Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Ports’ Category

Cape Verde Business & Economy

In Agriculture, Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Ports, Real estate, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on September 17, 2010 at 8:27 am

CV Fast Ferry’s first vessel Kriola nearing completion at the Singapore facilities of Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands (Source: FORCV)

AGRI

With the latest rains registered over the past two days, farmers on the islands of Fogo and Brava are even more hopeful regarding the prospects for a good harvest. In some of the higher-altitude regions of the two islands, agricultural workers have begun harvesting the first fruits of their labor (A Semana).

AVIATION

Tropical storm Julia, which has been lashing Cape Verde with rain and winds since Sunday afternoon, has already forced TACV Cabo Verde Airlines to cancel a number of domestic and international flights (A Semana).

Praia International Airport has a new parking lot with a total of 429 parking spaces (A Semana).

The tourism industry in Cape Verde and Boa Vista has received a further boost with the news that Cape Verde Experience plan to run flights from Stansted and Bristol.  The sister company of Gambia Experience will also add flights between Cape Verde and Banjul, Gambia, opening up possibilities for multi-centre holidays (Assetz)

REAL ESTATE

Commercial bank Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde acquired 89.8% of the future bonds issued by state real-estate company IFH, for the first time achieving a position of leadership in a Stock Exchange operation in Cape Verde. With the funds from the bond issue, IFH expects to be able to complete the infra-structuring of its Palmarejo Grande real estate project in Praia by March of 2011 (A Semana).

Cape Verde is rapidly attracting visitors and investors alike looking to capitalise on what promises to be the world’s next property hot spot. Nestled 400km off the coast of West Africa, the Cape Verde islands boast a year-round temperate climate, meaning there’s no low season, leading to exceptionally high occupancy rates and rental yields for investors (Assetz).

TELECOMS

Cabo Verde Telecom has suspended salary negotiations and unilaterally decided to grant a 2.5% wage increase, retroactive to January of this year (A Semana).

Angola Business News

In Airports, Angola, Economy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports, Travel on September 17, 2010 at 8:27 am

POLITICS

Angola’s powerful Economy Minister, Manuel Nunes Junior, will step down soon, two privately owned weekly newspapers cited unnamed sources as saying (Reuters).

The campaign for Angola’s 2012 elections is off to a ill-tempered start with the ruling MPLA party and the opposition UNITA party accusing each other of dirty tactics that threaten a return to violence in the oil producing nation (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Angola’s annual inflation quickened to 13.99 percent year-on-year in August from 13.7 percent the previous month, the National Statistics Institute said (Reuters).

Angola’s central bank has loosened the kwanza peg by allowing local banks to bid for U.S. dollars at its weekly auctions with fewer bidding restrictions (Reuters).

Higher exports and oil prices have helped Angola’s economy recover in 2010, while companies are spending more now that the government has started to pay off some of its debt, the deputy governor of the country’s central bank said (Reuters).

OIL

Angola’s daily crude oil exports are scheduled to drop in November, according to the preliminary loading plan which excludes shipments of the Palanca grade (Bloomberg).

AVIATION

Air France-KLM plans flights to new African destinations, among which Angola (Bloomberg).

BUSINESS

A shipyard with a 250 metre-long dock was opened in Porto Amboim, in Angola’s Kwanza Sul province, as part of an investment of US$150 million.
The investment is part of a partnership between Angolan company Cenbir and Dutch company Heerema Marine Contractors, and the shipyard has two 300-ton cranes, two transport rafts and a tug (Macauhub).

Portugal’s largest builder Mota-Engil plans to sell a 49 percent stake in its Angolan unit to local partners Sonangol and BFA in the next few weeks, Chief Financial Officer Luis Silva said (Reuters).

TRADE

The trade volume between India and Angola is estimated at over USD 5 billion (ANGOP).

Cape Verde Business & Economy

In Agriculture, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Ports, Real estate, Telecom on September 10, 2010 at 9:41 am

ECONOMY

The Cape Verdean government plans to reduce customs taxes on products covered by the Civil Aviation Agreement to zero, and has already handed the country’s parliament a proposal for this purpose (Macauhub).

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

A new development for Baia das Gatas on Sao Vicente island (Source: escape-verde.com).

AGRI

On the islands of Fogo and Brava, perspectives for a good harvest appear to be favorable. Although rains began to fall slightly later than expected in several zones, farmers are hopeful (A Semana).

TWITTER & LINKEDIN

You can now follow Atlantico Weekly on Twitter at atlanticoweekly.

