Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Infrastructure’ Category

Angola Business News

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

POLITICAL RISK

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

ECONOMY

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

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

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

OIL

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

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CONSTRUCTION

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

INFRA

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

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

BIOFUELS

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

HOTELS

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

Cape Verde politics & regional

In Cape Verde, Infrastructure, Investments, Real estate on August 8, 2010 at 10:01 am

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Cape Verdean workers in Angola and Angolans in Cape Verde are now protected by the two countries’ social security systems under the same conditions as if they were in their own countries (A Semana).

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

The Fortim Mindelo project for Sao Vicente (Source).

FOGO

The extension of the electricity network to Chã das Caldeiras and Cabeça Fundão using renewable energy is expected to begin before the end of this year (A Semana).

SAL

The alleged sale of lands inside Integrated Tourist Development Zones by the Sal municipal chamber has once again caused heated discussions during a Sal municipal assembly session (A Semana).

SANTIAGO

The Praia municipal chamber has decided to prohibit the display, sale, distribution, exchange or rental of illegally copied scientific, literary or artistic works – such as music and films –  in the city’s municipal markets (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

Vacationing émigrés and some local residents of the town of Ponta do Sol, on the island of Santo Antão, held a demonstration to protest the “degraded” state of the cobblestone pavement of the main streets in the town (A Semana).

The three municipalities on the island of Santo Antão – Porto Novo, Paúl and Ribeira Grande – now have a mobile Casa do Cidadão (House of the Cirtizen) office, through which individuals in the island’s most isolated areas may obtain on-line certificates and quickly register businesses (A Semana).

SAO VICENTE

Water and electricity utility Electra’s production and distribution capacity does not allow it to meet the demand for water on the island of São Vicente (A Semana).

Four more of those suspected of involvement in the alleged illegal land sale scheme on São Vicente have been summoned for questioning by the Judiciary Police, who are investigating the case (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 politics & regional

In Cape Verde, Infrastructure, Politics, Security on August 1, 2010 at 8:48 am

POLITICS

The president of opposition party MpD presented the political force’s platform for next year’s legislative elections, speaking about state reform – in which the main proposal is increased regionalization – and the economy. According to Carlos Veiga, the Cape Verdean economy is in freefall, and the government is to blame (A Semana).

Opposition leader Carlos Veiga believes the time has come to “institute a supra-municipal authority on the islands” to give regions greater autonomy and free the government of some of its administrative tasks. This regionalization concept is part of the administrative reform proposed by the MpD as a part of its governing platform for the 2011 legislative elections (A Semana).

DEFENCE

Minister of National Defense Cristina Fontes Lima officially received an Arcanjo coastal patrol vessel, a donation from the United States government in Mindelo. The vessel will be used to patrol Cape Verde’s seas in the fight against drug trafficking and other illicit activities (A Semana).

SANTIAGO

The government has signed a contract with the company that will carry out restoration and rehabilitation work on the road connecting Variante (São Domingos), Pedra Badejo (Santa Cruz) and Calheta (São Miguel) on the island of Santiago (A Semana).

The 450 million-escudo public subscription offer of Praia municipal chamber future bonds on the Cape Verde Stock Exchange “has been successful, with 100% of the offer having been underwritten.” The Praia municipal chamber has thus assured financing for the city’s new municipal market and will “immediately” get started with the call for bids for the project, which is expected to be concluded within a year (A Semana).

The City hall of Praia and the Public Municipal Parking Company of Lisbon (EMEL) signed a memorandum of cooperation for development of economic viability study of the parking area for relieving of Plateau (INforpress).

BOA VISTA

Robberies and muggings targeting tourists on the island of Boa Vista saw a slight increase in the first six months of 2010, in comparison with the same period last year. The local National Police command has received an average of one complaint per week (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The Nova Experiência Marítima Community Association in Cruzinha, on the island of Santo Antão, is one of the winners of the 2010 Equator Prize in Africa for the work it has developed to protect seas turtles in Cape Verde (A Semana).

