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BMW to invest $417 mil to make X3 model in South Africa plant

17 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – BMW’s South African unit plans to invest 6 billion rand ($418 million) at its plant in the capital Pretoria where the German carmaker would manufacture its new X3 model for export and local sale.

The X3 is one of the most successful model ranges for BMW, the world’s biggest luxury carmaker, representing 28 percent of total global sales, the local unit of the global car maker said.

BMW said 2015 production at its Rosslyn plant in Pretoria is expected to reach 70,000 units.

“The production of the next generation BMW X3 at Plant Rosslyn will replace the BMW 3 Series Sedan, which will now be allocated to other plants within the global BMW production network,” the car maker’s local said in a statement.

BMW’s South Carolina plant in Spartanburg will continue producing the carmaker’s new version of the X3 and the X7.

 

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by James Macharia, Reuters)

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Africa’s richest man resigns from Dangote Flour as Tiger Brands cuts funding

16 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

LAGOS (Reuters) – Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote and three other directors resigned from the board of Dangote Flour Mills on Monday as majority owner Tiger Brands cut funding support to its struggling Nigerian division.

South Africa’s Tiger Brands said it was “currently exploring various alternatives with regard to its investment in Dangote Flour Mills, which also announced a change of name to Tiger Branded Consumer Goods Plc.

Aliko Dangote holds 10 percent of the company’s equity in through Dangote Industries. The other directors who resigned are Olakunle Alake, Asue Ighodalo and Arnold Ekpe.

 

(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha, Reuters)

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Moroccan insurer AFMA aims to raise $18 million in share listing

16 November 2015 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters, Middle East

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RABAT (Reuters) – Moroccan insurance broker AFMA SA plans to raise 180 million dirham ($18 mln) in an initial public share offer, the country’s stock market watchdog said on Monday.

AFMA is owned by private Moroccan holding company Tenor group, which has subsidiaries in distribution, real estate and media. AFMA’s revenues have increased by about 10 percent annually over the last three years and reached 82.8 million dirhams for the first half of 2015, the company’s data showed.

The initial public offering (IPO) would be the second this year on the Casablanca stock exchange this year, which has suffered from the knock-on effects of the euro zone crisis and a lack of foreign investors.

Total Maroc listed in May.

Casablanca’s benchmark MASI index has fallen 3.7 percent this year. Morocco was downgraded to “frontier market” status by index provider MSCI in 2013, due to a lack of liquidity in the market.

Stock market watchdog CDVM said it had approved the issue. AFMA will sell 250,000 shares, or 25 percent of its shares, and they have been priced at 750 dirhams apiece. The offering is expected from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.

Tenor group agreed also to sell 20 percent of the company’s shares in a block trade to Moroccan institutional investors CIMR and Fipar Holding for 130 million dirhams once the IPO is completed. CIMR is a pension fund for the private sector while Fipar is an affiliate of Morocco’s state investment vehicle Caisse de Depot et de Gestion (CDG).

CDVM said CIMR and Fipar had agreed to keep their stakes for at least three years.

(Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Susan Fenton, Reuters)

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Exxon Mobil to drill offshore post-Ebola Liberia in 2017

15 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

MONROVIA (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp said it plans to start drilling in Liberia in 2017, in what President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said was a sign of economic recovery after the Ebola epidemic.

The West African country produces no oil but has awarded a number of exploration blocs offshore, following the examples of Gulf of Guinea neighbours Ghana and Nigeria.

Exxon Mobil intends to start drilling late 2017, Steven Buck, its country manager for Liberia and Ivory Coast, said. The U.S. oil major signed for bloc 13 in 2003 but put the project on hold due to the Ebola epidemic.

The worst known outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever killed 4,800 people in the country and deterred investors. Liberia was declared Ebola-free in September but Johnson Sirleaf has said it will take two years to regain its economic footing.

“I am very excited to see Exxon Mobil here,” she said on Thursday after a meeting with Buck. “Their presence demonstrates to the world that Liberia is once more on the move.”

The United States has lifted economic sanctions on Liberia that it had put in place against former president Charles Taylor, who is serving a 50-year sentence for atrocities committed in Sierra Leone during its civil war.

 

(Reporting by Alphonso Toweh; Writing by Emma Farge and Makini Brice, editing by William Hardy)

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Kenyan shilling falls on importer demand, stocks in up

14 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya’s shilling gave up gains made earlier in the day due to importer dollar demand after the central bank sold the U.S. currency, while stocks inched higher.

At close of trade at 1330 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 102.35/45 to the dollar compared with Thursday’s close of 102.25/35.

