Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Biofuels’ Category

Angola Business News

In Angola, Biofuels, Economy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Politics on September 3, 2010 at 8:34 am

POLITICAL RISK

Angola’s ruling MPLA party emerged victorious from a 27-year civil war in 2002 promising a better life for Angolans but this dream is fading as corruption is rife and the government is seen failing to help the poor. Read the political risk analysis at Reuters.

ECONOMY

Angola’s foreign exchange reserves dropped slightly for the second straight month to $15.29 billion in July from $15.52 billion in June, the central bank said (Reuters).

Investment in Angola’s private sector in the first half totalled US$1.255 billion, almost three times the US$450 million invested in the same period of 2009 (Macauhub).

Public works, education and transport projects have benefited most from credit concession agreement between the China Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) and Angola, which now total US$4.547 billion (Macauhub).

OIL

Angolan authorities cut gasoline and diesel subsidies as a prelude to liberalising the country’s downstream oil sector, triggering a steep rise in pump prices and the threat of protests from irate motorists (Reuters).

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CONSTRUCTION

Portugal’s largest builder Mota-Engil expects Angola to settle its debt with the company by the end of the first quarter, Chief Financial Officer Luis Silva said (Reuters).

INFRA

The Angolan government asked for financial and technological support from Japan for the construction of a bridge between the provinces of Zaire and Cabinda, the National Private Investment Agency (ANIP) said (Macauhub).

The Luanda/Malanje railroad, which has been undergoing reconstruction since 2005, in the next two months will be able to operate an experimental freight train, the Deputy Transport Minister for the railway sector said (Macauhub).

BIOFUELS

Biofuels companies from the U.K. to Brazil and China are buying up large swaths of Africa including Angola, causing deforestation and diverting land from food to fuel production, the environmental group Friends of the Earth said (Bloomberg).

HOTELS

The Boavista neighbourhood of Angola’s capital, Luanda will soon have a new hotel called “Empreendimento Pestana Luanda Hotel e Suites,” with 230 rooms, 50 of which will be suites (Macauhub).

Angola business news

In Angola, Banking, Biofuels, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Real estate on May 24, 2010 at 7:40 pm

INFRA

Angola has asked the African Development Bank for loans to help rebuild its economy following a 27-year civil war, adding to funds from the International Monetary Fund and a possible international bond sale (Bloomberg).

RATINGS

Angola received credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service that put it on par with Nigeria, Lebanon and Belarus, and paved the way for a planned sale of international bonds this year (Bloomberg).

REAL ESTATE

The provision of relatively affordable housing in Angola is becoming a promising investment opportunity, says the international property consultant group Colliers (News24).

A new shopping centre called Centro Comercial de Viana is under construction in the south of Luanda costing an initial US$15 million (Macauhub).

AUTOMOTIVE

Fiat Group’s Iveco truck unit plans to invest $60 million in Angola in the next three years, in a bid to become the African nation’s top truck importer (BusinessDay).

FISHING

The Angolan government banned the fishing of mackerel  and sardine unitil the end of the year following the need to protect some species in danger of  extinction (ANGOP).

BANKING

In the period between 2006 and 2008, Angolan banking assets have risen at an average rate of 46%, from nearly USD 17.000 million to USD 35.000 million (ANGOP).

STATE ENTREPRISES

The Angolan government approved the appointment of the new board of directors of the railway companies of Luanda, Benguela and Mocamedes, of the National Civil Aviation Company (ENANA-EP), of the Angolan Airline (TAAG-EP) and of the Sea ports of Namibe, Lobito and Luanda (ANGOP).

MINING

Sociedade Mineira do Lucapa (SML) is due over the next few days to re-launch diamond mining after a 10-month halt due to a drop in demand as a result of the international financial crisis (Macauhub).

BIOFUELS

Biofuel production may contribute to agri-industrial development in Angola, establishing populations in rural areas where the projects will be carried out, the ninth consultation council of the Oil Ministry concluded (Macauhub).

Angola weekly news update, March 28th

In Angola, Biofuels, Economy, Oil, Ports, Real estate on March 28, 2010 at 9:55 am

ECONOMY

Angola’s parliament has approved a law meant to support biofuel production, as the government tries to diversify the economy which currently depends on oil. Agriculture Minister Afonso Pedro Kanga noted concerns that developing biofuels could harm Angola’s efforts to revive food crops and assured that only “marginal” lands would be allowed to produce biofuels leaving the most fertile lands for food production (News24).

Angola continues to be one of the United States’ main trading partners in sub-Saharan Africa according to a study from the US Congress Research Center. The study said that in 2008 (last year analysed in the document) the overwhelming majority of US imports from the region was focused on three countries: Nigeria (44 percent), Angola (22 percent) and South Africa (12 percent) (Macauhub).

Angola will start paying off arrears to building companies in April, Urban Planning and Construction Minister Jose da Silva Ferreira said. Failure to settle the arrears, which the government said in July 2009 had reached around $2 billion, could have a negative impact on Angola’s first credit rating and the sale of up to $4 billion in bonds due to take place in coming months (Reuters).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Seven Angolan policemen were sentenced to 24 years each in jail for the murder of eight men in a poor neighbourhood, in what analysts said was a key step forward in a drive to end widespread police brutality (Reuters).

