Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Elections’ Category

Cape Verde Politics & Islands

In Cape Verde, Elections, Politics on September 3, 2010 at 8:36 am

ELECTIONS

“Carlos Veiga 2011” is the official site for the MpD leader’s 2011 legislative elections campaign, an interactive page featuring all of the candidate’s events. The site also reveals more about Carlos Veiga as a person, his campaign platform and highlights of what the MpD did in the 1990s when it controlled Cape Verde’s government (A Semana).

The updating of the list of registered voters in the country is proceeding, in general, at a relatively slow pace. As of August 20, only some 3,000 of the 7,285 citizens who will turn 18 by December 31 had registered to vote in the country’s main urban centers – Praia, Mindelo, São Filipe, Assomada and Sal (A Semana).

Atlantico Weekly readers overwhelmingly think the incumbent PAICV government will win the Cape Verde national elections of 2011 with up to 65% of votes cast in the last two weeks. The oppostion MpD trails with 29%, with rightwing UCID receiving just 6%.

POLITICS

Law nº 77/VII/2010, which officially makes cities out of all municipal seats in Cape Verde, went into effect September 2. As a result, the country gets 18 new cities, in addition to Porto Novo, Mindelo, Praia, Ribeira Grande de Santiago, Assomada and São Filipe, which already enjoyed city status (A Semana).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

A 23-year-old Guinea Bissauan woman was arrested as she tried to embark on a flight to Cape Verde transporting some five kilograms of cocaine. Federal police agents at Pinto Martins International Airport in Fortaleza, the capital of the Brazilian state of Ceará, made the arrest on Monday, August 30 (A Semana).

In the early hours of 27 August HMS Gloucester of the British Royal Navy, with an embarked Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDet) from Cape Verde, boarded a suspect yacht believed to be carrying cocaine in the mid-Atlantic. The vessel ‘TORTUGA’, registered in Florida, was taken to Cape Verde where authorities discovered cocaine, with a UK street value of at least four million pounds sterling, hidden within the rudder (MOD).

BOA VISTA & SAL

Captivated by Cape Verde. All adrift in the tiny archipelago in the middle of the Atlantic. Thus reads the titel of a nice article in the Daily Mail.

SANTIAGO

A power outage again has affected most of the city of Praia. Executive administrator of water and electricity utility Electra, Rui Spencer Lopes dos Santos, says that scheduled energy cuts intended to facilitate maintenance and a short-circuit in Palmarejo are the reasons behind the extended blackout (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The second edition of the Tour de Santo Antão bicycle race started in the city of Porto Novo. The race, sponsored by the Santo Antão Cycling Association (ACSA) and the Melo Driving School, will feature six legs (A Semana).

SAO VICENTE

Garlic and onions are practically nowhere to be found – or bought – on the island of São Vicente, with local residents forced to trek all over the city of Mindelo to make a purchase (A Semana).

Cape Verde Politics & Islands

In Cape Verde, Elections, Politics, Security, Tourism on August 27, 2010 at 8:35 am

ELECTIONS

November 26, 2010 is the date agreed to by Cape Verde’s two largest political parties, the governing PAICV and opposition MpD, as the conclusion of the voter registration process in Cape Verdean communities abroad (A Semana).

ATLANTICO WEEKLY POLL

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

For the first time in history, relations between the Republic of Cape Verde and the Vatican will be regulated by a Concordat. Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves will travel to Rome next month to sign the treaty, which will make Cape Verde the third Portuguese-speaking country, after Portugal and Brazil, to enter into this type of protocol with the Holy See (A Semana).

TWITTER & LINKEDIN

You can now follow Atlantico Weekly on Twitter at atlanticoweekly.

Also be welcome to join our Atlantico Weekly networking and discussion group on Linkedin.

DEFENCE

Minister of Defense Cristina Fontes Lima has assured the President of Guinea Bissau that Cape Verde is willing to train military personnel on any level Guinea Bissauan authorities deem necessary (A Semana).

SANTIAGO

If the jewel in the crown of Santiago’s tourist industry is Tarrafal, its beach is even more so (A Semana).

Cape Verde politics & regional

In Agriculture, Airports, Brazil, Cape Verde, Elections, Infrastructure, Investments, Politics, Tourism on June 27, 2010 at 7:31 am

ELECTIONS

Praia’s Jorge Barbosa National Auditorium proved too small for the crowd of youths and batuko singers who made their way there to express their support for a possible presidential bid on the part of David Hopffer Almada. With a relative scarcity of major political names, the event was attended, among others, by former Minister of Culture Manuel Veiga (A Semana).

