Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Foreign Trade’ Category

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).

Angolan opportunities for SA aviation business

In Airports, Angola, Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Politics, Security, South Africa, Travel on August 30, 2009 at 12:32 pm

President Jacob Zuma’s recent visit to Angola has gone a long way to smoothing the way for the businesses that formed part of his delegation, particularly in the aviation sector. For the aviation industry Angola is seen as a vital market but has until now been difficult to reach.

Read the report at BusinessDay

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).

South Africa signs oil deal with Angola

In Angola, Brazil, Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, South Africa on August 21, 2009 at 10:42 am

South African President Jacob Zuma signed on Thursday an oil agreement with his Angolan counterpart during a visit aimed at strengthening economic ties with the oil-rich country.

Read the whole story at the Mail & Guardian

Earlier Angolan president Dos Santos said Angola needed more qualified labour from SA to help rebuild infrastructure destroyed by Angola’s 27-year civil war, which ended in 2002, and to tap into its oil and mining industry.

“We want to create a strategic partnership between our two countries,” Dos Santos said in a speech to his cabinet and 11 South African ministers as he sat next to Zuma. Zuma is accompanied by a delegation of more than 150 South African businessmen. Pretoria billed the trip as the biggest business delegation to take part in a state visit abroad since 1994.

For more on this story see BusinessDay

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

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).

Brazil’s foreign policy

In Brazil, Economy, Foreign Trade, Politics on August 13, 2009 at 8:01 pm

A bold Brazilian attempt to integrate South America has run into difficulty. Critics at home say Brazil should put national interest over leftist ideology.

Read the full analysis in The Economist

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

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

Angola news update, August 2nd

In Angola, Banking, Brazil, Foreign Trade, Hotels, Investments, Mining, Real estate, Security, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on August 2, 2009 at 11:52 am

INDUSTRIES

Angolan deputy Industry minister, Kiala Gabriel, affirmed Friday, in Luanda, that the sector is negotiating with several countries, above all Japan, to support the recovery of projects of some industrial units linked to textile sector (ANGOP).

PORTUGAL

The Banco de Fomento de Angola (BFA) and the Entrepreneurial Association of Portugal (AEP) on Thursday here signed a partnership agreement for the holding of four fairs in the coming two years, the CEO of the banking institution, Emídio Pinheiro, informed (ANGOP).

SPECIAL ZONE

The Angolan governmetn approved the creation of the Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE). The meeting also formalised the Society of Development of the Luanda-Bengo EP Special Economic Zone, tasked with ZEE’s management and exploration. Luanda-Bengo ZEE is an economic space comprising land, economic and administrative infrastructures, designed to foment production and create jobs, with a view to the modernisation of the national economy (ANGOP).

DIAMONDS

Production of diamonds in Angola may reach in 2009, 7 million carats, as compared to 8.9 million of last year, said on Friday the director of planning and finance of the National Diamond Company (Endiama), Alberto Fancony (ANGOP).

REAL ESTATE

The city of Luanda hosted from July 30 to August 02 the first international fair on the real estate market, which was expected to be attended by 100 firms national and foreign firms (ANGOP).

HOTELS

A new four star-hotel named “Grande Hotel do Uíge” was inaugurated Saturday in northern Uige province’s capital city (Uige) by the minister of Hotels and Tourism, Pedro Mutinde (ANGOP).

GAS

Angola LNG Limited’s stakeholders, Sonangol Gás Natural, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, BP Exploration (Angola), ENI Angola Production BV and Total LNG Angola announced the creation of two companies to support the project’s development (Macauhub).

TELECOMS

Mobile phone operator Movicel, S.A. has been 80 percent privatized. State-owned companies Angola Telecom and Correios Telégrafos de Angola continue to hold, respectively, 18 and 2 percent of Movicel’s capital stock.
The remaining 80 percent will be held by Porturil-Investiments with 40 percent, Modus Comicare- Comunicações e Imagem Lda with 19 percent, I pang – indústria de Papel e Derivados with 10 percent, Lambda Investement with six percent and Novatel, S.A., with five percent (Macauhub).

