Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Ports’ Category

Cape Verde news update, January 3rd

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

ECONOMY

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

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

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

ENERGY

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

REAL ESTATE

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

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

TRANSPORT

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

Brazil news update, December 20th

In Agriculture, Argentina, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Polls, Ports, Security, Tourism on December 20, 2009 at 7:28 pm

OIL & GAS

Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars more per year for imported Bolivian natural gas after a price dispute that has dragged on for years (Reuters).

Brazilian increases in oil production, along with Russia, is threatening the OPEC’s (Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries) control over oil prices. The current view of petroleum reserves may be deceptive as production, and most of all exportation, seem to be the determinant variable of the oil market equation (Rio Times).

Petrobras will get a 2.6 billion-real ($1.46 billion) loan from Brazil’s development bank, known as BNDES, to help finance construction of the Suape petrochemical complex (Bloomberg).

BUSINESS

Brazil’s CSN offered to buy Portuguese cement producer Cimpor for 3.86 billion euros ($5.6 billion) as the steelmaker slowly diversifies from its core business outside its home base (Reuters).

Brazilian meat processor Marfrig Alimentos received European Union regulatory approval for its takeover of local poultry export company Seara in a deal worth about $900 million (Reuters).

Fiat’s commercial vehicles unit Iveco has won a $3.37 billion contract to supply 2,044 armoured personnel carriers to the Brazilian army, Iveco said (Reuters). The vehicles will be produced in Brazil.

Junior miner MMX, owned by Brazilian magnate Eike Batista, will invest up to $1.2 billion to more than triple iron ore production capacity by 2015, the company’s president said (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazil’s central bank chief, Henrique Meirelles, said he was not interested in running for the vice-presidency in next October’s election and had not decided whether to step down in April (Reuters).

The governor of Brazil’s central Minas Gerais state said he would no longer seek to become the presidential candidate for the opposition PSDB party in next October’s election (Reuters).

Brazil’s president will propose a truth commission this month to investigate torture during the country’s 1964-85 military dictatorship. The move by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could mark a rare step by Brazil toward tackling the thorny question of dictatorship-era abuses (Reuters).

FINANCE

As Brazil emerges stronger than many other countries from the deepest global recession in decades, the time may have come for the largest private equity firms to plant roots in Latin America’s biggest economy (Reuters).

Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, is in talks to buy a stake in Argentina’s Banco Patagonia in what would be the state-run bank’s biggest international foray (Reuters).

SECURITY

One minute Victor Javier was rapt in a carefree game of beach soccer; the next he was a hapless victim of Rio de Janeiro’s “shock of order” crackdown. Rio state this month hired former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who takes credit for cleaning up the Big Apple, to help advise it on the Brazilian city’s crime problems (Reuters).

ECONOMY

After months of bullish forecasts from analysts in Brazil and around the world, the economic recovery has proven to have progressed at a significantly slower rate than has been anticipated over the last financial quarter (Rio Times).

The Brazilian government has announced that the bidding process for the construction and operation of a high-speed rail line that will link Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Campinas is to begin (Rio Times).

Chile and Brazil form part of 10- country group called ‘advanced emerging markets,’ Barclays Plc said. Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Israel, China, South Africa, Poland and the Czech Republic are also part of the group, Barclays analysts including Eduardo Levy-Yeyati wrote in a report (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, December 20th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Politics, Ports, Security, Telecom, Travel on December 20, 2009 at 4:59 pm

SECURITY

The border service at Sal’s Amílcar Cabral International Airport has started carrying out consultations using the new PASSE border control system, the same day the system was officially unveiled by Minister of Internal Administration Lívio Lopes and by Portugal’s State Secretary of Internal Administration, Dalila Araújo (A Semana).

ECONOMY

Between 2005 and 2007, Cape Verde grew at an annual average of 8.4%, according to data to be presented tomorrow, December 16, by the National Statistics Institute INE) (A Semana).

United States congressman Barney Frank congratulated the directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for its historic decision to make Cape Verde the first country eligible for a second Millennium Challenge Account compact in Washington, D.C. The MCC’s chief executive officer responded with praise for Cape Verde (A Semana).