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will begin a trip to the African continent on July 3. The trip, which will begin in Cape Verde, will also take him to Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Zambia and South Africa (A Semana).

Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva will visit Cape Verde from July 4th  to 7th at the invitation of his Cape Verde counterpart, Pedro Pires, in order to participate in the commemorative ceremonies of the 35th anniversary of Cape Verde’s independence.

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero reiterated his government’s willingness to “reinforce the European Union’s strategic relationship with Cape Verde” during a meeting with Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves. Madrid will maintain the financial support it has given Cape Verde, particularly in the fight against the threats posed by organized crime and drug trafficking (A Semana).

Cape Verde will participate in the implementation of a “One Stop Shop” for the tourism sector in five provinces of Mozambique, following the signing recently of a cooperation protocol between Cape Verde’s NOSi and Mozambique’s Ministry of Tourism (A Semana).

DEFENCE

The commander of the United States African Command Africom has affirmed that “trafficking of all kinds robs Africa of its economic potential” and cited Cape Verde’s fight against drug trafficking and maritime security program as “an example to follow” (A Semana).

SAL

The mortality rate of sea turtles on the island of Sal dropped by approximately 10% in 2009 as a result of the protection and preservation campaigns carried out last year (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

Prime Minister José Maria Neves presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the Porto Novo port dock on the island of Santo Antão (A Semana).

The next major investment planned for Cape Verde’s Santo Antao Island will be the airport, whose studies have already been completed, Cape Verdean Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves said (Macauhub).

About 15 thousand pines, grevillea and acacias will be planted during July and August in the forest perimeter of Planalto Leste, in Santo Antão.

SANTIAGO

The Capeverdean government signed the contract for the construction of three dams on Santiago, as part of the programme for  infrastructure for the agricultural sector and water management. The dams are widely believed to spark of an agricultural revolution on the island.

SAO NICOLAU

The first dams to be built on São Nicolau will be in Ribeira Brava, in the Valley of Fajã, Tucudo, in the valley of Queimadas , and Ribeira de João (Inforpress).

Cape Verde political and regional news

In Cape Verde, Elections, Politics, Tourism on May 24, 2010 at 7:41 pm

POLITICS

The opposition MpD asked the president of the National Statistics Institute (INE), António Duarte, to provide an explanation to the parliament’s Specialized Finance and Budget Commission regarding the figures presented by the institute on unemployment last week. INE data point to a 3.1 percentage point increase in Cape Verde’s unemployment rate (A Semana).

The leader of the  ruling PAICV’s parliamentary benches, Rui Semedo, admitted that unemployment rose in Cape Verde in 2009, but he justified the worsening because of the international crisis situation affecting the country in recent years (Inforpress).

ELECTIONS

Presidential candidate Jorge Carlos Fonseca met with a group of supporters in Lisbon in Portugal to speak of his run in next year’s presidential elections in Cape Verde. During the meeting, he affirmed that he expected the support of opposition party MpD (A Semana).

PRAIA

The Prime Minister has challenged the Praia local authorities to create a “monumental complex” paying tribute the city near Gamboa beach and serving to remind locals and tourists of the passage of Vasco da Gama (A Semana).

The municipalities of Praia and Ribeira Grande de Santiago have signed a sister-city protocol aimed at the joint development of the two districts in areas such as territorial management, culture and the economy. The foundation was also laid for the future creation of a metropolitan region that would also encompass the municipality of São Domingos (A Semana).

The 18th edition of Praia’s Gamboa Festival has begun, marked by a number of innovations. In categories ranging from the stage to the assistance area, the organization stands out for its creativity, diversity, comfort and safety during the two-day music festival (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

Low-intensity tremors have been felt in the northern part of the island of Santo Antão, in the municipalities of Paúl and RIbeira Grande (A Semana).

SAO VICENTE

Tambla Almeida presents on Friday May 28th, at the Academy music Jotamont in São Vicente, his second short film, entitled “Ulime” (Here I am) (Inforpress).

FOGO

Five breeders from Chã de Caldeiras and Cabeça Fundão in Fogo, were offered a set of equipment for installation of family cheese production (Inforpress).

Cape Verde: Politics & Regional

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Elections, Infrastructure, Politics, Security on May 16, 2010 at 10:14 am

ELECTIONS

The Pró Zona Civic Movement will hold an event aimed at supporting Jorge Carlos Fonseca’s run in the 2011 presidential elections in Cape Verde. The event, organized by Cape Verdean immigrants in Portugal, will take place in the Portuguese city of Moita (A Semana).

José Moreira has been chosen as the new general secretary of the MpD. His election took place during a meeting of the party’s National Directorship in Assomada (A Semana).