SOUTH ATLANTIC

The Angolan government is to provide Brazil with an additional US$500 million credit for Brazilian exports of goods and services to Angola. Angolan exports to Brazil, almost exclusively in petroleum, suffered a fall of 93.7 percent in the first half of this year, in relation to the same period in 2008. Sales to the Brazilian market fell from US$1.2 billion (873 million euros) in the first six months of last year to US$76.3 million (55 million euros) in the first six months of this year (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

EDP is to set up a holding company with Sonangol Holdings, Banco Privado Atlântico and Finicapital with a view to investing in the production conventional and renewable electrical energy in Angola according to a statement by the Portuguese electricity company (Macauhub).


Brazil news update, July 26th

In Banking, Brazil, Energy, Foreign Trade, Mining, Oil, Real estate, Retail, Telecom on July 26, 2009 at 11:59 am

IRON & STEEL

Spot iron ore vessel bookings from Brazil to China jumped to a record in July as Australia suspended spot sales following detentions of Rio Tinto’s top sales officials in China and as falling freight costs made longer haul trade attractive (Reuters).

Usiminas, Brazil’s second-biggest steelmaker, said local steel demand should tumble about 30 percent in the third quarter from the same period of 2008 (Reuters).

RETAIL

French luxury goods group Hermes will open its first Brazilian store in Sao Paulo after almost 30 years of trademark disputes and unsuccessful attempts to lure partners, newspaper Valor Economico reported (Reuters).

FINANCE

Brazil’s securities regulator has recommended that carbon credits be treated as investments separate from derivatives since they are used mainly as instruments to trim greenhouse gas emissions (Reuters).

Banco Santander SA, the Brazilian unit of Spain’s Santander, plans to sell up to 6 billion reais ($3.15 billion) in stock in local capital markets, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuters).

TRADE

President Obama said he wants stronger ties with Brazil, especially in the commercial area, a top aide and possible successor to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said (Reuters).

OIL

Transocean Ltd said it won a contract from Brazil’s Petrobras for its ultra-deepwater Cajun Express rig worth $558.5 million over three years starting in early 2010 (Reuters).

Brazilian President Lula wants Petrobras to reduce gasoline prices, O Globo newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information (Bloomberg).

ENERGY

Brazil agreed to triple to about $360 million the amount it pays annually to Paraguay for electricity generated by the jointly owned Itaipu dam, ending a feud over which country benefits more from the world’s largest hydroelectric dam by output (Bloomberg).

REAL ESTATE

Sam Zell’s Equity International is seeking new real estate-related investments in Brazil as record low interest rates accelerate growth in Latin America’s biggest economy (Bloomberg).

TELECOM

Brazil’s antitrust agency finedTelefonica SA 1.97 million reais ($1.03 million) for not disclosing a full list of Internet service providers to its broadband customers (Bloomberg).

Surinam news update, July 26th

In Economy, Foreign Trade, Surinam, Tourism, Travel on July 26, 2009 at 11:36 am

Trade between the US and Surinam reached a total value of USD 3.5 billion over teh last ten years. Imports from the US were USD 2.1 billion worth and exports a mere USD 1.4 billion (DWT).

Surinam’s Movement for Ecotourism (Mets) and Blue Wing Airways started operating  flights to Albina in eastern Surinam, reducing a strenuous car journey of 2,5 hours to just 30 minutes flying time. Mets hopes to open up new markets among the Marron communities scattered over central and eastern Surinam (DWT).

New figures from Surinam’s National Statistics Bureau ABS show inflation down with 3.4 % in the twelve months from July 2008 till July 2009 (DWT).

Angola news update, July 25th

In Angola, Banking, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Telecom on July 25, 2009 at 11:02 am

HOUSING

The United States will loan $400-million to help Angola build one million homes for the poor in the next five years, the US ambassador to Angola, Dan Mozena, announced (Mail & Guardian).

FAIR

Luanda International Fair (FILDA)’s 26th edition ended with positive results and the organisation plans to project the construction of new premises for 2010, ANGOP learnt from the event’s manager, Matos Cardoso. Matos Cardoso said that the budget for FILDA’s new premises is already included in the State Budget for 2010 (ANGOP).

