 |
Angola: Almost 900 buses ready to circulate in Luanda 2008-09-30 Luanda, Angola, 30 Sept – Almost 900 new buses will soon start their routes in the city of Luanda and its outskirts, as part of a project to reduce daily problems caused by chaotic traffic in the Angolan capital. Of these buses, 630 are from China and 250, Volvo branded buses were manufactured in Brazil and ordered by the Angolan government from Auto-Sueco Angola. Alongside the buses, the Ministry of Transport's measures include creating ferry lines linking Luanda to Benfica and Cacuaco, two of the most important residential area in greater Luanda, although dates for these lines to go into operation have yet to be set. Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa, the Luanda transport delegate, Amadeu Campos said that all the Chinese buses had been delivered to operators for final tests and would start circulating in the first two weeks of October. The Angolan capital is currently only served by mini-buses known as “candongueiros” which, according to the authorities lead to “serious constraints” on traffic. The Luanda transport system is also being reorganised with new motorways due to be opened, specifically between Luanda and Cacuaco, Luanda and Benfica, Cacuaco and Viana, Viana and Benfica and Viana and Luanda. Traffic is the biggest obstacle in the Angolan capital, as it is usual for journeys between Luanda and places such as Viana and Cacuaco to take over four hours, despite only being some 20 kilometres away.
|
|
Mozambique: Steel and iron project may be approved this year 2008-09-30 Maputo, Mozambique, 29 Sept – The joint Mozambique-South Africa project for setting up an iron and steel production industry could be approved by the Government this year, according to Mozambican newspaper Notícias. The newspaper added that the project would likely be set up on Mozambican soil, making use of existing potential, particularly availability of natural gas from Pande/Temane, water and a workforce. The exact amounts being invested are not yet known and so far only an initial economic feasibility study has been carried out, which drew up a framework for the project, although it is estimated that the budget will be over US$1 billion, and the project may employ at least 500 people. The national director of industry, Sérgio Macamo said, based on the economic feasibility study, that the project would need around 300,000 of iron ore and 38 million gigajoules of natural gas to operate. Macam said that, at least on a political level, construction of the industrial unit had been accepted since last year, since the annual bilateral summit of the heads of state of Mozambique and South Africa. As well as approval, from the Mozambican government, of the outline of the project’s gas supply, negotiations are underway for supplying it with raw materials, specifically the iron ore that will be imported from South Africa.
|
|
Angola: Luanda and Beijing linked by air as of October 2008-09-30 Luanda, Angola, 30 Sept – Angola and China plan to set up direct air links between their respective capitals as of October, Angolan state newspaper Jornal de Angola reported. Under the terms of a deal signed last Thursday in Beijing, Angola’s Taag airline and Chinese carriers will start flying from Luanda to Beijing and Guangzhou, the paper said. The Taag’s deputy sales director, Jacinto Júnior told the paper that the airline was currently waiting for the Chinese aeronautical authorities to attribute schedules and airspace to the flights. “The feasibility of the route is more than proven given the number of Chinese companies operating in Angola," Júnior said. Angolan radio station, Rádio Nacional de Angola said this week that it would likely be Hainan Airline and Oriental Sky Aviation that would be granted contracts to fly to Luanda. In 2008, Angolan airline Taag was banned from flying in European airspace due to safety issues.
|
|
Cape Verde: BAI Cabo Verde bank set up by Angolan and Cape Verdean investors 2008-09-29 Praia, Cabo Verde, 29 Sept – Cape Verde now has a new bank, Banco Africano de Investimentos Cabo Verde (BAI Cabo Verde), a financial institution set up with Angolan and Cape Verdean investment. The shareholders of BAI Cabo Verde, which has starting capital of 90 million euros, are BAI Angola, with a 70 percent stake, Angolan oil company Sonangol, with 19 percent, and Cape Verdean company Sogei, with 10 percent. According to the chairman of the BAI Cabo Verde Executive Commission, David Jasse, over the nest six months, 30 percent of the capital is to be sold to Cape Verdean investors and BAI Angola will keep 51 percent and Sonangol 9 percent. BAI Cabo Verde aims to attain a 15 percent share of the Cape Verdean market within three years. The BAI Group is also present in Brazil, with shares of BPN Brasil, in Sao Tome, with a stake in Banco Internacional de STP, and in Portugal, with BAI Europea. BAi Cabo Verde will open its doors on 1 October and this year plans to open branches in Mindelo and on Sal Island.
|
|
Angola: Port of Luanda to exceed capacity in 2015 2008-09-29 Porto, Portugal, 29 Sept – The chairman of the port of Luanda said Friday that the facility would exceed its capacity in 2015, the year in which the new port is expected to be in operation, some 30 kilometres north of the Angolan capital. Speaking in Matosinhos during the First Meeting of Ports of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), Sílvio Barros Vinhas said that despite the 2006/2020 strategic plan for the current port of Luanda outlining investment of US$105 million for its expansion, in 2015 the facility would be “completely saturated.” According to Vinhas, the current average waiting time for a ship to dock at the Port of Luanda is 15 days, and situations like the one that had happened a few days ago, when 22 ships were waiting to come into the port, happened frequently. Of the US$105 million to be invested by 2010 on improving the facility, Vinhas said that US$21 million had already been applied and noted that construction of a 300-metre container terminal with a capacity for 4,000 containers had been outlined. According to the chairman of the Port of Luanda, in 2007 6 million tonnes of cargo were processed in 2007, or 10 percent more than in 2006, but the facility had not been able to keep up with the growth of the Angolan economy, which has grown some 17 percent per year. The new port of Luanda, to be built in Dande bay, will have a higher capacity than the current port, with 32 mooring points, as compared to a current 15, and greater depth.