The National Assembly approved a bill reducing customs tariffs for construction and pavements materials, aircraft parts, telecommunications, electricity, sound and photographic equipment and accessories, and a number of other articles. The bill was approved 51 favorable votes – 39 from the PAICV, 11 from the MpD and one from the UCID – and two abstentions (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

São Pedro Airport on the island of São Vicente has been authorized to receive international flights by the Civil Aeronautics Agency. The airport  received its first international cargo flight, a Boeing 737 sent by Portuguese airline TAP that will bring equipment for the airline’s international operations on the island (A Semana).

PORTS

The first phase in the expansion and modernization of Vale dos Cavaleiros sea port in São Filipe, Fogo, will be unveiled this week. The 140 million-escudo project was executed by construction company Armando Cunha (A Semana).

ENERGY

The government of Cape Verde and two foreign companies, Vestel and Infraco signed a contract for construction of four wind farms, aimed at providing 25 percent of the electricity consumed on the archipelago (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, December 6th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Politics, Ports, Security, Tourism, Travel on December 6, 2009 at 3:46 pm

AIRPORTS & TRAVEL

São Pedro Airport on the island of São Vicente received a test flight of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ Boeing 757-200 at 2:20 pm December 4. This is one of the final tests in the audit being carried out by the Civil Aeronautics Agency (AAC) prior to allowing the airport to open for international flights (A Semana).

The financial directorships of TACV Cabo Verde Airlines and Airport and Air Security company ASA reached an accord on the night of Monday, November 30, to overcome the impasse regarding the payment of the flagship airline’s debt to the airport management company, estimated at more than 1.3 billion escudos. TACV has promised to pay more than 10 million escudos per month to ASA (A Semana).

PORTS

The process of privatisation of Cape Verde’s port services is due to be concluded in June, 2010, the manager of the Programme for Regulation and Privatisations in Cape Verde said in Praia. The ports of Praia and Mindelo are due to be handed over to two concession-holders, whilst the port of Palmeira will have just one concession (Macauhub).

HEALTH

Cape Verde’s Minister of Health, Basílio Mosso Ramos, announced that Cape Verde had registered 272 new cases of AIDS in 2008, indicating a stabilization in the number of new infections in the archipelago. Cape Verde’s seroprevalance is 0.8% (A Semana).

POLITICS

The president of opposition party MpD, Carlos Veiga, will be a special guest at the congress of the European People’s Party (PPE) in Bonn, Germany between December 8 and 10. The party is a member of the Centrist Democrat International, of which the MpD is also a part. The meeting’s host will be German Chancellor Angela Merkel (A Semana).

FINANCE

Eight microfinance institutions undergo training in the realm of data base normalization. The course, which is being supported by the Millennium Challenge Account – Cape Verde, is aimed at raising the entities’ capacities in order for them to be able to normalize their data bases, thus making it easier for them to migrate to a new system in the future. The course will be administered by a consultant from Planet Finance – Brazil, Ricardo Linder, and will take place at the National Administration and Management Institute (INAG) (A Semana).

SECURITY

After several months of relative calm, thieves have once again begun attacking tourists on the beaches of Boa Vista. Local police have registered robberies victimizing tourists on the beaches of Estoril, Chaves and Cabo de Santa Maria (A Semana).

Panama unlocking its Canal and future

In Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Panama, Ports on December 6, 2009 at 3:28 pm

Ten years ago Panama took possession of the canal that bears its name.  Under Panamanian control the canal was run much better than under the Americans.  Panama now has high hopes for a $5.25 billion expansion of the waterway to boost the economy ot the tiny country. Read the full report in The Economist

Brazil news update, November 8th

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Ports, Real estate, Telecom on November 8, 2009 at 2:07 pm

ECONOMY

Brazil will publish on Monday a preliminary list of U.S. goods it intends to hit with trade sanctions in retaliation for Washington’s cotton subsidies, a senior government official told Reuters.

Emboldened by emergency measures that helped pull Brazil out of a brief recession, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is intervening more aggressively in the economy and betting on big government (Reuters).

Brazilian congressional committees passed two of four bills designed to overhaul the country’s oil legislation and give the government greater control over vast new offshore reserves (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Mexico’s state oil company Pemex said it signed a letter of intent with a consortium led by Brazil’s Braskem SA to supply raw materials for a proposed petrochemicals plant the consortium may build in Mexico (Reuters).

Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer will produce its 120-seat E-190 jet in China to respond faster when the country’s aviation market recovers, O Estado de S. Paulo said (Reuters).

Brazilian iron ore mining company Vale signed an agreement worth 900 million reais ($520 million) over three years granting access to its railway and port operations to local steel maker Usiminas (Reuters).