OIL

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola will negotiate the management of a common zone of interest to end a dispute over offshore oil deposits, Joseph Pili Pili, the Congolese oil ministry liasion with Angola, said (Bloomberg).

CONSTRUCTION

Israeli construction company LR Group plans to build 100,000 social houses in Angola as part of the government programme to build 1 million homes by 2012 (Macauhub).

OPWAY Angola will build the first phase of the Muxima Plaza project in Luanda, representing an investment of US$34 million. OPWAY Angola is a partnership involving the Escom group and OPWAY Engenharia (Macauhub).

SHIPPING

Sea freight to import goods to Angola is quite expensive, due to the weak negotiating capacity of national importers, the director-general of the National Shipper’s Council (CNC) said. He also said that currently shipping to Angola has seen a slight drop of around 13 percent, although it remained at around US$8,000 per 20 TEU container (Macauhub).

Brazil Weekly, February 7th

In Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Politics on February 7, 2010 at 3:27 pm

Be welcome to visit the latest edition of Brazil Weekly

Brazil news update, January 3rd

In Airports, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Ports, Real estate on January 3, 2010 at 3:43 pm

ECONOMY

Brazil’s government will turn its focus to investment and away from stimulus measures, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, as the country’s economy makes a robust exit from recession (Reuters).

Brazil’s state development bank BNDES will focus its 2010 lending on energy projects and infrastructure to support continued economic growth, bank president Luciano Coutinho said (Reuters).

Brazil’s tax collection may rise 11 percent next year, allowing the government to boost spending while still meeting its fiscal targets (Bloomberg)

RIO

‘The Olympic Effect’ may already be well underway in Rio’s real estate market with prices expected to double in many of the city’s neighborhoods by 2016, but values in one of the most fashionable parts of the city will receive another significant boost later on this month (Rio Times).

BUSINESS

American agribusiness company Bunge is more than doubling its sugar cane milling capacity in Brazil, by acquiring sugar and ethanol producer Moema for US$452 million in stock (Rio Times).

Brazilian lender Itau Unibanco is considering buying stakes in one of the United Kingdom banks rescued by the government during the height of the global credit crisis of 2008, the U.K. Sunday Times reported (Reuters).

Brazilian mining company Vale expects iron ore production in 2010 to reach about 300 million tonnes, Chief Executive Roger Agnelli said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-controlled energy firm Petrobras bought a 40.4 percent stake in a mill that produces ethanol biofuel from sugar cane, the company said in a filing with the local securities market regulator (Reuters).

Goldman Sachs plans to start a private pension fund in Brazil in the first quarter of 2010. New York-based Goldman is negotiating a partnership with an insurance company to distribute the fund (Bloomberg).

PORTS & AIRPORTS

LLX Logistica, the Brazilian logistics firm controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, said it obtained a loan of 408 million reais ($234 million) for its Sudeste Port from state development bank BNDES (Reuters).

Brazil’s government will raise investments in airports to prepare for the 2014 World Cup, Budget Minister Paulo Bernardo said. Brazil may have 10 percent more passengers during this period, Bernardo said in an interview to government radio Radiobras (Bloomberg).

OIL

Brazilian oil and gas start-up company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes said it had found signs of more hydrocarbons in well 1-OGX-3-RJS, off Rio de Janeiro’s coast in the southern part of the Campos basin (Reuters).

ENERGY

Demand for electricity in Brazil will probably soar next year as factories ramp up output and household income continues to rise, a government agency said (Reuters).

Brazil news update, December 6th

In Agriculture, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Mining, Oil, Stock exchange on December 6, 2009 at 5:02 pm

ECONOMY

Investors have piled back into Brazilian assets in the wake of the global financial crisis, sending the stock market soaring 83 percent and the currency up 37 percent this year. Are Brazil’s asset markets overvalued? Read the analysis at Reuters.

Car manufacturing in Brazil will climb in 2010, along with sales and export revenue, the national automakers’ association Anfavea said, with expectations for strong economic growth set to stoke domestic demand. Brazilian automobile production in 2010 could grow 5.4 percent, the group said, with sales to jump 9.3 percent (Reuters).

Brazil’s central bank said that dollar inflows into the country totaled $3.558 billion last month through Nov. 27 (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Since the start of the year the price of sugar futures has almost doubled. For Brazil’s big sugar companies the timing is perfect: the credit crunch set off a wave of consolidation in an industry that had been resistant to it. The firms that have survived now have more scale and lots of cash. Read the full story in The Economist.

Sao Martinho, one of Brazil’s main sugar and ethanol companies, will sell a 40 percent stake in its Boa Vista mill for 140 million reais ($81.9 million) to U.S-based Amyris (Reuters).

Brazil’s largest sugar and ethanol group, has closed a deal to buy the local Petrosul chain of filling stations based in Sao Paulo (Reuters).

Brazilian retail group Pao de Acucar reached an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in rival Casas Bahia in a noncash deal, gaining a commanding grip over the South American country’s booming home appliances market (Reuters).

Votorantim Group has signed a deal to join Trinidad and Tobago’s government-owned Alutrint in a project to build a 125,000 tonnes-per-year aluminum smelter in the Caribbean nation (Reuters).