SANTIAGO

A project aimed at developing the shorelines of the Poilão reservoir on the island of Santiago will begin next week. The first phase, which will include the construction of infrastructures, was financed by USAID the tune of 20 million escudos (A Semana).

SAO VICENTE

National Police on the island of São Vicente affirm that a significant reduction in crimes against people and property was registered in April of this year, in comparison with the same period last year (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The creation of a shipping company to operate on the line between São Antão and São Vicente is being studied by the Association of Municipalities of Santo Antão (AMSA) and a private group (Inforpress).

The City hall of Ribeira Grande of Santo Antão will need 1.8 million Euros for the urban restoration of the historical centre of the village Ponta do Sol (Inforpress).

The insertion of Santo Antão’s grogue in the list of alcoholic beverages marketed in key international markets is part of the improvement programme for grogue of Santo Antao (Inforpress).

SAL

Traders in Sal are discontented with the proliferation of Chinese shops on the island, which as they said turned into grocery stores and shops selling wholesale and retail (Inforpress).

SAO NICOLAU

The studies for the location of the first dams in São Nicolau were presented in Vila da Ribeira Brava, by the technical team in charge of this work and whose leader is the engineer Mota Gomes (Inforpress).

Cape Verde news update, March 28th

In Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Politics on March 28, 2010 at 9:56 am

POLITICS

David Hopffer Almada believes that “there is a wave, both within the PAICV and outside of it, for me to run” for President of the Republic of Cape Verde. Hopffer Almada was recently in Portuguese capital Lisbon, where he met with various association leaders and received encouragement to move forward with his candidacy (A Semana).

Minister of Infrastructures, Transportation and Telecommunications and possible presidential hopeful Manuel Inocêncio Sousa was measured in his words during a dinner aimed at encouraging him to run for president, hosted by Cape Verdeans residing in Portuguese capital Lisbon. Sousa said he was moved by this unique move on the part of the Cape Verdean community, and heard youths say that they want a head of state with a “usefully influential” term in office (A Semana).

Santa Maria residents discussed a proposal for creation of new municipality. The Action group for the Creation of the Municipality of Santa Maria (ACMSM) met with residents of the town of Santa Maria to present the reasons they believe the southern portion of the island of Sal should be turned into a separate municipality, and the explain the conditions necessary for this to happen. Businessman Gualberto do Rosário, president of tourist sector association UNOTUR and a resident of Santa Maria, believes that the move would give the local population a stronger and more personalized administration, as well as improve their quality of life and help save one of Cape Verde’s main tourist destinations (A Semana).

ECONOMY

More than 8 million euros in credit from the Kingdom of Spain will be conceded to Cape Verde to improve control and surveillance of the country’s coastal zone and to expand the Palmarejo desalinization plant in Praia by the end of the year. The islands of Boa Vista, Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava will receive a maritime traffic management system in order to provide greater security in the coastal zones (A Semana).

The government and the Operational Information Society Nucleus (NOSi) publicly presented the project for the construction of a technological center in Cape Verde. The center, which will function near Praia’s old airport, will feature the latest technological components and security, as well as video conferencing, a data center, voip and datacom. The center will cover the sectors of health, education and e-government and will be “a fundamental pillar in the development of the information society” (A Semana).

REAL ESTATE

The tourism real estate company Paradise Beach in Sal resumed its works, after a pause of one year, and predicts to deliver 260 houses until the end of this year, of the 830 units planned (Inforpress).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

The 24 inmates at Assomada jail were transferred to São Martinho central prison in Praia on Tuesday, March 23, because, according to the general director of penitentiary services, the establishment is no longer fit to house prisoners (A Semana).

Cape Verde news update, March 21st

In Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Investments, Politics, Ports on March 21, 2010 at 10:58 am

POLITICS

While on the island of Santo Antão, David Hopffer Almada announced that he soon plans to publicly present his candidacy to the office of President of Cape Verde, although he has yet to receive a clear signal from the political party to which he belongs, the PAICV (A Semana).

The Brazilian Senate’s Economic Affairs Commission approved two proposals Tuesday concerning the partial pardoning of Cape Verde’s debt to Brazil (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The lifting of prohibitions on gambling in Cape Verde could help attract foreign investment, especially Chinese investment from Macau, through the construction of tourism and leisure complexes (A Semana).

The Cape Verdean government has approved two law proposals with new income tax codes, as part of the fiscal reforms implemented by the local Public Finances (Macauhub).

PORTS

Portuguese construction Somague/MSF – Moniz da Maia, Serra e Fortunato is to carry out the expansion and modernisation of the port of Sal-Rei on the island of Boavista in Cape Verde (Macauhub).