TELECOMS

Angola-Telecom has started offering an internet system that will solve internet access problems, as well as improve telephone quality. The system is dubbed SuperNet ADSL and is capable of dealing with a great flow of information and may be used by people that work with a high amount of data. This system will enable internet users to have a high speed service with favourable reflexes in their businesses (ANGOP).

BANKING & FINANCE

An office of the African Development Bank (ADB) is due to be opened this year in Luanda, Angola, as part of the re-launch of cooperation between the two sides, the PANA news agency reported from Tunis.

The Angolan State currently owes around US$2 billion to companies in the public works sector, the country’s Finance Minister, Severim de Morais told Portuguese news agency Lusa in Luanda (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

General Cable Portugal, which exports electrical cables to several countries, plans to invest US$20 million in setting up a production unit in the Angolan province of Benguela, the company said (Lusa).

OIL

French oil company Total is investing US$9 billion in Pazflor located in Angola’s offshore block 17, whose production is expected to begin in 2011 at depths of over 1,200 metres, according to information from the company.


China in Cape Verde: the Dragon’s paradise

In Cape Verde, Economy, Foreign Trade, Investments on July 22, 2009 at 2:52 pm

Read this interesting analysis of Chinese presence in Cape Verde by Loro Horta

Surinam news update, July 18th

In Agriculture, Airports, Banking, Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Surinam on July 19, 2009 at 10:06 am

DEBTS & INVESTMENTS

By eliminating its debt with Brazil, Surinam is positioning itself for better international credit reatings. Surinam now has B+ rating, but is aiming now for BBB, which would make it easier to borrow funds for its development with international capital markets and which would make the country more attractive to investors.

The Netherlands and Surinam have agreed to allocate remaining Dutch development funds to pay up for Surinam’s debts with Brazil. As these early payments in effect will result in a larger Surinam national budget, the government now is planning to use these funds for large infrastructural projects, such as bridges, road rehabilitation, as well as the upgrading of the national airport at Zanderij to A-1 status.

MICRO FINANCING

Finatrust de Trustbank NV is expected to book 6 % more profits for 2008 compared to the previous year.  With a market share of around 5 % in Surinam’s banking sector, this small 20-year old bank mainly caters to “non-bancables”, people who are normally not welcome at other banks.

Finatrust, de Trustbank NV this year will open a new branch in north Paramaribo. The bank was recently designated as Micro-Financieringsinstituut (MFI) with the Mikro-Kredieten programma (MKP), operated by the Surinam government. Research has shown that between 35.000 and 40.000 people in and around the capital have a need for small credits.

CARICOM

Caricom has selected Surinam to house the Caribbean Health and Safety Agency (CAHFSA). This institute will focus on the standardisation of agricultural and fisheries products that are traded within the region as well as with the EU and the US. The choice for Surinam means that the country will become the scientific hub for standards for animals, fish and plants.

(DWT)

Angola news update, July 18th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Elections, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Politics, Polls, Sao Tome and Principe, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on July 18, 2009 at 10:16 am

OIL

CNOOC and Sinopec have agreed to purchase a stake in an oil block offshore Angola from Marathon Oil as the Chinese state-owned companies continue to buy up overseas energy assets (Reuters).

An oil exploration well in deepwater Block 16 off Angola has shown positive results, Denmark’s Maersk Oil and Gas said (Reuters).

The oil and gas division of Brazilian construction company Odebrecht also announced the oil discovery on the Angolan coast, in a prospection operated by Maersk Oil (with 50 percent), newspaper Estado de São Paulo reported. “It is light oil, of good quality, which was found at a depth of 4,725 metres, 315 kilometres of the Luanda coast,” the company’s chairman, Miguel Gradin told the Brazilian newspaper (Macauhub).

POLITICS

Prospects of Angola’s post-war presidential poll taking place in 2009 receded after the group in charge of drafting a new constitution, a precondition for the vote, said it was likely to need more time. The Constitutional Commission said that work on a new constitution could take longer than expected. The group requested an 180-day delay from the initial deadline of September 23 (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Unitel, Angola’s biggest mobile- phone operator, said it will spend $1.7 billion over the next four years upgrading infrastructure and expanding its network (Bloomberg).

TRADE

The commercial exchanges between Spain and Angola have recorded a significant growth in the past five years, and currently they reached a volume of about one billion euros (ANGOP).