Brazil’s crude steel output is forecast to rise to 33.1 million tonnes next year, up 24 percent from an estimated 26.7 million tonnes this year, the Brazilian Steel Institute said (Reuters).

Brazilian mining company Vale plans to invest 1 billion reais ($573 million) in a steel rolling mill in Rio de Janeiro state (Reuters).

Mirabela Nickel Ltd., an Australian miner, may build a smelter to process nickel ore from its Santa Rita mine in Brazil’s northeastern Bahia state and start underground mining (Bloomberg).

China’s Wuhan Iron and Steel Co agreed to pay $400 million for a 21.52 percent stake in Brazilian miner MMX, according to a regulatory filing (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian oil upstart OGX said it had found a 50 meter column of hydrocarbons with net pay of 15 meters from a well it is drilling in the BM-C-41 block in the Campos basin (Reuters).

Earlier OGX had said it had made a promising discovery of hydrocarbons in the Albiano field in the Campos basin off the coast of Rio de Janeiro (Reuters).

The Abreu Lima refinery in Brazil, a joint venture between state-run oil companies Petrobras and Venezuela’s PDVSA, will cost roughly 23 billion reais ($13.3 bln), more than triple its previous estimate (Reuters).

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil producer, plans to expand its $174.4 billion investment program as it develops offshore fields in the so-called pre-salt region (Bloomberg).

ATLANTICO

Trade between Brazil and Africa is incipient and needs to be worked on. African countries imported around US$500 billion, of which less than US$10 billion or 2% was from Brazil (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, November 1st

In Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Foreign Trade, Oil, Politics on November 1, 2009 at 10:38 pm

ECONOMY

Brazil’s primary budget fell into deficit last month, posting its worst result for the month of September on record, as tax revenues continued to trail an incipient rebound in Latin America’s largest economy (Reuters).

Brazil extended stimulus tax cuts on home appliances even as an economic recovery shows signs of gaining momentum (Bloomberg).

BUSINESS

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer expects a reduction in spending on research and development and an increase in revenue to boost profit margins in the fourth quarter, Chief Financial Officer Luiz Carlos Aguiar said (Reuters).

The company, the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, foresees a 10 percent drop in revenue in 2010 (Reuters).

The Brazilian unit of French commodities group Louis Dreyfus said it agreed to take over Brazilian firm Santelisa Vale to create the world’s second largest sugar cane processor (Reuters).

General Motors said Brazil’s car market has “a very good outlook” and the automaker will reinvest profits from the country’s unit locally, Chief Executive Fritz Henderson told newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo in an interview (Reuters).

POLITICS

Honduras de facto government has started proceedings at the U.N. court in The Hague to stop Brazil giving refuge to ousted President Manuel Zelaya in its embassy in Tegucigalpa (Reuters).

Brazil’s Senate foreign relations committee approved Venezuela’s request to join the South American trade bloc Mercosur despite concerns over President Hugo Chavez’s thwarting of democracy (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s Congress began discussing proposals to change oil sector laws including one measure that would create a production-sharing model to replace the existing concession system in future oil projects. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is trying to boost state control over the massive subsalt oil deposits that could turn Brazil into a major energy exporter (Reuters).

Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras may change a plan to process more heavy crude at its Okinawa refinery, currently dedicated to lighter grades, its top executive said (Reuters).

Angola news update, November 1st

In Angola, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Oil, Security on November 1, 2009 at 10:04 pm

BUSINESS

South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd is likely to win a $300 million order from Angolan state-owned oil firm Sonangol for five tankers, online news outlet eDaily reported (Reuters).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Angola on Wednesday called the conviction of the son of the late French President Francois Mitterrand and others over illegal arms sales to the African country as unjust, biased and politically motivated (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Angola’s council of ministers approved the oil producing nation’s 2010 budget that increases spending to 3.9 trillion kwanzas ($45.8 billion) from 2.6 trillion in the previous year, according to a government statement (Reuters).

OIL

Chevron’s crude oil production in Angola will rise by a quarter in the next two years and it expects new discoveries to boost the country’s oil production further, Ali Moshiri, Chevron’s president for Africa and Latin America said (Reuters).

The Angolan State-owned oil firm Sonangol and ENI Angola announced  the discovery of a new oil well of Cabaça Norte-1, Block 15/06 in deep waters of the country’s offshore, 350 kilometres to the north of the capital city (ANGOP).

Angola’s Oil Minister, José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, said in Recife, Pernambuco state (Brazil), that soon new oil concessions would be auctioned and granted for exploration (Macauhub).

BANKING

Banco Espírito Santo Angola (BESA) will have new Angolan shareholders before the end of this year, the bank’s chairman, Álvaro Sobrinho said (Macauhub).

ETHANOL

Brazilian group Odebrecht in 2010 plans to launch production of sugar and ethanol in Angola, said Humberto Rangel, Odebrecht Angola’s communications director said in Luanda (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, October 25th

In Biofuels, Brazil, Elections, Investments, Oil, Politics, Security on October 25, 2009 at 10:47 pm

LAW ENFORCEMENT

In just a few weeks, the image of the Brazilian city has lurched from scenes of joyful revelers on Copacabana beach soaking up the victorious bid to host the 2016 Olympics to ones of a city embroiled in a bloody war with itself (Reuters).