EDUCATION

The University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV) prospects “strong partnerships” with the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst), especially to the level of the interchange of pupils in this initial phase of the cooperation (Inforpress).

Brazil Weekly, February 14th

In Brazil, Economy, Elections, Infrastructure, Oil, Politics on February 14, 2010 at 2:43 pm

Be welcome to visit the latest edition of Brazil Weekly.

Angola news update, February 14th

In Angola, Economy, Elections, Oil, Politics on February 14, 2010 at 11:59 am

POLITICS

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos swore in a new government and said Angola would pass a new law to end widespread corruption and embezzlement in one of Africa’s biggest oil producing nations. The new government was appointed by the president after parliament approved a new constitution last week that critics say will allow dos Santos, who has never won an election, to prolong his 30-year rule without a direct ballot (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Angola is seeking its first credit rating from an international agency as it prepares to sell bonds abroad, the director of state-run National Investment Agency said (Bloomberg).

Angola’s inflation slowed in January to 13.83 percent year-on-year from 13.99 percent in the previous month, despite a rise in food prices, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said (Reuters).

OIL

Angola is expected to significantly increase oil and gas exploration in the short and medium term, according to recent information about the country from the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) (Macauhub).

The auction for the concession of new oil blocks in Angola has been postponed indefinitely after originally being scheduled for this year, the chairman of Angolan state oil company, Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola (Sonangol) told the Reuters news agency.

Cape Verde news update, February 7th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Energy, Oil, Politics, Ports, Tourism, Travel on February 7, 2010 at 11:34 pm

POLITICS

More than 500 citizens will hold a dinner this Friday on the island of São Vicente to encourage Minister of Infrastructures and Transportation Manuel Inocêncio Sousa to run for President of Cape Verde in 2011 (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The government plans to introduce a legal minimum wage in Cape Verde before the end of this year, according to an announcement made by Prime Minister José Maria Neves following a meeting in which labor union federation UNTC-CS’s general secretary Júlio Ascensão Silva presented the premier with a study the organization carried out on the issue (A Semana).

The resident coordinator of the United Nations, Petra Lantz, said that the group of support to the transition of Cape Verde to the group of Less Advanced Countries (LAC) evaluates the process positively (Inforpress).

The Entrepreneurial Development and Innovation Agency (ADEI) will promote a debate February 5 on the proposal for a bill for the Legal Regime for the Recovery of Businesses, which intends to regulate under what conditions companies may declare bankruptcy. The discussion will include the presence of Minister of the Economy Fátima Fialho (A Semana).

BUSINESS

Cape Verdean fuel company Enacol in 2009 consolidated its overall leadership of the market in Cape Verde, with a market share of 54.8 percent, the company said in a statement issued in Praia (Macauhub).

BANKING

The Banco Africano de Investmentos Cabo Verde, in which the Angolan Banco Africano de Investmimentos and Sonangol hold a majority stake, has opened two branches in Praia, the bank’s communication director announced (Macauhub).

PORTS

Construction of the deepwater port in Mindelo will generate annual revenue of between 14.2 million and 21.4 million euros up to 2023, the head of Cape Verde’s National Port Administration Company (Enapor) has stated (Macauhub).

The Director of the management unit of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA-Cape Verde), Laurent Medhi Brito, assured today  that the works of the Port of Praia may not exceed the period of completion, scheduled for September (InforPress).

The contest for adjudication of the work of expansion and modernisation of the ports of Vale dos Cavaleiros (Fogo) and Furna (Brava) has just been launched (Inforpress).

The three ship container scanners ordered from Chinese company Nuctech by Cape Verdean port management company Enapor to reinforce security in the ports of Praia, Mindelo and Palmeira have arrived in Cape Verde. The equipment, however, will only begin functioning in April of this year (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

The national air transporter, TACV carried out the first commercial flight with intercontinental destination to São Pedro’s international airport in São Vicente, from Boston in the USA (Inforpress) .

TACV Cabo Verde Airlines has signed a contract with Portuguese tourist agency Entremares to carry out charter flights during the summer to the islands of Sal and Boa Vista (A Semana).

ENERGY

Cape Verde has the capacity to produce 12 megawatts of wind energy, putting it 5th place in the overall ranking of African and Middle Eastern countries in the sector (A Semana).

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

Angola news update, February 7th

In Agriculture, Angola, Banking, Economy, Elections, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate, South Africa on February 7, 2010 at 2:40 pm

POLITICS

Angolan President dos Santos appointed Fernando Dias da Piedade dos Santos as the country’s first vice president.The president also appointed Carlos Alberto Lopes as the country’s finance minister (Bloomberg).