“There was slight weakening towards the end of the day. Demand is still there in the market. The shilling has been capped by the central bank (dollar) sales,” a senior trader at one commercial bank said.

“Going into next week we should see more (importer) demand coming in. Government security yields are coming down. That would put pressure on the shilling, and just be supported by the CBK sales.”

The trader said dollar demand would be from sectors such as energy and manufacturing.

Traders said the central bank sold foreign exchange early on Friday, giving the shilling support after yields on the 91-day Treasury bill fell below 10 percent at auction, making it less attractive to offshore investors.

The shilling touched an intraday high of 102.10/30.

The central bank does not normally comment on interventions.

The jump in yields on T-bills of various tenors last month to above 20 percent had attracted offshore dollar inflows, helping reverse some of the recent weakness in the currency.

Dealers said the fall in yields could now start putting more pressure back on the shilling, which in September had almost touched its 2011 all-time low of 106.80.

The currency has been under pressure from a range of factors such global dollar strength and Kenya’s widening trade gap.

On the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the main NSE-20 Share Index was up 1.01 points to close at 3,917.64 points.

On the secondary market, government bonds valued at 2.22 billion shillings were traded, down from 2.58 billion shillings on Thursday.

 

(Reporting by George Obulutsa and Edmund Blair; editing by Richard Balmforth, Reuters)

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Eskom applies to regulator to recover $1.6 bil via tariffs

12 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South African utility Eskom has asked the energy regulator to allow it to recover $1.6 billion in costs from 2013/14 when it ran expensive diesel plants and brought more green power to keep the lights on.

The regulator (NERSA) in Africa’s most advanced economy in June rejected a request from cash-strapped Eskom to raise tariffs and the utility said it would seek alternative ways of funding.

Eskom’s spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said the utility was over budget as it had to buy an extra 1,800 megawatts of green energy and used more diesel to run its expensive plants in 2013/14.

The regulator said it was assessing Eskom’s request and did not say when it would publish its outcome.

“Should the results of the assessment indicate that Eskom has to reimburse the customers then the price of electricity would have to decrease. Similarly, if the customers have to reimburse Eskom the price would have to increase,” National Energy Regulator spokesman Charles Hlebela said.

Eskom, which provides virtually all of South Africa’s electricity, is scrambling to repair its ageing power plants and grid. Earlier this year, the utility was forced to impose almost daily power cuts that hurt economic growth.

Eskom said last week, however, that it does not expect to implement electricity blackouts until April 2016.

The energy regulator could grant Eskom the full 22.8 billion rand ($1.6 billion) it wants to recover, or a portion thereof, with customers ultimately bearing the cost.

Independent energy analyst Ted Blom said if the full increase was granted, consumers could expect to pay between 11 and 15 cents extra per kilowatt/hour for electricity.

 

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf and Peroshni Govender; editing by David Clarke, Reuters)

 

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South African drought to cost Sappi up to $10 mil

12 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A drought in South Africa could cost paper maker Sappi between $5 million and $10 million in the first quarter of 2016 as it would result in slower production in its mills, chief executive Steve Binnie said on Thursday.

The drought – the worst in over a century in the eastern KwaZulu Natal province where Sappi has some mills – will negatively impact profits but Binnie told Reuters the first quarter of next year would still show improvement compared with the first three months of this year.

 

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by James Macharia, Reuters)

 

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New MTN boss hints at cut to $5.2 bil Nigeria fine

10 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The newly installed head of South Africa’s MTN has hinted that he would seek to reduce a $5.2 billion fine imposed on African’s biggest mobile telecoms company by the Nigerian authorities.

Non-executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko was named executive chairman of MTN for up to six months after Sifiso Dabengwa stepped down as CEO with immediate effect on Monday.

His priority is dealing with the crisis in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, which is MTN’s largest market and contributes more than a third of its revenues.

“I can’t say whether we’ll pay the whole fine. I don’t want to negotiate with Nigerian regulators on a public forum,” Nhleko, who is also a former CEO of MTN, told Talk Radio 702.

MTN has a deadline of Nov. 16 to pay the fine imposed on its unit in Nigeria for failing to cut off more than 5 million users with unregistered SIM cards.

The Nigerian communications regulator has been pushing cell phone network companies to verify the identity of their subscribers because of fears that unregistered SIMs were being used for criminal activity.

MTN would not comment on whether it has approached banks to ensure enough cash is available should the fine be enforced.

“The planning is based on all possible outcomes and contingencies and our aim is to comply with all regulations in Nigeria,” said MTN spokesman Chris Maroleng.