Also be welcome to join our Atlantico Weekly networking and discussion group on Linkedin.

BANKING

Commercial bank BCN unveiled its newest branch Monday, September 6 in Nova Sintra, on the island of Brava. The agency is the bank’s 22nd (A Semana).

The rate of bankarization (access to banking services) in Cape Verde totalled 89.1 percent at the end of 2009, according to a report from the Bank of Cape Verde (Macauhub).

PORTS

A mobile scanner and a vehicle to be used in the inspection of baggage at Praia sea port was handed out to the National Light and Small-Caliber Weapons Control Commission (COMNAC) by Minister of Internal Administration Lívio Lopes (A Semana).

TELECOMS

Cape Verdean telecommunications company, Cabo Verde Telecom is implementing an investment plan of 30 million euros to improve the quality of telecommunications, specifically Internet access (Macauhub).

Cape Verde Business & Economy

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

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

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

PORTS

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

HOTELS

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

TWITTER & LINKEDIN

You can now follow Atlantico Weekly on Twitter at atlanticoweekly.

Also be welcome to join our Atlantico Weekly networking and discussion group on Linkedin.

AGRI

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

TELECOMS

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

AVIATION

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

POWER

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

Cape Verde Business & Economy

In Cape Verde, Economy, Ports, Telecom, Tourism on August 27, 2010 at 8:34 am

ECONOMY

President Pedro Pires has signed a law decree setting the basic social pension at 5,000 escudos per month. The measure is retroactive to July 1 of this year (A Semana).

BUILDING OF THE WEEK

Impression of the Tropical Resort under construction on Sal (Imobrisa)

WANTED:

Architects, please send in your projects in Angola and Cape Verde and help us continue the Building of the Week feature….

PORTS

Cape Verde’s ports are projected to grow from 150/200 to 400/500 ships and to increase the number of re-exported containers from 2,000 to 4-5,000, whilst also serving as a platform for oil company ships in the mid Atlantic (Macauhub).

TELECOMS

Cape Verdeans continue to show a preference for mobile phones over land lines, according to data from the National Communications Agency (ANAC), whose figures indicate that the number of mobile phone service subscribers grew by 5% in the first half of 2010 (A Semana).

TOURISM

Some of the world’s main cruise ship companies have begun including the island of São Vicente on their routes, namely Saga Cruises and Noble Caledonia. Cape Verde is described on Noble Caledonia’s website as an “incredibly intriguing archipelago” with beaches and “extraordinary sand dunes,” and an aridness that contrasts with “exuberant mountainous islands” (A Semana).

Angola Business News

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

ECONOMY

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

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

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

LAW ENFORCEMENT

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

OIL

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

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

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

BUSINESS

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

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

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

SPLIT SECOND POLL

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).

Angola business news

In Airports, Angola, Investments, Oil, Ports on June 13, 2010 at 10:49 am

OIL

Maersk Oil said its Chissonga-2 appraisal well in Block 16 offshore Angola yielded encouraging results and it expected to decide in early 2011 whether to start production (Reuters).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Foreigners working in Angola’s booming construction sector are sexually abusing underage girls in the southern city of Huila, an anti-Aids organisation said (News24).

A human rights campaigner has been sentenced to three years in jail by an Angolan court that convicted him of committing crimes against the state, in what his lawyer says is part of a crackdown on activists (News24).

PORTS

The acquisition of three tug boats will make it possible to speed up the process of mooring and departure of ships at the port of Luanda, the managing director of the Angolan Maritime and Port Institute said (Macauhub).

ENERGY

The start of operation of the Ngove hydroelectric dam in 2011 in Angola, will make it possible for the government of Huambo province to save 843 million kwanza (US$9 million) (Macauhub).

AIRPORTS

Angola’s Minister for Urbanism and Construction, José Ferreira, announced the construction, as of next year, of a new airport for the city of Mbanza Kongo, the capital of Zaire province (Macauhub).

Angola business news

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Economy, Investments, Politics, Ports, Travel on May 30, 2010 at 11:17 am

ECONOMY

Angola’s parliament is due to vote on a new law that would end the central bank’s ability to determine monetary policy, a proposal submitted to parliament for approval showed (BusinessDay).

South African companies are discovering the business opportunities in Angola. Read the story at BusinessDay.

The fiscal and customs incentive policies adopted by Angolan Government in 2003 have been attracting investments into the country’s least developed provinces (ANGOP).