VEHICLES

The CSG car manufacturing factory, located in Viana district, Luanda, announced that it will supply all makes of vehicles such as jeeps, pick-ups and small, medium and large capacity buses, as well as spare parts processing, trading and rent cars (ANGOP).

BANKING

The director of the northern region of Savings and Credit Bank (BPC), Ilda Silva, said that her institution will open six more counters in the provinces of Kwanza Norte, Malanje, Cabinda and Zaire this year. The province of Kwanza Norte will benefit from an agency, Cabinda (2), Zaire (2), including one in the city of Soyo and the other in Mbanza Congo, and Malanje (1), in the town of Cangandala (ANGOP).

INVESTMENTS

Portugal’s direct investment in Angola rose three-fold in the 2008/2009 period, from 210 million euros to 634 million euros, said Portugal’s ambassador to Angola, Francisco Ribeiro Teles in Luanda (Macauhub).

Angolan Banco de Desenvolvimento de Angola (BDA) has, since it started operating in 2007, provided loans totalling US$200 million to Angolan businesspeople in the non-oil sector (Macauhub).

AIR TRAVEL

Taag, Angola’s flagship airline plans to re-launch its flights to Lisbon, Portugal on 1 August after the European Commission decided Tuesday on a partial lift on the carrier’s ban from flying in European air space (Macauhub).

The air carrier for Sao Tome and Principe, STP Airways, is due on 29 July to start flying to Angola, with a flight to Luanda that will be linked to the Lisbon-Sao Tome flight, the company’s public relations director said (Macauhub).

LOGISTICS

Spanish company Mercasa will create over 2,000 jobs in Angola by 2010, with the conclusion of a logistics centre that is being built in the municipality of Viana, Luanda (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, July 12th

In Agriculture, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports, Real estate, Retail, Security, Telecom, Travel on July 12, 2009 at 8:43 pm

RATINGS & ECONOMICS

Moody’s Investors Service put Brazil’s foreign and local currency credit ratings on review for possible upgrade, citing the economy’s resilience to economic shocks from the global financial crisis (Reuters).

Brazil’s currency and benchmark stock index are poised for synchronized declines as technical indicators for the BRIC nations, also including Russia, India and China, show signs of stress, according to Citigroup Inc (Bloomberg).

Brazil’s exports may surpass the government’s official estimate of $160 billion this year as the global economy recovers, spurring demand for commodities and other Brazilian goods, Trade Secretary Welber Barral said (Bloomberg).

Brazil’s economy will rebound from recession next year faster than was previously expected as the local currency strengthens, Itau Unibanco Holding SA said (Bloomberg).

POLITICS

Fresh reports of alleged fraud and embezzlement by Brazil Senate chief Jose Sarney in Brazil’s weekend press are fueling an ongoing Senate ethics scandal and have renewed pressure for Sarney to resign (Reuters).

Brazil’s Senate agreed to move ahead with a long-delayed corruption probe of state oil company Petrobras that is unlikely to harm the company’s massive offshore oil developments, but could slow key energy legislation. The inquiry was originally announced in May, but partisan wrangling delayed the proceedings (Reuters).

Brazil’s chief climate negotiator criticised the Group of Eight rich nations on Thursday for not taking more forceful steps to curb global warming, saying proposed long-term targets were meaningless (Reuters).

Brazil said it would give Cuba up to $300 million in credits to start rebuilding the island’s port of Mariel, better known as the site of a 1980 Cuban exodus to the United States. Brazilian Industry and Trade Minister Miguel Jorge said $110 million had been approved by his government and the rest would likely be, as Brazil strengthens its ties with communist-led Cuba (Reuters).

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the U.S. dollar would remain important for decades but he believed it was possible to develop new trade relations not dependent on the dollar (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Celesio AG’s supervisory board gave the green light on Friday for the German drug distributor’s contested takeover of a Brazilian peer, which had exposed a rift between its management and main shareholder. Celesio said directors cleared the acquisition of 50.1 percent in Panpharma, down from the 54 percent it had initially said it would purchase as part of a planned capital increase at Brasil’s largest drug distributor (Reuters).