OIL

Petrobras launched $4 billion of 2020 and 2040 global bonds in what may be the largest-ever sale of corporate debt by a Brazilian company, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters.

ETHANOL

Brazil sugar-ethanol sector is emerging from crisis. The sector, which took on huge debts in recent years to expand, was hammered by the credit crunch that ensued from the global financial crisis and drove many heavily leveraged mills into rivals’ hands (Reuters).

ELECTIONS

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s chosen candidate for next year’s presidential election has won the support of one Brazil’s largest political parties, giving her bid a much-needed boost. Dilma Rousseff ia now assured of the backing by both her own PT as well as the PMDB, which will select her running mate (Reuters).

POLITICS

Jewish leaders criticized Brazil’s plans to receive Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad next month and urged the South American nation to condemn his denial of the Holocaust and “support of international terrorism.” (Reuters)

INVESTMENT

Brazil’s government wants to improve its investment climate by passing several bills in Congress before President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s term ends late next year, a senior political advisor told Reuters.

RIO

Rio de Janeiro state officials will meet with executives from China Development Bank Corp. to seek financing for infrastructure investments tied to the 2016 Olympics, said Joaquim Levy, the state’s finance secretary (Bloomberg).

Brazil news update, October 18th

In Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics on October 18, 2009 at 8:58 pm

MINING

Brazilian mining giant Vale will boost investment by more than 30 percent to around $12 billion next year, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper said, citing a source with links to the company (Reuters).

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he will meet the head of mining giant Vale next week amid tensions between the company and the government, which may slap an export tax on iron ore (Reuters).

Eike Batista, Brazil’s richest man, gave up “for the time being” on his bid to join the shareholder group that controls miner Vale, newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported (Reuters).

ETHANOL

The chief executive of Cosan, one of Brazil’s largest sugar and ethanol groups, unexpectedly resigned (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s government is seeking to capitalize state-run oil company Petrobras by transferring rights to 5 billion barrels of oil in the offshore subsalt fields in exchange for new shares in the company (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil could grow at 5 percent annually in coming years but must address economic weaknesses, such as the need for more investment friendly policies, Jim O’Neill, head of global economic research at Goldman Sachs, said (Reuters).

Brazil news update, October 12th

In Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Telecom on October 12, 2009 at 7:02 pm

INVESTMENT

Russian natural gas giant Gazprom is close to opening an office in Brazil that will run its growing Latin American business and is examining business opportunities there, a senior executive said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state development bank disclosed that it boosted its stake in government-run power holding company Eletrobras last month, a move that should help the utility gain financial muscle for investment (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s government will increase its target for the primary budget surplus in 2010 to improve public finances as the economy rebounds, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Reuters).

MINING

Brazilian miner Vale is in talks to form a consortium with utility holdings Neoenergia and CPFL for the Belo Monte hydroelectric project, the president of one of Vale’s shareholders said (Reuters).

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, is restarting a $5 billion investment program for Brazil that was delayed by the world economic crisis, Valor Economico  said, citing Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal (Bloomberg).

ArcelorMittal has chosen Brazil, India and iron-ore mining as its three platforms for investment following the crisis, Mittal told the Sao Paulo-based newspaper. The company may build another plant in Brazil, he added, without elaborating.

ETHANOL

Brazilian ethanol and sugar groups ETH Bioenergia and Brenco said they have signed an agreement to study a merger which could create one of Brazil’s largest biofuel producers (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Hypermarcas, the largest Brazilian maker of toiletries and over-the-counter medicines, agreed  to buy two domestic condom makers for $221 million to increase its presence in Brazil’s beauty care and medicine sectors, Chief Executive Claudio Bergamo told Reuters in an interview (Reuters).

TELECOM

Spain’s Telefonica offered to buy Brazilian telecommunications company GVT for 6.5 billion reais ($3.7 billion) in cash, seeking to trump a bid by French rival Vivendi (Reuters).

TIM Participacoes, Brazil’s third-largest wireless carrier, will speed up its 7 billion reais ($4 billion) investment plan for 2009-2011 to expand voice and data services across the country, its chief executive said (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian oil and gas company OGX said it found traces of oil in shallow water in the offshore Campos Basin (Reuters).

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA will have to pay Brazil’s Petrobras $400 million when it signs a final deal for a tentative 40 percent stake in the Abreu e Lima refinery, a Petrobras director said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras may explore for deep-sea oil reserves to the north of existing subsalt prospects, possibly extending the range of the vast offshore deposits, a company director said (Reuters).

Odebrecht SA, a Brazilian engineering company, said it obtained $1.5 billion from banks to finance the construction of two drilling rigs it will lease to state-controlled oil producer Petrobras (Bloomberg).

BANKING

Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, plans more takeovers in the insurance market as it expands its pension, health and other units, Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine said. The bank may also expand a joint venture with Spain’s Mapfre to other countries in Latin America, Africa, Japan and the United States, Bendine said (Reuters).

