Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Hotels’ Category

Angola Business News

In Agriculture, Angola, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Hotels, Politics, Travel on September 10, 2010 at 9:35 am

POLITICS

Angola’s main opposition UNITA party is using last week’s riots in Mozambique along with false accusations of government corruption to incite civil unrest in the oil-producing nation, a ruling MPLA party spokesman said (Reuters).

Angola’s ruling MPLA party brushed aside reports of corruption involving senior government officials earlier this year as a smear campaign aimed at hurting the party ahead of general elections in 2012 (Reuters).

DEFENCE

Angola’s army said it will send a team to help reform the military of Guinea Bissau, a country with a long history of coups and instability (News24).

ECONOMY

Angola’s trade surplus reached $9.04 billion in the first quarter of the year, the head of the National Statistics Office said, without providing a figure for the same period last year (Reuters).

Angola’s government will launch a complete overhaul of its tax regime to improve collection and increase revenues, Minister of State Carlos Feijo said (Reuters).

The pension funds established in Angola in 1998, by 2008 had achieved turnover of some US$320 million (Macauhub).

The Angolan government has alrerady paid 60 percent of its debt to private companies within the terms it committed to pay (Macauhub).

AGRI

A project that aims to turn Huíla province into the biggest supplier of grain in Angola in four years has already made it possible to identify at least 80 large producers in the region, the vice president of the Industrial Association of Angola (AIA) said (Macauhub).

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POWER

Angola announced an $18 billion plan to overhaul its dams and power grids and end all power cuts by 2016 (Reuters).

TRANSPORT

Angolan taxis will raise fares in the coming weeks due to a sharp rise in fuel prices, a move that could trigger protests from impoverished Angolans who rely on thousands of 14-seater taxi vans to go to work each day (Reuters).

HOTELS

Construction of the first four-star hotel in the city of Ondjiva, the capital of Angola’s Cunene province, which began last April, is due to be concluded in August 2011 (Macauhub).

Cape Verde Business & Economy

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Ports, Real estate, Telecom, Tourism on September 3, 2010 at 8:35 am

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

The Vista Oceano residential complex, under development in the town of Ponta do Sol on Santo Antao (Source).

PORTS

Portuguese construction consortium Somague/MSF/Etermar is to carry out the second phase of work to expand and modernise the port of Praia, worth 72 million euros (Macauhub).

HOTELS

Hilton appears to be developing at least one hotel in Cape Verde, among other countries (Reuters).

TWITTER & LINKEDIN

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AGRI

Brazil’s Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) will set up a pole of its rural development studies center in Cape Verde. The initiative was announced during a visit by Brazilian Minister of Agriculture Guilherme Cassel to the University (A Semana).

TELECOMS

Labor union SITTHUR claims that more than 90% of the employees of Cabo Verde Telecom have joined the two-day strike called at the company. The walk-out began this morning throughout nearly all of Cape Verde’s territory – Brava was the exception – and is scheduled to last until midnight Friday (A Semana).

AVIATION

The strongest growth, in terms of absolute numbers, in Portugal’s charter flight market is for destinations in Cape Verde. Charter flights departing from Lisbon and Porto took transported nearly 8,000 passengers to the archipelago in July of this year, 3,800 more than in the same month last year (A Semana).

POWER

Acts of sabotage perpetrated by employees of water and electricity utility Electra or by unknown individuals may be behind a serious technical problem that took place in one of the main generators at the Palmarejo power station in Praia. The problem has since been resolved (A Semana).

Angola Business News

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

POLITICAL RISK

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

ECONOMY

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

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

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

OIL

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

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CONSTRUCTION

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

INFRA

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

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

BIOFUELS

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

HOTELS

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

Angola Business News

In Angola, Economy, Hotels, Oil, Ports on August 20, 2010 at 8:03 am

ECONOMY

Angola owes foreign building firms $9 billion, the Finance Ministry said, a higher figure than Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos gave the previous day and one that could hamper its plans for a $4 billion bond (Reuters).

Angola will start paying part of the $6.8 billion it owes to foreign building firms operating in the oil-producing African nation later this year, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos said (Reuters).

