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France’s Total eyes fuel stations in Angola, signs MOU

23 December 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

LUANDA (Reuters) – France’s Total has signed an memorandum of understanding with Angola’s Sonangol, a first step to opening fuel stations in the southern African nation, Total told Reuters on Wednesday.

Angola, the continent’s second biggest oil exporter, said in October it is reorganising its oil sector and state-owned Sonangol, but details about the changes have been sparse.

Total, the largest foreign oil company producing in Angola, said the MOU was signed by chief executive Patrick Pouyanné on Monday and paves the way to a network of Total-branded stations in Angola.

“In a first phase, products would be obtained through Sonangol,” said a Total spokesman.

Sonangol has a refinery in Luanda that produces 56,000 barrels per day.

The state-owned company said in a separate statement the agreement could represent an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, with benefits both immediate and long term.

“This action, via a consolidated partnership between the two companies, embodies the government’s strategy to liberalise trade in the sector,” Sonangol said.

Total said it will give more detail once the shareholder agreement with Sonangol is signed.

Angola’s finances have suffered as a result of a sharp slide in oil prices since mid-2014 as oil output represents 40 percent of its gross domestic product.

Sonangol is under pressure to show how it is boosting the downstream potential in Angola, which is a major producer of crude, but does not refine enough to meet its own fuel demand.

 

 

 

 

(Reporting by Herculano Coroado; Writing by TJ Strydom, editing by William Hardy)

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Nigeria orders MTN to pay $3.9 bil fine by Dec 31

23 December 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

ABUJA (Reuters) – South African mobile phone operator MTN will have to pay a $3.9 billion fine imposed by Nigeria for failing to disconnect users with unregistered SIM cards by Dec. 31, a source in the Nigerian telecommunications regulator said on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s telecoms regulator had cut the fine from an initial $5.2 billion after weeks of lobbying by Africa’s biggest mobile phone company to get it reduced.

“Appropriate action will be taken,” should MTN fail to meet the deadline, the source said, asking not to be named and giving no further details.

MTN said this month it would challenge the decision in court.

Nigeria has been pushing telecoms firms to verify the identity of subscribers amid worries unregistered SIM cards were being used for criminal activity in a country facing the insurgency of militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

The fine came months after Muhammadu Buhari swept to power in Africa’s biggest economy following a campaign in which he promised tougher regulation and a fight against corruption.

 

(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Ulf Laessing, editing by William Hardy/Keith Weir)

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Most of Zambia plunged into blackout

23 December 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia was plunged into a blackout on Tuesday affecting almost the whole of the country, the state power utility Zesco Ltd said.

“Almost the whole country except for Southern and Western province has experienced a power failure but we are yet to establish what has caused it,” Zesco spokeswoman Bessie Banda told Reuters.

Most of Zambia was affected by a power blackout on Dec. 11 because of a technical fault and supply was restored only the following day.

The southern African country, the continent’s second biggest copper producer, has been grappling with power shortages related to a searing drought as levels in the Kariba dam, which provides much of the nation’s electricity, drop.

Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), owned by Vedanta Resources, said after the Dec. 11 blackout it would suffer slight output losses.

An electricity shortage and weaker copper prices due to slower growth by top consumer China have threatened output and jobs in the mining industry, with the slow-down putting Zambia’s currency on the back foot against the dollar.

 

 

(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Writing by Ed Stoddard and Richard Balmforth; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Bargain buying lifts South Africa’s stocks, rand weak

22 December 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African stocks rose to a more than two-week high on Tuesday, bolstered by bargain hunters and a recovery in oil prices from its lowest level in more than a decade, while the rand dipped in holiday-thinned trade.

The benchmark Top-40 index rose 1.2 percent to 44,900.59, while the broader All-Share index rose by the same margin to 49,780.33.

“What we are seeing is a bit of buying before the close of the quarter,” said Sanlam Private Investments’ portfolio manager David Peacock. “Some stocks were oversold, so now we are seeing some nibbling [back].”

A recovery in oil prices from 11-year lows as investors unwounded some of their bearish bets on the battered commodity also helped boost stocks such as petrochemicals company Sasol, which rose by 2.61 percent to 393 rand.

Other gainers included Africa’s largest mobile operator MTN, which gained 4.53 percent to 141.16 rand, while its rival, Vodacom added 2.34 percent to 151.72 rand.

Among the losers was Tiger Brands, which fell 1.81 percent to 318.00 rand.

Trade was light, with 153 million shares changing hands on the stock market, according to preliminary bourse data, well below the average of 183 million shares.

