Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category

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, May 2nd

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Energy, Politics, Real estate, Tourism, Travel on May 2, 2010 at 10:51 am

POLITICS

Praia mayor Ulisses Correia e Silva said that the search carried out by the Judiciary Police in the São Vicente municipal chamber building was an excessive show of force. According to Correia e Silva, if similar measures had been taken regarding acts committed by the previous administration of the Praia municipal chamber, war tanks and bazookas would have been needed (A Semana).

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Cape Verde is in the race to host the headquarters of the Institute of West Africa (IWA) (Inforpress).

REAL ESTATE

Construction and real-estate company Sogei has unveiled its headquarters in one of the two buildings it has completed in Praia’s Chã d’Areia district, where two more business towers – one to serve commercial bank BAI and the other the future headquarters of the bank Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde – are under construction, making up what is already being called Praia’s financial district (A Semana).

The workers of the company Construções de Cabo Verde (CVC) that went  on strike for a period of 24 hours, demanded a salary readjustment around 20 percent, retroactive salary accumulated and better balance between the various sectors within the company (Inforpress).

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

The BAI offices in downtown Praia (Sogei).

AIRPORTS

The Cape Verdean airline company TACV started weekly flights connecting São Vicente and Lisbon (Inforpress).

During the first quarter of 2010, passenger traffic in Cape Verde’s airports grew 9.1% in relation to the same period last year. Amílcar Cabral International Airport on the island of Sal, with a total of 161,007 passengers and growth of 6% in comparison to the first quarter of 2009, accompanied the upward trend that appears to be spurring the world economy and the Cape Verdean tourism sector (A Semana).

Minister of Internal Administration Lívio Lopes presided over the unveiling of the Secure Automatic Exit and Entry Process system (known by the Portuguese-language acronym PASSE) at Boa Vista International Airport (A Semana).

The projects planned for the Sal, Boa Vista and Praia airports could come to be financed by the African Development Bank, according to an announcement by Airport and Air Security company ASA administrative council president Mário Paixão at the end of a brief visit by African Development Bank president Donald Kaberuka (A Semana).

The volume of air cargo moved in Cape Verde registered an overall reduction of two percent in the first trimester of 2010 (Inforpress).

INTERNET

Users of Internet services provided by Cabo Verde Multimédia, a subsidiary of Cabo Verde Telecom, have been experiencing frequent problems, with no explanations provided by the company (A Semana).

PRAIA

Praia mayor Ulisses Correia e Silva said that the municipal chamber is going to build a new central market in the city. The new market is to be located on the current site of the Coco soccer field in order to improve sanitary and organizational conditions. Correia e Silva presented the project for the market to Praia’s saleswomen (A Semana).

ENERGY

Germany is to invest 40 million euros in four wind farms on four islands in the Cape Verdean archipelago, Cape Verde’s Tourism Minister said (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, April 25th

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Media, Politics, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on April 25, 2010 at 1:18 pm

POLITICS

The National Assembly has approved the new journalists’ statute, which consecrates the mandatory need to have a degree of higher learning in journalism in order to practice the profession in Cape Verde (A Semana).

Former Portuguese president Ramalho Eanes admits that the decolonization process carried out by Portugal in 1975 “was not the best,” but even so considers the idea that Cape Verde should not have become independent, voiced several days ago by his successor, former Portuguese president Mário Soares, “not very reasonable” (A Semana).

DEFENCE

Cape Verde may be chosen to host the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Naval Logistics Base (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected 5% growth in the Cape Verdean economy for this year, a figure expected to improve to 5.5% in 2011, according to the institution’s World Economic Outlook (A Semana).

ENERGY

The island of São Vicente experienced several power outages Wednesday, April 21, particularly on the outskirts of the city of Mindelo and other villages, where the blackout lasted for more than 16 consecutive hours. According to water and electricity utility Electra, the power cuts were caused by a technical problem in the main generator at the Lazareto power station (A Semana).

AGRICULTURE

“The lifting of the embargo on agricultural products from the island of Santo Antão is scheduled to take place in July,” according to Minister of the Environment, Rural Development and Marine Resources José Maria Veiga (A Semana).

The City hall of Ribeira Grande de Santiago joins today to the Earth Day with a programme of distribution and planting fruit trees, in the Cidade Velha (Inforpress).