Cape Verde politics & regional

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

ELECTIONS

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

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

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

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

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

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

DEFENCE

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

SAL

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

SANTO ANTAO

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

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

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

SANTIAGO

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

SAO NICOLAU

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

Cape Verde business & economy

In Agriculture, Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Politics, Real estate, Tourism on June 27, 2010 at 7:30 am

ATLANTICO WEEKLY ON VACATION

Please note that the Atlantico Weekly team will be on holidays during the month of July. There will be therefore no new editions until August. And yes, we will be swimming in the Atlantic…

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

The Ponta Bicuda resort on Santiago (Ponta Bicuda).

PICTURES WANTED!

Please help us develop this Building of the Week feature and send us your pictures of interesting buildings or developments…

ECONOMY

A new study revealed that Cape Verdean emigrants’ remittances sent to their families are used largely for consumption, especially in food and the education of their children (Inforpress).

AVIATION

Cape Verdean state airline, TACV is to buy two aircraft to increase its fleet and has launched a new class, between economy and executive, for improved passenger comfort (Macauhub).

TOURISM

The doors to the second edition of tourism trade fair Expotur opened last Friday. Some 50 stands and 31 exhibitors – 10 of them foreign – are inside São Filipe Fort in Cidade Velha. Some 15 international journalists have also come to Cape Verde to give “greater projection” to the event, the theme of which this year is “Back to the Origins.” Expotur will run until June 27 (A Semana).

All of Cape Verde’s islands show potential for the development of rural tourism, according to a study carried out at the request of the National Union of Tourism Operators (Unotur). The study investigated the available tourist products and their diversity in rural areas of all of the country’s municipalities (A Semana).

The municipality of Porto Novo on the island of Santo Antão is the site of Cape Verde’s first youth hostel, which was officially unveiled by Prime Minister José Maria Neves (A Semana).

BANKING & FINANCE

The net results of Banco Interatlântico (BI) of Cape Verde (part of the Portuguese Grupo Caixa Geral de Depósitos) decreased around 2 percent in 2009 compared to 2008 (Inforpress).

The City Hall of Sal has earned 200 million Cape Verdean escudos (US$2.2 million) from its bond issue, carried out from 7 to 18 June by the Cape Verdean Stock Exchange (Macauhub).

MEDICAL SECTOR

The Italian Ettore Sansavini Foundation for the promotion of health in the world, that runs the management of the Hospital São Francisco de Assis in São Filipe since  Ferbuary, aims to make this hospital a reference for the Islands and for the West coast of Africa (Inforpress).

Angola Business News

In Angola, Banking, Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports on June 27, 2010 at 7:29 am

ECONOMY

Angola reduced the amount of assets commercial banks must keep at the central bank to boost liquidity and lending, Economy Minister Manuel Nunes Junior said (Bloomberg).

The Angolan economy might become Africa’s fifth by 2014, economist Alves da Rocha said (Angop).

The new park to hold international fairs in Angola, which is still in the design stage, will be built in the capital Luanda in an area of 340 hectares (Macauhub).

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The presidents of Brazil and Angola signed bilateral agreements and a protocol of understanding for the concession of new credits to Angola to the value of US$1 billion (Macauhub).

ATLANTICO WEEKLY ON VACATION

Please note that the Atlantico Weekly team will be on holidays during the month of July. There will be therefore no new editions until August. And yes, we will be swimming in the Atlantic…

POLITICS

Four Angolan human rights activists went on trial for “crimes against state security” in the oil-rich province of Cabinda, over the deadly shooting attack on Togo’s football team in January (News24).

OIL

Angola’s state oil company Sonangol wants to work in Ghana’s emerging oil industry, which is expected to start producing crude later this year from a massive new field (News24).

The governor of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), Abraão Gourgel, said that the oil sector currently accounted for 55 percent of Angola’s gross domestic product (GDP) (Macauhub).

