Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Real estate’ Category

Angola news update, February 7th

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

POLITICS

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

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

ECONOMY

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

MINING

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

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

BANKING & FINANCE

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

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

OIL

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

AGRICULTURE

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

BUSINESS

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

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

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

REAL ESTATE

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

Introducing Brazil Weekly

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

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

Go to Brazil Weekly

Angola news update, January 31st

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

ECONOMY

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

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

ATLANTICO

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

BANKING

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

BUSINESS

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

PORTS

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

OIL

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

AIR TRAVEL

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

INVESTMENT

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

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

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

Brazil news update, January 24th

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

POLITICS

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

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

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

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

ECONOMY

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

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

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

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

BANKING & FINANCE

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

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

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

OIL

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

MINING

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

INVESTMENT

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

REAL ESTATE

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

AIR TRAVEL

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

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).

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).

The South Atlantic in 2010

In Agriculture, Angola, Banking, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate, Security, South Africa, Surinam, Tourism on December 20, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Season’s greetings to all readers of Atlantico Weekly!

Atlantico Weekly is proud to present a short forecast for Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, South Africa and Surinam in 2010.

Read The South Atlantic in 2010

South Africa news update, December 6th

In Agriculture, Economy, Investments, Real estate, South Africa on December 6, 2009 at 4:22 pm

ECONOMY

Dubai is the nation state as mortgage bubble: hype, leverage, and a lot of concrete mixers. But in Cape Town, Dubai World’s bubble burst a year ago, with the ousting of provincial premier, Ebrahim Rasool, the state-owned investment company’s local champion. Read the full story in the Mail & Guardian.

Land reform in South Africa is lagging behind its schedule. Read the report in The Economist.

More than 2.2m additional foreign tourists will visit South Africa between 2008 and 2015, thanks to next year’s World Cup soccer tournament. Foreign visitors’ spending is alone expected to contribute R14.3bn (News24).

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, November 1st

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

TOURISM & REAL ESTATE

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

AIR TRAVEL

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

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

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

HOTELS

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

SECURITY

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

ECONOMY

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

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

Brazil news update, October 4th

In Agriculture, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Oil, Politics, Real estate on October 4, 2009 at 9:48 pm

BANKING

Itau Unibanco, Latin America’s biggest bank by assets, said it plans to build up overseas once it completes its merger, but that will take at least a year and it’s not tempted by distressed assets (Reuters).

The leading emerging BRIC nations maintain their demand for a 7 percent shift in voting power to developing countries at the International Monetary Fund, Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega said (Reuters).

OLYMPICS

Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Olympics has raised the tantalizing prospect that Brazil’s faded former capital, known for its beauty and high crime, will be rejuvenated into a modern, thriving city (Reuters).

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he was the proudest president in the world on Saturday, hours after Rio de Janeiro had won the right to host the 2016 Olympic Games (Reuters).

Rio de Janeiro’s successful bid to host the Olympics in 2016 crowns Brazil’s remarkable rise over the past decade from a near basket case to an economic and diplomatic heavyweight (Reuters).

AGRICULTURE

A freak tornado and floods last month may be a harbinger of a troubled future for Brazilian farmers, who worry that climate change could severely disrupt production in one of the world’s breadbaskets (Reuters).

REAL ESTATE

Cyrela, Brazil’s largest real estate developer, and rival Rossi Residencial should benefit from a government decision to ease limits on mortgage loans for low-income households, Barclays Capital said in a report (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Daimler will hire 800 more staff for its Brazilian commercial vehicles business and keep open a U.S. truck plant as the two key markets show signs of reviving, the world’s biggest truckmaker said (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazil’s government is facing rising criticism at home over its handling of the Honduran crisis as senior lawmakers accuse it of allowing the ousted president to use its embassy as a political platform (Reuters).

OIL

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras plans to re-inject carbon dioxide in massive offshore oil fields to boost recovery and reduce emissions, a company official said (Reuters).

Iran wants Brazilian state- controlled oil producer Petrobras to be its main exploration partner in Africa, the South American country’s energy minister, said (Bloomberg).

ECONOMY

Brazilian President Lula da Silva said his country will post economic growth this year and that the nation’s gross domestic product will expand 5 percent next year (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, September 28th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Investments, Real estate, Tourism, Travel on September 28, 2009 at 7:13 pm

REAL ESTATE

Portugal, Spain, Brazil and the Spanish autonomous region of the Canary Islands are among the countries and regions slated to take part in the first edition of the International Housing Fair in Cape Verde (A Semana).

INVESTMENT

The People’s Republic of China will make US$ 7.5 million available to Cape Verde for investment in sectors to be defined by the two countries’ governments (A Semana).

TOURISM

The 53 stands made available for the first edition of the International Cape Verde Tourism Fair, Expotur, which will take place in Mindelo between September 25 and 27, have sold out (A Semana).