Fiscal Police effectives will need to redouble efforts in the fight against tax evasion, so as to guarantee better results in terms of revenue that can be channelled to the State’s General Budget (ANGOP).

PORTS

Around 200 hectares of the land on which the future port of Luanda will be built, in Angola’s Bengo province, have been demined, the National De-Mining Institute (Inad) said (Macauhub).

Cooperation between Japan and Angola has made it possible to refurbish the port of Namibe, an investment worth US$24 million, the director general of the port, Bento da Paixão said (Macauhub).

MARKET LIFE

In the slums of Angola’s capital Luanda lies one of Africa’s biggest outdoor markets, Roque Santeiro, where poor Luanda residents can make a living or buy cheap food for their families. Read the report at Reuters.

BANKING

The International Businesses Bank (BNI) two more counters in Lobito and Benguela cities as part of the expansion of its services throughout the country (ANGOP).

AVIATION

The air company “Emirates” has just released recently in Dubai, a service to permit its clients to buy tickets through mobile phone, named “Mobile Emirates.com” (ANGOP).

BUSINESS

Angoflex dealing in manufacturing pipes for oil firms has increased  its production from 80 to 200 pipes per day, in the first quarter of this year, its director-general, Philippe Monti, announced (ANGOP).

A new beer brand, dubbed “Tchizo”, was released in the northern Cabinda province, in a ceremony witnessed by the governor of northern Cabinda province, Mawete João Baptista (ANGOP).

Portuguese group Sociedade Lusa de Negócios (SLNI) is to build a cement factory in Angola under the terms of a contract signed in Luanda with the Angolan National Private Investment Agency (ANIP) (Macauhub).

Cape Verde Business & Economy

In Agriculture, Cape Verde, Economy, Ports, Real estate, Security, Stock exchange, Tourism, Travel on May 16, 2010 at 10:14 am

ECONOMY

Bank of Cape Verde governor Carlos Burgo has confirmed forecasts predicting a slight recovery for the nation’s economy, which is expected to grow between 4% and 5% this year, with a “significant” reduction of the risks predicted in initial forecasts. Burgo also forecasts growth in Cape Verde’s GDP and slight improvement in public revenues, but alerted to “existing risks and uncertainties” (A Semana).

A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived in Cape Verde Thursday as part of the evaluation of the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Portuguese travel agency Entremares is promoting its “Cape Verdean Triangle” program, which offers tourists three nights on the island of Sal, two nights on São Vicente and two nights on Santiago, with prices starting at 949 euros per person in double rooms (A Semana).

FINANCE

Sal will be the first municipality in Cape Verde to issue future bonds on the Stock Exchange to obtain financing. The Sal municipal assembly has approved the technical details of the public offer totaling 200 million escudos. Praia is likely to follow close on Sal’s heels, with a 450 million-escudo bond issue (A Semana).

PORTS

The scanners purchased by port management company Enapor from Chinese firm Nuctech to heighten shipping container traffic security at Praia, Mindelo and Palmeira sea ports are expected to be operational starting next month (A Semana).

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).

Angola weekly news update, March 28th

In Angola, Biofuels, Economy, Oil, Ports, Real estate on March 28, 2010 at 9:55 am

ECONOMY

Angola’s parliament has approved a law meant to support biofuel production, as the government tries to diversify the economy which currently depends on oil. Agriculture Minister Afonso Pedro Kanga noted concerns that developing biofuels could harm Angola’s efforts to revive food crops and assured that only “marginal” lands would be allowed to produce biofuels leaving the most fertile lands for food production (News24).

Angola continues to be one of the United States’ main trading partners in sub-Saharan Africa according to a study from the US Congress Research Center. The study said that in 2008 (last year analysed in the document) the overwhelming majority of US imports from the region was focused on three countries: Nigeria (44 percent), Angola (22 percent) and South Africa (12 percent) (Macauhub).

Angola will start paying off arrears to building companies in April, Urban Planning and Construction Minister Jose da Silva Ferreira said. Failure to settle the arrears, which the government said in July 2009 had reached around $2 billion, could have a negative impact on Angola’s first credit rating and the sale of up to $4 billion in bonds due to take place in coming months (Reuters).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Seven Angolan policemen were sentenced to 24 years each in jail for the murder of eight men in a poor neighbourhood, in what analysts said was a key step forward in a drive to end widespread police brutality (Reuters).