TELECOM

The project for the extension of Cabo Verde Telecom’s fiber optics network in Chã das Caldeiras on the island of Fogo will move forward with the placement of aerial rather than underground cables, despite recent protests by local residents, who feared the aerial cables would jeopardize the area’s natural beauty (A Semana).

HEALTH

Cape Verde is among the 10 countries oin Africa that have managed to decrease malaria prevalence in its territory by approximately 50 percent between 2000 and 2008, as WHO data show (Inforpress).

TRAVEL & TOURISM

The certification process is delaying the arrival of new plane ATR of the private air carrier Halcyonair (Inforpress).

The confidence indicator for the Tourism sector in Cape Verde in the first quarter posted its lowest level since 2002, the year in which the archipelago’s National Statistics Institute (INE) first launched the series of Company Economic Climate Surveys (Macauhub).

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).

Cape Verde news update, March 28th

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

POLITICS

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

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

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

ECONOMY

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

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

REAL ESTATE

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

LAW ENFORCEMENT

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

Cape Verde news update, March 21st

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

POLITICS

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

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

ECONOMY

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

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

PORTS

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

EDUCATION

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

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).

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)

Angola news update, March 7th

In Angola, Oil, Politics on March 7, 2010 at 2:28 pm

POLITICS

Angola lawmakers “unanimously” approved a new law that will increase transparency, prevent and punish corruption by public officials, the speaker of parliament, said (Bloomberg).

OIL

Portugal’s Galp Energia, Angola’s Sonangol and Sao Tome state company Petrogas may form a consortium for oil exploration in the Sao Tome and Principe exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, February 21st

In Banking, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Politics, Security on February 21, 2010 at 10:36 am

POLITICS

Strengthening municipal authorities’ powers is the main objective of a proposal approved in the most recent Council of Ministers meeting. The government will submit a proposal to parliament to alter the legal regime regulating the organization and functioning of Cape Verde’s municipalities (A Semana).

Some 50 Europeans residing on the island of Boa Vista met this week to discuss the social situation and the problems affecting the European community on the island (A Semana).

The Prime Minister of Libya arrived February 19 in Cape Verde for a 24-hour visit. Baghdadi Mahmoudi’s trip is aimed at lending continuity to bilateral cooperation projects defined during the visit Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires made to Tripoli in June of 2009 (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

Brazil is helping Cape Verde to prepare its population census, the first one to be entirely electronic, to be carried out this year, the chairman of Brazil’s Geographical and Statistics Institute (IBGE) said in Brasilia (Macauhub).

ECONOMY

A reduction in public and private investment in Cape Verde, especially after 2011, alongside reduced foreign demand, is expected to slow the rate of economic growth in Cape Verde, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (Macauhub).

Cape Verde has risen one slot on the 2010 edition of the Doing Business report, elaborated by an entity connected to the World Bank, and is currently 146th in the ranking. According to the report, it is still difficult to do business in Cape Verde, which remains near the bottom of the list that ranks countries in terms of the ease of doing business in them (A Semana).

The Minister of Labour, Vocational Training and Social Solidarity, Madalena Neves, announced the increase of the social minimum pension for five thousand escudos from July (Inforpress).

BANKING

Commercial bank BAI (Banco Africano de Investimentos) opened its first branch on the island of São Vicente, located next to the Ponte d’Água complex on the Mindelo seafront (A Semana).

Cape Verde news update, February 14th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Media, Oil, Politics, Ports, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on February 14, 2010 at 2:44 pm

POLITICS

Cape Verdean President Pedro Verona Pires met with a Venezuelan delegation made up of three cabinet ministers and the director of the country’s Department of Petroleum. The visit is the first by high-level Venezuelan officials to Cape Verde, and comes as the two countries are seeking to expand bilateral relations (A Semana).

At the same time, the president of Cape Verde’s National Assembly signed a cooperation protocol with Cuba’s parliament. The accord comes as part of a visit by a Cape Verdean parliamentary delegation to Cuba (A Semana).

The new extraordinary ambassador and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cape Verde in Senegal, Francisco Pereira da Veiga, promised today in Praia to work with persistence to fulfil the mission that was conferred to him (Inforpress).