Brazil’s antitrust regulator imposed temporary restrictions on Perdigao’s 1.4-billion-real ($710 million) takeover of rival foodmaker Sadia until a final ruling on the transaction is made (Reuters).

OIL

A consortium of companies failed to find oil in deep waters off Brazil’s coast, a sign the South American nation’s push to become an energy exporter is still fraught with risks (Reuters).

Hess Corp did not file a discovery of oil after drilling a well in Brazil’s offshore Santos Basin BM-S-22 bloc (Reuters).

BANKING

Banco Bradesco, Brazil’s second-largest private sector bank, said it would book a pretax gain of 410 million reais ($206 million) from the sale of a stake in credit card company VisaNet (Reuters).

Banco Nossa Caixa, the Brazilian lender recently purchased by state-owned giant Banco do Brasil, said it expects loan concessions to rise about 50 percent this year and add 60,000 corporate customers (Reuters).

AIR TRAVEL & AERONAUTICS

Foreign capital limits in Brazilian airline companies could rise to 49 percent from a present cap of 20 percent, according to a draft bill that the Civil Aviation Advisory Council said it is sending to the government (Reuters).

Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer said it delivered 56 planes in the second quarter, bringing the total for the first six months of the year to 96 (Reuters).

Boeing is prepared to have Brazilian companies supply a “big portion” of components for its Super Hornet jetfighter, creating as many as 5,000 local jobs, to sell 36 of the warplanes to the Latin American nation (Bloomberg).

STEEL

Germany’s largest steelmaker, ThyssenKrupp, will have to delay again the start-up of a coking operation at a new Brazilian plant but a spokesman said it should not affect the timing of its steel blast furnace (Reuters).

Brazil’s national development bank, BNDES, has granted a credit line of 1.5 billion reais ($753 million) to Gerdau, the country’s largest steelmaker (Reuters).

REAL ESTATE

Controlling shareholders of Brazilian real estate developer Abyara offered to pay up to 30 million reais ($15 million) to repurchase all its stock in circulation (Reuters).

ELECTRIC CARS

The first of many roadside electric charging stations in Brazil is set to be installed in the Barra de Tijuca neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, and it’ll be solar-powered (Reuters).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Public prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro have requested the imprisonment of 30 police officers accused of killing young men in “death squad” type executions (Reuters).

TELECOMS

Telecom Italia will invest 3 billion euros ($4.2 billion) in Brazil through 2011 to boost its Internet broadband services operation (Reuters).

Angola news update, July 11th

In Agriculture, Airports, Angola, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Telecom, Travel on July 11, 2009 at 12:50 pm

TELECOMS

Revenue in Angola’s mobile-phone industry may more than quadruple over the next seven years amid “high” demand for services.  Sales in the country may increase to $5.7 billion by 2015, from $1.26 billion last year (Bloomberg).

COFFEE

Angola should take advantage of the shortage of robusta coffee in the world market to relaunch production, according to the secretary general of the Inter African Coffee Organisation (IACO), Josefa Correia Sacko (ANGOP).

TRADE & BUSINESS

Trade between Angola and Italy may reach one billion US Dollars by 2010, Angop learned in L’Aquila, the scene of the G-8 summit, to be attended by Angolan president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, as “Guest of Honour” of italian prime-minister, Silvio Berlusconi, the chairman of the conference (ANGOP).

The German ambassador to Angola, Bernd Morast, on Tuesday announced here that his country wants to open a business office meant to boost co-operation and increase talks between both sides (ANGOP).

INFRASTRUCTURE

The repair of the Luanda-Malanje Railway, started in 2003, will be concluded this year, Transport Minister, Augusto Tomás, disclosed. According to the minister, the repairs of the Moçamedes and Benguela railways are set to finish in 2010 and 2011 respectively (ANGOP).

INVESTMENT

Direct French investment in Angola is estimated to total 10 billion euros, according to a document from the French embassy (Angop).

OIL & GAS

Angolan oil company Sonangol and its Italian counterpart ENI have signed a deal for joint natural gas exploration in the Angolan province of Zaire for a 20-year period (Angop).

AIR TRAVEL

The new arrivals terminal at Luanda’s 4 de Fevereiro International Airport was opened Saturday after five months of work and investment of US$9.5 million (Angop).