|
|
Cape Verde: Port of Sal expands with 47 million-euro loan from EIB 2008-09-29 Praia, Cape Verde, 29 Sept – The European Investment Bank (EIB) has loaned Cape Verde 47 million euros to expand the port of Palmeira, on Sal island, following an agreement signed Friday. the expansion of the port of Palmeira is one of the Cape Verdean government’s priorities, as construction materials arrive by sea, at a time when Sal and the neighbouring island of Boa Vista are witnessing an increase in construction of new hotels. As well as Sal, the government also plans to refurbish the ports of Vale dos Cavaleiros, on Fogo island, and Porto Novo, on the island of Santo Antão. According to the chairman of ports administration company, Empresa Nacional de Administração dos Portos, Franklin Spencer, cited by news agency Inforpress, the first phase of work will increase the port's dock by 120 metres and provide a ramp for horizontal transport, amongst other improvements. The aim was, he said, to reduce waiting times at the port of Palmeira to unload cargo, which were an average of two and a half days. The next phase of the project includes building a basin alongside the existing one, with a 150 metre-long dock, a breakwater and land facilities and access roads, covering a total area of 9 hectares, added to the existing 2.5 hectares.
|
|
Mozambique: Exports expected to rise by 8.9 percent in 2009 2008-09-29 Maputo, Mozambique, 29 Sept – Goods exports from Mozambique in 2009 are expected to total US$2.926 billion, a rise of 8.9 percent on the amount projected for this year, said the country’s Finance Minister, Manuel Chang in Maputo Saturday. Speaking to the press at the end of a Council of Ministers session, which usually takes place on Tuesdays but took place Saturday due to the head of state’s schedule, Chang said that, under the terms of the 2009 Economic and Social Plan, That had just been approved by the government, Mozambique would have enough net foreign reserves to fund five months of imports of goods and services, excluding mega-projects. He also said that the main objectives of the Economic and Social Plan (PES) were economic growth of around 7 percent and keeping annual inflation at below 8 percent. The government, via the PES, is also focusing its efforts on creating increasingly favourable conditions for investment, safeguarding proper environmental management and improving the quantity and quality of public services in the areas of Education, Health, water and sanitation, roads and energy. At the meeting, the Council of Ministers also analysed and approved the State Budget for 2009, a proposal which, similarly to the pES, will now be submitted to parliament. The Finance Minister said that the budget was expected to boost growth patterns, ensure stability of the Consumer Price Index and promote competitiveness and diversification of exports. At the same session the Government approved the law creating the Simplified Tax for Small Tax Payers (ISPC), a direct tax that is applied to individuals or companies that carry out small-scale agricultural, industrial or commercial activities, including services, in the country. This tax aims to reduce the cost of complying with tax obligations of these taxpayers, and reduce the costs of auditing small-scale taxpayers. This measure, according to Chang, aims to encourage individuals operating in the informal sector to move over to the formal sector.
|
|
Mozambique: Financial situation stable, but affected by social indicators and investment climate – Fitch Ratings 2008-09-25 New York, United States, 25 Sept – Mozambique’s financial situation is stable, but affected by negative social indicators and a business climate that inhibits small and medium-sized investments, said debt rating agency Fitch Ratings Wednesday. Fitch also said that the current rating on Mozambique, “is supported by a history of strong growth, an average of 7.7 percent per year over the last five years, and the biggest rise in exports of all the countries in the same [ratings] category over the last decade, bolstered by one of the strongest average investment rates in the last five years (31 percent).” Fitch Ratings maintained its “B” rating on short term and long term debt in foreign currency, and “B+” on debt issued in national currency, with a “stable” outlook. Ratings, which are a maximum of "AAA" and a minimum of "C", are currently important instruments in the negotiation of credit by a country or company – the return (interest rate) demanded by the creditor will be lower as the probability of not servicing the debt decreases. “Correct economic policies and reforms, strong investment in the natural resources sector and solid support from the donor community have added to the results achieved and improved the economy’s resistance capacity,” said the document. It also noted improved public finances, after the public debt ratio fell from 83 percent in 2005 to 45 percent last year, essentially due to debt pardons, but a “greater dependence on external aid,” is also expected. The main obstacles to improving the financial situation identified by Fitch Ratings are fragile social development – namely in terms of education, literacy, gender equality as well as per capita GDP - as well as the investment climate, outside of so-called "mega-projects."
|
|
Cape Verde: Government distributes low energy bulbs in energy-saving campaign 2008-09-25 Praia, Cape Verde, 25 Sept – The Cape Verdean government plans to start an energy saving campaign across the country, which will include free distribution of 300,000 energy-saving bulbs. The campaign, which has the motto of, “Save energy, light up this idea,” and will be presented to the Economy Ministry Friday, is aimed at raising awareness amongst the population of more efficient use of energy. Cape Verde depends almost exclusively on outside sources to meet its energy needs, and power cuts are frequent on the islands, sometimes due to generators breaking down and others to a lack of fuel. The use of low energy bulbs, which use up to 80 percent less electricity and last up to ten times longer, is one of the campaign’s focuses. Initial, the Ministry said, 50,000 builds will be distributed on the islands of Santiago and S. Vicente, by teams that will hand over the new bulbs in Exchange for high energy bulbs. The campaign also includes replacing high energy bulbs in schools and other public facilities.
|
|
Mozambique: Government announces investment in power transmission line 2008-09-24 Maputo, Mozambique, 24 Sept – Mozambican state electricity company, EDM plans to invest US$2.2 billion in building a power transmission cable linking the Cahora Bssa dam, the Mepanda Nkua dam, the Moatize power station and the Temane gas project to the south of the country, stretching over 1,500 kilometres. The power generated by the Cahora Bassa dam, the biggest source of electricity in Mozambique, currently travels directly to South Africa – by the far the facility’s biggest customer – through high voltage cables, and some of the power is later sent on to Maputo. Mozambique’s Energy Minister, Salvador Namburete, said that the line made it possible to distribute power to various parts of the centre of the country, reducing current dependence on South Africa. Namburete also said that the government would launch a public tender after receiving the final version of the studies underway to identify the most sustainable options for the project. The minister gave no date for the start of work, noting, however, that it was an immediate project and added that the transmission line was "very important,” for the energy project the government was drawing up, such as the Mphanda Nkua dam. The Mphanda Nkua dam, which is downstream of Cahora Bassa in Tete province, will have the capacity to generate 1,500 megawatts of electricity and, according to projections, its construction if set to begin next year. It is estimated to cost US$1.6 billion. Investment in building the transmission line will be partly state funded, through EDM, and partly privately funded by partners that have already been identified. The Mozambican Energy Minister, who did not provide the names of the other partners, also said that other interested parties could still take part in the project.
