Atlantico Weekly

Archive for the ‘Tourism’ Category

Angola news update, March 14th

In Angola, Economy, Hotels, Infrastructure, Investments, Mining, Oil, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on March 14, 2010 at 11:22 am

ECONOMY

Angola’s inflation slowed to 13.66 percent year-on-year in February from 13.83 percent in January, despite a continued rise in food prices, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said (Reuters).

OIL

Angola was China’s top supplier of oil in January, overtaking Saudi Arabia at a time when Chinese oil companies are seeking to consolidate Angolan offshore positions (Macauhub).

BUSINESS

Angola’s Unitel is in the race for a slice of up to 75 percent in Zamtel of Zambia (Reuters).

Danish engineering group FLSmidth has won a five-year contract worth 154 million euros ($209 million) to operate and maintain a cement plant in Angola (Reuters).

Australian mining company Lonrho Mining plans between May and June of this year to order a unit for separation of aggregates by density for its diamond concession in Lulo, Angola (Macauhub).

Portuguese construction company Teixeira Duarte is to build the new National Assembly building in Angola, a project estimated to cost 185 million euros (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Portuguese group Ibersol has requested authorisation from the Angolan authorities to set up Ibersol Angola (Macauhub).

Cape Verde news update, March 7th

In Airports, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Hotels, Investments, Politics, Tourism, Travel on March 7, 2010 at 2:29 pm

POLITICS

The Research Institute on West Africa Regional Integration, an entity created to promote regional integration and which will be headquartered in Praia, will have an initial budget of € 37 million (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The International Development Association will loan some 500 million escudos to the Cape Verdean government for the fishing sector in an accord with the West Africa Regional Fishing Program that will permit the construction of storage facilities and the purchase of equipment (A Semana).

The 200 million-euro credit line granted by the Portuguese government to help make up for a housing deficit in cape Verde may only be used by companies in consortiums from both countries (VisaoNews).

AIR TRAVEL

Private airline Halcyonair affirms it is confounded by TACV Cabo Verde Airlines’ decision to take it to court because of a debt that Halcyonair has not only acknowledged, but that already has a payment plan agreed upon by both parties (A Semana).

Halcyonair announced that the number of flights operated by the company between Praia and São Filipe would be increased from three to five per week (A Semana).

The Minister the Internal Administration, Lívio Lopes, announced today that the scanners available to the National Commission of Weapons will be installed at strategic points in the country, together with the Customs, Enapor and airports (Inforpress).

Cape Verdean air carrier, TACV, is in July due to launch a scheduled flight linking Boa Vista and Sal to Madrid (Macauhub).

HOTELS

The Minister of Industry, Tourism and Energy, Fátima Fialho, underlined today the importance of the project of the future Hotel Excelsior, five stars, which will be built in the area of Gambôa, in Praia (Inforpress).

ENERGY

Britain is to spend £26 million building a wind farm to power the entire Cape Verde (Telegraph)

Cape Verde news update, February 28th

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

POLITICS

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

ECONOMY

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

ENERGY

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

TOURISM

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

FOGO

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

AIRPORTS

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

Cape Verde news update, February 14th

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

POLITICS

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

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

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

AIR TRAVEL

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

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

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

TELECOM

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

MEDIA

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

PORTS

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

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

BANKING

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

WIND

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

Cape Verde news update, February 7th

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

POLITICS

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

ECONOMY

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

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

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

BUSINESS

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

BANKING

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

PORTS

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

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

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

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

AIR TRAVEL

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

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

ENERGY

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

Surinam news update, January 31st

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

FINANCE

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

PORTS

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

AIR TRAVEL

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

Cape Verde news update, January 31st

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

ECONOMY

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

European Union

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

BANKING

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

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

TRAVEL

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

Brazil news update, January 24th

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

POLITICS

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

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

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

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

ECONOMY

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

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

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

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

BANKING & FINANCE

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

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

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

OIL

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

MINING

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

INVESTMENT

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

REAL ESTATE

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

AIR TRAVEL

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

Cape Verde news update, January 24th

In Agriculture, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Elections, Energy, Infrastructure, Investments, Politics, Tourism on January 24, 2010 at 12:40 pm

POLITICS

In the year in which Cape Verde will celebrate the 550th anniversary of its discovery, the 35th anniversary of its independence and the 20th anniversary of the opening of its political system, January 13, Freedom and Democracy Day, is finally beginning to shed its party connotations, with civil society taking on a greater role in commemorating the date (A Semana).

A possible change in Cape Verde’s governing party as a result of the 2011 legislative elections could end up dampening foreign investors’ “enthusiasm” for Cape Verde, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s report on the country for the 2010.2011 period (A Semana).

The ambassadors of the world’s Portuguese language countries accredited in the People’s Republic of China will meet in Macau on February 1 and 2 for the 5th meeting of the Forum for Economic and Commercial Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-Speaking World (A Semana).

ECONOMY

The national minimum wage will likely be set at between 15,000 and 21,000 escudos per month, according to a study carried out by labor union UNTC-CS that will be presented Tuesday, January 26 (A Semana).