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, will partner with mining giant Vale to build a steel mill in southeastern Brazil as part of a plan to spend $5 billion in the South American country, Chief Executive Officer Lakshmi Mittal told daily Valor Economico (Reuters).

OIL & GAS

Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras said it signed an agreement to buy Chevron Chile, a producer and seller of industrial lubricants under the brand name Texaco in Chile, for around $12 million (Reuters).

Brazil’s Petrobras has found natural gas in Peru’s Amazon jungle and the discovery of about 1 trillion cubic feet could turn out to be much larger, Peruvian President Alan Garcia said (Reuters).

INVESTMENT

Gerdau, Brazil’s largest steelmaker, plans capital expenditures of 9.5 billion reais ($5.5 billion) for the 2010-2014 period, with around 80 percent of the investments within Brazil, Chief Executive Andre Gerdau Johannpeter said (Reuters).

REAL ESTATE

Brazil, a future host of the World Cup and the Olympics, is drawing global investor interest to its real estate sector. As investors and analysts predict a wave of investment in Brazil in coming months, read a sampling of recent deals at Reuters.

TELECOM

America Movil Chief Financial Officer Varlos Garcia Moreno said Brazil’s economic resilience will help its wireless industry outpace other Latin American countries through 2010 (Bloomberg).

BANKING

Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, will become a major financial center, “just like the City of London, Frankfurt and New York,” said Emilio Botin, chairman of Banco Santander SA (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, October 12th

In Angola, Cape Verde, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports, Tourism, Travel on October 12, 2009 at 5:32 pm

DIPLOMACY

Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires will begin an official visit to Germany tomorrow, on the invitation of German President Horst Köhler. The official visit will be the first by a Cape Verdean head of state to the largest economy in Europe and the third-largest economy in the world. Discussions are expected to center on matters related to Cape Verde’s special partnership with the European Union, cooperative security and renewable energy. German authorities are also expected to request Cape Verde’s support in its bid to occupy a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (A Semana).

Venezuela plans to install an oil refinery in Cape Verde, the Cape Verdean Foreign Minister said last week on announcing the signing of a deal in the energy sector with that Latin American country. José Brito, who represented Cape Verde at the recent South America-Africa summit in Venezuela, said that the deal also outlined the installation of a fuel supply warehouse on the archipelago, which is located on the route between the American, African and European continents (Macauhub).

GOVERNANCE

The 2009 Ibrahim African Governance Index was published by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, an organization which encourages quality leadership in Africa. Cape Verde came in second of the 53 African counties classified by the Index, which is considered the most important indicator of governance in Africa (A Semana).

Cape Verde fell three positions on the United Nations Human Development Index rating, and is now in 121st place. Angola, on the other hand, was the Portuguese-speaking country that showed the greatest improvement in the list, going from 157th to 143rd place (A Semana).

TOURISM

Minister of Labor, Professional Training and Social Solidarity Madalena Neves presided over the grand opening Thursday of the Gira Lua Tourist Space, located in Pai António, in the municipality of Mosteiros. The space is intended to encourage residential tourism in this coffee-producing zone of the island of Fogo (A Semana).

SHIPPING

The up-and-coming company Continental Shipping has announced its intention to enter the US-Cape Verde cargo transport market. Its first shipment is scheduled to depart from the United States in November, with its cargo arriving in Cape Verde on time for the Christmas season (A Semana).

TRADE & INVESTMENTS

Cape Verde is the second-largest market of Portuguese exports among Africa’s Portuguese-language countries, the Bank of Portugal has revealed. Cape Verde received a total of € 259.1 million in exports from Portugal. Portuguese investment abroad also grew 7.8% last year. Cape Verde received 1.9% of the € 628.8 million invested by the Portuguese in Africa’s lusophone countries, the largest receptor of Portuguese investment of which was Angola, with 92.5% of the total (A Semana).

The Boa Vista and Maio Integrated Tourist Development Corporation (SDTIBM) will promote a meeting with some 50 Cape Verdean and foreign investors on October 15 in order to present tourist investment opportunities on the two islands. The meeting will take place on Boa Vista (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

Micro and small companies from Portuguese-speaking African countries are to be supported as part of a technical cooperation agreement with Brazil, a Sebrae official said in Rio de Janeiro. José Marcelo de Miranda of Sebrae said that cooperation with Mozambique had been in place since 2008 in the areas of handicrafts and family farming and added that in Cape Verde’s case activities would begin this year (Macauhub).