AIR TRAVEL

The African market is responsible for 15% of TAP Air Portugal’s revenues, and is expected to grow some 6.5% this year. The continent represented the only market in which the Portuguese airline saw growth last year, reason enough for Africa to be considered one of TAP’s most important destinations. TAP will soon start operating flights to and from Sao Vicente’s Sao Pedro airport (A Semana).

TACV Cabo Verde Airlines will begin operating a direct weekly flight between São Vicente and Portuguese capital Lisbon on April 29 in order to respond to demand in Cape Verde’s northern region (A Semana).

TACV is in negotiations aiming to take Brazilian adepts to the first World Football Cup to be hold in Africa,  next June (Inforpress).

TELECOM

The liberalization of the telecommunications sector in Cape Verde in 2006 resulted in an exponential increase in the number of mobile telephone users from some 100,000 to the current figure of nearly 300,000 (A Semana).

MEDIA

The Council of Ministers, Cape Verde’s cabinet, this week analyzed a number of proposed alterations to the law regulating media outlets and journalistic activities in the country. The main innovations include the introduction of on-line publications, the consecration of collective entities’ right to respond and the right to clarification (A Semana).

PORTS

Rough seas with waves of more than five meters caused the rupture of some 30 meters of the wall protecting Vale dos Cavaleiros port in São Filipe, on the island of Fogo. The waves are now endangering various other buildings at the sea port, including the passenger terminal (A Semana).

The first phase of refurbishment and expansion work on the port of Porto Novo is due to begin next May, the chief executive of national ports management company, Enapor, Jorge Pimenta Rodrigues said in Santo Antão (Macauhub).

BANKING

The chairman of the board of the Administration of the African Bank of Investment (BAI – Cape Verde ), David Jasse, announced that his bank intends to conquer 15 percent of the Cape Verdean market in three years (Inforpress).

WIND

The installation of four wind farms on four Cape Verdean islands is due to begin in the archipelago’s capital Praia, whose municipal council signed an agreement to grant land for the project on the outskirts of the city. Representing an investment of US$84 million, the four wind farms will produce between 22.5 and 28 megawatts of power, and the wind farm to be built near Praia will have a capacity of 10 megawatts (Macauhub).

Brazil Weekly, February 14th

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

Be welcome to visit the latest edition of Brazil Weekly.

Angola news update, February 14th

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

POLITICS

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

ECONOMY

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

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

OIL

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

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

Cape Verde news update, February 7th

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

POLITICS

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

ECONOMY

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

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

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

BUSINESS

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

BANKING

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

PORTS

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

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

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

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

AIR TRAVEL

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

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

ENERGY

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

Brazil Weekly, February 7th

In Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Politics on February 7, 2010 at 3:27 pm

Be welcome to visit the latest edition of Brazil Weekly

Angola news update, February 7th

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

POLITICS

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

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

ECONOMY

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

MINING

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

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

BANKING & FINANCE

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

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

OIL

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

AGRICULTURE

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

BUSINESS

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

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

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

REAL ESTATE

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

Introducing Brazil Weekly

In Airports, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate on January 31, 2010 at 2:19 pm

From now on Brazil will have its own pages on Atlantico Weekly, which of course does justice to the country’s size and importance. The first issue of Brazil Weekly is now online. It deals with political, economic, business and related news in the same way as you may expect from Atlantico Weekly.

Go to 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 31st

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Politics, Tourism, Travel on January 31, 2010 at 11:32 am

ECONOMY

The government has expressed its satisfaction with the improved raking of Cape Verde on the 2010 Economic Freedom Index released by The Heritage Foundation /Wall Street Journal, and has downplayed the drop in one slot since last year (A Semana).

European Union

Cape Verde’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities, José Brito, met in Brussels with European Union diplomatic officials for the first evaluation meeting between Praia and Brussels following the Lisbon Treaty (A Semana).

BANKING

The new board of directors of Cape Verdean bank Banco Comercial do Atlântico, owned by Portugal’s Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), is considering the possibility of a capital increase this year, the bank’s new chairman said (VisaoNews).

Also Cape Verdean bank, Banco Interatlântico plans to increase its capital from 600 million to 1 billion Cape Verdean escudos (from 5.4 million to 9.06 million euros), the bank’s chairman said (Macauhub).