Brazil news update, September 20th

In Agriculture, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics on September 20, 2009 at 9:41 pm

INVESTMENT

Brazilian companies are prepared to step up international takeovers as the domestic economy recovers from a recession and the local currency gains, according to Rothschild, the country’s top mergers and acquisitions adviser (Bloomberg).

Votorantim Cimentos Ltda., which controls 40 percent of Brazil’s cement market, is seeking international acquisitions (Bloomberg).

Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, whose EBX conglomerate controls oil, energy, mining and transportation assets in the country, plans to invest $10.3 billion through 2012 as he bets on a rebound in global growth, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuter).

American billionaire Sam Zell’s Equity International real estate investment fund plans to expand its investments in Brazil to commercial property, farms, industrial warehouses and infrastructure and logistics in coming years, Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Hyundai,  South Korea’s largest automaker, will begin construction of a factory in Brazil next year after suspending the plan due to the global recession (Bloomberg).

Morgan Stanley, the top adviser on takeovers in Brazil, doubled the investment-banking staff in Latin America’s biggest economy and plans to add more as local capital markets develop, an executive said (Bloomberg).

AGRICULTURE

Brazil’s biosecurity regulator, CTNBio, approved two new varieties of genetically modified corn, both of which have been engineered to resist pests and glyphosate-based herbicide (Reuters).

OIL

The Brazilian government’s proposal to develop vast oil reserves faces several obstacles in Congress but is on track for a first vote by November, key congressional leaders said (Reuters).

Brazil’s plan to capitalize state-run oil company Petrobras with 5 billion barrels of crude reserves in exchange for new shares may yield $15 billion to $25 billion in oil rights for the company, analysts said (Reuters).

Brazil’S oil giant Petrobras will boast crude reserves of 30 billion to 35 billion barrels within three years, thanks to huge finds in deep water off the nation’s coast, the company’s CEO said (Reuters).

ELECTIONS

Brazil’s Senate approved a bill late on Tuesday that could change the rules for general elections in October 2010 (Reuters).

MEAT

Brazil’s JBS, the world’sbiggest beef producer, agreed to buy a controllingstake in bankrupt U.S. poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride and JBS’ Brazilian beef rival Bertin (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s government is considering new measures to nurture the country’s economic recovery, focusing on cutting the high costs of doing business, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Reuters).

AMAZON

Brazilian President Lula will propose a ban on new sugar-cane planting in 82 percent of the country, including the Amazon, as part of efforts to preserve forests and avoid restrictions from ethanol- importing countries (Bloomberg).

Angola news update, September 6th

In Agriculture, Airports, Angola, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Tourism, Travel on September 6, 2009 at 8:13 pm

AIR TRAVEL

The director of the Belgian Brussels Airlines in Angola, Paul Delafaille, said that the company intends to increase from two to three the number of connecting flights on the Brussels-Luanda route, with view to respond to the demands of passengers (ANGOP).

Angolan national air carrier Taag plans to increase its flights to China from two to three per week in order to meet current demand, said the company’s representative in Beijing, António Inácio Silva (Macuahub).

Kuito airport in Angola’s Bié province, with a new 2,750-metre runway, re-opened following building work that took five years (Macuahub).

ATLANTICO

Brazil’s volume of business in Angola from January to June 2009 reached a total of USD 900 million, revealed the Brazilian ambassador, Afonso Cardoso (ANGOP).

BANKING

A new branch of the International Business Bank (BNI) was opened in the premises of the Dry Port, in Luanda’s Viana Municipality (ANGOP).

The international expansion of Banco do Brasil (BB) may include Angola, according to Brazilian newspaper, O Globo, which reported, however, that the bank’s priority would be to focus on the Americas (Macauhub).

PALM OIL

Angolan National Institute of Coffee (Inca) said that the country can reach, in five years, satisfied level of palm oil production, to avoid importing this product estimated at 3,000 tones litres/year (ANGOP).

An inventory project of palm-tree plantations has been implemented since last May in the province of Kwanza Norte, by Sonangol and EN, an Italian consortium, aiming at producing palm oil and processing bio-fuels (ANGOP).

OIL

Chevron Corp. said it expects to report the start-up of its Tombua-Landana oil facility in Angola shortly, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an interview with George Kirkland, executive vice president for global upstream and gas (Bloomberg).

MEAT

The provincial Agriculture and Rural Development Directorate (DPADR) in Angola’s Benguela province estimated that, within the next ten years, the province will have an average of 1 million head of beef cattle, as a result of a programme to boost and repopulate cattle underway in the region (Macuahub).

Brazil news update, August 24th

In Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Stock exchange on August 24, 2009 at 2:52 pm

MERGERS & TALKS

Itau Unibanco, Brazil’s biggest private sector bank by assets, agreed on Monday to merge its automobile and residential insurance business with local insurer Porto Seguro (Reuters).

Brenco, a Brazilian ethanol producer backed by venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and AOL founder Steve Case, is in talks with three separate groups to sell a stake in a bid to raise cash and restructure its debt, Valor Economico newspaper said (Reuters).

Braskem, Latin America’s largest petrochemical company, said it was in talks with controlling shareholders of rival Quattor to spot opportunities for a strategic alliance (Reuters).