Angola news update September 20th

In Airports, Angola, Argentina, Banking, Economy, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Ports, South Africa, Tourism, Travel on September 20, 2009 at 12:26 pm

INVESTMENT

About USD 600 billion is required in the next 15 years for the country to reduce its dependence on oil, the Angolan economist Alves da Rocha stated. According to him the country will need to invest that amount in order to have an industrial economy in transition to one of services by 2025, with the manufacturing industry representing 30 percent of the GDP and services sector 25% ANGOP).

OIL

The Angolan fuel distributing company SONANGOL is ready to face competition that will result from the opening of the national market to others operators of the fuel trading area (ANGOP).

Angola’s daily crude oil shipments are scheduled to drop about 6 percent in November, bringing exports from Africa’s second-biggest producer closer to its OPEC quota (Bloomberg).

GAS

Angola’s first liquified natural gas (LNG) plant is on track to start shipping gas in January 2012, Oil Minister Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos said Reuters).

EXPANSION

Angola’s state oil company Sonangol is interested in acquiring a minority stake in Portuguese utility EDP, Sonangol CEO Manuel Vicente said (Reuters).

ECONOMY

Angolan government officials will meet representatives of the International Monetary Fund in Istanbul later this month as the African country seeks help to shore up its economy (Bloomberg).

ATLANTICO

South Africa’s power utility Eskom recently agreed to assist Angola develop its large hydroelectric power potential of up to 10,000 megawatts following a state-visit by South African President Jacob Zuma to Luanda last month (Reuters).

A group of thirty businessmen from Argentina will attend a seminar on “Business Opportunities” from sept 27 to 29 in Luanda, the Argentine ambassador to Angola, Ricardo Victor Roggero, disclosed (ANGOP).

PORTS

Angola’s Sociedade Gestora de Terminais (Sogester) has invested US$8 million in construction of a provisional second line terminal, in the Viana industrial area, whilst it waits for conclusion of its permanent terminal being built in Cacuaco municipality in Luanda (Macauhub).

Sea transport company Maersk Angola is investing US$95 million in Angola in the construction of a second line terminal in Luanda in order to boost its port infrastructure area, Angolan newspaper O País reported (Macauhub).

BANKING

The National Bank of Angola (BNA) has given the “green light” to the creation of an investment bank by Angolan oil company Sonangol and Portuguese state bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Around 300,000 tourists visited Angola in 2008, a rise of around 60 percent against the previous year, according to official figures published in Luanda (Macauhub).

Angola news update, September 13th

In Angola, Banking, Economy, Infrastructure, Oil, Ports, South Africa on September 13, 2009 at 8:47 pm

BANKING

CEO-designate Sizwe Nxasana, soon to lead one of South Africa’s big banks, FirstRand, has said the group plans to set up a commercial bank in Angola (Reuters).

CONSTRUCTION

Mota-Engil SGPS SA, a Portuguese construction company, aims to have contracts for projects in Angola’s energy industry next year, Jornal de Negocios reported, citing Chairman Antonio Mota (Bloomberg).

INFRASTRUCTURE

A new road bridge over the Catumbela river in central Benguela province has been inaugurated. On the coast, the port of Lobito handled over 1.5 million tonnes in the first half of 2009. Announced was the construction project of a dry port in Bairro Luz and the construction of a quay for loading and unloading mineral material (ANGOP).

OIL

An oil exploration project dubbed Tômbua-Lândana, with 46 wells, started producing on Tuesday at Block 14, with view to reach 100,000 barrels of oil/day by the year 2010 (ANGOP).

ECONOMY

The chairman of Angola’s National Private Investment Agency (ANIP), Aguinaldo Jaime, said that despite the international financial crisis the Angolan government’s projection for this year was to reach growth of around 6 percent (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, September 13th

In Agriculture, Airports, Brazil, Cape Verde, Ports, Security, Tourism, Travel on September 13, 2009 at 1:21 pm

SECURITY

Cape Verde currently has more than 900 deportees, sent back to the archipelago by various different foreign countries. The United States tops the list of countries that have deported the most Cape Verdeans. According to Cape Verde’s Institute of Communities, “the number of Cape Verdeans deported to the country has increased in recent times (A Semana).”