|
|
Mozambique: Government receives result of Rovuma basin seismic survey 2008-09-24 Maputo, Mozambique, 24 Sept – The Mozambican government ahs received the first results of the seismic survey carried out in the Rovuma basin, Carlos Zacarias, projects director for the National Oil Institute (INP) said in Maputo Friday. During a meeting between the government and representatives of the oil companies operating in Mozambique, Zacarias also said that the seismic data was of “great quality” and that it was currently being analysed. Oil exploration has been going on and off both on land and at sea in Rovuma and the Mozambican government granted licenses to Anadarko (United States), Artumas (Canada), ENI (Italy) and Norsk Hydro (Norway). The four companies have already invested around US$300 million on testing work, in five blocs in the Rovume basin. Malaysian company Petronas is currently searching for oil in the Zambezi basin and, recently, South Africa’s Sasol and the Osho Energy consortium (controlled by companies from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates) were granted a license to explore two blocs on land in Inhambane, to the west of the Natural gas fields of Pande and Temane.
|
|
Angola: Angolan government and China’s Development Bank seek to cooperate 2008-09-24 Luanda, Angola, 24 Sept – Operational aspects about going ahead with a cooperation agreement, signed in August between the Angolan government and China’s Development Bank, were the main subject of a meeting Tuesday between Angolan deputy minister to the prime minister, Aguinaldo Jaime, and a delegation from the Chinese bank. According to Angolan news agency Angop, Jaime said that the meeting had been to discuss the practicalities of moving ahead with the agreement, which included projects linked to construction of social housing and the agricultural, transport and telecommunications sectors. The deputy minister specifically mentioned the plan to build social housing in Camama, in the municipality of Kilamba-Kiaxi, and renewal of the Cazenga municipality, the aim of which is to provide medium and low standard housing to the population. According to Jaime, the two side dealt with operational issues such as setting up a joint team to select projects, choosing Chinese contractors and the frequency of bilateral meetings. An important aspect noted by Jaime was that the agreement was, "not based on supplying oil," but rather on guarantees presented by the Angolan government, mainly due to an improvement of macroeconomic conditions.
|
|
Angola: Chinese companies rebuilds railway line between Lobito and Luau 2008-09-24 Luena, Angola, 24 Sept – Railway transport will be re-launched on the stretch of track between the Angolan cities of Lobito (Benguela province) and Luau (Moxico province), 20 years after it was last in operation, said Liu Feng, director of the Chinese company responsible for the work in Luena Tuesday. Feng, chief engineer of China Ferrovia, told Angolan news agency Angop that the project, which is due to begin this year, represents an investment of US$1.8 billion and would be carried out by 3,000 Angolan and 1,500 Chinese workers. He also said that in the first three months the work would consist of removing the old tracks and setting up a sleeper and gravel factory in the Liangongo area (over 70 kilometres east of Luena, the capital of the province). “Reconstruction work on this stretch of the Benguela railroad (CFB) include preparation of the base on which the track will be laid, repositioning sleepers and tracks to international sizes and construction of bridges where necessary.” Reconstruction of the CFB, according to some local economic agents, will drive development of the central and eastern regions of the country, as well as strengthening regional integration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as the railroad passes through three countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in the region.
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe: Sonangol becomes biggest shareholder of oil company ENCO 2008-09-23 Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 23 Sept – The government of Sao Tome and Principe has sold 35 percent of the capital it held in oil and fuel company Empresa Nacional de Combustíveis e Óleo (ENCO), to Angola’s Sonangol, Sao Tome’s minister for Planning and Finance said Monday. Ângela Viegas said the sale was due to the need to make the states shares in ENCO profitable as well as complying with the “programme that aims to remove the state from public companies.” In the sales contract, the minister said, a safeguard was implemented, "that the Sao Tome state would continue to have the last word before any fuel price rises were put in place." ENCO currently owes a large debt to Sonangol, due to fuel prices not having been updated, whilst prices have risen on the international market. With this acquisition, Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola (Sonangol) now has a 75 percent stake in ENCO. The Sao Tome state has kept 16 percent of ENCO, and the remaining 9 percent of shares are distributed amongst a group of small shareholders.
|
|
Angola/Oil: Petrobras to explore Angola’s pre-salt layer in 2009 2008-09-23 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 23 Sept – Brazilian oil company Petrobras next year plans to explore 11 oil wells in the “pre-salt” layer, which is geologically identical to Brazil’s Santos basin where huge oil strikes have been made recently, said the company’s International Director. “It is possible that oil will be found [in Angola] as well and, based on seismic surveys we will know if it is worth drilling to the African pre-salt layer,” Samir Awad told Sunday’s edition of Brazilian daily newspaper Estado de São Paulo. Awad added, however, that the fact that geological conditions were similar did not imply that the quantity and quality of oil would be the same. Geologists note that the African and American continents separated 230 million years ago and, on both sides of the ocean a salt layer was created, covering deposits of organic material. The decision to drill in Angola has been made at a time when it is though likely by the Brazilian press that Petrobras’ expansion plan will be reviewed.