Four articles in Cape Verde’s current Labor Code are to be altered. A proposal in this sense was approved in the most recent Social Coordination Council meeting, and the government believes it will bring “crystal-clear gains for both workers and employers.” (A Semana)

Ministry of the Economy, Growth and Competitiveness Fátima Fialho believes that the impact of the restrictions placed on the tariff benefits attributed to Cape Verde by the United States as a part of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is practically negligible, considering the relatively insignificant value of Cape Verdean exports to the US (A Semana).

Cape Verde, according to World Bank’s projections, saw a slowdown in growth to 3.3 percent in 2009 (compared to 5.9 percent the previous year) and is due to recover to 4.4 percent growth this year rising to 5.4 percent in 2011.

The inflation rate recorded in Cape Verde in 2009 was 1 percent, 5.8 percentage points below the 2008 figure, the island country’s National Statistics Institute (INE) has announced (Macauhub).

Cape Verde has risen one position on the 2010 list of the Doing Business report, though it is still close to the bottom of the table in which countries are ordered according to the ease of doing business (Macauhub).

BANKING

The Ministry of Finances will, in the name of the government, underwrite a 5% financial participation in the capital of the future Social Bank of Cape Verde with 300 million escudos in its initial phase (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

The government of Spain’s Canary Islands autonomous region and a group of construction companies have announced the hiring of four specialists in international bids to strengthen the region’s presence in projects in West and sub-Saharan Africa, including Cape Verde (A Semana).

INVESTMENT

The Cape Verdean government is studying plans to implement a forestry project on Sal, one of the country’s most arid islands, which will make use of residual water distribution potential (Visao News).

The government of Cape Verde is set to launch an international tender next week for the construction of three dams to hold rainwater, the chairman of the National Institute for Management of Water Resources said in Praia. António Pedro Borges said that the dams would be funded by Portugal as part of a financial package of 100 million euros (Macauhub).

The Cape Verdean National Communications Agency (ANAC) has granted a license to SGPM to be a new Internet and cable television operator, the PANA news agency reported (Macauhub).

The Portuguese company Martifer Solar plans to install in Cape Verde two photovoltaic solar energy complexes with a power capacity of 7.5 megawatts (MW), the Martifer group has announced (Macauhub).

TOURISM

Cape Verde’s Tourism Strategy Plan aims to achieve a flow of 500,000 tourists per year by 2013, causing a significant rise in associated employment and in tourism’s share of the gross domestic product, the local press reported (Macauhub).

South Africa news update, January 3rd

In Economy, South Africa, Tourism on January 3, 2010 at 3:16 pm

2010

With the World Cup nearing, 2010 will be South Africa’s year. The self-proclaimed Rainbow Nation will receive a rainbow crowd of visitors, the largest and most diverse group of tourists in its history. The spotlight on the country’s progress since apartheid will be more intense than ever. Read the analysis in the Mail & Guardian.

South Africa is set to bounce back strongly in headline-growth terms in 2010, asset manager and investment bank Nomura said. This was due to continuing infrastructure spending, a contribution from net trade and restocking from low levels (SA Goodnews).

EXPATS

In a global survey commissioned by HSBC Bank International, it was revealed that South Africa is the sixth best country in the world to live in, according to expatriates based there. In addition to making the top 10 overall, South Africa scored highly in the categories of making local friends (2), organising schools (3), finding somewhere to live (3), social life (3), quality of life (3), and accommodation (4) (TradeInvestSA)

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

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 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).

Cape Verde news update, November 29th

In Airports, Banking, Cape Verde, Economy, Energy, Infrastructure, Telecom, Tourism, Travel on November 29, 2009 at 9:45 pm

ECONOMY

The government has proposed the elaboration of partnerships with the private sector to create management corporations for water and electricity utility Electra on an island-by-island basis (A Semana).

The Bank of Cape Verde (BCV) is expecting a “slight recovery” of the economy in 2010, with gross domestic product (GDP) growth of between 4 and 5 percent, after “continues slowdown” due to an “unfavourable international climate” (Macauhub).

The government of Cape Verde wants to turn the Archipelago into a “cybernetic island” and to do this will be supported by India, specifically in creating a technological hub, Cape Verde’s Foreign Affairs Minister said in Praia (Macauhub).

BANKING

Banco Interatlântico has opened its first branch on the island of Santiago outside of the city of Praia. The new branch, in the city of Assomada, is its eighth in the country. The central region of the island of Santiago has grown economically over the past several years, and is now third in the growth ranking in Cape Verde, following the city of Praia and the island of São Vicente (A Semana).

TRAVEL

Cape Verde is currently under the influence of a zone-specific anti-cyclone flow that is favoring the transportation of dust from the coast of Mauritania to the archipelago. The phenomenon, known in Cape Verde as “dry haze,” has led TACV Cabo Verde Airlines to cancel flights from the island of Sal to other islands (A Semana).

Cape Verde’s airline has become a fully-fledged member of the International air Transport Association (IATA), the company’s commercial director said (Macauhub).