PORTS

The Cape Verdean government will move forward with the privatization of the country’s port facilities in 2010, according to Portuguese newspaper Diário Económico (A Semana).

Cape Verde will be prepared to compete with any of the world’s ports in 2012, when a huge investment plan across several islands is concluded, the chairman of port management company Enapor told Portuguese news agency Lusa (Macauhub).

AGRICULTURE

Cape Verde will participate next week in the 16th International Agriculture and Agribusiness Fair in Fortaleza, the capital of the Brazilian state of Ceará. The Cape Verdean delegation is made up of a multi-disciplinary team of 65 members, 48 of them farmers (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

Low-cost airline Ryanair is studying the possibility of entering the Cape Verdean market. The Irish company opened its new northern Portugal headquarters in the city of Porto this week, and has already announced its plans to be a strong competitor of TAP Air Portugal in flight routes to Cape Verde (A Semana).

Brazil news update, August 31st

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Elections, Investments, Oil, Politics, Ports, Security on September 1, 2009 at 8:28 pm

BANKING & FINANCE

Brazil’s state development bank may allow at least five local and foreign banking groups to take part in the creation of a 7 billion reais ($3.7 billion) fund to bolster investment in small- and medium-sized enterprises, daily newspaper Valor Economico reported (Reuters).

Brazil may earn the much-coveted investment-grade rating by Moody’s Investors Service in coming weeks, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Reuters).

Banco de Brasil, Latin America’s largest bank by assets, plans to open new branches and may consider acquisitions to expand in the U.S. “Banco do Brasil is interested in being where Brazilian communities are,” the Brasilia-based bank’s vice president for international business, told reporters in Sao Paulo (Bloomberg).

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Grupo Pao de Acucar, Brazil’s largest supermarket operator, plans to use the 600 million reais ($318 million) it received to relax the terms of a consumer finance venture with lender Itau Unibanco  in acquisitions, Valor Economico said (Reuters).

The deal between Brazilian banking giant Itau Unibanco and insurance company Porto Seguro will pave the way for a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the domestic insurance market, a top industry executive told the daily Valor Economico (Reuters).

OIL

Brazil’s president proposed  giving the state more control over one of the world’s biggest recent oil finds in a high-stakes move that could drive the country’s development for decades to come (Reuters).

Lula’s plans for the development of the country’s offshore oil fields stripped Petrobras’ investors of $7 billion in a day (Bloomberg).

PORTS

DP World, the Dubai government-controlled port operator, said on Sunday it would acquire a majority stake in Embraport, a private Brazilian port in Santos, in partnership with Brazil’s Odebrecht (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazil’s former environment minister Marina Silva took another big step toward an expected presidential bid by joining the Green Party, which wants to field her in the 2010 race (Reuters).

Brazilian President Lula da Silva plans to raise primary spending — expenditures before debt payments — by about 13 percent next year, earmarking more funds for health, education, defense and family stipends (Bloomberg).

STEEL

Vale, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, will build a $3.7 billion steel plant in Brazil’s northern state of Para after being criticized by the government for paring planned investments for this year, a Brazilian newspaper said (Reuters).

Angola news update, August 29th

In Angola, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Ports, Telecom on August 30, 2009 at 1:06 pm

INVESTMENT

The private investment project called “SLN – Fábrica de Cimento e Clinker de Benguela”, approved by the Cabinet Council, is estimated at Usd 240 million. The promoters of the project are SLN-International, SGPS S.A (Portuguese company), Tecnoimóvel Limitada (Angolan company) and the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) Social Security Provident Fund (ANGOP).

The Angolan government is to invest 2.0 billion US dollars by 2012 in Soyo district in northern Zaire Province, in order to relaunch local industries based on liquefied natural gas and other petrochemicals (ANGOP).

TELECOM

The mobile-phone operator Unitel will later this year link the provinces of Luanda, Huambo, Huíla and Benguela through fibre optic cable . The company’s manager, who was speaking at the end of a meeting with Huambo governor, Albino Malungo, said that it is a nation-wide project, estimated at USD 100 million (ANGOP).

POWER

The manager for international products of Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, Sérgio Kraenzer, said that the country may be able to supply 5,319 megawatts of electrical power by 2016.  The country counts currently on distribution of 967 megawatts, a low capacity to cover all national territory (ANGOP).

PORTS

At least two new commercial ports will be constructed in Angola from 2009 to 2013, with the purpose of improving harbour services, particularly in the process of unloading, customs and clearance of containers and goods (ANGOP).

