Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Energy’ Category

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 29th

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Investments, Mining, Politics on November 29, 2009 at 10:35 pm

POLITICS

President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Brazil this week vindicates Iran’s strategy of cosying up with Latin America. Read the full story in The Economist

Brazil’s share of those in poverty fell by half from 17% to 8%, an annual reduction of 3.2%. Read how it compares with China and India in The Economist.

ECONOMY

Brazil’s economy will grow 6.1 percent in 2010, bolstered by rising domestic demand, increasing exports and higher investment, according to Banco BradescoSA, the country’s second-largest bank by market value (Bloomberg).

INVESTMENT

Brazil’s Gerdau, the world’s second-largest maker of long steel, will focus growth in Brazil where investment in infrastructure is surging, the company’s chief executive told newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo (Reuters).

Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, plans to invest up to 6.2 billion reais ($3.5 billion) in Brazil from 2010 through 2014 as it aims to become the country’s biggest carmaker, the company’s Brazilian head said (Reuters).

Iron ore miner Vale said it planned to invest in another steel mill — this time in Para, the northern Brazilian state where its main Carajas iron ore mine is (Reuters).

Votorantim Participacoes SA, a closely held Brazilian producer of materials from aluminum to cement, plans to invest 4.5 billion reais ($2.6 billion) next year, a local newspaper reported, citing the company’s General Director (Bloomberg).

BANKING

State-owned Brazilian bank Caixa Economica Federal plans to announce the purchase of a stake in at least one more bank besides Banco Panamericano by year-end, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported (Reuters).

Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, may seek acquisitions in the United States, looking to benefit from “devalued” prices among regional lenders, Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine said (Reuters).

Banco do Brasil is likely to pay the city of Sao Paulo 726 million reais ($413 million) to handle its payroll, the largest of any municipality in the country, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuters).

Brazil’s largest banks are too expensive after an “absurd” rally this year spurred by prospects they will accelerate lending to meet rising consumer demand, according to Mercatto Gestao de Recursos (Bloomberg).

ENERGY

Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega confirmed that the government will extend tax breaks to certain vehicles deemed environmentally friendly (Reuters).

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, aka as Eletrobras, Latin America’s largest power utility, aims to invest in U.S. electricity transmission in coming years, an executive said (Bloomberg).

Angola news update, November 29th

In Agriculture, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Investments, Oil, South Africa on November 29, 2009 at 10:05 pm

ECONOMY

Angola is considering setting up a Norwegian-style sovereign wealth fund to manage its oil revenues, Norwegian daily Aftenposten reported (Reuters).

Angola’s foreign exchange reserves unexpectedly fell for the first time in three months to $12.1 billion in October from $12.8 billion the previous month, despite a sharp recovery in oil prices, the central bank said (Reuters).

The International Monetary Fund said its board approved a $1.4 billion standby loan arrangement for Angola to help it cope with the effects of the global recession (Reuters).

The non-oil sector of the Angolan economy may grow 10,5 per cent as forecast in the national plan 2010/2011 (ANGOP).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Officials from Angola’s Central Bank and Finance Ministry have illegally transferred money abroad, prosecutors said, promising to recover the missing funds (Reuters).

ATLANTICO

A forum for the promotion of investments is scheduled for November 30 to December 1 in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, aimed to develop partnership between small and medium companies from Angola and Brazil manufacturing industry and agriculture (ANGOP).

Angolan bank Banco Africano de Investimentos (BAI) is due to open a representative office in South Africa before the end of the year in order to do business in the continent’s largest economy, the bank’s chief executive said in Luanda (Macauhub).

Angolan state oil company Sonangol is set to acquire a controlling stake of a Brazilian oil company, at a cost of US$180 million, Brazilian financial newspaper Valor Económico reported (Macauhub).

BUSINESS

The state owned insurance company (ENSA) inaugurated a temporary branch in the northern Malanje Province, in the ambit of the programme to expand its activity in the country (ANGOP).