On the forex market, the rand weakened in shallow, range-bound trade following its brief relief rally ahead of the holiday season.

Trade is expected to be subdued for the remainder of the year as most domestic market players are on holiday, and with no major economic news to provide direction for the rand.

By 1523 GMT the rand had weakened 0.49 percent to 15.1700 per dollar compared to 15.1030, where it closed overnight in New York.

“We expect the rand to hover around R15/$ for the rest of the year,” said NKC African Economics analyst Bart Stemmet. “We see risks to the rand at its current levels to be balanced.”

Government bonds were weaker, with the benchmark paper due in 2026 adding 9 basis points to 9.445 percent.

 

(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla and Thekiso Lefifi; Editing by Ed Stoddard)

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Egypt’s central bank tightens import controls to boost local production

22 December 2015 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters, Middle East

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s central bank will tighten import regulations from January in a bid to support local manufacturing and better preserve its dwindling foreign currency reserves.

Egypt, which depends on imports, has faced a currency crisis since a 2011 uprising drove foreign investors and tourists away. Hard currency reserves have more than halved $16.4 billion since then.

The decision excludes imports of medicine, foods, and other essential goods such as wheat.

The central bank said it aimed to “strengthen the national economy and promote local products, enhancing their competitiveness against foreign products,” in a statement on Tuesday.

Egyptian manufacturers have been pushing for stricter regulations to stop importers putting artificially low values on customs bills to avoid duties, a widespread practice that makes it difficult for local products to compete on price.

Egypt had imports worth $60.8 billion in 2014/15, compared with exports worth $22.1 billion, said Beltone Financial economist Ziad Waleed.

“They are just fine-tuning the present regulations amid the foreign currency shortage. This definitely could increase the pressure on importers,” he said.

The statement said that banks should obtain documents for imports directly from foreign banks, instead of obtaining them from the clients as is the practice currently. This is to stop any manipulation of receipts by importers, the Egyptian customs authority said on Tuesday.

Importers will also have to provide 100 percent of the cash deposit on letters of credit for imports instead of the current 50 percent.

“The central bank is trying to use all available measures to try to limit imports and this could limit the import of luxury goods, but it is not the key solution that would solve the foreign currency shortage,” Waleed said.

Egypt’s central bank has been rationing dollars and keeping the currency artificially strong at 7.7301 through weekly dollar auctions, giving priority to imports of essential goods.

 

 

(Reporting by Asma Alsharif and Ehab Farouk, editing by Louise Heavens)

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Zambia to introduce sliding mineral royalty tax in 2016

22 December 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia, Africa’s second largest copper producer, will in the first quarter next year introduce a new sliding mineral royalty tax that will be adjusted depending on metal prices, a government spokesman said on Tuesday.

Zambian royalty taxes will range between 3 percent and 9 percent depending on the global price of metals, presidential spokesman Amos Chanda said.

 

(Reporting by Chris Mfula; Editing by Joe Brock)

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Nigeria to review mining licences as part of industry overhaul

22 December 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria will review all its mining licences as its wants to overhaul a largely unproductive sector dominated by artisan miners, the mining ministry said on Monday.

The West African nation wants to lower dependency on oil production as crude prices tumble and boost output of solid minerals that contribute only 0.34 percent to GDP, according to official data.

Africa’s largest economy has some gold and iron deposits but little seismic data exists as the government has focused on oil exploration in the past decades.

To make a sector 80 percent dominated by artisan miners more efficient, mining minister Kayode Fayemi said all licences would be reviewed by March 1, according to a statement.

“We will work with stakeholders to review existing licenses and bring them up to date where there are issues,” he said in the statement, his first policy comments since taking office last month. “The period from today to 1st March 2016 should be considered an amnesty period to allow regularisation of papers.”

He said Nigeria had 44 known minerals including gold, iron ore, bitumen, zinc, tin and coal but authorities needed to get better data before deciding on a policy focus.

Nigeria has attracted few foreign investors to the mining sector due to a lack of roads, corruption and weak regulation.

 

(Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by David Evans)

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Nigeria’s Kaduna refinery restarts

21 December 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) – Nigeria has restarted its northern Kaduna refinery, an official at state oil firm NNPC said on Monday after a pipeline pumping crude to the plant resumed operations.

The refinery, which has a capacity of 110,000 barrels a day, resumed on Saturday, said Ohi Alegbe, a spokesman for NNPC. He gave no production data.