CONSTRUCTION

Depa Ltd., the interiors contractor for the world’s tallest tower in Dubai, won a 9.2 million-dirham ($2.5 million) contract to fit out the Talatona Convention Centre Hotel in Luanda, Angola (Bloomberg).

OIL

State owned oil company Sonangol is among those selected by the Iraqi government as potential bidders for exploitation of Iraqi oilfields (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, August 29th

In Airports, Angola, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Investments, Ports, Tourism on August 30, 2009 at 12:46 pm

PORTS

Work on the modernization and expansion of the dock at Porto Novo sea port on the island of Santo Antão is slated to begin in the first trimester of 2010, according to an announcement made Friday by Franklin Spencer, administrative council president of port management company Enapor (A Semana).

BANKING

The Bank of China hopes to enter the Cape Verdean market by the end of this year, through cooperation accords with banks in Cape Verde (A Semana).

Cape Verdean commercial bank Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde has quadrupled its social capital from 348 million to 1.392 billion escudos. With the approval of this increase, Caixa Económica is now Cape Verde’s largest bank in terms of social capital (A Semana).

BUSINESS

Internationally-renowned Portuguese computer and information security company VisionWare is going to open a delegation in the city of Praia. Brussels and Cape Verde will be the headquarters of the brand’s representations in Europe and Portuguese-speaking Africa, respectively (A Semana).

TOURISM

A total of 35,287 tourists visited the island of Boa Vista in the first six months of 2009, according to data from the Boa Vista border services. So far this summer between 6,500 and 7,000 tourists are thought to have come to the island, but the data provided indicates only those visitors arriving at Rabil International Airport directly from other countries (A Semana).

Angola news update, August 22nd

In Angola, Banking, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Oil, Ports, South Africa on August 22, 2009 at 11:11 am

PORTS

The waiting period for ships to unload, at the port of Luanda, has fallen from 80 to 10 days after the introduction of new operating rules, Angola’s Transport Minister, Augusto Tomás said in Luanda (Macauhub).

The investment plan for the modernisation of the general cargo terminal at the port of Luanda for the next five years, valued at US$52 million, aims to provide the port with greater operating capacity, the general director of Multiterminais said (Macauhub).

ENERGY

The deputy Angolan Energy Minsiter, João Baptista Borges said in Cuito, in Angola’s Bié province, that the government planned to quickly replace the energy potential the country had before its civil war, by 2013 (Macauhub).

CONSTRUCTION

Russia’s Alrosa, one of the world’s biggest mining companies will invest $500 million to build homes, schools and dams in Angola in the next few years, a company official said (Reuters).

ATLANTICO

South Africa is the African country that invested most in the Angolan economy.  South African investment amounts for a total of 3.3 percent, or US$60 million of African investments. The sectors in which most South African investments have been made are manufacturing industry with 37.5 percent of the total, retail with 12.8 percent and construction with 11.4 percent (Macauhub).

Angolan and South African businesses urged an end to visa restrictions they say are damaging economic ties between South Africa, the continent’s largest economy, and one of Africa’s biggest oil producers (Reuters).

INVESTMENTS

Geo-Rumo, a special foundations company of Portugal’s FDO group, said Monday in Braga, northern Portugal, that it had invested 25 million euros in the creation of a subsidiary on Luanda Island in Angola (Macauhub).

Japanese group Sharp Corp plans to set up a factory in Angola, the group’s director for Malaysia, Yukio Sakamoto said at the group’s first seminar in Angola and in Africa, cited by Angolan newspaper Jornal de Angola (Macauhub).

BANKING

Angolan-owned bank, Banco Privado Atlântico – Europa (BPAE), owned by Banco Privado Atlântico (BPA), began operating in Portugal on Monday, in the investment banking sector (Macauhub).

OIL

Angola’s daily crude oil exports are scheduled to rise to the highest this year, signaling that Africa’s second-biggest producer continues to pump more than its OPEC quota (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, August 22nd

In Biofuels, Cape Verde, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Oil, Ports, Stock exchange on August 22, 2009 at 10:43 am

ENERGY

On the 90th anniversary of its presence in Cape Verde, Shell acquired a new ship for the transportation of fuel in the country. The Harpa Doris has a 1,800 m3 capacity and will distribute petroleum, jet fuel and diesel to all of Cape Verde’s islands. The ship was built in Turkey with modern technology and represents an investment of US$ 15 million (A Semana).