OIL

The governor of Rio de Janeiro state, where most of Brazil’s oil production is located, said he opposed changes to regulations that would reduce the state’s tax revenue, a newspaper reported on Sunday, days before the country’s revamped oil rules are unveiled (Reuters).

State-run oil giant Petrobras said it found light crude in reserves situated off the coast of the state of Rio de Janeiro (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Unemployment in Brazil unexpectedly fell in July and was down for a fourth straight month, the latest sign that a recovery in Latin America’s largest economy is gaining traction (Reuters).

ELECTIONS

Brazil’s former environment minister, Marina Silva, said on Wednesday she is leaving the ruling Workers’ Party, paving the way for an expected presidential run in the October 2010 election (Reuters).

Brazil will hold a presidential election in October 2010 to choose the successor to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is barred by law from seeking a third consecutive term. Parties will formally nominate their candidates late this year. Here are some frequently asked questions about the race.

Pro-business candidates likely will dominate the race to take over from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with his handpicked successor and the governor of the nation’s richest state ahead of emerging leftist rivals (Reuters).

MINING

Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista will show in the next two months whether the eight-month rally that made his company the priciest of the world’s biggest energy stocks is justified  (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, August 22nd

In Biofuels, Cape Verde, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Ports, Stock exchange on August 22, 2009 at 10:43 am

ENERGY

On the 90th anniversary of its presence in Cape Verde, Shell acquired a new ship for the transportation of fuel in the country. The Harpa Doris has a 1,800 m3 capacity and will distribute petroleum, jet fuel and diesel to all of Cape Verde’s islands. The ship was built in Turkey with modern technology and represents an investment of US$ 15 million (A Semana).

The use of renewable energy sources to guarantee one-quarter of Cape Verde’s electricity needs was the solution presented Tuesday in a joint press conference given by the director of the Department of Industry and Energy, Abraão Lopes, and the president of water and electricity utility Electra’s administrative council, Antão Fortes (A Semana).

STOCK EXCHANGE

Construction company Sogei began paying interest on the its first Public Underwriting Offer carried out by the Cape Verde Stock Exchange, in which 1,500,000 future bonds with a nominal value of 1,000 escudos each were sold. The operation earned the company 1,500,000,000 escudos. The interest rate on the first coupon is 6.4%, meaning that Sogei will pay out a total of 48 million escudos (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

The organizers of the 5th Portuguese-Language Business Meeting, which will take place in Fortaleza, Brazil on September 28 and 29, calculate that the volume of trading taking place among the eight participating countries could reach US$ 550 billion (more than € 386 billion) (A Semana).

Brazil news update, August 9th

In Agriculture, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Investments, Oil, Ports, Real estate on August 9, 2009 at 9:25 pm

STATE

Brazil’s government plans to boost its stake by 2010 in state-run oil company Petrobras, which is partly owned by private investors, by offering new oil fields in exchange for company shares, a source told Reuters.

Brazilian officials are slated to give President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a proposal for oil law changes expected to boost the role of state-run Petrobras in the development of offshore reserves (Reuters).

Brazilian state-controlled pension funds Petros and Funcef may place a bid for the 9.9 percent stake construction group Camargo Correa has in Jirau, a massive hydropower dam project in the Amazon, Valor Economico said (Reuters).

The head of Brazil’s Senate is facing mounting pressure to step down over an ethics scandal, threatening to weaken President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s control over Congress and derail his legislative agenda (Reuters).

INVESTMENTS

Braskem, Latin America’s largest petrochemical company, plans to delay by as much as two years of investments worth $4.5 billion in Venezuela, the Valor Economico newspaper said, citing the company’s vice president of international operations (Reuters).

Shree Renuka Sugars, an Indian sugar refining group, might bid for a stake in Brazilian ethanol and sugar producer Grupo Moema as part of a plan to expand into Latin America’s largest economy, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuters).

Brazilian purchases of industrial machinery and equipment likely will rise in the coming months as signaled by a surge in demand for credit at the state development bank, the daily newspaper Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Private equity funds are expected to raise about 2.5 billion reais ($1.4 billion) in the second half of 2009 to invest in Brazil’s real estate markets, betting on rising demand for commercial property and upscale housing, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuters).

ECONOMY

The Brazilian economy was already growing at a pace of 4 percent at the beginning of the third quarter, Finance Minister Guido Mantega told investors in Washington, according to a copy of his presentation on Thursday (Reuters).

Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, is heading toward a “V-shaped recovery” powered by domestic demand, former central bank President Gustavo Franco said (Bloomberg).

SUGAR

Brazil’s Sugarcane Technology Center and Germany’s BASF said they will jointly develop a genetically modified sugarcane with yields up to 25 percent higher than those currently available (Reuters).

PORTS

LLX Logistica, the Brazilian logistics company controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, said on Monday it received regulatory approval for the construction of the Sudeste Port, a port terminal that could handle 50 million tonnes of iron ore annually in its initial phase (Reuters).

POWER

Brazil and Peru are studying five hydroelectric projects that would cost as much as $15 billion, Brazilian Energy Minister Edison Lobao said. Peru may consume 20 percent of the electricity from the dams and ship the rest to Brazil. Brazil and Peru aim to start operating the dams, which could generate 6,000 megawatts, in 2015 (Bloomberg).