Angolan lawmakers adjusted the country’s proposed new constitution to reflect that ballot papers must show the name of presidential candidates put forward by political parties (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Angola’s economy should grow 7.5 percent this year, after a sharp downturn led to an estimated rise of not more than 0.5 percent in 2009, the World Bank has indicated (Macauhub).

MINING

Angola expects to decide on the partnership structure for a new $6 billion iron ore and manganese mine project this year in a bid to diversify its mining sector, an official said. “I am sure the government of Angola is going to make a decision on this project before the end of the year,” Luis Antonio, director of international cooperation in the Ministry of Geology and Mines told Reuters.

Angola expects diamond exports to rise this year from the 9.8 million carats it shipped during 2009, Luis Antonio, director of international co-operation at the Ministry of Geology and Mines, said in an interview in Cape Town (Bloomberg).

BANKING & FINANCE

Bank of America Corp. didn’t raise enough questions about how an Angolan arms dealer now in prison moved millions of dollars in “suspect” funds to the U.S., says a Senate report on corrupt foreign money entering the country (Bloomberg).

Angola may get less than a quarter of the $4 billion it sought in an international debt sale announced in August and then postponed, even if it receives a credit rating, according to Exotix Ltd (Bloomberg).

OIL

Angola’s oil industry will grow 6.5 percent this year as the southern African country increases its production from 1.79 million barrels a day to 1.9 million barrels a day, the World Bank said in its January country report (Bloomberg).

AGRICULTURE

Angolan farmers are to get USD 350 million in loan.  A credit for agriculture, approved in 2009 by the Government for small and medium producers as well as associations and agro-livestock cooperatives, “will be made available to beneficiaries on time” (ANGOP) .

BUSINESS

Angolan group Mostratus plans to produce 100 million litres of “Cristalina” mineral water this year in Angola, which is annual growth of 80 percent, the company’s legal and administrative director João Pinto told newspaper O País (Macauhub).

The new Palance Cimentos cement factory, an investment of US$420 million in Angola’s Benguela province, is awaiting approval from the Angolan government for construction to begin, said the chairman of the Gema group, which owns 50 percent of the company’s capital (Macauhub).

Entrepreneurs from Kwazulu-Natal plan to invest this year in the Angolan fishing sector in Baia Farta municipality, 25 km from the city of Benguela, the premier of that South African region has stated (Macauhub).

REAL ESTATE

Luanda has some of the world’s most expensive property prices, and a recent study by the Angolan consultancy firm Proprime indicates they are highest in the Baixa district for offices and in Ingombotas for housing (Macauhub).

Angola news update, January 24th

In Agriculture, Angola, Banking, Economy, Elections, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics on January 24, 2010 at 9:47 pm

POLITICS

Cabinda’s once-forgotten separatists won new notoriety with their deadly attack on Togo’s football team, embarrassing Angola’s government, which has long tried to quell the movement, analysts said (Mail & Guardian).

Angola’s ruling MPLA party used its two-thirds parliamentary majority to approve a new constitution which critics say will increase President Jose Eduardo dos Santos three-decade-long grip on power. For the main points in the new constitution see News24.

Cabindans, cut off from most of Angola by a thin strip of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the mighty Congo river, have deep and complex grievances against central government. But the biggest is oil. Read the feature article at Reuters.

ECONOMY

The Angolan economy is expected to post growth of 6.5 percent in 2010 and 8.0 percent in 2011, according to projections from the World Bank (Macauhub).

Angola’s inflation quickened in December to 13.99 percent year-on-year from 13.57 percent in November, due to higher transportation and food prices, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said (Reuters).

Luanda is considered the world’s most expensive city for foreign personnel, yet this situation could be reversed with more business competition and better basic infrastructures that would allow companies to reduce operating costs, indicate Angolan researchers and managers (Macauhub).

MINING

The demand for diamond on the world market will lead to the doubling of production until 2020, due to the recovery of the US economy and the needs from emerging countries such as India and China, a source from the sector has announced (ANGOP).

Escom Mining plans to invest US$750 million in the diamond sector in Angola, by 2014, added to the US$430 million invested since 2001, the Espírito Santo group company said in Lisbon (Macauhub).

AGRICULTURE

At least 15,000 tonnes of coffee were harvested during the 2009 campaign, thereby overcoming the 5,000 tonnes obtained during the previous season, in a deed that creates new medium-term perspectives for the sector, with view to achieve 50,000 tonnes/year of commercial coffee (ANGOP).