|
|
Mozambique: Special economic area of Nacala to have master plan in 2009 2008-09-22 Maputo, Mozambique, 22 Sept – The Special Economic Area of Nacala is in 2009 scheduled to have a master plan to guide its development over the next few years, the director of the Office for Economic Areas with Accelerated Development (Gazeda) said in Maputo. Danilo Nalá told newspaper Notícias that a consulting mission contracted by the Japanese Bank for International Development had recently been in Macala, where it collected information to prepare the master plan. “We have been working on preparing the legal basis to move ahead with the Nacala special economic area. Usually these are long term projects and that means attracting anchor investments to develop a certain region, in this case the two districts of Nacal and Nacal-a-Velha,” he said. According to the director-general of Gazeda, the expectation is that this preliminary phase will end in October after which there will be negotiations with the Japanese bank in order to move ahead with a more in-depth study that will determine what to do and where. “We still don’t have an end date for conclusion of the study. We want to decide when to meet with the Japanese bank, but we hope that in January we will have everything ready. The biggest attraction of the Nacala Special Economic Area is the deep water port and respective corridor that make it possible to distribute products (import and export) without constraints. The Nacala Special Economic Area was set up last year and includes the districts of Nacala-a-Velha and Nacala-Porto.
|
|
Macau: Guinea Bissau wants to attract more investments from Macau businesspeople 2008-09-22 Macau, China, 22 Sept – Guinea Bissau’s President, Nino Vieira Saturday invited Macau businesspeople to invest in his country reminding them that it had a multitude of natural resources, including oil. “We don’t only want to receive. We also want to give,” said Vieira who was in Macau following an official visit to Beijing to review Chinese-Guinean cooperation and look to the future. Projects supported by China in Guinea Bissau included, Vieira said, the Government Palace, the Palace of Justice, hospital and the capital’s fishing port and he noted they were fundamental to the development of Guinea Bissau. Vieira also said that he had left an invitation in China for Chinese businesspeople to invest in Guinea Bissau, choosing whichever areas they wished. He also noted the role of Macau in boosting cooperation between China and Guinea Bissau, an issue which was also noted by Macau Economy and Finance Secretary Francis Tam during a meeting with the Guinean president. “Macau is a platform on which Guinean and Macau citizens move. Macau wants to be a multi-continental platform for continuous development that is mutually advantageous for the economic and trade relations between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries,” said Tam. Vieira also told Portuguese news agency Lusa in Macau that, “Guiena Bissau has already approved the biofuel investment by Geocapital, the holding company of businessmen Stanley Ho and Ferro Ribeiro, but is studying the project more closely.” During his stay in Macau, Nino Vieira nominated businessman John Lo as consul of Guinea Bissau to the Special Administrative Region of Macau. The Macau businessman, who is a director of Sociedade Internacional Grupo Excelente, in May announced and investment of US$8 million in building a 100-room hotel. John Lo, who has been investing in Guinea Bissau since 2001, particularly in the Agricultural sector, meanwhile announced that he was preparing a trade mission from Macau to visit Bissau in October of this year.
|
|
Cape Verde: Cape Verde signs agreement with China to fund e-governance 2008-09-22 Praia, Cape Verde, 22 Sept – The Cape Verdean government has signed a funding agreement with China’s Eximbank for the first phase of the e-governance project for the archipelago, worth US$17 million, the Economy Ministry said in Praia Friday. The agreement was signed in China, as part of a visit by the Cape Verdean secretary of state for the economy. Humberto Brito visited China and Macau and also took part in a seminar on the role of the territory as a platform for economic and trade relations between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries. As part of the visit, businessmen from the energy sector showed interest in investing in the archipelago, and a team of engineers is expected to travel to Cape Verde next week for meetings with Cape Verdean technicians. The government also planned, according to the ministry to boost cooperation relations with the China National Fisheries Corporation, a company which currently repairs the fishing fleet at the Cabnave shipyard, on S. Vicente Island.
|
|
Angola: Building of infrastructures for Luanda Bay project starts in December 2008-09-19 Luanda, Angola, 19 Sept – Construction of the main infrastructures of teh project for urban renewal of the Luanda coastal road, estimated to cost US$2.3 billion, is due to start in December, the project’s coordinator said Thursday. Catarina Sierra told Angolan news agency Angop that the international tender for building housing, offices, retail area, hotels, tourist and leisure areas had been concluded. The Luanda Bay project, which was approved by the Council of Ministers in September 2007, will build private and public projects along the entire coastal area of Avenida 4 de Fevereiro, with strict measures in place to reduce environmental impact. Since the start of work (7 November, 2007), the Baía Project has had three phases concluded, namely opening up of the channel and setting up the land fill area on the extension of 17 de Setembro plaza, refurbishment and cleaning up of pumping stations and the sewerage system, as well as dredging and land fill work. The state is responsible for funding the public works part of the project, estimated to cost US$113.6 million. Funded via bank loans, the development includes opening up new car parks with a capacity for 1,600 vehicles, creating public and leisure areas, with landscaped areas, as well as refurbishment of the frontage of some buildings along Avenida Marginal. The private work includes construction of two buildings (one with 37 floors and the other with 24 floors) for office, retail and housing use and a further two buildings for multi-use, such as a hotel and convention centre, across an area of 122,581 square metres. Plans also include building areas for housing, offices, retail and hotel, tourism and leisure projects on Cabo Island, mainly on land reclaimed from the bay, totalling 965,000 square metres.
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe: Agriculture, adventure and eco-tourism and oil services amongst main opportunities 2008-09-19 Lisbon, Portugal, 19 Sept - Agriculture, adventure and eco-tourism, fishing, transport and services for the oil industry are amongst the main business opportunities available to investors in Sao Tome and Principe, according to a guide drawn up by Columbia University, in the United States. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute of Columbia University, which has assisted the archipelago in its legislative and technical development in the oil sector, said that, “the guide aims to provide more information to investors about Sao Tome," but it is also aimed at, “being useful for the development community, civil society, diplomatic missions,” amongst others. The Investors’ Guide to Sao Tome and Principe was drawn up by Columbia University, with the support of the Sao Tome government and business councils. Amongst the main opportunities highlighted by the guide are agriculture, particularly cocoa, flowers, fruits and vegetables for export. The primary sector employs around 70 percent of the Sao Tome population and is responsible for just 20 percent of GDP. Amongst the projects underway, the study noted investments in the hotel sector carried out by the Pestana Group and a recent contract worth US$400 million with Terminal Link, a French subsidiary of transport giant CMA-CGM, for construction of new deep water port. This facility, the Guide said, “should create thousands of jobs for the islands and turn the country into a West African nerve centre." Another of the archipelago’s advantages is its geographical position in the Gulf of Guinea and its position in regional markets, particularly via bilateral trade agreements with Angola, Gabon and Nigeria, and even preferential Access to European Union markets, under the terms of the “Everything but Arms” initiative, and the United States, through the AGOA-African Growth and Opportunities Act.