A total of Usd 4 million will be invested next year by the business group “Admar Damião”, for the construction of a vegetable and fruit processing and transforming plant in Chibia district, whihc is situated some 45 kilometres to the south of Lubango in Huila province (ANGOP).

Portuguese electricity company EDP – Energias de Portugal is looking into solutions to build a combined-cycle electric power plant in Angola, the group’s chief executive, António Mexia said in Figueira da Foz (Macauhub).

The process of selling 24 percent of the capital of Banco Espírito Santo Angola (BESA) to Angolan investors will be concluded soon, the chairman of Portuguese banking group Banco Espírito Santo (BES), Ricardo Salgado said in Lisbon (Macauhub).

AGRICULTURE

The World Bank (WB) will grant to Angola a credit of USD 30 million aimed at supporting the farmers in the provinces of Bié, Huambo and Malanje (ANGOP).

Cape Verde news update, November 29th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on November 29, 2009 at 9:45 pm

ECONOMY

The government has proposed the elaboration of partnerships with the private sector to create management corporations for water and electricity utility Electra on an island-by-island basis (A Semana).

The Bank of Cape Verde (BCV) is expecting a “slight recovery” of the economy in 2010, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth of between 4 and 5 percent, after “continues slowdown” due to an “unfavourable international climate” (Macauhub).

The government of Cape Verde wants to turn the Archipelago into a “cybernetic island” and to do this will be supported by India, specifically in creating a technological hub, Cape Verde’s Foreign Affairs Minister said in Praia (Macauhub).

BANKING

Banco Interatlântico has opened its first branch on the island of Santiago outside of the city of Praia. The new branch, in the city of Assomada, is its eighth in the country. The central region of the island of Santiago has grown economically over the past several years, and is now third in the growth ranking in Cape Verde, following the city of Praia and the island of São Vicente (A Semana).

TRAVEL

Cape Verde is currently under the influence of a zone-specific anti-cyclone flow that is favoring the transportation of dust from the coast of Mauritania to the archipelago. The phenomenon, known in Cape Verde as “dry haze,” has led TACV Cabo Verde Airlines to cancel flights from the island of Sal to other islands (A Semana).

Cape Verde’s airline has become a fully-fledged member of the International air Transport Association (IATA), the company’s commercial director said (Macauhub).

South Africa news update, November 15th

In Energy, Politics, South Africa on November 15, 2009 at 11:18 pm

POLITICS

Until the end of last month, Eskom, the state-owned power company, was mainly known for its inefficiency and incompetence. Power cuts have been maddeningly common throughout the country. But now the company has been engulfed by another, much more South African, sort of row, about race. Read the story in The Economist

Cape Verde news update, October 18th

In Brazil, Cape Verde, Energy, Oil, Security on October 18, 2009 at 2:07 pm

OIL

Cape Verde would like to have Brazilian petroleum giant Petrobrás in the archipelago to carry out deep-water prospecting work, according to information provided to news agency Lusa by Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves in Brasília (A Semana).

FREE PRESS

The administrative council of Cape Verdean Radio and Television (RTC), which runs Cape Verde’s state-owned national television and radio broadcasters, is not allowed to interfere in Cape Verdean National Television’s journalistic reporting. The affirmation is part of the response by RTC administrative council president Horácio Semedo to a letter from São Vicente mayor Isaura Gomes expressing outrage at the broadcaster’s coverage (A Semana).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

In November, the island of Maio will be the stage for a military exercise to be carried out by troops from the 3rd Military Region Command on the island of Santiago, the Coast Guard and the French Marine Corps. The exercise is aimed at preparing military personnel for disembarkation and patrol missions aimed at fighting drug trafficking (A Semana).

ENERGY

The government of Cape Verde has created a company to manage the four wind farms to be set up on the islands of Santiago, Sal, São Vicente and Boa Vista, Pan-African news agency Panapress reported (Macauhub).