Angola’s economy is expected to grow at almost double the rate of sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, between 7 and 12 percent, until 2012, the country’s Transport Minister, August da Silva Tomás said (Macauhub).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Angola’s National Customs Services are to increase sanctions against workers who continue to not meet deadlines for processing of certain goods, regardless of the causes of delays (Macauhub).

OIL

U.S. oil major Occidental Petroleum Corp and Indonesian state oil firm Pertamina have shown an interest in taking a stake in Sonangol’s two Iraqi oilfield development projects (Reuters).

Angolan crude exports will fall to the lowest level in three-and-a-half years to 1.52 million barrels per day (bpd) in September, preliminary loading programmes showed (Reuters).

BP is borrowing $3 billion backed by income from Angolan operations, lenders said (Bloomberg).

BUSINESS

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. has been awarded a contract for the capital and maintenance dredging of the Soyo LNG port in Angola. The total contract value is approximately € 155 million in which Boskalis has a 50% share. The contract was awarded by Angola LNG Ltd. Work is set to commence in 2010 and capital dredging is set to be completed by mid 2011. Included in the contract is an optional maintenance contract running from early 2012 until early 2014 (Boskalis).

Depa Ltd., the Dubai-based interiors contractor, said it won a contract valued at $60 million for fit-out works at Hotel & Casino in Luanda, Angola (Bloomberg).

The Catumbela Industrial Development Hub (PDIC), in Lobito, in Angola’s Benguela province, has 100 new business projects, the chairman of the institution, Samuel Orlando Amaral said (Macauhub).

SPLIT SECOND POLL

Cape Verde Business & Economy

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Real estate on August 13, 2010 at 4:21 pm

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

New project for Sal Rei, the capital of Boa Vista island (source: Escape Verde).

ECONOMY

For a small string of barren volcanic islands that have no natural resources, suffer from chronic droughts and are perched far off Africa’s west coast, Cape Verde is punching well above its weight. Read the article at Reuters.

REAL ESTATE

A nice overview of real estate opportunities in idyllic Cape Verde can be found in The Daily Telegraph.

BANKING

Portuguese bank Banco Espírito Santo announced the formation of a “strategic partnership” with Brazilian commercial banks Banco do Brasil and Bradesco aimed at the African market, by opening Banco Espírito Santo Africa’s capital up to the two Brazilian institutions. The operation includes Cape Verde (A Semana).

AVIATION

Passenger traffic in Cape Verde’s airports in the first half of 2010 was 5.6% higher than during the same period past year, with the upward trend more pronounced in international (6.1%) than domestic (5.3%) activities (A Semana).

TRANSPORT

Passenger transportation company Transcor will file a court injunction this week against the São Vicente municipal chamber’s decision to grant a temporary license allowing the company Sotral to transport passengers on five city bus lines (A Semana).

Angola business news

In Angola, Banking, Economy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Mining, Oil, Real estate on August 8, 2010 at 10:01 am

ECONOMY

Angola’s economic outlook remained generally favorable but more steps were needed to create a sustainable fiscal position and reduce inflation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said (Reuters).

Angola’s foreign exchange reserves dropped slightly for the first time in four months to $15.52 billion in June from $15.64 billion in May, the central bank said (Reuters).

Angola cut its growth estimate for 2010 to 6.7 percent from 9.7 percent in a revised budget (Bloomberg).

BANKING

Angola said it would offer loans to cash-strapped banks, admitting for the first time that some lenders in the African nation are struggling with liquidity problems (Reuters).

INFRASTRUCTURE

Angola plans to reserve earnings from oil production of 100,000 barrels per day to form a fund to pay for infrastructure including power supply and water provision projects (Bloomberg).

HOUSING

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos renewed a $50bn pledge to build one million new homes for the poor, despite growing signs of weakness in the major African oil-producer’s public finances (News24).

OIL & GAS

Angola is self-sufficient in production of butane gas and has a total quota of some 600,000 tons per day (Macauhub).

Ten years after the start of operations, block 17 in Angola’s offshore has produced 1 billion barrels of oil from the Girassol, Dália, Rosa and Jasmin rigs (Macauhub).

AVIATION

Angola’s flagship airline TAAG is set to acquire more new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in the middle of next year (Macauhub).