The use of renewable energy sources to guarantee one-quarter of Cape Verde’s electricity needs was the solution presented Tuesday in a joint press conference given by the director of the Department of Industry and Energy, Abraão Lopes, and the president of water and electricity utility Electra’s administrative council, Antão Fortes (A Semana).

STOCK EXCHANGE

Construction company Sogei began paying interest on the its first Public Underwriting Offer carried out by the Cape Verde Stock Exchange, in which 1,500,000 future bonds with a nominal value of 1,000 escudos each were sold. The operation earned the company 1,500,000,000 escudos. The interest rate on the first coupon is 6.4%, meaning that Sogei will pay out a total of 48 million escudos (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

The organizers of the 5th Portuguese-Language Business Meeting, which will take place in Fortaleza, Brazil on September 28 and 29, calculate that the volume of trading taking place among the eight participating countries could reach US$ 550 billion (more than € 386 billion) (A Semana).

China, Iran undermining the Monroe-doctrine

In Brazil, Energy, Foreign Trade, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Ports on August 13, 2009 at 7:59 pm

China and Iran are on the march in Latin America.

Read the full analysis in The Economist

Brazil news update, August 9th

In Agriculture, Biofuels, Brazil, Economy, Energy, Investments, Oil, Ports, Real estate on August 9, 2009 at 9:25 pm

STATE

Brazil’s government plans to boost its stake by 2010 in state-run oil company Petrobras, which is partly owned by private investors, by offering new oil fields in exchange for company shares, a source told Reuters.

Brazilian officials are slated to give President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a proposal for oil law changes expected to boost the role of state-run Petrobras in the development of offshore reserves (Reuters).

Brazilian state-controlled pension funds Petros and Funcef may place a bid for the 9.9 percent stake construction group Camargo Correa has in Jirau, a massive hydropower dam project in the Amazon, Valor Economico said (Reuters).

The head of Brazil’s Senate is facing mounting pressure to step down over an ethics scandal, threatening to weaken President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s control over Congress and derail his legislative agenda (Reuters).

INVESTMENTS

Braskem, Latin America’s largest petrochemical company, plans to delay by as much as two years of investments worth $4.5 billion in Venezuela, the Valor Economico newspaper said, citing the company’s vice president of international operations (Reuters).

Shree Renuka Sugars, an Indian sugar refining group, might bid for a stake in Brazilian ethanol and sugar producer Grupo Moema as part of a plan to expand into Latin America’s largest economy, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuters).

Brazilian purchases of industrial machinery and equipment likely will rise in the coming months as signaled by a surge in demand for credit at the state development bank, the daily newspaper Valor Economico said (Reuters).

Private equity funds are expected to raise about 2.5 billion reais ($1.4 billion) in the second half of 2009 to invest in Brazil’s real estate markets, betting on rising demand for commercial property and upscale housing, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuters).

ECONOMY

The Brazilian economy was already growing at a pace of 4 percent at the beginning of the third quarter, Finance Minister Guido Mantega told investors in Washington, according to a copy of his presentation on Thursday (Reuters).

Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, is heading toward a “V-shaped recovery” powered by domestic demand, former central bank President Gustavo Franco said (Bloomberg).

SUGAR

Brazil’s Sugarcane Technology Center and Germany’s BASF said they will jointly develop a genetically modified sugarcane with yields up to 25 percent higher than those currently available (Reuters).

PORTS

LLX Logistica, the Brazilian logistics company controlled by billionaire Eike Batista, said on Monday it received regulatory approval for the construction of the Sudeste Port, a port terminal that could handle 50 million tonnes of iron ore annually in its initial phase (Reuters).

POWER

Brazil and Peru are studying five hydroelectric projects that would cost as much as $15 billion, Brazilian Energy Minister Edison Lobao said. Peru may consume 20 percent of the electricity from the dams and ship the rest to Brazil. Brazil and Peru aim to start operating the dams, which could generate 6,000 megawatts, in 2015 (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, August 2nd

In Agriculture, Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Investments, Media, Politics, Ports, Security, Stock exchange, Tourism, Travel on August 2, 2009 at 11:32 am

CLINTON

Hillary Clinton will visit Cape Verde on August 13 and 14, with the main point on her agenda being the insertion of African women into the world market. Another issue to be discussed will be security in Sub-Saharan Africa (A Semana).