A New Scramble for Africa

In Angola, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Ghana, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics on August 9, 2009 at 9:55 am

A presidential visit followed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s African tour cannot conceal a stark reality: China has overtaken the United States as Africa’s top trading partner.

Read the full analysis at Reuters

Brazil news update, July 19th

In Agriculture, Airports, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Retail, Telecom, Travel on July 19, 2009 at 11:03 am

BANKING & FINANCING

The antitrust unit of Brazil’s Justice Ministry said it has opened an investigation into credit card operator Redecard, sending the company’s shares down 2.56 percent. The Economic Law Secretariat at the Justice Ministry said Redecard would be investigated for imposing terms on online payments that might hamper free competition (Reuters).

Eletrobras, Brazil’s state-run power utility, plans to sell at least $500 million in 10-year dollar-denominated debt in international markets in July to fund investments, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told Reuters. Two investors who may participate in the deal said Eletrobras may pay a yield around 7 percent, underscoring strong appetite for Brazilian assets as the government nears winning investment-grade ratings from Moody’s Investors Service (Reuters).

Banco Bradesco SA, Brazil’s second- largest non-government bank, named Candido Leonelli and Mauricio Machado de Minas as executive directors after the departure of three long-serving directors, a spokesman said. This may be an indication the bank will become more agressive (Bloomberg).

Brazil’s state development bank BNDES has become a major player in government efforts to pull Latin America’s largest economy out of recession. Read the facts about the Rio de Janeiro-based bank, which has traditionally been considered Brazil’s main provider of long-term financing for large corporations, at Reuters.

ECONOMY

Brazil’s international reserves rose to a record as thecentral bank steps up its purchases of dollars to curb the appreciation of the Brazilian currency. International reserves climbed to $209.576 billion on July 16, compared with the previous high of $209.386 billion set Oct 6. Reserves have climbed 5 percent from this year’s low of $199.337 billion on Feb. 26 (Bloomberg).

Foreign direct investment inflows are signaling the Brazilian economy is gradually emerging from recession with little inflation risks, Central Bank President Henrique Meirelles said (Reuters).

OIL

BNDES will lend 25 billion reais ($12.8 billion) to Petrobras denominated in local Treasury notes, the first loan of its kind in Latin America’s largest economy, daily newspaper Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras said domestic oil production dropped 3.2 percent in June to 1.93 million barrels per day from 1.99 million bpd in May (Reuters).

Petrobras has completed seismic work in its leased Cuban offshore bloc and is studying whether to drill a well, the head of its Cuban operations said (Reuters).

Petrobras expects new local private investment funds to provide at least $5.2 billion to capitalize service companies, crucial for a push to develop massive offshore reserves (Reuters).

Galp Energia SGPS SA, Portugal’s biggest oil company, and Petrobras found more evidence of oil in an onshore block in Brazil’s Potiguar Basin, the Brazilian petroleum regulator said (Bloomberg).

Petrobras also discovered traces of oil in an onshore block in the Espirito Santo Basin (Bloomberg).

AIR TRAVEL

Brazilian prosecutors have asked the courts to halt expansion work at Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos airport, the country’s largest, on environmental concerns, a newspaper report said. In their request, state and federal prosecutors cited failures in the environmental studies used to approve the expansion, according to O Estado de S. Paulo paper (Reuters).

AUTOMOTIVE

Renault-Nissan must double its market share in Brazil to at least 10 percent to stay competitive and fend off rivals in Latin America’s largest economy, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said. The automaker needs to add new models to foster growth in a market that sells about 3 million units a year, Ghosn told journalists. He added, current models are “incompatible with a 10 percent to 20 percent market share,” which the company wants to attain (Reuters).

General Motors unveiled plans to spend about $1 billion in Brazil through 2012 to develop a new family of vehicles for South America, a priority market for the U.S. automaker as it looks to rebound from bankruptcy protection (Reuters).

MEAT

Brazil’s JBS SA, the world’s largest beef processor, said it had laid off 742 workers from three plants located in Sao Paulo state (Reuters).

Brazilian beef processor Independencia INDALI.UL will remove controlling shareholders from day-to-day management and seek 330 million reais (US$166 million) in loans as part of efforts to exit bankruptcy proceedings, newspaper Valor Economico reported (Reuters).

Brasil Foods, the Brazilian food giant to be formed by Perdigao’s  planned takeover of smaller rival Sadia, is a “tantalizing” investment opportunity according to the latest issue of weekly business publication Barron’s (Reuters).

Brazil plans to reduce taxes on beef producers, Valor Economico newspaper reported, citing Roberto Gianetti da Fonseca, director of foreign trade at the Sao Paulo State Federation of Industries. The government will cut the social security contribution tax, known as Cofins, and the social participation tax, known as PIS, for the entire beef-producing industry. Meatpackers will be exempt from both levies (Bloomberg).

MINING & TIMBER

Brazilian mining company Vale agreed to sell land and timber assets to paper and pulp maker Suzano Papel e Celulose for at least 235 million reais ($145 million), both companies said (Reuters).