AIR TRAVEL

Private Cape Verdean airline Halcyonair has announced the resumption of regular inter-island flights beginning today, September 25. As a way of enticing passengers and making up for the complications caused during the period in which its aircraft was not flying, the company is offering special fares on its Sal-São Vicente and Praia-São Vicente route (A Semana).

FISHING

Chinese technicians in partnership with Cape Verde’s National Fishing Development Institute´(INDP) has begun work on drawing up a Strategic Pisciculture Development Plan (PNDP) for Cape Verde aimed at developing, at sea or in nurseries, farming of some species, namely shrimp and lobster (Macauhub).

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).

Brazil news update, August 2nd

In Agriculture, Banking, Brazil, Economy, Investments, Mining, Oil, Politics, Real estate on August 2, 2009 at 9:05 pm

BUSINESS

Brazil’s Embraer, the world’s third-largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, reported second-quarter net income of 466.9 million reais ($249 million) in the quarter ended June 30, compared with 356.5 million reais in the same period a year earlier (Reuters).

Revenue at Brazilian real estate developers Cyrela, Gafisa and Rossi Residencial probably edged higher in the second quarter, signaling that government efforts to spur the housing sector are bearing fruit, analysts told Reuters.

AMAZON

Brazilian soy crushers said on Tuesday they have extended for one more year a ban to purchases of soybeans grown in newly deforested areas of the Amazon basin (Reuters).

POLITICS

Brazilian President Lula wants the government to take control of Vale SA, Veja reported, without saying where it obtained the information. Lula asked officials to find a legal way to ensure the government controls Vale through Previ and BNDES Participacoes SA, the investment arm of Brazil’s state development bank (Bloomberg).

Brazilian President Lula raised the benefit in the country’s flagship anti- poverty program by 9.7 percent seeking to ease the impact of the economic crisis on the poorest citizens (Bloomberg).

OIL

Petrobras said it may more than double its borrowings from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to as much as $5 billion, following a $10 billion loan from China (Bloomberg).

Will Brazil have the world’s next housing boom?

In Banking, Brazil, Economy, Infrastructure, Investments, Politics, Real estate on August 2, 2009 at 9:01 pm

The world’s next great housing boom may be taking shape in Brazil. The missing ingredients are a full-fledged mortgage market — one that steers clear of the pitfalls the U.S. encountered — and sound government policy.

Read the full article by Alexandre Marinis at Bloomberg

Angola news update, August 2nd

In Angola, Banking, Brazil, Foreign Trade, Hotels, Investments, Mining, Real estate, Security, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on August 2, 2009 at 11:52 am

INDUSTRIES

Angolan deputy Industry minister, Kiala Gabriel, affirmed Friday, in Luanda, that the sector is negotiating with several countries, above all Japan, to support the recovery of projects of some industrial units linked to textile sector (ANGOP).

PORTUGAL

The Banco de Fomento de Angola (BFA) and the Entrepreneurial Association of Portugal (AEP) on Thursday here signed a partnership agreement for the holding of four fairs in the coming two years, the CEO of the banking institution, Emídio Pinheiro, informed (ANGOP).

SPECIAL ZONE

The Angolan governmetn approved the creation of the Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE). The meeting also formalised the Society of Development of the Luanda-Bengo EP Special Economic Zone, tasked with ZEE’s management and exploration. Luanda-Bengo ZEE is an economic space comprising land, economic and administrative infrastructures, designed to foment production and create jobs, with a view to the modernisation of the national economy (ANGOP).

DIAMONDS

Production of diamonds in Angola may reach in 2009, 7 million carats, as compared to 8.9 million of last year, said on Friday the director of planning and finance of the National Diamond Company (Endiama), Alberto Fancony (ANGOP).

REAL ESTATE

The city of Luanda hosted from July 30 to August 02 the first international fair on the real estate market, which was expected to be attended by 100 firms national and foreign firms (ANGOP).

HOTELS

A new four star-hotel named “Grande Hotel do Uíge” was inaugurated Saturday in northern Uige province’s capital city (Uige) by the minister of Hotels and Tourism, Pedro Mutinde (ANGOP).

GAS

Angola LNG Limited’s stakeholders, Sonangol Gás Natural, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company, BP Exploration (Angola), ENI Angola Production BV and Total LNG Angola announced the creation of two companies to support the project’s development (Macauhub).

TELECOMS

Mobile phone operator Movicel, S.A. has been 80 percent privatized. State-owned companies Angola Telecom and Correios Telégrafos de Angola continue to hold, respectively, 18 and 2 percent of Movicel’s capital stock.
The remaining 80 percent will be held by Porturil-Investiments with 40 percent, Modus Comicare- Comunicações e Imagem Lda with 19 percent, I pang – indústria de Papel e Derivados with 10 percent, Lambda Investement with six percent and Novatel, S.A., with five percent (Macauhub).

