Africa will only enter agreements it can afford.

Presidency spokesman Bongani Majola did not respond to requests for comment.

Local media reports in May said Gordhan may face arrest on espionage charges for setting up the unit to spy on politicians including President Jacob Zuma.

Zuma has rejected allegations by opposition parties that he has failed to publicly back Gordhan, saying that the law should take its course.

Zuma spooked investors in December by replacing then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene with relatively unknown lawmaker David van Rooyen. After markets tumbled, Zuma demoted van Rooyen and appointed Gordhan, in his second stint in the job.

Nene’s refusal to sign-off on the nuclear deal contributed to his downfall, government sources said at the time.

(Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Ed Stoddard; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

South Africa and ArcelorMittal forge steel pricing agreement

23 August 2016 Comments (0) Business, Economy, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – ArcelorMittal’s South African business and the country’s government have agreed a new pricing model aimed at bolstering the domestic steel sector and reviving the economy.

The company was fined a record 1.5 billion rand ($111 million) on Monday for setting prices at the level consumers would have to pay for imported steel, but Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies told parliament on Tuesday that it had agreed on a mechanism that would provide transparent pricing based on domestic prices in a number of other countries.

The government of Africa’s most industrialised country formed a team six years ago to find ways to lower domestic steel prices after consumers complained that the European group’s South African subsidiary was charging high prices.

“This has been the concern that we’ve had for a long time, that the price of domestically produced steel has been supplied in the market on the basis of what the import parity price would be,” Davies said.

The local price for flat steel products will now be calculated through a formula using the weighted average of domestic prices in countries such as Germany, the United States and Japan, but excluding China and Russia, Davies said.

In future, when ArcelorMittal South Africa changes its flat steel prices, it will have to use a transparent mechanism based on the forecast basket prices of fabricated metal products, machinery and equipment, as well as vehicle and other transport equipment, Davies added.

“The basket aims to provide a fair price during boom and bust periods,” he said.

ArcelorMittal South Africa officials were not available to comment.

South Africa, which has the only primary steel mill in sub-Saharan Africa, imposed a 10 percent import tariff last year to protect an industry hurt by cheaper Chinese imports.

($1 = 13.4800 rand)

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia and David Goodman)

Mauritius raises 2016 tourism earnings forecast by 1.8%

19 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) – Mauritius said on Friday that tourism revenue in 2016 will be 1.8 percent higher than it had previously forecast, after a surge in visitors during the first half.

Tourism is a valuable source of foreign exchange for the tiny Indian Ocean country known for its luxury spas and beaches.

Earnings from the sector are now expected to reach 56 billion rupees this year, up from an earlier forecast of 55 billion in May, according to Statistics Mauritius, an official body.

Last year, tourism earnings totalled 50.2 billion rupees.

The statistics agency also raised its forecast for 2016 arrivals to 1,250,000 tourists from 1,240,000. Visitors in 2015 numbered 1,151,723.

In the first half of 2016, Mauritius attracted 586,464 tourists, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier.

(Reporting by Jean Paul Arouff; Editing by Aaron Maasho and Dominic Evans)

Beijing Automobile Intl Corp to invest $800 mil in S.African industrial zone

19 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Chinese state-owned Beijing Automobile International Corporation (BAIC) has signed a deal to invest 11 billion rand ($823.30 million) in an industrial zone in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, the operator of the zone said on Thursday.

The deal will see BAIC open an automotive manufacturing plant in the Coega Industrial Development Zone near South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Bay, the Coega Development Corporation said in a statement.

($1 = 13.3608 rand)

(Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

South Africa’s Truworths posts 12% rise in FY profit

18 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

(Reuters) – South African clothing retailer Truworths International reported a 12 percent increase in full-year profit on Thursday, boosted by cash sales at its British unit Office Holdings, but falling short of estimates.