OIL

The total production of crude-oil in Angola, from January to November 2009, reached 601,492,344 barrels, which represents a significant decrease in comparison to the same period of 2008, in which was produced 635,755,166 barrels (ANGOP).

Angola was the second-biggest supplier of oil to the People’s Republic of China in the first ten months of last year, behind Saudi Arabia, providing around 15 percent of the country’s oil imports, the China Daily newspaper reported (Macauhub).

BANKING

Angolan bank, Banco de Desenvolvimento de Angola (BDA) in 2009 approved funding for 102 projects with an overall value of 20.5 billion kwanzas (around US$243.5 million), a year on year increase of 108 percent, the bank said (Macauhub).

REAL ESTATE

The Luanda International Fair (FIL), plans in May to host the 1st edition of the Angola Real estate Fair (SIMA), the project’s organisers said (Macauhub).

ATLANTICO

Angolan state oil company Sonangol plans to include Brazil in its expansion plan and to invest up to US$1 billion in the country, the Sonangol concessions manager said in Rio de Janeiro (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, January 24th

In Agriculture, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Politics, Tourism on January 24, 2010 at 12:40 pm

POLITICS

In the year in which Cape Verde will celebrate the 550th anniversary of its discovery, the 35th anniversary of its independence and the 20th anniversary of the opening of its political system, January 13, Freedom and Democracy Day, is finally beginning to shed its party connotations, with civil society taking on a greater role in commemorating the date (A Semana).

A possible change in Cape Verde’s governing party as a result of the 2011 legislative elections could end up dampening foreign investors’ “enthusiasm” for Cape Verde, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s report on the country for the 2010.2011 period (A Semana).

The ambassadors of the world’s Portuguese language countries accredited in the People’s Republic of China will meet in Macau on February 1 and 2 for the 5th meeting of the Forum for Economic and Commercial Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-Speaking World (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The national minimum wage will likely be set at between 15,000 and 21,000 escudos per month, according to a study carried out by labor union UNTC-CS that will be presented Tuesday, January 26 (A Semana).

Four articles in Cape Verde’s current Labor Code are to be altered. A proposal in this sense was approved in the most recent Social Coordination Council meeting, and the government believes it will bring “crystal-clear gains for both workers and employers.” (A Semana)

Ministry of the Economy, Growth and Competitiveness Fátima Fialho believes that the impact of the restrictions placed on the tariff benefits attributed to Cape Verde by the United States as a part of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is practically negligible, considering the relatively insignificant value of Cape Verdean exports to the US (A Semana).

Cape Verde, according to World Bank’s projections, saw a slowdown in growth to 3.3 percent in 2009 (compared to 5.9 percent the previous year) and is due to recover to 4.4 percent growth this year rising to 5.4 percent in 2011.

The inflation rate recorded in Cape Verde in 2009 was 1 percent, 5.8 percentage points below the 2008 figure, the island country’s National Statistics Institute (INE) has announced (Macauhub).

Cape Verde has risen one position on the 2010 list of the Doing Business report, though it is still close to the bottom of the table in which countries are ordered according to the ease of doing business (Macauhub).

BANKING

The Ministry of Finances will, in the name of the government, underwrite a 5% financial participation in the capital of the future Social Bank of Cape Verde with 300 million escudos in its initial phase (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

The government of Spain’s Canary Islands autonomous region and a group of construction companies have announced the hiring of four specialists in international bids to strengthen the region’s presence in projects in West and sub-Saharan Africa, including Cape Verde (A Semana).

INVESTMENT

The Cape Verdean government is studying plans to implement a forestry project on Sal, one of the country’s most arid islands, which will make use of residual water distribution potential (Visao News).

The government of Cape Verde is set to launch an international tender next week for the construction of three dams to hold rainwater, the chairman of the National Institute for Management of Water Resources said in Praia. António Pedro Borges said that the dams would be funded by Portugal as part of a financial package of 100 million euros (Macauhub).

The Cape Verdean National Communications Agency (ANAC) has granted a license to SGPM to be a new Internet and cable television operator, the PANA news agency reported (Macauhub).

The Portuguese company Martifer Solar plans to install in Cape Verde two photovoltaic solar energy complexes with a power capacity of 7.5 megawatts (MW), the Martifer group has announced (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Cape Verde’s Tourism Strategy Plan aims to achieve a flow of 500,000 tourists per year by 2013, causing a significant rise in associated employment and in tourism’s share of the gross domestic product, the local press reported (Macauhub).

The South Atlantic in 2010

In Agriculture, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate, Security, South Africa, Surinam, Tourism on December 20, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Season’s greetings to all readers of Atlantico Weekly!

Atlantico Weekly is proud to present a short forecast for Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, South Africa and Surinam in 2010.