|
|
Mozambique: Gas production in Inhambane has doubled since 2004 2008-09-18 Maputo, Mozambique, 18 Sept – Natural gas production in the Pande and Temane fields, in Mozambique’s Inhambane province has doubled since production began in 2004, the deputy minister for Planning and Development said in Maputo Wednesday. Victor Bernardo said that gas production had risen from 53 million gigajoules in the first year of business to 104 million in 2007 and added that in the first half of 2008 production in the two areas reached 68 million gigajoules. South Africa’s Sasol has since 2004, and for a period of 25 years, held the concession for exploration and transport of gas in the onshore reserves in Pande and Temane. That year an 860 kilometre gas pipeline was opened linking the wells in Mozambique to the South African industrial region of Secunda, at a total investment of US$1.2 billion. The majority of the company that manages the pipeline is owned by Sasol, and the Mozambican state, via national oil and gás company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), has a 14 percent stake (of the 25 percent available to Mozambican shareholders). The Mozal aluminium foundry, the Fosforeira company, Cimentos de Moçambique and state oil and gas company Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH) are Sasol’s main Mozambican customers. In the absence of conclusive evidence of oil in Mozambique (there are some companies prospecting in the centre and north of the country), the Mozambican authorities have focused on exploration of proven natural gas reserves and making surveying feasible in areas where reserves are believed to exist. Last week, the Mozambican minister for Mining Resources, Esperança Bias, announced that soon surveying for natural gas in the Búzi basin would begin, following the concession on this bloc being granted to ENH. Sasol has also started woirk on drilling two to three wells in deep water for prospecting and surveying of new natural gas reserves in the Machanga district (Sofala province) and Vilanculos (Inhambane province), on the east coast of the Bazaruto archipelago, with a total area of 11,000 square kilometres.
|
|
Cape Verde: IMF mission to evaluate archipelago’s economy 2008-09-18 Praia, Cape Verde, 18 Sept – A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due to arrive in Cape Verde on 22 September for another evaluation of the Cape Verdean economy as part of the Policy Support Instrument (PSI), according to news website asemanaonline. The site said that the mission was taking place at a time when the Cape Verdean economy was showing some cause for concern, namely inflation rates and foreign reserves. The mission, which is due to remain in Cape Verde for 12 days, will analyse the performance of various sectors of the country’s macro-economic scenario, particularly public finances and the level of implementation of previous IMF recommendations. Under the terms of the PSI - a memorandum of understanding that has regulated relations between Cape Verde and the IMF since 2006 – the Fund carries out regular missions to Cape Verde to analyse the economy and its final report is considered to be an important guideline for foreign investors. The last mission took place in March and at the time the IMF’s assessment was positive. In July the deputy executive director of the Fund, Japan’s Takotoshi Kato, said that the development of the Cape Verdean economy over the last few years had been “impressive.”
|
|
Mozambique: World Bank helps BCI-Fomento bank to support small businesses 2008-09-17 Maputo, Mozambique, 17 Sept – The International Finance Corporation, an organ of the World Bank for financing the private sector, said Tuesday it would loan US$8.5 million to Mozambican bank, BCI-Fomento, to support investment projects of small and medium-sized enterprises. The IFC's operations director for Africa and Latin America, James Scriven, and the chairman of BCI-Fomento, Ibrahimo Ibrahimo, Tuesday in Maputo signed an agreement to increase the loan capacity of Mozambique's second-largest bank, which is owned by Portugal’s Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), to the country’s small businesses. The deal also includes the IFC providing consulting services to BCI-Fomento, focused on the bank’s products and services, helping it to penetrate the small and medium-sized investment segment. The deal is part of an IFC programme that aims to drive loan capacity for small businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, through investments and consulting services to banks committed to expanding that market segment. The chairman of BCI-Fomento said that, “the bank aims to increase its loans to small businesses from around US$75 million currently to US$84 million within a year and US$200 million within five years.” Ibrahimo also said that, “small businesses are a vital component of the Mozambican economy and a key to sustainable economic growth.”
|
|
Brazil: China is the main destination of exports from Paraná state 2008-09-17 Curitiba, Brazil, 17 Sept – China has overtaken Argentina and Germany to become the main destination for exports from the Brazilian state of Paraná, with trade focused on soy, according to figures from Brazil’s Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Ministry. From January to July China imported goods worth a total US$1.25 billion from Paraná, which was a year on year rise of 211.33 percent driven by a rise in the price of raw materials. With trade focused on agri-business, Paraná outperformed the Brazilian average. Elias Antunes, consultant for the Federation of Paraná Industries for the Asian market, said that the state was a large exporter of soy and in the last two years had also started exporting maize. Soy exports are concentrated between the months of January and September and at the end of the year the amount reduces. “But it is certain that China will end the year as one of the top two destinations for the state’s exports,” Antunes said. For the last two years, China has been fifth amongst the biggest importers of Paraná’s goods, behind Argentina, Germany, the United States and the Netherlands. The string rate of sales to China has allowed Paraná to busck the overall Brazilian trend of a trade deficit with the Asian giant, having posted a trade surplus of US$520.3 million.
|
|
Angola: Angola due to assume rotational OPEC presidency in January 2009 2008-09-16 Vienna, Austria, 16 Sept - Angola is to assume the rotational presidency of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in January 2009, following the nomination, Thursday in Vienna, of its Oil Minister, Desidério Costa. In December 2006, Angola became a full member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), during the organisation’s 43rd extraordinary conference, held in Abuja, Nigeria. Angola is currently the source of 5 percent of US oil imports (496,000 barrels per day) and in the first quarter of the year it was the main supplier of oil to China, exceeding Saudi Arabia, thanks to a 55 percent rise in its exports to the Asian nation. Angola is the biggest oil producer in Africa, having overtaken Nigeria. This will be the first time Angola has assumed the presidency of the organisation. Along with Angola, OPEC’s members are Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Indonesia, Nigeria, Venezuela, Kuwait and Qatar. OPEC is due to have an extraordinary meeting in December, in Algeria, at which Indonesia will not be present having announced it was retiring from the organisation, as it has become an oil importer.