TRAVEL

TAP-Air Portugal is waiting for operational conditions to start flying directly from Lisbon to the Cape Verdean island of Sao Vicente, the representative of the Portuguese airline said (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, January 24th

In Airports, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate, Retail, Tourism, Travel on January 24, 2010 at 10:45 pm

POLITICS

Gandhi had to wait until 34 years after his death before he appeared on cinema screens around the world. George Bush junior, by contrast, was the victim of an Oliver Stone biopic during the last year of his presidency. Now a Brazilian director, Fábio Barreto, has done the same for Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as he starts his final year of office (The Economist).

It is 25 years since Brazil moved from dictatorship to democracy, but its army remains surprisingly unreformed. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was rudely reminded of this just before Christmas when he signed a decree calling for a truth commission to investigate torture, killings and disappearances during military rule between 1964 and 1985. Within 24 hours the heads of the three armed forces threatened to resign along with Nelson Jobim, the defence minister. Lula seemed quick to retreat. He was reported as saying the government would think again (The Economist).

Speculation is intensifying over the political future of Henrique Meirelles, Brazil’s central bank chief, as October’s general elections draw closer, raising concerns over the continuity of monetary policy (Reuters).

2010 will mark the election of the 36th official President of the Brazilian Republic. Although the official calendar for campaigning does not begin until October 3rd, the political atmosphere is already dense with debate. The deadline for candidate registry isn’t until July 5th, but with parties looking to affiliate themselves to recent Brazilian political triumphs – such as the Olympics – a handful of pre-candidates for the presidency are already popping into the limelight. Amongst the many who plan to run, the current forerunners are: Marina Silva (PV-AC), José Serra (PSDB-SP), Dilma Rousseff (PT), and Ciro Gomes (PSB-CE). Check them out at Rio Times.

ECONOMY

Brazilian households like to buy the newest gadget and prefer to spend on items that will enhance their short-term wellbeing rather than save for a rainy day. This partly explains Brazil’s low saving rate – which has fluctuated around 17 per cent of GDP over the last decade, a number that contrasts sharply with China’s 45-50 per cent. Read the view by Arminio Fraga.

Brazil’s economy should grow 5.2 percent in 2010, the country’s finance minister said, underscoring a strong rebound in Latin America’s largest economy (Reuters).

The European Union and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc led by Brazil and Argentina, are studying restarting talks this year to reach a free-trade agreement, an EU trade official said (Bloomberg).

Brazilian exports to the US fell by 42 percent in 2009, to US$15.7 billion, with China replacing the US as Brazil’s top export market, with US$19.9 billion of exports, or more than 13 percent of all Brazil’s exports, according to figures released by the Ministry of Trade (Rio Times).

BANKING & FINANCE

Banco Bradesco, Brazil’s second-largest private-sector bank, said it agreed to buy Mexican bank Ibi Mexico for an undisclosed sum, marking its first international foray in retail banking as it seeks to take advantage of rising credit demand (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-run utility holding Eletrobras plans to raise $4 billion this year to hedge costs associated with the commercialization of energy from the giant Itaipu dam. However, that money will not go to paying overdue dividends, company president Jose Antonio Muniz said. Eletrobras will pay those dividends from its own funds, he said. The company agreed earlier on Friday to pay 10.33 billion reais ($5.65 billion) in overdue dividends dating to the 1970s (Reuters).

Qatar is interested in buying minority stakes in Petrobras and Banco do Brasil, a Brazilian cabinet official told Reuters. The country’s investment agency already owns a $300 million stake in Brazil’s Vale, the world’s largest iron ore miner (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian oil and gas start-up company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes saidit had found signs of hydrocarbons in a well in the southern part of the offshore Campos basin (Reuters).

MINING

A Brazilian scientist is developing a method of purifying contaminated waste water that accumulates at mining sites by using a genetically modified bacteria that can absorb heavy metals (Reuters).

INVESTMENT

Carrefour SA, Europe’s biggest retailer, plans to invest 2.5 billion reais ($1.4 billion) in Brazil in the next two years to expand in the north and northeast regions of Latin America’s largest economy (Bloomberg).

REAL ESTATE

Housing prices in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro will jump as much as 40 percent in the next year as record-low interest rates and a growing Brazil economy boost demand, according to the chief executive officer of Gafisa SA (Bloomberg).

AIR TRAVEL

The continuing growth of the domestic airline industry has stimulated investors and over the last few months more airlines have obtained permits to begin operations while others have obtained concessions for new domestic routes (Rio Times).

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 173 other followers