SOUTH ATLANTIC

The Angolan government is to provide Brazil with an additional US$500 million credit for Brazilian exports of goods and services to Angola. Angolan exports to Brazil, almost exclusively in petroleum, suffered a fall of 93.7 percent in the first half of this year, in relation to the same period in 2008. Sales to the Brazilian market fell from US$1.2 billion (873 million euros) in the first six months of last year to US$76.3 million (55 million euros) in the first six months of this year (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

EDP is to set up a holding company with Sonangol Holdings, Banco Privado Atlântico and Finicapital with a view to investing in the production conventional and renewable electrical energy in Angola according to a statement by the Portuguese electricity company (Macauhub).


Brazil news update, July 26th

In Banking, Brazil, Energy, Foreign Trade, Mining, Oil, Real estate, Retail, Telecom on July 26, 2009 at 11:59 am

IRON & STEEL

Spot iron ore vessel bookings from Brazil to China jumped to a record in July as Australia suspended spot sales following detentions of Rio Tinto’s top sales officials in China and as falling freight costs made longer haul trade attractive (Reuters).

Usiminas, Brazil’s second-biggest steelmaker, said local steel demand should tumble about 30 percent in the third quarter from the same period of 2008 (Reuters).

RETAIL

French luxury goods group Hermes will open its first Brazilian store in Sao Paulo after almost 30 years of trademark disputes and unsuccessful attempts to lure partners, newspaper Valor Economico reported (Reuters).

FINANCE

Brazil’s securities regulator has recommended that carbon credits be treated as investments separate from derivatives since they are used mainly as instruments to trim greenhouse gas emissions (Reuters).

Banco Santander SA, the Brazilian unit of Spain’s Santander, plans to sell up to 6 billion reais ($3.15 billion) in stock in local capital markets, Valor Economico newspaper reported (Reuters).

TRADE

President Obama said he wants stronger ties with Brazil, especially in the commercial area, a top aide and possible successor to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said (Reuters).

OIL

Transocean Ltd said it won a contract from Brazil’s Petrobras for its ultra-deepwater Cajun Express rig worth $558.5 million over three years starting in early 2010 (Reuters).

Brazilian President Lula wants Petrobras to reduce gasoline prices, O Globo newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information (Bloomberg).

ENERGY

Brazil agreed to triple to about $360 million the amount it pays annually to Paraguay for electricity generated by the jointly owned Itaipu dam, ending a feud over which country benefits more from the world’s largest hydroelectric dam by output (Bloomberg).

REAL ESTATE

Sam Zell’s Equity International is seeking new real estate-related investments in Brazil as record low interest rates accelerate growth in Latin America’s biggest economy (Bloomberg).

TELECOM

Brazil’s antitrust agency finedTelefonica SA 1.97 million reais ($1.03 million) for not disclosing a full list of Internet service providers to its broadband customers (Bloomberg).

Cape Verde news update, July 25th

In Banking, Cape Verde, Investments, Politics, Real estate, Security, Tourism on July 25, 2009 at 10:43 am

POLITICS

The Constitutional Revision Commission will meet on July 27 in Praia to reach a consensus and establish a final accord between the PAICV and the MpD for the much-awaited revision of Cape Verde’s Constitution (A Semana).

REAL ESTATE

The municipality of Santa Cruz, on the island of Santiago, will soon see the emergence of a tourist real-estate enterprise that will modify its landscape, contribute toward its socio-economic development and provide a quality product in the tourist real-estate sector (A Semana).

STOCK EXCHANGE

The public sale offer of Cabo Verde Fast Ferry bonds, which will end on Friday, July 24, has been a success, according to Cape Verde Stock Exchange president Veríssimo Pinto, who spoke three days before the offer is set to wrap up (A Semana).

LAW ENFORCEMENT

National Police on the island of Brava arrested seven individuals last weekend for illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, currency and drugs. National Police officers also seized four vehicles as a part of their first operation within the context of the Summer Security Plan (A Semana).

A São Vicente district court judge released 59-year-old Austrian citizen Alfred Mandl on bail, after he was arrested last week upon receiving a postal package containing a product that tested positive as cocaine. In addition to the package, some 200 rounds of 22 caliber ammunition were seized in his home in the valley of Paúl, on the island of Santo Antão (A Semana).

Boa Vista district court has rejected a request for an injunction against the construction of a new hotel by the Riu Group in Santa Mónica-Lacacão filed by the Order of Architects of Cape Verde (OAC) (A Semana).

BANKING

Lybia is to open two banks in Cape Verde following the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two countries, Capeverdean president Pedro Pires announced (VisaoNews)


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).

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 173 other followers