Read The South Atlantic in 2010

Angola news update, December 14th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Elections, Mining, Oil, Politics, South Africa, Travel on December 14, 2009 at 6:36 pm

POLITICS

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos signalled the oil-producing nation’s first post-war presidential elections, scheduled for 2009, would have to wait at least another three years (Reuters).

Angola plans to halve the number of nationals living on a dollar or less a day by 2015, Radio Nacional de Angola reported, citing Diogenes de Oliveira, head of parliament’s finance committee. Around 60 percent of the oil-rich nation’s 18 million people live below the poverty line, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said last week, accusing “irresponsible” officials of squandering state resources (Bloomberg).

OIL

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol won deals to develop two oilfields in one of Iraq’s most dangerous provinces (Reuters).

Marathon Oil Corp. the fourth- largest U.S. energy producer, agreed to sell a 20 percent working interest in Block 32 off the coast of Angola to that country’s state-owned oil company for $1.3 billion (Bloomberg).

The China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec), one of Asia’s largest oil refiners, may be granted an oil field in Angola by its parent company China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec Group), the China Business News newspaper reported (Macauhub).

BANKING

Portugal’s second-largest listed bank Banco Espirito Santo said it agreed to sell a 24 percent stake in its Angolan unit for around 254 million euros ($375 million) (Reuters).

Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest lender by assets, said its Angolan unit will start operations next year with capital of $50 million (Bloomberg).

South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has decided to expand into the Angolan market, and is waiting for approval from the Luanda authorities to open a representative office (Macauhub).

MINING

The state-run diamond company, Endiama EP, aims to produce gems without foreign support. “We need to produce our diamonds ourselves,” chairman Sumbula said. The company’s partners include De Beers, which produces about 40 percent of the world’s diamonds. Endiama also aims to “make profits for the state” and is now engaged “classifying” its staff to see “what each can offer the company,” the Luanda-based company said (Bloomberg).

AIRPORTS  AND TRAVEL

The runway at Luena airport in Angolan province of Moxico, was re-opened  after work that began in May 2007 was concluded by Chinese construction company Sinohydro Corporation to extend the runway from 2,400 metres to 3,350 metres and a width of 60 metres (Macauhub).

The new Lubango international airport, in the capital of Angola’s Huila province, is due to be handed over within the next few days, the head of the company responsible for inspecting the project told Angolan news agency Angop (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, December 6th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Politics, Ports, Security, Tourism, Travel on December 6, 2009 at 3:46 pm

AIRPORTS & TRAVEL

São Pedro Airport on the island of São Vicente received a test flight of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ Boeing 757-200 at 2:20 pm December 4. This is one of the final tests in the audit being carried out by the Civil Aeronautics Agency (AAC) prior to allowing the airport to open for international flights (A Semana).

The financial directorships of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines and Airport and Air Security company ASA reached an accord on the night of Monday, November 30, to overcome the impasse regarding the payment of the flagship airline’s debt to the airport management company, estimated at more than 1.3 billion escudos. TACV has promised to pay more than 10 million escudos per month to ASA (A Semana).

PORTS

The process of privatisation of Cape Verde’s port services is due to be concluded in June, 2010, the manager of the Programme for Regulation and Privatisations in Cape Verde said in Praia. The ports of Praia and Mindelo are due to be handed over to two concession-holders, whilst the port of Palmeira will have just one concession (Macauhub).

HEALTH

Cape Verde’s Minister of Health, Basílio Mosso Ramos, announced that Cape Verde had registered 272 new cases of AIDS in 2008, indicating a stabilization in the number of new infections in the archipelago. Cape Verde’s seroprevalance is 0.8% (A Semana).

POLITICS

The president of opposition party MpD, Carlos Veiga, will be a special guest at the congress of the European People’s Party (PPE) in Bonn, Germany between December 8 and 10. The party is a member of the Centrist Democrat International, of which the MpD is also a part. The meeting’s host will be German Chancellor Angela Merkel (A Semana).

FINANCE

Eight microfinance institutions undergo training in the realm of data base normalization. The course, which is being supported by the Millennium Challenge Account – Cape Verde, is aimed at raising the entities’ capacities in order for them to be able to normalize their data bases, thus making it easier for them to migrate to a new system in the future. The course will be administered by a consultant from Planet Finance – Brazil, Ricardo Linder, and will take place at the National Administration and Management Institute (INAG) (A Semana).

SECURITY

After several months of relative calm, thieves have once again begun attacking tourists on the beaches of Boa Vista. Local police have registered robberies victimizing tourists on the beaches of Estoril, Chaves and Cabo de Santa Maria (A Semana).