But analysts say Nhleko is pulling out all the stops to get the fine reduced.

“Nhleko will bring the matter to a conclusion,” said 36One Asset Management analyst Jean-Pierre Verster.

“I expect there will be a discount of somewhere between 5 percent and 75 percent.”

He sees the Nigerian regulator’s renewal of MTN’s operating licence last week as a sign that the regulator could cut MTN some slack.

Political risk consultancy eurasia said MTN would probably secure a reduction to the fine.

“We expect an eventual compromise to sharply scale back the size of the penalty (to less than half the original amount), especially as MTN takes concrete steps to address the regulator’s concerns,” it said in a published note.

Shares in MTN were down 3.9 percent at 153.75 rand by 1252 GMT, compared to a 1.6 percent drop in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s benchmark Top-40 index.

 

(Reporting by TJ Strydom; Editing by James Macharia and Keith Weir)

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Access Infra Africa signs plan for $100 mil Nigerian solar plant

10 November 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

ABUJA (Reuters) – Access Infra Africa has signed a joint development agreement with Nigerian Quaint Global Energy Solutions for a 50 megawatt solar power plant that is expected to provide electricity for over 600,000 homes in northern Nigeria, the partners said on Tuesday.

The west African nation has chronic power shortages due to a dilapidated transmission grid and natural gas constraints while the new generating and distribution companies are still struggling to be profitable since the 2012 privatisation of the sector.

Power output has risen since President Muhammadu Buhari was inaugurated at the end of May, fluctuating at just under 4,000 MW per day over the last few weeks versus just over 3,000 MW under the former administration, according to transmission data. But the level is still far below the country’s needs.

Businesses rely heavily on expensive diesel generators while the average Nigerian must put up with days of blackouts.

The ABIBA plant in northern Kaduna state is expected to be built in the next two years though the partners must still negotiate a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) before it can seek financing from banks.

Access Infra Africa, a renewable power developer with a presence in 17 African countries, will contribute the bulk of the 30 percent equity put down for the $100 million project.

Quaint has also received a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency for ABIBA.

If successful, the solar farm would be the first in the country and largest such plant on the continent outside South Africa.

Other renewable energy projects became stuck in the PPA phase under the previous administration and stalled due to an unprofitable tariff but the NERC announced a new feed-in tariff at the start of November for renewable projects up to 30 MW.

Buhari has made increasing power generation a priority as better access to power will be key to his goal of diversifying the economy.

 

(Reporting By Julia Payne; editing by Susan Thomas)

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Egyptian shareholder in “constructive” talks with Adidas

10 November 2015 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters, Middle East

BERLIN (Reuters) – Egyptian tycoon Nassef Sawiris, who controls 6 percent of the voting rights in Adidas, says he wants a constructive relationship with the German sportswear company.

Sawiris, whose NNS Holding fund has a 1.7 percent direct stake in Adidas, has also accumulated an additional 4.3 percent of the company’s voting rights due to “put” options he has bought that should allow him to acquire further shares.

Asked about his intentions for the investment, Sawiris told Reuters by telephone he was “interested in a constructive dialogue” with the company.

Adidas Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said last week the company had quite an “intense dialogue” with most of its key shareholders. Asked about Sawiris, he said: “Everybody is welcome and if somebody can help us we are open to listen.”

Earlier this year, Belgium’s richest man Albert Frere, who together with Sawiris was a major shareholder in French cement company Lafarge before its merger with Swiss rival Holcim, acquired a 3 percent stake in Adidas.

They have made these investments as Adidas is looking for a successor to long-serving Hainer, who came under fire last year after the company lost more market share to Nike and suffered from falling golf sales and its exposure to Russia.

Adidas shares have risen 18 percent in the last three months, compared to a 6 percent fall in the German blue-chip index. J.P. Morgan analysts said the rise could partly be explained by the stock building of Sawiris.

In May, Hainer said he had hired advisers to help fend off any potential hostile takeover bid, although he said back then Adidas had not been approached by activist investors seeking to build a stake.

Adidas said in August it was considering the possible sale of its golf brands, as demanded by some investors, but Hainer has rejected selling fitness brand Reebok, saying the long-struggling business he bought in 2005 is now on the mend.

Adidas shares jumped last week to their highest level since January 2014 after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, raised its full-year guidance for sales and profits and gave an upbeat outlook for 2016.

 

(Reporting by Emma Thomasson and Joern Poltz; Editing by Arno Schuetze and Jane Merriman, Reuters)

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