OIL

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola will negotiate the management of a common zone of interest to end a dispute over offshore oil deposits, Joseph Pili Pili, the Congolese oil ministry liasion with Angola, said (Bloomberg).

CONSTRUCTION

Israeli construction company LR Group plans to build 100,000 social houses in Angola as part of the government programme to build 1 million homes by 2012 (Macauhub).

OPWAY Angola will build the first phase of the Muxima Plaza project in Luanda, representing an investment of US$34 million. OPWAY Angola is a partnership involving the Escom group and OPWAY Engenharia (Macauhub).

SHIPPING

Sea freight to import goods to Angola is quite expensive, due to the weak negotiating capacity of national importers, the director-general of the National Shipper’s Council (CNC) said. He also said that currently shipping to Angola has seen a slight drop of around 13 percent, although it remained at around US$8,000 per 20 TEU container (Macauhub).

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).

Angola news update, March 21st

In Angola, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Oil, Ports, Travel on March 21, 2010 at 10:57 am

ECONOMY

Angola must take further steps to create a “sustainable” fiscal position, limit inflation and build its foreign-exchange reserves, the International Monetary Fund said (Bloomberg).

Angola’s economic indicators remained stable in 2009 with the economy growing 2.7 percent in real terms due to the expansion of the non-oil sector, according to a report approved by the Angolan government (Macauhub).

PORTS

The country has saved between 500 million to one billion US dollars, through the reduction in the time of goods clearance at the Luanda Port to about 10 to 15 days (ANGOP).

Soyo Port, in the northern Zaire Province, is increasing its investments framework in technical and administrative infrastructures to meet the economic growth demand in this region of the country (ANGOP).

OIL

Angola may request a review of its oil-production quota, the country’s Oil Minister said (Bloomberg).

BUSINESS

The internationalisation of the Portuguese  Modelo Continente supermarket chain to Angola is due to happen this year, the chairman of the Sonae group, Model’s mother company, said (Macauhub).

Edifer Angola increased its turnover in 2009 by 35 percent to US$202 million and posted a net profit of US$22 million, the chairwoman of the Edifer group, Vera Pires Coelho said (Macauhub).

Net profit at Banco Espírito (BES) Angola rose to 152 million euros in 2009, a year on year rise of 86 percent (Macauhub).

ATLANTICO

Brazilian airline Puma Air is due to begin flights to Angola next June or July.
A Boeing 767 will be used on the Recife-Luanda, Angola route,” CEO Gambogi said adding, “we will be the only Brazilian airline with flights to Africa.” As well as Brazilian investors, one of Puma’s shareholders, with 20 percent, is air carrier Angola Air Service.  Puma Air said that there 45,000 Brazilians living in Luanda, a market that is boosted by projects of Brazilian companies such as Petrobras (Macauhub).

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).

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).

Surinam news update, January 31st

In Airports, Banking, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Ports, Surinam, Tourism, Travel on January 31, 2010 at 1:03 pm

FINANCE

Surinam insurance company Self Reliance announced it will take over Clico-Surinam, another local insurance company that was hit hard by the global crisis. The bail-out by Self Reliance was made possible with financial support from the Surinam Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Surinam (DWT).

PORTS

A trio of local banks, DSB-bank, Hakrinbank and RBTT will loan an amount of 28 million SRD to Surinam Port authority NV Havenbeer. This sum is needed to co-finance a second phase of the expansion and improvement of Paramaribo’s Nieuwe Haven Terminal (DWT).

AIR TRAVEL

SLM, Surinam Airways, is considering hiring a second Airbus A340-300 for the expansion of its route Paramaribo-Amsterdam and the development of new routes to the US, Canada and Europe (DWT).

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).

Brazil news update, January 3rd

In Airports, Banking, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Ports, Real estate on January 3, 2010 at 3:43 pm

ECONOMY

Brazil’s government will turn its focus to investment and away from stimulus measures, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, as the country’s economy makes a robust exit from recession (Reuters).

Brazil’s state development bank BNDES will focus its 2010 lending on energy projects and infrastructure to support continued economic growth, bank president Luciano Coutinho said (Reuters).

Brazil’s tax collection may rise 11 percent next year, allowing the government to boost spending while still meeting its fiscal targets (Bloomberg)

RIO

‘The Olympic Effect’ may already be well underway in Rio’s real estate market with prices expected to double in many of the city’s neighborhoods by 2016, but values in one of the most fashionable parts of the city will receive another significant boost later on this month (Rio Times).