|
|
Angola: Sixth edition of Constrói Angola starts on 16 October 2008-09-16 Luanda, Angola, 16 Sept – The 6th edition of Constrói Angola – Construction, Public Works and Safety Fair, is due to take place between 16 and 19 October in Luanda and already has over two hundred companies registered to take part, Angolan news agency Angop reported. “When there are 30 days to go until the launch of the event, the organisers – Fil and Arena Direct – already have over 200 companies registered, with a high number of Angolan companies taking part,” said the statement, adding that Portugal was once again the likely leader in terms of number of companies taking part. Taking into consideration the growing number of registrations, the statement said, the organisers plan to expand the area reserved for the fair, particularly the outside area next to pavilions I and II, in order to make it possible to display heavy machinery. In 2007 at least 230 companies took part in Constrói Angola and the vast majority of these have confirmed their presence at this year’s event. Estimates point to at least 15,000 visitors to last year’s fair.
|
|
Angola: BPI bank sells 49.9 pct of Banco Fomento Angola to Angola’s Unitel 2008-09-16 Lisbon, Portugal, 16 Sept – Portuguese bank BPI said Friday in Lisbon it had sold 49.9 percent of Angolan bank, Banco Fomento Angola (BFA) to Unitel, an Angolan telecommunications operator, for 338 million euros. According to a filing with Portuguese stock market regulator, CMVM, Unitel will have the right to be involved in BFA’s management. "The deal will now depend on the final agreement as well as on the respective acquisition and sale agreement, which is necessarily subject to obtaining authorisation from the authorities, as well as a shareholder agreement that will regulate relations between parties at the core of BFA,” the statement said, noting that approval, "of the contracts may occur by the end of October and the transaction complete by the end of the this year." The main shareholder of the Angolan operator is the Geni group, which is part-owned by Isabel dos Santos, daughter of Angolan president, José Eduardo dos Santos, whilst Portugal Telecom has a 25 percent stake. The operator has some 4 million customers. BFA is the biggest private bank in Angola and has a market share of over 20 percent, 100 branches and deposits of US$3.8 billion.
|
|
Mozambique: Sugar exports to net country US$95 million this year 2008-09-16 Maputo, Mozambique, 16 Sept – Mozambique is due to net a total of US$95 million from exports of 175,000 tons of cane sugar, Pedro Sitói of the Centre for Commercial Agriculture Promotion (Cepagri), a Ministry of Agriculture department told Macauhub in Maputo. Sitói said that of that total 68,000 tonnes and 12,000 tonnes would be sent to the European Union and United States markets, respectively. Mozambique has six sugar refining factories, although only four are in operation. This year an investment of around US$177 million has been planned for the expansion of the Xinanvane sugar factory, in Maputo province, and the Mafambisse sugar factory in Sofala province, and it is estimated that sugar production in 2009 will total 500,000 tonnes. In 2007, sugar exports generated revenues of US$45.9 million, a fall of 29 percent on 2006. In 2006, the sale of sugar abroad netted the country US$64 million (as a result of exporting 170,311 tonnes), an increase on the US$37.7 million posted in 2006.
|
|
Professional activities of Portuguese-speaking businesspeople easier in Portugal, Mozambique and Brazil 2008-09-16 Washington, United States, 16 Sept – Portugal, Mozambique and Brazil and the Portuguese-speaking countries in which business activities are easiest, according to the latest edition of the “Doing Business” survey by the World Bank. In the survey published last week, Mozambique was once again the subject of heavy praise from the authors, despite being in 141st place amongst 181 countries, which was still the best place amongst Portuguese-speaking African countries, which last year was given to Cape Verde. “Mozambique has made hiring workers easier via a new labour law. The law increases the maximum duration of fixed term contracts and reduces the notification period for redundancies,” noted the World Bank. The introduction of a new electronic format tax form, which makes it “easier” to pay taxes, is also considered positive, as well as the increased scope of the simplified tax code, for companies with revenues of up to 2.5 million meticais. The best aspect in Mozambique is investor protection (38th place overall, better even than the average for rich OECD countries) and payment of taxes (88th); it performed worst in the labour market (161st) and the construction process (153rd). As well as this, the survey noted, “with more judges receiving formal continuous training, more restrictive performance management measures and greater administrative support, Mozambique expects to see improvements in its legal system, contributing to a speedier application of contracts.” According to the World Bank, creating a new company takes an average of 26 days, in order to pay taxes 37 procedures are required, demanding 230 hours of time and a dispute about payment of a commercial contract can take 730 days and cost much more than the amount owed (142.5 percent on average). The list of countries is the result of comparing performance in creating companies, obtaining construction licenses, registering property, getting loans, investor protection, payment of taxes, international trade, contractual security and closing businesses. Labour changes considered to be negative to the flexibility of the market were the main drivers for Cape Verde’s fall in the ranking, as it lost six places against the previous survey, this year placing 143rd. “In April 2008 Cape Verde introduced a new labour code, which makes it more difficult to hire new workers,” and which, “reduces the flexibility in use of fixed term contracts, limiting their duration. It also made it more difficult to give notice of firing workers, increasing the notification period from 30 to 45 days,” said the World Bank. In relation to Angola, in 168th place, “the long and heavy process of starting a business improved, thanks to the new “Single Business Office” reducing the time needed by two months,” it said. “To improve the process of obtaining construction licenses in Luanda, the provincial government is in charge of organising and distributing the documents related to construction licenses to the agencies involved in water and electricity inspections,” speeding up the process, the World Bank added. In Angola, the best is investor protection (53rd overall) and the worst is the strength of contracts (179th) and hiring workers (174th). Setting up a company currently takes an average of 68 days and around 272 hours are needed to pay taxes. Guinea Bissau is placed 179th out of 181 in the ranking, having implemented no reforms that were worth noting, according to the World Bank. The same lack of reforms was noted by the World Bank in Sao Tome and Principe, which fell to 176th place, and in East Timor, which ranked 170th. Portugal and Brazil continue to be the best Portuguese-speaking countries in which to do business, in 48th and 125th positions, respectively. “Portugal reformed it bankruptcy laws, eliminating the need to publish notices of insolvency in the press, introducing speedier procedures for small creditors and limiting court proceedings,” the survey said. The country also introduced an online request for construction licenses. As for Brazil, the World Bank highlighted improvements in internatinoal trade, particularly the four-day reduction in the time needed for export and the merger of the import and export reporting systems into “Siscomex Carga.” “Due to an increase in the number of trading agents authorised to use the ‘via verde' status the number of inspections has been reduced thus speeding up customs traffic," the survey said.