Nigeria’s four ageing oil refineries produced nothing in October, despite a goal from the state company to produce 30 percent of its own gasoline in 2016.

Despite exporting 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, Nigeria is almost wholly reliant on imported gasoline, kerosene and other petroleum products.

 

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing; Editing by David Goodman)

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Brent crude oil falls to 2004 low as market rout heads into Christmas

21 December 2015 Comments (0) Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude prices fell to levels last seen in 2004 on Monday, dropping below the lows hit during the 2008 financial crisis on renewed worries over an oil glut.

Global production remains at or near record highs and new supply looms from the Iran and the United States. Crude markets are also under pressure following last week’s U.S. interest rate hikes and on signs of growing U.S. stockpiles even as more drilling rigs are deployed.

Brent futures fell almost 2 percent and as low as $36.17 per barrel on Monday, the weakest since 2004 and below the $36.20 low reached on Christmas Eve 2008 before edging back to $36.42 at 0620 GMT. Prices are still down 46 cents from their last settlement.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 24 cents at $34.49 per barrel and close to last Friday’s 2015 lows.

Both benchmarks have fallen more than two-thirds since mid-2014 when the rout began.

An unexpected gain in the U.S. oil rig count – by 17 to 541 – and the strength in the U.S. dollar following last week’s interest rate hike, which makes oil more expensive for countries using different currencies, all weighed on crude prices, said analysts.

“The increase in rig count even in a low crude oil price environment suggests shale producers are committed to maintaining production levels. The resilient production data reflect rising U.S. crude stockpiles, which have surged to 491 million barrels, the most for this time of year since 1930,” ANZ bank said.

The U.S. glut adds to global oversupply as the main producers, including Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), pump hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude every day in excess of demand.

Russian production has surpassed 10 million barrels per day (bpd), the highest since the collapse of the Soviet Union, while OPEC output also remains near record levels above 31.5 million bpd. OPEC leader Saudi Arabia upped production from 10.226 to 10.276 million bpd between September and October.

Iraq’s oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi told Reuters over the weekend that OPEC would stick to its Dec. 4 decision to not limit production despite the drop in prices.

“OPEC can’t take a unilateral decision, for example, to cut production and others … raise production,” he said.

More oil becoming available soon will add to the glut, with Iran hoping to ramp up sales in early 2016 once sanctions against Tehran are lifted.

Iran will export most of its enriched uranium to Russia in coming days as it rushes to implement a nuclear deal and secure relief from international sanctions, Tehran’s nuclear chief was quoted as saying over the weekend.

This comes only days after the U.S. voted to lift a 40-year-old ban on crude exports which could see some production released on the global market.

 

(By Henning Gloystein. Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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Nigeria Sterling Bank says open to merger to build scale

20 December 2015 Comments (0) Africa, Business, Latest Updates from Reuters

LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigeria’s Sterling Bank is open to merger or acquisition talks to build scale to counter weak market conditions caused by slow economic growth this year which could continue into 2016, its chief executive said.

Africa’s biggest economy relies on oil exports for about 58 percent of government revenue and faces its worst economic crisis in years because of the fall in crude prices, which tumbled to their lowest in more than six years last week.

CEO Yemi Adeola said late on Thursday the slowdown in the economy couple with currency weakness provided opportunities for a market consolidation to build scale and cut costs, adding that one or two foreign banks were having discussions about possible acquisitions in Nigeria.

“You could see … one or two international banks taking over one or two Nigerian banks … in 2016 from the look of things,” he said, declining to name the lenders.

“As for us at Sterling, we are always open, anything that will give us scale, we will pursue.”

Sterling Bank, which itself is the product of a merger of six local banks, was the target of a takeover in 2011 by South Africa’s No.2 banking group FirstRand. Acquisition talks collapsed after the two sides failed to agree on terms.

Shares in the bank, which have fallen 25.9 percent this year, are trading at less than 1 times its book value, analysts say. The stock shed 4.79 percent on Friday to 1.79 naira, giving it a market value of 51.5 billion naira ($259 million).

Adeola expects investment flows to reverse after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates this week for the first time in almost a decade, a move that could also hurt borrowers exposed to the dollar.

The naira, which is pegged to the dollar, has been hitting new lows among retail bureaux de change operators since last week with the central bank trying to curb demand to conserve its reserves, hurting commercial banks’ trade business.

Sterling Bank said on Thursday it would raise 35 billion naira ($177 million) in Tier II debt early next year to expand its loan book and saw no need to tap equity markets.

 

(By Oludare Mayowa. Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Mark Potter)

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