BANKING

A U.S. unit of HSBC has cut ties with some Angolan banks, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, months after a U.S. Senate investigation criticised it for lax oversight of accounts held by Angolans, including a former central bank governor (Reuters).

MINING

Russian diamond mining giant Alrosa is selling out of Angola, according to notes in the audited financial reports (BusinessDay).

A diamond exploration contract for the “Luxinge Project” was signed among the Angolan National Diamond Company (Endiama), Compesa Angola, Sheffield,  Syntechron Tríade and the International Sweden Gold Exploration (IGE) (Angop).

INFRA

The Luanda/Ndalatando/Malange railway link will start operating again in the second half of July once reconstruction of the 400 kilometres of line is concluded, said the chairman of railway company, Caminhos-de-Ferro de Luanda (CFL) (Macauhub).

The project to modernize and extend the port of Lobito is budgeted at US$1.2 billion (Macauhub).

Cape Verde: politics & regional

In Cape Verde, Economy, Infrastructure, Politics, Security on June 6, 2010 at 7:48 am

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Last week’s Atlantico Weekly poll on Cape Verde’s best strategic international partners turned out some surprising results. You, Cape Verde policymakers, experts and friends like to spread out the interests of the country with as many partners as possible, but Cape Verde’s most favoured partner is still the former colonial power Portugal (receiving 18 % of all votes cast). Both the EU and Brazil compete for second place with around 15% each. The US, China and Angola come next, with Cuba and France further back and with the Arab world and Venezuela at the bottom of the list. Some 6% of you feel that Cape Verde does not need any international partners as all.

The first edition of the ECOWAS/Brazil Summit will take place on the island of Sal in the month of July, and will feature the presence of Brazilian President Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, in addition to heads of state and government from the 15 member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (A Semana).

DEFENCE

The Village Porto Inglês and the beach of Ponta Preta in Maio welcomed operations of the military exercise “ALGA 010″, whose objective is to prepare the Cape Verdean Armed Forces for landing missions, patrolling and humanitarian operations (InforPress).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

The Praia State Prosecutor’s Office has frozen all of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ accounts due to its failure to abide by a ruling handed down in February of 2010 obliging the company to reintegrate pilot Domingos Fontes, who the court had found to have been unjustly suspended from his functions (A Semana).

A total of 155 firearms, of which 50 percent craft weapons, was apprehended during the period from 1st April to 30th May in Cape Verde,  the Minister of the Internal Administration, Lívio Lopes announced (InforPress).

BOA VISTA

Boa Vista should receive the kick off of the Project Safe Tourism, which aims in particular to prevent violence and crime against the tourists (Inforpress).

CIDADE VELHA

Cape Verdean Prime Minister José Maria Neves received the UNESCO certificate confirming Cidade Velha’s inclusion on its list of World Heritage Sites from the hands of Brazil’s Minister of Culture, Juca Ferreira. The moment was “important and significant” and included mutual praise from both Neves and Ferreira, who share the common objective of seeing their respective countries develop further through a more intensive cultural and social partnership (A Semana).

SANTO ANTAO

The regional prison of Santo Antão will be built in the municipality of Porto Novo (Inforpress).

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 business news

In Airports, Angola, Brazil, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Tourism, Travel on June 6, 2010 at 7:47 am

ECONOMY

Grinding poverty, human rights abuses and police detentions are fuelling tension in Angola’s oil-rich province of Cabinda, but for now, international oil companies have little to fear (News24).

AVIATION

Beginning this week, Atlas Air is operating three weekly nonstop flights between George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Luanda, Angola. The newly customized Boeing 747-400 aircraft, provided by the Angolan SonAir company, feature 10 First Class, 143 Business Class and 36 Economy Class seats with the latest in-flight entertainment and comfort (Reuters).

OIL

Sonangol SA, Angola’s state oil company, will seek partners to help fund the development of Brazilian offshore blocks after buying exploration company Starfish (Bloomberg).

TRANSPORT

Angola’s Moçâmedes Railroad is to receive more locomotives and carriages for first, second and third class travel this year, which are due to start operating from the city of Lubango, Huila province (Macauhub).