Brazil news update, November 22nd

In Brazil, Elections, Hotels, Investments, Oil, Politics, Tourism, Travel on November 23, 2009 at 8:39 pm

POLITICS

Whoever wins, Brazil should remain in capable hands after its presidential election. Read the analysis in The Economist’s The world in 2010

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Brasilia seeking support for his controversial nuclear program, the first leg of a South American tour that critics say could dent Brazil’s ambitions on the global diplomatic stage (Reuters).

Brazil will have created 1.3 million payroll jobs by the end of 2009, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, as Latin America’s largest economy recovered from a brief recession (Reuters).

The U.S. is responsible for the crisis in the Middle East and shouldn’t be coordinating peace talks for the region, Brazilian President Lula said. Negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians ought to be managed by the United Nations, Lula said in an interview today with two local radio stations in Salvador, Bahia state, where he met Palestinian Authority President Abbas (Bloomberg).

INVESTMENT

Ford Motor Co unveiled plans to invest 4 billion reais ($2.26 billion) to boost output in Brazil as record-low borrowing costs and a rapid economic recovery in Latin America’s largest country stoke demand for new cars (Reuters).

ArcelorMittal is seriously considering a feasibility study for a new steel plant in Brazil as it sees strong prospects for demand there, a senior executive said (Reuters).

Mozambique has signed two accords with Brazil for a $6 billion investment in biofuel exploration, the daily independent O Pais reported, citing António de Godoy, chairperson of the Brazilian confederation of biofuel companies Arranjo Produtivo Local do Alcool (APLA) (Bloomberg).

Four Seasons and Jumeirah Group plan to open their first hotels in Brazil as rising incomes in Latin America’s largest economy and the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic games generate demand (Bloomberg).

OIL

Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved a law creating a state holding company to manage new projects in the country’s recently discovered “sub-salt” oil reserves. The creation of the company, called Petrosal, is one of four laws sent to Congress by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva aimed at boosting state control over the huge oil reserves (Reuters).

SHIPPING

Brazilian iron ore miner Vale said that it was building 16 vessels with a capacity of 400,000 tonnes each to carry iron ore between Brazil and Asia (Reuters).

BUSINESS

Embraer has signed a $177.5 million deal with Oman Air for five 175 aircraft, its chief executive said (Reuters).

Cape Verde news update, November 22nd

In Banking, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Hotels, Investments, Tourism, Travel on November 23, 2009 at 7:56 pm

ECONOMY

The 13th edition of the Cape Verde International Trade Fair (FIC) began on November 18, on the island of São Vicente, with the participation of businesses from Cape Verde, Portugal and Brazil, at a time when the government has expressed its intention to turn the archipelago into a business center for the Middle Atlantic. The nearly one hundred companies occupy a total of 92 stands distributed through two pavilions (A Semana).

BANKING

Macau-based company, Geocapital has become the biggest private shareholder in Cape Verdean bank, Caixa Económica de Cabo Verde (CECV), by acquiring 27.1 percent of its capital, the bank said in Praia (Macauhub).

INVESTMENT

The Spanish hotelier group Sol Meliá has reached an agreement with The Resort Group PLC to manage two new 5-Star Hotel Resorts on the Island of Sal, Cape Verde, under the MELIÁ brand (Hotelnews).

Cape Verde news update, November 8th

In Airports, Brazil, Cape Verde, Economy, Tourism, Travel on November 8, 2009 at 1:25 pm

TOURISM

With the increase in the number of charter flights to the islands of Sal and Boa Vista, Cape Verde was the tourist destination that showed the highest growth this year, with the number of passengers traveling from Portugal more than doubling. One of the interesting pieces of data revealed is that the number of charter flights to Sal increased despite the new “competition” from Boa Vista (A Semana).

ATLANTICO

Brazilian entrepreneurs are attending this week’s Cape Verde International Fair as the archipelago could offer an opening into African markets, says Ruby Arauju, head of the Brazil-Cape Verde Chamber of Commerce in Brazil’s Ceara state (Macauhub).

ECONOMY

Cape Verde’s Finance minister last week contradicted the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s forecast about the growth rate of the country’s economy in 2009, saying that her data indicated a 4.5 to 5 percent growth rate (Macauhub).

Surinam news update, November 1st

In Economy, Foreign Trade, Hotels, Investments, Mining, Oil, Surinam, Tourism, Travel on November 1, 2009 at 10:17 pm

A private initiative for the development of Paramaribo’s waterfront received approval from the Surinam government. The Riverside Harbour Village, as the project is known, includes a marina, a new hotel as well as commercial space and a promenade. Though the project still needs some additional financing, the backers, who hail from Surinam, Curacao and the Netherlands, think the Village will be ready by 2015. The project is worth 46 million Euros in investment (De Ware Tijd).

The Surinam Planning Dept annouced economic growth is expected to drop from 5% this year ot just 1% in 2010. The Dept. blames this disappointing outlook among other things on diminishing exports of oil and bauxite (De Ware Tijd).

In a new publication “Best in 2010″ Lonely Planet travel guide recommends Surinam for the top places to go to in 2010 (Reuters).

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).

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