* Group retail sales for the 52-week period ended 26 June2016 increased by 46.1 percent to 17.0 billion rand ($1 billion)versus comparable period. * Headline and fully diluted headline earnings per share for52 weeks ended June 26 up 12 percent to 667 cents, but short of702 cents estimate by Thomson Reuters Smart Estimates. * Shares in Truworths down 6.7 percent at 85.34 rand by 1450GMT. * Cash sales outpaced sales on in-store credit as Britishfootwear chain Office sells only in cash and new rules in SouthAfrica hamper credit extension. * “Credit retail sales were significantly impacted by theintroduction of new affordability assessment regulations inSeptember 2015, which management estimates resulted in a loss ofbetween 200 million rand to 250 million rand in sales,” thecompany said. * Annual dividend per share up 12 percent. * “We expect the South African trading environment to remainchallenging during the 2017 financial period, with slow economicgrowth and rising inflation putting pressure on consumers,” thecompany said. * The trading environment in United Kingdom is also facedwith uncertainty after decision to withdraw from European Union,but is likely to be less uncertain as more clarity regardingBrexit emerges, the company said.

($1 = 13.3300 rand)

(Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by James Macharia)

Ghana says on track to halve budget deficit after IMF deal

18 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Latest Updates from Reuters, Politics Like

ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana is on target to halve its fiscal deficit this year after its $918-million aid deal with the International Monetary Fund, Finance Minister Seth Terkper said on Wednesday.

His comments appeared designed to allay uncertainty over the deal that emerged this month when parliament rejected a key component that was designed to promote fiscal discipline. The following day the government suspended a planned Eurobond issue.

The government issued a bill to eliminate central bank financing of the budget deficit in line with the requirements of the deal but on Aug. 2 parliament passed the bill with an amendment allowing financing of up to 5 percent.

Ghana’s public debt eased to 63 percent of GDP in May from 72 percent at the end of 2015, while consumer inflation dropped to 16.7 percent in July from 19 percent in January, Terkper said, citing the impact of the deal that began in April 2015.

The central bank expects inflation to slow to 8 percent, plus or minus two, by September 2017.

“We are set to halve the deficit from 12 percent in 2012, and we have also started stemming the rate of growth of the public debt,” he told a meeting of private businesses in Accra.

Ghana, which exports cocoa, gold and oil, signed the assistance programme to bring down inflation and the budget deficit and stabilize the currency.

Terkper said the debt stock could rise marginally to 65-66 percent of GDP on planned disbursements towards the end of the year but will remain below 70 percent.

Ghana pulled out of a planned five-year $500 million amortising Eurobond this month because investors demanded a yield higher than the single digits the government had expected.

Terkper led the government finance team on the deal and said his team only suspended pricing of bids.

“We did not call off the 2016 bond …. What we did was to suspend pricing …. We must sometimes hold our nerves when we’re in the capital market to look for the right window before we strike in order to get the best results,” he said.

Ghana will on Thursday begin pumping oil from a second offshore oil field, Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme or TEN, in addition to its flagship Jubilee production which began in late 2010.

(By Kwasi Kpodo. Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

Three-week South African fuel strike ends as union signs new pay offer

17 August 2016 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters Like

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa’s petroleum industry and striking workers agreed to a new two-year wage deal on Wednesday, ending a three-week strike that caused limited supply disruptions, an official representing employers said.

Around 15,000 striking workers affiliated to Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers union (CEPPWAWU) agreed a 7 percent wage increase this year and an April CPI plus 1.5 percent hike in the second year, said Zimisele Majamane, the deputy chairman of the National Petroleum Employer’s Association.

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia)

Egypt’s telecom regulator approves revised terms for 4G licences

17 August 2016 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters, Middle East Like

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s telecoms regulator has approved revised terms for 4G mobile broadband network licences, and said it will send them out to operators on Sunday.

The government offered four 4G telecom licences in June, to Telecom Egypt and to the country’s three mobile services providers – Orange Egypt, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat – but only Telecom Egypt accepted the terms. The regulator, keen to prioritise existing carriers, decided to revise them.

A senior official at the Telecommunications Ministry told Reuters on Wednesday that the revised terms include additional frequencies but there is no change in the pricing or the condition that 50 percent of the payment for the licences must be made in U.S. dollars.

“The telecom regulator approved the final terms of the 4G licences yesterday,” the official said, adding that companies would have until midday on Sept. 22 to accept them.

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority later issued a statement confirming it approved the final terms and that the companies had until Sept. 22 to accept.

The government, which is grappling with a shortage of hard currency as economic and political turmoil in Egypt in the past few years has deterred foreign investment, has said it hopes to raise 22.3 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.5 bln) in total in licence fees.

(Reporting by Ehab Farouk; Writing by Ola Noureldin; Editing by Greg Mahlich and Susan Fenton)

Author

Twitter FeedFollow