STATE OF THE NATION

The debate on the State of the Nation that took place in the National Assembly Wednesday, July 29, began with personal attacks between various different members of parliament and ended with asymmetrical readings on employment, health care, safety and Cape Verde’s macroeconomic indicators (A Semana).

STOCK EXCHANGE

The demand for Cabo Verde Fast Ferry future bonds was slightly greater than the supply, according to Cape Verde Stock Exchange president Veríssimo Pinto (A Semana).

INFLATION

The Consumer Price Index registered a monthly variation rate of -0.3% between May and June of this year, while the homologous variation rate dropped 1.8% in regards to May, standing at 0.1% (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

Privately-owned Cape Verdean company Halcyon Airways will begin operating flights to the island of São Nicolau this week, offering three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays (A Semana).

AGRICULTURE

The embargo that for the past twenty years has prevented agricultural products from leaving the island of Santo Antão appears close to ending (A Semana).

MEDIA

Our friends at A Semana are about to launch a completely revamped interactive website, aimed not only at the country’s resident population, but especially at Cape Verde’s large and widely scattered diaspora.

INVESTMENT

Cape Verde’s prime minister proposed Monday the creation of a network of entities to reduce the waiting time for the resolution of companies’ problems and make it easier to invest in Cape Verde, according to Inforpress ( Macauhub).

The minister for Infrastructures, Transport and Telecommunications in Cape Verde, Manuel Inocêncio, revealed that the government is to invest 50 million Euros in the Porto da Palmeira, on the island of Sal. The first phase of the modernization and expansion work, estimated at 19 million Euros, is being carried out by the Mota-Engil consortium and should be finished by July 2010 (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, July 18th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Elections, Infrastructure, Investments, Politics, Ports, Real estate, Security, Tourism, Travel on July 18, 2009 at 9:52 am

POLITICS

Cape Verdean President Pedro Pires reaffirmed his desire this week to retire from politics in 2010, at the end of his second five-year term as the nation’s head of state. According to statements he made in Paris, he plans to write his memoirs following his retirement (A Semana).

PORTS & AIRPORTS

The government of Cape Verde said it would invest 300 million euros in the port sector on the islands of Fogo, Sal, Santiago, Boavista, Sao Vicente and Santo Antao, adding that a new airport would also be built on the latter (Macauhub).

BORDER CONTROL

Minister of Internal Administration Lívio Lopes and his Portuguese counterpart, José Magalhães, launched the pilot phase of the PASSE (Secure Automatic Exit and Entry Process) system. The system will control Cape Verde’s exit and entry points using information technology (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

The Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA), which will be headquartered in Cape Verde. The installation of this type of institution will increase the country’s technical capacities, as high-level civil aviation specialists will be permanently placed in Cape Verde (A Semana),

REAL ESTATE

The Cape Verdean Association of Tourist Real-Estate Promoters (Promitur) is asking its associates to adjust their business plans in order to weather the financial crisis that has begun to be felt in the country (A Semana).

TOURISM

Yet another sign that the opening of Boa Vista’s international airport is having an influence on tourist agencies, even in the midst of the financial crisis, is the fact that Portuguese travel agency Soltrópico saw its revenues jump 56.5% in the first half of 2009 thanks to the sale of tourist packages to the island, which shot up 75.6% (A Semana).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

A postal control operation carried out by the National Police and Judiciary Police detected a product sent through the mail that reacted positively to cocaine detection tests. According to information gathered by A Semana Online, the 300 grams of cocaine seized had as their intended recipient a well-known grogue (sugar cane brandy) producer in Paúl, Santo Antão, Alfred Mendl, locally known as “Alfred the German.”

Two of Praia’s most active thieves, believed to be responsible for a considerable portion of the robberies registered in the capital city’s companies and homes in recent times, are now behind bars at São Martinho prison after Judiciary Police arrested the two men, aged 25 and 26, on charges of having committed more than 10 violent robberies in Praia retail establishments (A Semana).

Brazil news update, July 12th

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

RATINGS & ECONOMICS

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

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

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

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

POLITICS

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

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

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

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

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

BUSINESS

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

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

OIL

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

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

BANKING

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

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

AIR TRAVEL & AERONAUTICS

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

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

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

STEEL

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

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

REAL ESTATE

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

ELECTRIC CARS

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

LAW ENFORCEMENT

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

TELECOMS

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

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