ENTERTAINMENT

Angolan casino company Casinos de Angola plans to invest US$55 million over the next three years in opening three new casinos and refurbishing another (Macauhub).

SPLIT SECOND POLL


Angola business news

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

INFRA

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

RATINGS

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

REAL ESTATE

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

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

AUTOMOTIVE

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

FISHING

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

BANKING

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

STATE ENTREPRISES

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

MINING

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

BIOFUELS

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

Cape Verde: Politics & Regional

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

ELECTIONS

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

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

SANTIAGO

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

SAO VICENTE

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

SANTO ANTAO

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

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

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

SAL

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

SAO NICOLAU

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

Cape Verde news update, May 9th

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Politics, Ports, Security on May 11, 2010 at 7:51 am

POLITICS

Orlanda Ferreira, a member of opposition party MpD’s National Directorship, has been chosen by the party leadership to take the position of the political force’s secretary general (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The Budget Support Group (BSG) considers that Cape Verde’s budget performance in 2009 was “positive overall”, especially regarding good governance, the group’s coordinator stated in Praia (Macauhub).

The Cape Verdean government has laid the first stone of the single power transmission plant on Santiago Island, where the capital of the archipelago, Praia, is located, a project that is expected to cost 44 million euros (Macauhub).

FOREIGN AFAIRS

The President of Guinea Bissau, Malam Bacai Sanhá, was in Praia Sunday morning, where he was welcomed by Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires. The two heads of state analyzed the political situation in Guinea Bissau, with Sanhá calling on solidarity from Cape Verdeans. Pires, for his part, called for the people of Guinea Bissau to remain united (A Semana).

The creation of a Cape Verdean embassy in Libya to help intensify relations between the two countries, particularly on the business level, was approved in this week’s meeting of the Council of Ministers. With its presence in Libya, Cape Verde hopes to defend the nation’s interests and further affirm its identity in the world (A Semana).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Boa Vista witnessed the largest popular manifestation in its history Saturday morning, when a march with the theme “Peace, safety and integration” brought together more than 3,500 people. All of the island’s communities, both Cape Verdean and foreign, joined together to give a demonstration of hope and peace following the murder of a Guinea Bissauan citizen during the week (A Semana).

“Cape Verde needs to institute a Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) as soon as possible in order to combat money laundering in the country,” affirms the director general of the Inter Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) (A Semana).

Carlos Veiga, the leader of opposition party MpD, told journalists that what he called “taking hostage” of the São Vicente municipal chamber “was not legitimate,” although he affirmed that police authorities should carry out searches in public institutions when evidence of irregularities exists. The opposition leader also said he was convinced the police operation was “politically motivated” and has called on justice to function equally for all (A Semana).

REGIONAL

The “Santo Antão Tourism & Business Guide” is a platform for the promotion of the island’s business, commercial, industrial and agricultural fabric produced by the company GlobalMédia (A Semana).

Coculi and Chã de Igreja, on the island of Santo Antão, will see their status raised to that of town in July, according to guarantees given by the secretary general of the governing PAICV, Armindo Maurício, who also represents the municipality of Ribeira Grande de Santo Antão in parliament (A Semana).

The works of restoration and expansion of the port of Porto Novo will start on the date initially planned for this month, May, according to guarantees given to the owner of the works by the Portuguese – Cape Verdean consortium, which will implement the project (Inforpress).

The Ministry of Environment, Rural Development and Marine Resources wants to conduct studies and preparation up to 2012 for at least five hydrographical basins in Santo Antão (Inforpress).

BUSINESS

CVMultimédia has announced yet another reduction in broadband Internet service rates. The new rates went into effect on May 1, 2010 (A Semana).

Cape Verde news update, April 18th

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Politics, Real estate, Telecom, Tourism on April 18, 2010 at 2:30 pm

POLITICS

Former Portuguese President Mário Soares expressed his opinion that Cape Verde “should not have been independent” and that the archipelago “would have a lot to gain” in having avoided breaking away from Portugal. “I always thought that Cape Verde should not have been independent, and that’s why I didn’t watch Cape Verde’s independence,” he said (A Semana).