BUSINESS

American agribusiness company Bunge is more than doubling its sugar cane milling capacity in Brazil, by acquiring sugar and ethanol producer Moema for US$452 million in stock (Rio Times).

Brazilian lender Itau Unibanco is considering buying stakes in one of the United Kingdom banks rescued by the government during the height of the global credit crisis of 2008, the U.K. Sunday Times reported (Reuters).

Brazilian mining company Vale expects iron ore production in 2010 to reach about 300 million tonnes, Chief Executive Roger Agnelli said (Reuters).

Brazil’s state-controlled energy firm Petrobras bought a 40.4 percent stake in a mill that produces ethanol biofuel from sugar cane, the company said in a filing with the local securities market regulator (Reuters).

Goldman Sachs plans to start a private pension fund in Brazil in the first quarter of 2010. New York-based Goldman is negotiating a partnership with an insurance company to distribute the fund (Bloomberg).

PORTS & AIRPORTS

LLX Logistica, the Brazilian logistics firm controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, said it obtained a loan of 408 million reais ($234 million) for its Sudeste Port from state development bank BNDES (Reuters).

Brazil’s government will raise investments in airports to prepare for the 2014 World Cup, Budget Minister Paulo Bernardo said. Brazil may have 10 percent more passengers during this period, Bernardo said in an interview to government radio Radiobras (Bloomberg).

OIL

Brazilian oil and gas start-up company OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes said it had found signs of more hydrocarbons in well 1-OGX-3-RJS, off Rio de Janeiro’s coast in the southern part of the Campos basin (Reuters).

ENERGY

Demand for electricity in Brazil will probably soar next year as factories ramp up output and household income continues to rise, a government agency said (Reuters).

Angola news update, January 3rd

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Economy, Investments, Media, Oil, Ports on January 3, 2010 at 2:56 pm

ECONOMY

Traffic defines life in Luanda, Angola’s rapidly expanding capital. Traffic and fresh concrete. In many minds, Angola remains synonymous with the Africa of war, a bullet-strafed nation where civil conflict raged for so long that it seemed beyond redemption. Read the report in the Mail & Guardian.

Angola is in the international spotlight. From magazine covers to billboards, messages of “Viva Angola” and “Proud to be Angolan” in Luanda mark the war-scarred Southern African nation’s rising international presence. Read another report in the Mail & Guardian.

OIL

Angola will not hold a bidding round for new oil concessions for at least another year, the head of state-owned oil company Sonangol said (Reuters).

The total production of crude-oil in Angola, from January to November 2009, reached 601,492,344 barrels, which represents a significant decrease in comparison to the same period of 2008, in which was produced 635,755,166 barrels (ANGOP).

Angola’s oil minister, Botelho de Vasconcelos said that the new refinery located in Lobito would only be concluded in 2014 or 2015. Angolan newspaper Jornal de Angola reported that the new refinery was intended to make up for the current refining deficit of around 50 percent (Macauhub).

MEDIA

A company owned by the daughter of Angola’s president agreed to buy a 10 percent stake in Portugal’s pay TV and Internet company Zon in a deal that also marks the beginning of Zon’s expansion to Africa (Reuters).

Zon Multimedia SA, which announced a venture to provide pay-television service in Angola, said the African country’s market has the potential to grow several times over (Bloomberg).

STOCK EXCHANGE

Angola may list parts of its state-run oil company, Sonangol SA, in 2012. Sonangol is considering listing units in Johannesburg and New York, as well as in Luanda once the exchange opens, he said (Bloomberg).

PORTS

At least USD 3.2 million were invested throughout the year 2009 in the rehabilitation of the Port of the southwest Namibe Province, thus enabling the reclassification and improvement of the first 240 metres of the wharf (ANGOP).

AIRPORTS

Over 500,000 passangers will travel every year through the newly inaugurated Mukanka International airport, in Lubango, southern Huila province, against the 120,000 handled by the old airport, according to Angolan Transport minister, Augusto da Silva Tomás (ANGOP).

INVESTMENTS

Sab Miller Angola plans to invest US$120 million in a tin can factory that is due to start operating in October, 2010, in Viana municipality, Luanda province (Macauhub).

Portuguese construction company Mota-Engil said Wednesday it planned to invest, in 2010, in the construction of a factory to manufacture nails and electro-soldered mesh in Benguela, Angola (Macauhub).

BANKING

Net profits in Angola’s banking sector posted growth of 98 percent in 2008, according to an annual study by KPMG about the banking sector in Angola (Macauhub).

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