|
|
Mozambique: State airline LAM to acquire six jets by 2011 2008-09-12 Maputo, Mozambique, 12 Sept – Mozambican airline Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (LAM), plans to invest US$100 million in the acquisition of six aircraft by 2011, the company’s Marketing and communications director, Adam Yusuf told Macauhub in Maputo. Yussuf said that the process would begin this year with the acquisition of two aircraft, which are due to be delivered by December, in order to renew the Boeing 737 fleet. Next year, Yusuf said, another two jets would be bought and the process ends in 2011 with the acquisition of a final two aircraft. He said that the six aircraft would have the capacity to transport between 72 and 94 passengers each. The Mozambican government recently announced the liberalisation, as of 2009, of Mozambique’s airspace. LAM’s fleet is made up of four Boeing 737-200s. As well as these four aircraft, LAM also operates two Jetstream turbo-prop aircraft via its subsidiary MEX-Mozambique Express.
|
|
Portuguese-speaking African countries amongst worst for doing business, World Bank says 2008-09-12 Washington, United States, 12 Sept – Portuguese-speaking African countries such as Guinea Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe and Angola continue to be amongst the worst places in the world to do business, along with East Timor, according to a study published by the World Bank. In its "Doing Business 2009" study, which assesses the ease of doing business through procedures such as opening businesses and payment of taxes, the only significant change amongst Portuguese-speaking countries was recorded by Cape Verde, which fell six places compared to the previous ranking, to 143rd place out of 181 countries. Changes to the labour laws that are considered to be negative for companies were the main reason for the fall of what was the best-placed Portuguese-speaking African country last year (137th), according to the report published Wednesday in Washington. Property registration, payment of taxes and contract compliance were the only improvements for Cape Verde amongst the ten criteria assessed by the World Bank’s economists. Last year Mozambique was one of the countries most praised by the World Bank, but this year it fell to places to 141st in the ranking. It emerged, however, as one of the countries with most reforms, with three measures considered to be successful (start of activity, investment protection and contract compliance). Guinea Bissau maintained its penultimate place (179th), behind Sao Tome and Principe and Angola, which both went up one place to 176th and 168th, respectively. Close to Angola was East Timor in 170th position, with no change in its ranking compared to last year. Brazil rose one place to 125th, whilst Portugal fell five places to 48th, behind Romania and ahead of Spain. The group of the ten best places in which to do business remained practically unaltered, with Singapore and New Zealand topping the list.
|
|
East Timor: Embrapa mission in Dili to define priority projects 2008-09-11 Dili, East Timor, 11 Sept - Uma mission from teh Brazilain Company for Agri-farming Research (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária -Embrapa) is currently in Dili to define projects to be carried out in East Timor, with a view to achieving better results in cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries. Elísio Contini, of Embrapa’s International Relations department, told Portuguese news agency Lusa that the mission would discuss priority action with the Timorese government and would return to Brazil on 17 September with the projects already defined. “East Timor needs everything, particularly in the agricultural sector. And we have the greatest interest in helping this Portuguese-speaking country,” he said. Contini admitted that the cooperation process was slower when dealing with poorer countries. "With Angola we have had more progress and are now working on setting up an Embrapa in that Portuguese-speaking African country, as well as doing experiments to test varieties with the aim of increasing Angolan productivity,” he said. A proposal is also being sent to the Angolan government for the creation of four research centres: Maize and beans, cassava, sweet potato and peanuts, goats and sheep and dairy cattle.
|
|
Mozambique: Central bank confident of 7 pct growth in 2008 2008-09-11 Maputo, Mozambique, 11 Sept – The Mozambican economy is this year expected to reach its growth target of 7 percent despite a rise in fuel and food prices, said a spokesman and director of the Bank of Mozambique Wednesday in Maputo. At a presentation on the national economic climate in the first half of 2008, Valdemar de Sousa said that gross domestic product (GDP) growth had been 6.7 percent in the period. In the same period of 2007, GDP growth was below a forecast 7 percent, Sousa noted, which meant it was, “possible to end the year without moving away from the planned level of economic growth.” Previously, the Bank of Mozambique had indicated growth of 3.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, against 10 percent in the year-ago period, as a reflection of an adverse international economic climate (the economy had not grown by less than 7 percent since before the year 2000). The bank points to the “bad period in the world economy” and, especially, to the cost of importing fuel, which rose from 2.634 billion meticais in the first six months of 2007 to 5.124 billion meticais in the same period of this year, affecting the State Budget by the equivalent of 0.7 percent of GDP until December. Most observers have pointed to an increased slowdown of the economy in 2008, after record growth in 2006 (8.5 percent), and 7 percent last year. Mozambique’s services industry (mainly retail, transport and communications) is the main driver of the country’s economy, accounting for over half of its GDP, which totals around 220.15 billion meticais. According to the figures presented by the central bank, Mozambican posted accumulated inflation of less than 4.8 percent from January to August of the current year. The Mozambican authorities’ target is to end the year with na inflation rate of less than 10 percent, which will depend on price fluctuations, especially during the Christmas period.