The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, called the development of special partnership between the EU and Cape Verde a “remarkable success”, highlighting the ongoing negotiation for the visa facilitation agreement (Inforpress).

TRANSPORT

The second Cabo Verde Fast Ferry vessel is to be called “Liberdadi”. The name of the first vessel is Kriola. Construction of the first of the two ferries is expected to be concluded by October of this year. The second ferry, according to Cabo Verde Fast Ferry, is slated to be finished in January of 2011 (A Semana).

TELECOMS

Minister of Infrastructures, Transportation and Telecommunications Manuel Inocêncio Sousa presided on April 17 over the launch of the company Cabo TLC at the headquarters of the Windward Islands Commercial Association in Mindelo. Cabo TLC is a telecommunications company that will use VoIP technology to provide clients with communication at a relatively low cost (A Semana).

Seven out of every 10 cape Verdean inhabitants have a mobile phone according to figures presented Wednesday by the National Communication Agency (ANAC), according to which mobile telephone service subscribers now total 350,000, out of a total population of 500,000 (Macauhub).

LAND

Minister of Decentralization and Territorial Management Sara Lopes said that the government wants all of the municipal land management instruments elaborated by 2011 and that the country’s municipalities should conclude their Municipal Directive Plans by that time (A Semana).

TOURISM

Portuguese tourism company Soltrópico, which specializes in vacations to Cape Verde, has launched a travel package for the islands of Santiago and Fogo between May 1 and October 24 (A Semana).

AGRICULTURE

A small technical team led by the hydrogeology technician Mota Gomes is on Santo Antão, conducting studies to build at least three small dams on that island (Inforpress).

The cultivation of grapes in Chã de Caldeiras and in the uplands of the municipality of Mosteiros, Fogo Island, doubled in the last 30 years. In the year 2009  over 50 thousand new vine plants haven been planted (Inforpress).

EDUCATION

The Prime-minister, José Maria Neves, said that the Government created the Business and Governance School at the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV) with the objective to train new enterprise leaders (Inforpress).

ENERGY

Construction work on the solar power plants in Praia and on Sal have begun, the Cape Verdean authorities have said. The two facilities will reduce CO2 emissions by 13,000 tons per year and provide around 4 percent of Cape Verde’s entire electricity production capacity (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 11th

In Agriculture, Airports, Cape Verde, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Real estate, Security on April 11, 2010 at 7:53 pm

POLITICS

National Assembly speaker Aristides Lima received a petition this week from a group of approximately 160 citizens of European Union and other European countries expressing their concern with a series of phenomena and problems affecting their lives and their investments on the island of Boa Vista (A Semana).

ECONOMY

A lack of workers is making this year’s sugar cane harvest difficult on Santo Antão island and jeopardizing the deadlines of some of the public works under way in the northern portion of the island (A Semana).

In 2008 the Cape Verdean market had 3,689 Portuguese companies exporting goods and services, or 7.5 percent more than in 2003, the delegate of the Portuguese trade and investment promotion agency, AICEP said (Macauhub).

ENERGY

The Alentejo Regional Development Agency (ADRAL), a Portuguese-Cape Verdean consortium, is preparing a small-scale solar and wind energy generating project for the island of Fogo in partnership with the Portuguese town of Ferreira and the company Open Renewables (A Semana).

The blackout that left Praia without electricity also paralyzed the capital city’s international airport. The situation was chaotic, with those in the terminal in utter darkness, while passengers arriving on TACV flight 6070 from Portugal were retained inside the aircraft for more than 40 minutes (A Semana).

BUSINESS

Anglo-Dutch corporation Shell has announced that it is in the process of selling its 21 affiliates in Africa, including that in Cape Verde. According to website Visão News, the decision is aimed at eliminating less profitable business dealings and concentrating capital in large-scale projects liable to increase the company’s stock and distribution of petroleum and gas (A Semana).