RETAIL

CBD Grupo Pao de Acucar, Brazil’s biggest retailer, is eyeing further acquisitions in Brazil since the credit crisis has brought down valuations in Latin America’s largest economy, the company’s chief financial officer said (Reuters).

ETHANOL

Brazilian sugar and ethanol producer Cosan signed a long-term contract with Japanese group Mitsubishi to export fuel ethanol to Japan (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Portugal Telecom SGPS SA, a Portuguese telephone company, plans to help Brazil expand broadband services, Diario Economico reported, citing Portugal Telecom Chief Executive Officer Zeinal Bava (Bloomberg).

Brazil: C02 cuts based on historic emissions

In Biofuels, Brazil, Energy, Politics, South Africa on July 4, 2009 at 9:02 am

Brazil wants historic emissions to be the basis for greenhouse gas pollution targets, slated for discussion during December climate talks in Copenhagen, Brazil’s top climate negotiator said in an interview. China, India and South Africa will back the historic emissions proposal in the United Nations talks.

Read the full story at Reuters

Brazil news update, June 27th

In Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate, Retail, Telecom on June 27, 2009 at 3:36 pm

POLITICS

Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is likely to run for the presidency again in 2014 if an opposition candidate wins next year’s election, he said in an interview (Reuters).

Dilma Rousseff, who is expected to be the Brazilian ruling party’s presidential candidate next year, is showing no sign of cancer after her final chemotherapy treatment, doctors said (Reuters).

Brazil will pay small farmers to plant trees in deforested Amazon areas to slow rain forest degradation, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said as he unveiled a broad plan to protect the region (Reuters).

Seeking to redress one of the darkest chapters of its dictatorship era, Brazil amnestied dozens of peasants who were jailed or tortured on charges they were linked to a 1970s Communist uprising (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s current account deficit widened more than expected in May, though a surge in foreign direct investments and inflows to local stocks and bonds eased concerns about the country’s need for overseas capital (Reuters).

Brazilian steelmaker Cia Siderurgica Nacional has hired 1,200 workers at its Volta Redonda plant following signs the market is recovering, a company official said (Reuters).

Corporate investment and factory usage in Brazil will bounce back in the fourth quarter of 2009, should growth in household consumption remain steady, the head of the state development bank BNDES said (Reuters).

BANKING

A top shareholder at Bradesco urged Brazil’s second-largest private bank to expand overseas to benefit from fast-growing markets in Asia and Africa, a newspaper reported. Portugal’s Grupo Espirito Santo, Bradesco’s third-largest shareholder, has recently signed an accord with the Brazilian bank to develop international opportunities (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Brazil’s telecommunications regulator Anatel said it had imposed new measures to maintain the separation of the mobile phone units of Telecom Italia and Telefonica, which owns a controlling stake in the Italian company, in the country (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian miner Vale signed a preliminary accord on Thursday with state-run oil company Petrobras to buy a 25 percent stake in exploration rights for oil and gas blocks off Brazil’s coast (Reuters).

Chevron Corp announced a slightly earlier start of oil output at the Frade field, a $3 billion project off Brazil’s coast expected to produce 90,000 barrels per day by 2011 (Reuters).

INVESTMENT

Private equity firm Advent International said on Thursday it bought a minority stake in Brazilian education group Kroton Educacional, betting on increased consolidation among schools in Latin America’s largest economy (Reuters).

Wal-Mart Stores Inc plans to invest 1.6 billion reais ($809 million) in Brazil in 2009, betting an economic recovery in Latin America’s largest economy will stoke consumer demand (Reuters).

Brazilian mining giant Vale said it signed a memorandum of understanding to build a steel mill in Brazil’s northeastern state of Ceara with capacity to produce 6 million tons of steel slabs per year. The agreement also included the state government of Ceara, Korean steelmaker Dongkuk and Brazil’s Companhia Siderurgica do Pecem (Reuters).

MINING

Demand for iron ore from steel mills is much improved from the extremely depressed level of the fourth quarter of 2008, Brazilian iron ore miner Vale  said, but the company expects a “slow recovery” (Reuters).

Vale said it would begin to produce biodiesel from palm oil from 2014 to fuel its Carajas mine and railway operations in Brazil’s north (Reuters).

Potential mining mergers have sparked talk that Brazil’s Vale may try to acquire a major industry player, though local analysts say Vale would probably target small companies as the economy slows. Some believe Vale may try to acquire Anglo American or Xstrata after Anglo American rejected Xstrata’s nil-premium merger bid (Reuters).

Brazilian iron ore miner MMX has clinched a deal to sell its Corumba pig iron plant for 100 million reais ($50 million) to Vetorial Siderurgica, MMX said (Reuters).

MMX said that it received a nonbinding offer from China’s Wuhan Iron And Steel Inc for a minority stake in it and its subsidiary MMX Sudeste Mineracao (Reuters).

REAL ESTATE

Brazilian real estate is booming again after fizzling at the end of last year, as sales have rebounded in one of the best emerging markets, a New York-based real estate private equity investor said (Reuters).

LOGISTICS

Brazil has ample cash to revamp its dilapidated transport network even amid an economic recession but corruption and bureaucracy have hampered badly-needed improvements, a senior industry official said (Reuters).

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