CONSTRUCTION

Angolan cement company Nova Cimangola plans to increase its production this year to 1.2 million tonnes of cement, the board’s management advisor, Luís Silva said. In 2008 the company produced 1.05 million tonnes of cement, with a market share of 30 percent, Silva said, adding that the estimated rise for 2009 was part of an efficient and effective management model that the company was applying (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, July 11th

In Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Security, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on July 11, 2009 at 12:31 pm

TELECOMS

Mobile phone and Internet services have been presenting anomalies for several days, with frequent cuts in Internet connections and difficulties making phone calls using the CV Móvel network (A Semana).

SOUTH ATLANTIC

Bilateral relations between Angola and Cape Verde have shown very significant results, according to affirmations made last week by Cape Verde’s ambassador in Luanda, Domingos Mascarenhas (A Semana).

A group of Cape Verdean businesspeople from the handicraft sector are taking part in the 10th National Handicraft Business Fair – Fenearte in Recife, the capital of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco (Macauhub).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Lawyer Manuel Barbosa, who was arrested on the island of Sal on Friday, July 3, and ordered held in preventative detention pending trial on drug trafficking charges, was transferred Tuesday, July 7, to São Martinho prison on the island of Santiago. The lack of security and overcrowding at Sal’s jail were the reasons for the transfer (A Semana).

Customs inspectors at Manaus port, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, seized a loudspeaker on Monday, June 29, with more than a kilogram of cocaine hidden inside. The merchandise was to be shipped to the city of Praia (A Semana).

The external audit carried out by Price Waterhouse Cooper on the administration of former Praia mayor Felisberto Vieira, who lost his bid for a third term in office in May of last year, has revealed “breakdowns in the system of internal control with regards to accounting and serious breaches of legality and of procedures established in the law,” (A Semana).

TRANSPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE

A new boat is slated to begin plying the waters between the islands of Fogo and Brava and the rest of Cape Verde in August. With a capacity for 580 passengers and 600 metric tons of cargo, the vessel is expected to minimize the isolation the two islands have been subjected to over the past several years and help them become more integrated with the rest of Cape Verde (A Semana).

The road connecting the villages of Calhau and Norte de Baía, on the island of São Vicente, has been opened to traffic. The road, which completes the island’s highway ring, was unveiled by Prime Minister José Maria Neves (A Semana).

TOURISM

Travel agency Solplan, part of the Orizonia group, introduced its first vacation packages to the islands of Sal and Boa Vista last week, with flights on airlines White and TACV from Lisbon. The introduction comes as Orizonia prepares to open its Iberostar Resort in Cape Verde (A Semana).

Angola news update, July 4th

In Angola, Banking, Brazil, Foreign Trade, Media, Oil, Tourism, Travel on July 4, 2009 at 9:23 am

OIL

Chevron announced that its joint venture had begun oil production from its offshore Mafumeira Norte oilfield in Angola (Reuters).

MEDIA

Portugal’s Zon Multimedia is considering launching pay television services in Angola in a project with the daughter of the country’s president (Reuters).

BANKING

Banco Espirito Santo SA may open its planned investment banking and brokerage unit in Angola this year, Diario Economico reported, citing Jose Maria Ricciardi, head of Espirito Santo’s investment banking division (Bloomberg).

SOUTH ATLANTIC

Around 50 Brazilian companies are due to take part from 14 to 19 July in the Luanda International Fair (Filda) in Angola, organised by the Brazilian Agency for Export and Investment Promotion,Apex-Brasil (Macauhub).

AIR TRAVEL

The Safety Commission of the European Commission will recommend that Angola’s national airline Taag be removed from the blacklist and re-launch flights between Luanda and Lisbon, Portugal’s National Civil Aviation Institute (INAC) said (Macauhub).

CONSTRUCTION

Angola’s Minister for Urbanism and Housing said that from August 110,000 houses will be built as part of a public/private partnership. The first 10,000 houses will be built  in the provinces of Bengo, Luanda, Huíla and Namibe, in cooperation with Brazilian construction company Odebrecht. The other 100.000 units will be built by Israeli group RL in Bengo, Benguela, Namibe and Malanje (Macauhub) .

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