MINING

The provincial director for Industry, Geology and Mining for Angola’s Huíla province said that mining studies were underway to establish the minerals that exist in the province in order to allow them to be explored (Macauhub).

HOTELS

The Angolan government plans to convert the former railway stations of Caminhos-de-Ferro de Luanda (CFL), located along the Luanda/Ndalatando/Malanje route into hotels as of 2011 (Macauhub).

REAL ESTATE

The growth of Angola’s middle class, with the ability to buy their own house, is opening up prospects for investment in the highest real estate segment in Angola, according to a study by the Deloitte (Macauhub).

Cape Verde: business & economy

In Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Tourism, Travel on June 6, 2010 at 7:47 am

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

The new hotel at Fortim Mindelo, Sao Vicente

ECONOMY

The “great economic synchronisation” of Cape Verde with Europe, in particular the Euro Zone, “where there are serious problems”, will constrain the Cape Verdean economy in case of a deepening of the crisis, the Governor of the Bank of Cape Verde (BCV) warned (Inforpress).

TOURISM

Portuguese and Cape Verdean businesspeople are interested in carrying out the cruise liner terminal project in Sao Vicente, the chairman of port management company Enapor said in Praia (Macauhub).

UTILITIES

The Council of Ministers has authorized water and electricity utility Electra to transfer rights and obligations to a private Cape Verdean corporation for the transportation and distribution of electricity and water on the island of Boa Vista (A Semana).

PICTURES WANTED!

Please send us your pictures of new developments and buildings on Cape Verde so we can continue our feature Building of the week…

SPLIT SECOND POLL

Angola news update, April 25th

In Agriculture, Angola, Economy, Hotels, Investments, Oil, Stock exchange on April 24, 2010 at 11:08 am

ECONOMY

Angola’s stock exchange, expected to start operating later this year, may be Africa’s third-biggest in market-capitalization terms (Bloomberg).

The Angolan economy is expected to see a string recovery this year with growth of 7.1 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its World Economic Outlook (Macauhub).

OIL & GAS

Angola’s oil minister, said the price of oil is currently too high (Bloomberg).

Angola is considering joining the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF),Angola’s Oil Minister said during a meeting of the organisation in Algeria (Macauhub).

BUSINESS

South Africa’s second-largest food retailer, plans to open two stores in Mauritius next year and is exploring opportunities in Angola (Bloomberg).

Halliburton, the world’s second-largest oilfield contractorannounced a $1.3 billion contract for a project off the coast of Angola (Bloomberg).

HOTELS

Portuguese company Amorim Turismo plans to start its internationalisation process in Angola, where it will invest 90 million euros over the next four years (Macauhub).

AGRICULTURE

Spanish company África Sementes and Angola’s Mundo Verde are investing in the construction of a cotton processing factory in the municipality of Sumbe, in Angola’s Kwanza Sul province (Macauhub).

Angola news update, April 18th

In Angola, Brazil, Economy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Travel on April 18, 2010 at 2:25 pm

ECONOMY

Angola scaled back plans to raise as much as $4 billion in a sale of bonds without credit ratings, seeking instead to issue $1 billion to $2 billion, according to Finance Minister Carlos Lopes (Bloomberg).

Angolan inflation accelerated to 13.8 percent in March from 13.66 percent in February because of food and beverage costs, the National Statistics Institute said (Bloomberg).

The National Private Investment Agency (ANIP) approved until 30 November 2009 projects amounted to about USD 1.4 billion, more than the USD 105.8 million of  2008 (Angop).

BUSINESS

M-I SWACO, a drilling fluids venture partly owned by Schlumberger Ltd, has won a contract from Chevron Corp for work off Angola that could lead to $800 million in revenues over six years (Reuters).

TRAVEL

Angolan group Silisa has invested some US$2.5 million in the construction of a hotel complex in the Benfica neighbourhood of Luanda, the “Sunsil Hotel” (Macauhub).

INFRASTRUCTURE

The Angolan Council of Ministers has approved the acquisition of 15 locomotives, 150 carriages and 231 wagons for the country’s rail network (Macauhub).