DEFENCE

The Armed Forces (AF) will in May recruit for the first time 10 to 12 women to attend the first course of female corporals (Inforpress).

REAL ESTATE

The Tecnicil company, owner of the Vila Verde resort on Sal, will start a  sales campaign aimed at Cape Verdean families to buy flats in the resort (Inforpress).

Angola news update, April 11th

In Angola, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, South Africa on April 11, 2010 at 7:46 pm

ECONOMY

As Africa’s largest exporter of oil — surpassing Nigeria last year — Angola is one of the largest investment destinations on the continent. Despite the enormous opportunities South African business presence is still relatively insignificant. Instead, China, Brazil and even Russia are playing an important role in Angola in sectors such as construction, civil engineering and resource extraction — traditional sweet spots for South African companies (BusinessDay).

The Ministry for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fishing plans to increase inspection of Angolan territorial waters with the introduction of new patrol vessels, the Minister said in Lobito (Macauhub).

OIL

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company, plans to expand its exploration activities in Angola, Petrobras Chairman Gabrielli said in Luanda. Gabrielli held talks with Angolan President dos Santos while on a visit to Angola (Bloomberg).

The heads of Sonangol and Petrobrás analysed co-operation ties and issues related to international oil market (Angop).

Angola, which vies with Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer, expects new discoveries to boost crude output by 16 percent next year. Oil production will reach 2.2 million barrels a day by 2011, compared with 1.9 million barrels at present, Deputy Petroleum Minister Anibal Octavio da Silva said (Bloomberg).

TOURISM

There is one thing you should know about Luanda: hardly any tourists come here. Getting a visa can take many months and finding a hotel room, if you can afford it, is equally challenging. Read the travel postcard from Luanda at Reuters.

AIR TRAVEL

Taag, Angola’s flagship airline plans to acquire two aircraft in order to cover European routes, following its recent authorisation to re-launch flights to the European Union airspace. A quick and cheap way for the Angolan government to solve the problem would be to hand over the modern Boeing 777s owned by Sonair, the air carrier of Angolan national oil company, Sonangol (Macauhub).

BANKING

Portugal’s main banks will be able to maintain their levels of profitability in 2009 due to a rise in spreads and of foreign operation, particularly in Angola, the Fitch agency said (Macauhub).

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, February 28th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Tourism, Travel on February 28, 2010 at 10:24 am

POLITICS

The representative of the European Union (EU) in Cape Verde, Josep Coll, expressed today, the wish to announce during the Spanish Presidency, the partnership agreement to mobility between Cape Verde and Europe, whose negotiations are in progress (Inforpress).

ECONOMY

The Parliament approved, with abstention of the União Cabo-Verdiana Independente e Democrática (UCID), the alteration of the legal regime of the exploration of fortune games that will legalise the installation of gambling house in the country (Inforpress).

ENERGY

The Department of Energy is working to expand the building at the Palmarejo power plant and reinforce its capacity with two additional Wartsila 10 MW generators as a part of the government’s effort to centralize electricity production on the island of Santiago (A Semana).

TOURISM

The Department of Tourism held a forum in Praia to present its new website, the new tourism magazine and the Cape Verde Brand. The event, denominated “Cape Verde Wave” (“Onda Cabo Verde”), is hoped to involve all those connected to the sector in the implementation of the Strategic Tourism Plan (A Semana).

FOGO

São Filipe mayor Eugénio Veiga called for the creation of an institution of investigation and research in the areas of volcanology and geophysics on the island of Fogo. The mayor’s request comes following a study by Germany’s Leibniz Institute, which warned about the possibility of an underwater volcanic eruption near the island of Fogo (A Semana).

AIRPORTS

The decision to locate the future Santo Antão airport in the municipality of Porto Novo enjoys the consensus of political institutions, business owners and society at large, all of whom say that what is most important is to have an airport that serves the island’s development (A Semana).

Brazil Weekly, February 14th

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

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