Angola news update, October 12th

In Angola, Banking, Brazil, Energy, Mining, Oil, South Africa on October 12, 2009 at 6:10 pm

OIL & GAS

Sonangol SA, the state-run oil firm of Africa’s biggest crude exporter, is seeking other markets for its liquefied natural gas after prices in the U.S. fell, the head of its gas unit said (Bloomberg).

ATLANTICO

Angola and South Africa are ready to boost cooperation in the mining sector and enable businessmen from both countries to obtain mutual advantages in their  activities, taking into account the potential of both countries and positions in the existing market (ANGOP).

The chairman of Angola’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIA), António dos Santos, expressed the availability of the Angolan private sector to co-operate with the South African one, as long as risks be shared, ANGOP has learnt.

Micro and small companies from Portuguese-speaking African countries are to be supported as part of a technical cooperation agreement with Brazil, a Sebrae official said Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro (Macauhub).

MINING

Also Germany intends to increase co-operation with Angola in the economic sector, essentially in the areas of mining exploration and energy, the counsellor of the German Embassy in Angola said (ANGOP).

BANKING

Angola’s Sol bank has currently yielded 33 million dollars, chairman Coutinho Nobre Miguel announced. Speaking to Angop, on the fringes of the inauguration of the 47th branch in Luanda, he explained that the institution has had a positive performance, as its funds are estimated at 65 million US dollars. According to him, Sol bank’s credit line is worth USD 230 million, whereas deposits are USD 1.225 billion (ANGOP).

Retail banks operating in Angola saw “excellent performance” in 2008 according to a study presented in Luanda by international consulting and auditing company Deloitte. At the presentation of the study entitled “Banking Under Analysis,” Rui Santos Silva, of Deloitte, said the sector’s results were “good news” and also noted that the analysis was of 2008, a year that was very different to 2009 for the Angolan economy (Macauhub).

ENERGY

Empresa de Desenvolvimento e Infra-Estruturas do Alqueva (EDIA), the Portuguese company that manages the Alqueva dam, is to provide technical advice to Angolan state irrigation company Sociedade de Desenvolvimento de Perimetros Irrigados (Sopir) in the area of water resource management (Macauhub).

HUMAN

Angola was the Portuguese-speaking country to see the greatest rise in its position in the United Nations Human Development index, rising from 157th to 143rd place. Although in 2008 only Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe were part of the medium development nations, in 2009 Angola joined this list by rising 14 places in the ranking (Macauhub).

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 20th

In Airports, Angola, Argentina, Banking, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Ports, South Africa, Tourism, Travel on September 20, 2009 at 12:26 pm

INVESTMENT

About USD 600 billion is required in the next 15 years for the country to reduce its dependence on oil, the Angolan economist Alves da Rocha stated. According to him the country will need to invest that amount in order to have an industrial economy in transition to one of services by 2025, with the manufacturing industry representing 30 percent of the GDP and services sector 25% ANGOP).

OIL

The Angolan fuel distributing company SONANGOL is ready to face competition that will result from the opening of the national market to others operators of the fuel trading area (ANGOP).

Angola’s daily crude oil shipments are scheduled to drop about 6 percent in November, bringing exports from Africa’s second-biggest producer closer to its OPEC quota (Bloomberg).

GAS

Angola’s first liquified natural gas (LNG) plant is on track to start shipping gas in January 2012, Oil Minister Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos said Reuters).

EXPANSION

Angola’s state oil company Sonangol is interested in acquiring a minority stake in Portuguese utility EDP, Sonangol CEO Manuel Vicente said (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Angolan government officials will meet representatives of the International Monetary Fund in Istanbul later this month as the African country seeks help to shore up its economy (Bloomberg).

ATLANTICO

South Africa’s power utility Eskom recently agreed to assist Angola develop its large hydroelectric power potential of up to 10,000 megawatts following a state-visit by South African President Jacob Zuma to Luanda last month (Reuters).

A group of thirty businessmen from Argentina will attend a seminar on “Business Opportunities” from sept 27 to 29 in Luanda, the Argentine ambassador to Angola, Ricardo Victor Roggero, disclosed (ANGOP).