MINING

Angola is once again moving ahead with the mega mining projects for extraction and processing of iron and copper, which involves a search for international investors to support the projected high level of investment. Amongst the companies that have already been in contact with Empresa Nacional de Ferros de Angola (Ferrangol) are Brazil’s Vale, one of the world’s biggest mining companies, and Korea’s Samsung (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, April 4th

In Brazil, Cape Verde, Hotels, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on April 4, 2010 at 1:46 pm

POLITICS

The Cape Verdean government does not have enough diplomats to place in all of the countries where Cape Verdean communities exist, Minister of Foreign Affairs José Brito, admitted (A Semana).

ECONOMY

2010 began with a 10.2% drop in remittances from Cape Verdean émigrés in January, in comparison to the month before. And those remittances coming from the United States and the Euro Zone saw even more drastic drops, of 11.8% and 11.1%, respectively, in comparison to December 2009 (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

The 4th General Cape Verdean Population and Housing Census will be carried out in 2010 with the support of Brazil, which will make 150 handheld computers, known as PDAs, available for census-taking activities. The technology, which was developed by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE), will be used to count the population and in the training of Cape Verdean census-takers (A Semana).

The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Service is preparing three business missions in April,  to China, Brazil and Canary Islands (Inforpress).

HOTELS

Six of Cape Verde’s hotels have been nominated for the 17th edition of the World Travel Awards. The Oásis Atlântico Novorizonte, Oásis Atlântico PraiaMar, Dunal del Sol, Foya Branca, Morabeza and Migrante Guest House have been nominated in the Cape Verde’s Leading Hotel category (A Semana).

The proposed 7star Palm View Resort on Boa Vista was awarded building licenses by the Cape Verdean authorities. The luxury will be constructed on the  exclusive beach front of Chaves Beach (Visao News).

TELECOMS

Cape Verde jumped from 107th to 102nd place on the list of countries in terms of the development of information and communication technology. Cape Verde occupies fourth place in Africa (A Semana).

Cape Verde news update, March 14th

In Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Investments, Politics, Security, Tourism on March 14, 2010 at 11:22 am

POLITICS

Nearly half of the residents of Praia (48%) believe current municipal chamber president Ulisses Correia e Silva to be a better mayor than his predecessor, Felisberto Vieira, according to an Afrosondagem survey carried out in December. The survey also found that 75% of Praia resident gave a positive evaluation of Correia e Silva’s work. Among individuals with a college education, the mayor’s approval rating stood at 39% (A Semana).

Minister of Infrastructures, Transportation and Telecommunications Manuel Inocêncio Sousa will participate will travel to Portuguese capital Lisbon for a dinner scheduled to take place on March 20 in support of his possible presidential bid (A Semana).

The United States State Department report on human rights for the year 2008 says that, in general, the Cape Verdean government “respected the human rights of its citizens.” However, problems were reported in areas such as “police abuse of detainees, police impunity, poor prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, excessive trial delays, violence and discrimination against women, child abuse, and some instances of child labor” (A Semana).

ECONOMY

Representatives from two Indian communication technology companies, NIIT and Angelic International Limited, are visiting Cape Verde as part of the implementation of a project financed by the Indian government to produce software and business incubators in the archipelago (A Semana).

Spanish company Ramon Vizcaíno has been selected to build a cold-storage infrastructure on the island of São Vicente (A Semana).

Prime Minister José Maria Veiga announced in Mindelo, at a meeting with ship-owners and fishermen’s associations, that there are eight million dollars from the World Bank,  1 million Euros of the Spanish cooperation and a million and 146 thousand dollars of FAO to boost the fishing sector (Inforpress).

Portuguese construction group Mota-Engil plans to increase its turnover six-fold in Cape Verde over the next three years from 20 million euros at the moment to 120 million, the group’s chief executive said in Praia (Macauhub).

The placement of a bond issue by Cape Verde’s Tecnicil tourism property company has surpassed expectations, the president of the island country’s stock exchange stated (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Stays in Cape Verde’s hotel establishments rose 10.6% in 2009. Data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) reveals that most of the tourists came from the United Kingdom. English tourists were also those that spent the most time in the country. Sal continues the most visited island by foreign tourists (A Semana).