Brazil news update, November 22nd

In Brazil, Elections, Hotels, Investments, Oil, Politics, Tourism, Travel on November 23, 2009 at 8:39 pm

POLITICS

Whoever wins, Brazil should remain in capable hands after its presidential election. Read the analysis in The Economist’s The world in 2010

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Brasilia seeking support for his controversial nuclear program, the first leg of a South American tour that critics say could dent Brazil’s ambitions on the global diplomatic stage (Reuters).

Brazil will have created 1.3 million payroll jobs by the end of 2009, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, as Latin America’s largest economy recovered from a brief recession (Reuters).

The U.S. is responsible for the crisis in the Middle East and shouldn’t be coordinating peace talks for the region, Brazilian President Lula said. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians ought to be managed by the United Nations, Lula said in an interview today with two local radio stations in Salvador, Bahia state, where he met Palestinian Authority President Abbas (Bloomberg).

INVESTMENT

Ford Motor Co unveiled plans to invest 4 billion reais ($2.26 billion) to boost output in Brazil as record-low borrowing costs and a rapid economic recovery in Latin America’s largest country stoke demand for new cars (Reuters).

ArcelorMittal is seriously considering a feasibility study for a new steel plant in Brazil as it sees strong prospects for demand there, a senior executive said (Reuters).

Mozambique has signed two accords with Brazil for a $6 billion investment in biofuel exploration, the daily independent O Pais reported, citing António de Godoy, chairperson of the Brazilian confederation of biofuel companies Arranjo Produtivo Local do Alcool (APLA) (Bloomberg).

Four Seasons and Jumeirah Group plan to open their first hotels in Brazil as rising incomes in Latin America’s largest economy and the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic games generate demand (Bloomberg).

OIL

Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved a law creating a state holding company to manage new projects in the country’s recently discovered “sub-salt” oil reserves. The creation of the company, called Petrosal, is one of four laws sent to Congress by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva aimed at boosting state control over the huge oil reserves (Reuters).

SHIPPING

Brazilian iron ore miner Vale said that it was building 16 vessels with a capacity of 400,000 tonnes each to carry iron ore between Brazil and Asia (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Embraer has signed a $177.5 million deal with Oman Air for five 175 aircraft, its chief executive said (Reuters).

Brazil news update, November 15th

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Investments, Oil, Politics on November 17, 2009 at 7:40 pm

POLITICS

Dilma Rousseff, Lula’s preferred successor, is a more interesting politician than she appears to be. But would she be different from her boss? Read the analysis in The Economist.

Politics, morality and dresscodes. A student gets suspended for wearing very short skirts. Read the story in The Economist.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva joined forces to step up pressure for an agreement at next month’s climate change meeting in Copenhagen (Reuters).

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected criticism over the Iranian president’s visit to the South American country later this month, saying all sides needed to be involved to achieve peace in the Middle East (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil takes off! Now the risk for Latin America’s big success story is hubris, says The Economist.

Brazil used to be all promise. Now it is beginning to deliver, says John Prideaux in The Economist special report on Brazilian finance.

Brazil’s currency, the real, is overvalued, said the country’s finance minister, Guido Mantega, speaking at a televised event in Sao Paulo. The country welcomes foreign investors, he said, but has concerns about the “exaggerated” valuation of the currency (Reuters).

President Lula is confident Brazil’s economy will grow by 5 percent in 2010 and expects foreign reserves to reach $300 billion soon, he told the Financial Times in an interview published (Reuters).

Brazil’s economy may have expanded about 9 percent in the third quarter, Lula said in his weekly newspaper column published today on Diario de Pernambuco website (Bloomberg).

OIL

Spanish oil group Repsol may tap the stock market with its Brazilian unit to help finance an expected $10 billion plus in oil exploration in Brazil in the next decade, its president said (Reuters).

Petrobras said it found oil in deep waters off Angola (Reuters).

Brazilian energy company OGX said it boosted estimated hydrocarbon resources to 6.7 billion barrels from 4.8 billion barrels (Reuters).

ENERGY

Brazil’s president denied that underinvestment was to blame for the worst power outage in a decade, which left a huge swath of the country in the dark for more than five hours and raised doubts about the reliability of its energy infrastructure (Reuters).

INVESTMENT

Nacional Minerios SA, the mining unit of steelmaker CSN, plans to invest $1.3 billion in two iron-ore pellet plants in Brazil (Bloomberg).

BANKING

Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada’s third- largest bank, wants to have a “small niche” in Brazil to expand in Latin America, its Chief Executive Officer said (Bloomberg).

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).

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