PORTS

Angola’s Sociedade Gestora de Terminais (Sogester) has invested US$8 million in construction of a provisional second line terminal, in the Viana industrial area, whilst it waits for conclusion of its permanent terminal being built in Cacuaco municipality in Luanda (Macauhub).

Sea transport company Maersk Angola is investing US$95 million in Angola in the construction of a second line terminal in Luanda in order to boost its port infrastructure area, Angolan newspaper O País reported (Macauhub).

BANKING

The National Bank of Angola (BNA) has given the “green light” to the creation of an investment bank by Angolan oil company Sonangol and Portuguese state bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Around 300,000 tourists visited Angola in 2008, a rise of around 60 percent against the previous year, according to official figures published in Luanda (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, September 7th

In Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Investments, Oil, Politics, Security on September 7, 2009 at 8:09 pm

OIL

Brazil has no interest in joining the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) because it does not aspire to become a crude oil exporter, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said (Reuters).

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected demands by congressional leaders to take his proposed legislation for more government control of oil production off a fast track, the ruling party chief in the Senate said (Reuters).

The pace of bidding rounds in Brazil’s offshore subsalt fields will depend heavily on local industry’s capacity to provide goods and services required by local content rules, state-run Petrobras said (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, may pay up to 1 billion reais ($525 million) to buy Brazilian generic drugmaker Neo Quimica, stepping up smaller acquisitions in fast-growing emerging markets, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo said (Reuters).

RIO 2016

The four bid cities competing to host the 2016 summer Olympics are locked in a tight race with no clear frontrunner emerging from the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation report released (Reuters).

Brazil’s resilience to the global financial crisis has boosted Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympics, the city’s mayor said (Reuters).

AMAZON

The annual rate of destruction of Brazil’s Amazon rain forest has fallen 46 percent to its lowest level in over two decades due partly to increased police patrols, Environment Minister Carlos Minc said (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazil’s 2010 budget outline foresees a 12 percent increase in primary spending, the budget and planning ministry said, a day after the government presented its proposal to Congress (Reuters).

SECURITY

French President Sarkozy, on a two-day visit to Brazil, is lobbying the South American nation to become the first foreign buyer of Dassault Aviation SA’s Rafale fighter jet (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s economy is making a “sound” recovery from the global financial slump as domestic demand for goods rises and access to credit returns, central bank President Meirelles said (Bloomberg).

Angola news update, August 29th

In Angola, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Ports, Telecom on August 30, 2009 at 1:06 pm

INVESTMENT

The private investment project called “SLN – Fábrica de Cimento e Clinker de Benguela”, approved by the Cabinet Council, is estimated at Usd 240 million. The promoters of the project are SLN-International, SGPS S.A (Portuguese company), Tecnoimóvel Limitada (Angolan company) and the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) Social Security Provident Fund (ANGOP).

The Angolan government is to invest 2.0 billion US dollars by 2012 in Soyo district in northern Zaire Province, in order to relaunch local industries based on liquefied natural gas and other petrochemicals (ANGOP).

TELECOM

The mobile-phone operator Unitel will later this year link the provinces of Luanda, Huambo, Huíla and Benguela through fibre optic cable . The company’s manager, who was speaking at the end of a meeting with Huambo governor, Albino Malungo, said that it is a nation-wide project, estimated at USD 100 million (ANGOP).

POWER

The manager for international products of Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, Sérgio Kraenzer, said that the country may be able to supply 5,319 megawatts of electrical power by 2016.  The country counts currently on distribution of 967 megawatts, a low capacity to cover all national territory (ANGOP).

PORTS

At least two new commercial ports will be constructed in Angola from 2009 to 2013, with the purpose of improving harbour services, particularly in the process of unloading, customs and clearance of containers and goods (ANGOP).