Cape Verde will make its presence felt between March 16 and 18 at Seatrade Miami, in the United States. Seatrade Miami is the world’s largest cruise-related trade fair (A Semana).

INFRASTRUCTURE

A tender has been launched to select the company that will carry out asphalting work on the São Domingos (Variante)-São Miguel road, according to Minister of Infrastructures, Transportation and Telecommunications Manuel Inocêncio Sousa (A Semana).

The government has unveiled the new and improved Cruz Grande-Calhetona road, an infrastructure that will facilitate travel between the municipalities of Santa Catarina and São Miguel, on the island of Santiago. The official ceremony was presided over by Prime Minister José Maria Neves (A Semana).

EDUCATION

The University of Santiago (US), headquartered in Assomada, made the public presentation of the first five postgraduate courses that will start in May (Inforpress).

Angola news update, March 14th

In Angola, Economy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on March 14, 2010 at 11:22 am

ECONOMY

Angola’s inflation slowed to 13.66 percent year-on-year in February from 13.83 percent in January, despite a continued rise in food prices, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said (Reuters).

OIL

Angola was China’s top supplier of oil in January, overtaking Saudi Arabia at a time when Chinese oil companies are seeking to consolidate Angolan offshore positions (Macauhub).

BUSINESS

Angola’s Unitel is in the race for a slice of up to 75 percent in Zamtel of Zambia (Reuters).

Danish engineering group FLSmidth has won a five-year contract worth 154 million euros ($209 million) to operate and maintain a cement plant in Angola (Reuters).

Australian mining company Lonrho Mining plans between May and June of this year to order a unit for separation of aggregates by density for its diamond concession in Lulo, Angola (Macauhub).

Portuguese construction company Teixeira Duarte is to build the new National Assembly building in Angola, a project estimated to cost 185 million euros (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Portuguese group Ibersol has requested authorisation from the Angolan authorities to set up Ibersol Angola (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, March 7th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Hotels, Investments, Politics, Tourism, Travel on March 7, 2010 at 2:29 pm

POLITICS

The Research Institute on West Africa Regional Integration, an entity created to promote regional integration and which will be headquartered in Praia, will have an initial budget of € 37 million (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The International Development Association will loan some 500 million escudos to the Cape Verdean government for the fishing sector in an accord with the West Africa Regional Fishing Program that will permit the construction of storage facilities and the purchase of equipment (A Semana).

The 200 million-euro credit line granted by the Portuguese government to help make up for a housing deficit in cape Verde may only be used by companies in consortiums from both countries (VisaoNews).

AIR TRAVEL

Private airline Halcyonair affirms it is confounded by TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ decision to take it to court because of a debt that Halcyonair has not only acknowledged, but that already has a payment plan agreed upon by both parties (A Semana).

Halcyonair announced that the number of flights operated by the company between Praia and São Filipe would be increased from three to five per week (A Semana).

The Minister the Internal Administration, Lívio Lopes, announced today that the scanners available to the National Commission of Weapons will be installed at strategic points in the country, together with the Customs, Enapor and airports (Inforpress).

Cape Verdean air carrier, TACV, is in July due to launch a scheduled flight linking Boa Vista and Sal to Madrid (Macauhub).

HOTELS

The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Energy, Fátima Fialho, underlined today the importance of the project of the future Hotel Excelsior, five stars, which will be built in the area of Gambôa, in Praia (Inforpress).

ENERGY

Britain is to spend £26 million building a wind farm to power the entire Cape Verde (Telegraph)

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, January 31st

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports, Real estate, Retail, Security, South Africa, Telecom, Travel on January 31, 2010 at 12:32 pm

ECONOMY

Two years ago, oil-rich Angola was reckoned to have one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. In both 2006 and 2007 real GDP had surged by around 20%, and double-digit growth rates were widely predicted for at least the next five years. Then oil prices crashed with the global recession. Last year the economy is estimated to have grown, at best, by 1.5%. But it is bouncing back. Some say Angola will be among the world’s top five performers again this year, with growth exceeding 8%. Read the full story in The Economist.

Though Angola wants to woo foreign investors, everything seems contrived to deter all but the most intrepid and patient. Getting a visa, for a start, can take many months. Finding somewhere to stay in Luanda, a capital city built for 500,000 that is now home to 5m, is not much easier. A single hotel room, if you can find one, will set you back $500-600 a night. Read about the virtues you need for doing business in Angola in The Economist.

ATLANTICO

The political and economic rivalry between SA and Angola is expected to graduate into a battle for dominance in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) , says US-based global intelligence think-tank Stratfor (BusinessDay).

BANKING

Standard Bank sees Angola as key growth market. Warming relations between Angola and SA and the ties Africa’s biggest bank by assets has with China and Russia — rivals in attempts to secure access to Angolan resources — should help the new business, a senior executive said (BusinessDay). Africa’s biggest bank by assets plans to invest millions of dollars in Angola to set up a commercial and investment bank and offer retail banking services (News24).

BUSINESS

A new production line for soft drinking production will be operating from May this year at Sefa factory, that will increase the company’s production capacity from 3,000 to 10,500 cases per day (Angop).

PORTS

Lobito Port, in the central Benguela Province, will handle over  12,000 tons of load per year, its director told ANGOP.

OIL

Angola and India have signed a memorandum of  understanding in the oil sector, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation, mainly in the entrepreneurial field (ANGOP).

AIR TRAVEL

Angolan airline Taag plans to carry 1.7 million passengers per year as of 2012 as compared to 1.1 million currently, the coordinator of the company’s management commission, Pimentel de Araújo said (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

The Angolan government approved 39 investment projects valued at a total of US$7 billion. In a statement released after a Council of Ministers meeting, the government said that the investments were focused on the retail, real estate, telecommunications, energy and transport sectors (Macauhub).

Portuguese group Unicer plans to invest US$120 million, US$85 million of which in the first phase, in construction of a beer factory in Angola’s Bengo province, the group’s representative in Angola, José Teixeira said in Luanda (Macauhub).

Brazilian group Odebrecht is analysing the possibility of investing in a petrochemical project in Angola, the group’s chief executive told Brazilian newspaper Estado de São Paulo (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, January 3rd

In Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Hotels, Investments, Ports, Real estate, Tourism, Travel on January 3, 2010 at 1:42 pm

ECONOMY

Cape Verde is a “success story” as a country in Africa and in its relations with the European Union, according to affirmations made by the European Commission representative in Praia, Jospe Coll, in an interview with newspaper OJE and Portuguese news agency Lusa. The EU official says that the country offers “new cooperation opportunities” to its foreign partners (A Semana).

The Minister of the Presidency and cabinet spokeswoman Janira Hopffer Almada announced last week that the government will carry out a gradual reduction in customs tariffs between now and 2018, a commitment made when Cape Verde joined the World Trade Organization. This reduction “will benefit purchasing power and improve the business environment.” (A Semana)

Cape Verde is among the most sought-after New Year’s tourist destinations for Europeans this year. A number of tourist companies and travel agencies saw their vacation packages to the country sell out for the Reveillon (A Semana).

ENERGY

The islands of Santiago and Sal will see their electricity production capacities reinforced beginning next summer. The guarantee was given by Minister of the Economy, Growth and Competitiveness Fátima Fialho during the ceremony for the signing of two contracts with a Portuguese company for the purchase, installation and maintenance of two diesel potential reinforcements intended to give “greater electricity potential” to the two islands. The two mobile generators can also be taken to other islands when they are no longer needed on Sal and Santiago (A Semana).

REAL ESTATE

Real-estate company Tecnicil has gone to the Cape Verde Stick Exchange to issue future bonds in order to finance its Vila Verde Resort real-estate project. The company has issued more than one million ordinary bonds at a nominal worth of 1,000 escudos each, for a total of 1,102,650,000 escudos in bonds at a fixed interest rate of 7.5% (A Semana).

Not long ago, the Cape Verde islands were billed as the new Caribbean. With endless beaches, guaranteed sunshine, engaging people and only a five-hour flight from the UK, this archipelago 300 miles off West Africa was full of promise for holidaymakers and investors. So, what’s happening now? Read the report in the Daily Mail.