CONSTRUCTION

Depa Ltd., the interiors contractor for the world’s tallest tower in Dubai, won a 9.2 million-dirham ($2.5 million) contract to fit out the Talatona Convention Centre Hotel in Luanda, Angola (Bloomberg).

OIL

State owned oil company Sonangol is among those selected by the Iraqi government as potential bidders for exploitation of Iraqi oilfields (Bloomberg).

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).

Angola news update, August 22nd

In Angola, Banking, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Ports, South Africa on August 22, 2009 at 11:11 am

PORTS

The waiting period for ships to unload, at the port of Luanda, has fallen from 80 to 10 days after the introduction of new operating rules, Angola’s Transport Minister, Augusto Tomás said in Luanda (Macauhub).

The investment plan for the modernisation of the general cargo terminal at the port of Luanda for the next five years, valued at US$52 million, aims to provide the port with greater operating capacity, the general director of Multiterminais said (Macauhub).

ENERGY

The deputy Angolan Energy Minsiter, João Baptista Borges said in Cuito, in Angola’s Bié province, that the government planned to quickly replace the energy potential the country had before its civil war, by 2013 (Macauhub).

CONSTRUCTION

Russia’s Alrosa, one of the world’s biggest mining companies will invest $500 million to build homes, schools and dams in Angola in the next few years, a company official said (Reuters).

ATLANTICO

South Africa is the African country that invested most in the Angolan economy.  South African investment amounts for a total of 3.3 percent, or US$60 million of African investments. The sectors in which most South African investments have been made are manufacturing industry with 37.5 percent of the total, retail with 12.8 percent and construction with 11.4 percent (Macauhub).

Angolan and South African businesses urged an end to visa restrictions they say are damaging economic ties between South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, and one of Africa’s biggest oil producers (Reuters).

INVESTMENTS

Geo-Rumo, a special foundations company of Portugal’s FDO group, said Monday in Braga, northern Portugal, that it had invested 25 million euros in the creation of a subsidiary on Luanda Island in Angola (Macauhub).

Japanese group Sharp Corp plans to set up a factory in Angola, the group’s director for Malaysia, Yukio Sakamoto said at the group’s first seminar in Angola and in Africa, cited by Angolan newspaper Jornal de Angola (Macauhub).

BANKING

Angolan-owned bank, Banco Privado Atlântico – Europa (BPAE), owned by Banco Privado Atlântico (BPA), began operating in Portugal on Monday, in the investment banking sector (Macauhub).

OIL

Angola’s daily crude oil exports are scheduled to rise to the highest this year, signaling that Africa’s second-biggest producer continues to pump more than its OPEC quota (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).

Zuma’s Angola visit to focus on trade

In Angola, Economy, Elections, Energy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, South Africa on August 18, 2009 at 9:37 pm

South African President Jacob Zuma travels to Angola on Wednesday in a bid to strengthen ties between the continent’s biggest economy and one of its top oil producers.

Read the report at the Mail & Guardian

Brazil news update, August 17th

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Energy, Oil, Politics, Security, Telecom on August 17, 2009 at 6:28 pm

MEAT

Brazil’s top leather exporter and second-largest beef exporter, Bertin, said it has signed a pact with environmental campaigner Greenpeace to refuse purchases of cattle reared in recently-deforested parts of the Amazon (Reuters).

Cattle ranching has become the biggest environmental challenge for Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, which has launched a “cattle moratorium” to combat Amazon destruction, the state’s governor said (Reuters).

SECURITY

Colombia would like to increase its military ties with Brazil and other South American countries, President Alvaro Uribe said in the face of criticism over an pending security pact with Washington (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s overhaul of oil laws will not change the distribution of revenues among states, a cabinet minister said, a change of position that could ease passage of the measures in Congress (Reuters).

A Brazilian government proposal for exploiting recent deep-water oil discoveries calls for direct state control and is expected to give a key role to oil company Petrobras. The new plan follows the discovery off Brazil’s coast of giant pools of oil. They are among the largest petroleum finds in recent years, and could make Brazil into a significant energy exporter (Bloomberg).

ELECTIONS

Brazil’s central bank chief stoked speculation he may run for governor of Goias state next year when he joined President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at a ribbon-cutting event there (Reuters).

The expected ruling party candidate in Brazil’s 2010 presidential election has been drawn into a scandal by an accusation that she tried to stop a probe into the finances of the Senate chief’s family (Reuters).

BANKING

Banco do Brasil, Brazil’s largest state-run bank by assets, said early its second-quarter profit surged 43 percent on increased lending and after it sold a stake in credit card processing company VisaNet (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s economy is showing signs of recovering in the second semester, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said (Reuters).

BUSINESS

PepsiCo Inc said it plans to buy Amacoco, Brazil’s largest maker of packaged coconut water drinks, as it expands its presence in South America’s largest nation (Reuters).

A rebound by the Brazilian auto industry this year has been so swift and so widespread that auto makers are now planning new hires and expanded output. That’s a stark contrast from much of the rest of the world, where the industry continues to retrench. Not long ago, Brazil’s auto makers were also cutting back production and eliminating jobs in the face of an uncertain fate for the economy and their sales (Bloomberg).

POWER

Eletrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled power utility, is negotiating the purchase of an electricity generation company in neighboring Peru, Chief Executive Jose Antonio Muniz Lopes said (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Brazil’s government may revive the former telecommunications industry monopoly, which was sold to private investors in the late 1990s, to provide the government with free access to the Internet, daily newspaper Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Angola news update, August 15th

In Agriculture, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Retail, South Africa on August 15, 2009 at 8:45 am

BUSINESS

South African furniture manufacturer and retailer Coricraft is broadening its horizons with a move into Angola later this year. MD David Jacobson says “Africa holds great appeal” and the company has signed a distribution agreement for Angola which will start towards the year-end. Under the deal, Coricraft will supply product to an Angolan retail agent with a view to developing this market (BusinessDay).

CORRUPTION

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Angolan Foreign Minister Assuncao dos Anjos address a press conference in Luanda, August 9, 2009 -Clinton pressed Angola on Sunday to do more to fight corruption during a two-day visit to the oil-producing country aimed at bolstering ties between the two nations (BusinessDay).

ATLANTIC

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, bringing her democracy and development tour of Africa to oil-rich Angola on Sunday, encouraged the war-ravaged country to continue reforms and pledged to boost trade ties with a major energy producer (News24).

ATLANTICO

Trade between the eight members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) remains at low levels, says the head of the Council of Portuguese Chambers of Commerce in Brazil, Romulo Alexandre Soares. Soares told the Lusa news agency: “Today these states have trade with the rest of the world valued at around US$ 550 billion, but between them level is around US$ 13 billion or about 2.3% of their total international exchanges.” The official was citing figures from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

At least sixteen factories will be built in the coming four years, in the northern Zaire Province, under the government programme to re-launch the manufacturing industry, on Thursday announced the local industry, geology and mining department director, Adão Alberto Sofia (ANGOP).

COFFEE

Angola’s coffee production this year is expected to reach 17,000 tons, according to deputy minister of Agriculture, Zacarias Sambeny. Mr Sambeny said the figure represents the Government’s investment in the sector, in an effort to relaunch coffee production in the country. According to the deputy minister, production in 2008 reached six tons, which is far below the 200,000 tons of 1973, when Angola was the third world producer (ANGOP).

ECONOMY

The World Bank has upwardly revised its prediction for a 3% contraction in Angola this year to 0% (Macauhub).

INFRASTRUCTURE

India is to provide US$ 40 million for the building of a railway between the cities of Lubango and Matala in the province of Huila, India’s ambassador to Angola, Ghanashyam Ajjampor Rangaiam has said (Macauhub).

China, Iran undermining the Monroe-doctrine

In Brazil, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Ports on August 13, 2009 at 7:59 pm

China and Iran are on the march in Latin America.

Read the full analysis in The Economist

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

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