TRANSPORT

The hydrofoil Marine Princess remains docked at Praia sea port with no date in sight for the resumption of business. After news indicating that the vessel was paralyzed due to the departure of its captain, several A Semana Online sources have revealed additional problems that have combined to keep the embarkation from going out to sea. This is the second time the Marine Princess has been forced to lay idle in the short time it has been operating in Cape Verde, thus dashing expectations that it would help resolve the problematic issue of connections among the country’s southern islands (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).

Cape Verde news update, November 22nd

In Banking, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Investments, Tourism, Travel on November 23, 2009 at 7:56 pm

ECONOMY

The 13th edition of the Cape Verde International Trade Fair (FIC) began on November 18, on the island of São Vicente, with the participation of businesses from Cape Verde, Portugal and Brazil, at a time when the government has expressed its intention to turn the archipelago into a business center for the Middle Atlantic. The nearly one hundred companies occupy a total of 92 stands distributed through two pavilions (A Semana).

BANKING

Macau-based company, Geocapital has become the biggest private shareholder in Cape Verdean bank, Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde (CECV), by acquiring 27.1 percent of its capital, the bank said in Praia (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

The Spanish hotelier group Sol Meliá has reached an agreement with The Resort Group PLC to manage two new 5-Star Hotel Resorts on the Island of Sal, Cape Verde, under the MELIÁ brand (Hotelnews).

Surinam news update, November 1st

In Economy, Foreign Trade, Hotels, Investments, Mining, Oil, Surinam, Tourism, Travel on November 1, 2009 at 10:17 pm

A private initiative for the development of Paramaribo’s waterfront received approval from the Surinam government. The Riverside Harbour Village, as the project is known, includes a marina, a new hotel as well as commercial space and a promenade. Though the project still needs some additional financing, the backers, who hail from Surinam, Curacao and the Netherlands, think the Village will be ready by 2015. The project is worth 46 million Euros in investment (De Ware Tijd).

The Surinam Planning Dept annouced economic growth is expected to drop from 5% this year ot just 1% in 2010. The Dept. blames this disappointing outlook among other things on diminishing exports of oil and bauxite (De Ware Tijd).

In a new publication “Best in 2010″ Lonely Planet travel guide recommends Surinam for the top places to go to in 2010 (Reuters).

Cape Verde news update, November 1st

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Real estate, Sao Tome and Principe, Security, Tourism, Travel on November 1, 2009 at 9:51 pm

TOURISM & REAL ESTATE

Prime Minister José Maria Neves presided over the opening of the Public-Private Forum on Residential Tourism on October 30. The forum, whose theme is Residential Tourism – An opportunity for the future of Cape Verde, is being promoted by Promitur and is held at Jotamont Music Academy in Mindelo. The event is intended as a way to share impressions and ideas by both the private and public sectors and the various stakeholders in the residential real-estate and tourism market in the country (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

US air company Delta Airlines will begin flying to the island of Sal in the first quarter of 2010, after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) gave a positive evaluation to the island’s Amílcar Cabral International Airport. Delta Airlines is expected to carry out two weekly flights between Atlanta, Georgia and the island of Sal in Cape Verde (A Semana).

Dutch charter company ArkFly starts operating flights from Amsterdam to Sal and Boavista later this month, with stops at Las Palmas.

Angolan flagcarrier TAAG has started weekly flights between the capitals of Luanda and Praia as of last week.

HOTELS

The Morabeza Hotel on the island of Sal has been named Cape Verde’s “Leading Hotel,” a classification given by World Travel Awards (A Semana).

SECURITY

The driver of the ambassador of France in Cape Verde, Fernando Delgado Fortes, was killed in the city of Praia with five shots at a close range, two of them in the head (Visaonews).

ECONOMY

According to figures collated between September 2008 and April of this year, Cape Verde in 2007 had 7,512 companies, as compared to 5,460 in 2002, which is a rise of 38 percent. Most companies are active on the islands of Santiago (3,233 companies), Sao Vicente (1,531), Sal (775) and Santo Antao (522) (Macauhub).

Stability and security and the level of civic participation and respect for human rights distinguish Portuguese speaking African countries, particularly Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe, from their continental counterparts (Macauhub).

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