|
|
Angola: Luena airport receives medium sized aircraft again after Chinese company refurbishes runway 2008-09-10 Luena, Angola, 10 Sept – The Angolan airport fo Luena, in Moxico province, is due to start receiving medium-sized aircraft again in October following work carried out to repair 2,450 metres of its 3,200 metre-long runway, an official from Chinese construction company Sinohydro said in Luena. Liu Yaxi, deputy director of the Chinese company told Angolan news agency Angop that by August 1,650 metres of runway had been repaired, which made its possible for small aircraft to land there. Currently, 800 metres of the runway is being asphalted, he said, noting that for reconstruction and expansion of the runway the central government had invested US$9 million, as part of its Public Investment Programme (PIP 2007/2008) The Chinese company was also granted the tender, last June, to lay new asphalt on the road of the city of Luena, across 21 kilometres in total, which is scheduled to be completed this month. Sinohydro will also rebuild and expand 134 kilometres of teh road linking Luena to Lucusse, a project costing the central government US$90 million. Since the start of work in March, initial work on compacting teh base layer of the road has been carried out over 60 kilometres of teh road, and asphalt will be laid on it in the next dry season.
|
|
Angola: Chinese company from Fujian rebuilds Sumbe aerodrome 2008-09-10 Sumbe, Angola, 10 Sept – The Sumbe aerodrome, in the Angolan province of Kwanza Sul, has been re-opened to light and medium-sized aircraft, after reconstruction and runway signage work was completed, the aerodrome’s director, Teresa Luís Francisco said. The work involved 66 workers, including Angolan and Chinese nationals, working for Chinese construction company Jiang Yuan, of Fujian. Speaking to Angolan news agency Angop, Francisco said that the aerodrome had been re-opened nine days ago and that work had included laying 1,000 metres of asphalt, as well as replacing the lighting and signage system along the runway. Built between 1950 and 1951, the local aerodrome reached its peak in teh 1980s with regular flights by national Angolan airlines (Taag) linking it to the cities of Luanda, Sumbe, Wako Kungo (Kwanza Sul) and Benguela. Currently only air carrier Sonair flies to Sumbe on its Luanda/Sumbe/Benguela route.
|
|
Mozambique: Port of Nacala to have biggest silos in Southern Africa 2008-09-10 Maputo, Mozambique, 10 Sept – The prot fo Nacal will have the biggest grains storage capacity in Southern Africa with the construction of silos with a capacity for 120,000 tonnes, according to Maputo daily newspaper, Notícias. When the project is concluded, countries in Africa’s interior, seen as potential users of Nacala’s port and railway line, will be able to reduce their constant trade transactions needed due to a lack of storage capacity at the port. Fernando Couto, director of the Northern Development Corridor (CDN), said that with these types of project Nampula aimed to be the “lever” in the development process of the north and centre of the country as well as preparing to be a point of reference in the economic integration of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. As well as the usual Malawian exports of tobacco and sugar, of local products such as cashew nuts, cotton, sisal, wood and others, soon bananas will be exported via the port of Nacala by Matarusca, a company that si investing in industrial banana production in the province. In the medium term, iron ore exports are also expected to be carried out via the port of Nacala. The Nacala Development Corridor, which is now entirely Mozambican-owned, is worth an estimated US$50 million and plans to refurbish the infrastructures and of the port and buy port equipment.
|
|
Angola: Angolan economy to grow 15 pct in 2009 2008-09-10 Lisbon, Portugal, 10 Sept – Angola’s economy is expected to remain strong in 2009 with a growth rate of 15 percent after the 16 percent forecast for this year, Angolan Finance Minister, José Pedro Morais told Portuguese daily financial newspaper Jornal de Negócios. Morais also told the paper that the process of reconstruction and modernisation of infrastructures and agricultural development would continue with the government using oil revenues to fund that process. "What Angola is doing is using tax revenues from oil to re-launch the economy. We are focusing on agriculture, as we have water, the climate and land with a big competitive advantage. Angola could become Africa’s grain store within five years," he said. The minsiter said that the oils scetor sirrently accounted for 90 percent of exports and that teh government was attempting to diversify the economy in order to tackle a 40 percent unemployment rate. The non-oil sector is expected to grow 20 percent this year whilst the oil sector is due to see growth of 12 percent, giving overall economic growth of 16 percent, said Morais. “And in 2009 economic growth is expected to be 15 percent,” the minister added.
|
|
Mozambique: Oil and Gas company ENH to invest US$30 in Búzi gas bloc 2008-09-10 Maputo, Mozambique, 10 Sept– Mozambican state oil and gas company, Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), plans to invest US$30 million in the first eight years of activity exploring the gas reserves in the Búzi bloc, in Sofala province, according to a report in Mozambican newspaper Notícias. The state company obtained a exclusive exploration rights license for a 25 year period and government spokesman, Luís Covane said that the Government’s decision was made after the availability of hydrocarbons was confirmed in the region, with estimated reserves of between 10 and 17 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Covane said he believed that, once the license had been granted it would be easier for ENH to establish partnerships to raise the funds needed to survey and explore gas in the Búzi bloc, in what will be the second project of its kind in the country. South African petrochemical company Sasol is already involved in gas exploration in the Pande and Temane gas fields, in Inhambane province, where it is estimated there are reserves of some 3.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas. According to Covane, who is also deputy Education and Culture minister, Mozambique has enormous potential of confirmed natural, for which exploration the country needs technical and financial assistance. Under the terms of Sasol’s project, the South African company built a gas pipeline over 865 kilometers long linking the Pande and Temane gas reserves to South Africa's Secunda industrial area, where the gas is used. Recently Sasol announced that it was investing over US$130 million in seismic surveys with a view to updating figures on the potential natural gas available in Pande and Temane.
|
|
China: Grand China Express airline wants more aircraft from Brazil’s Embraer 2008-09-09 Beijing, China, 9 Sept – Chinese air carrier, Grand China Express plans to acquire 100 E-190 Embraer aircraft over the next few years for its fleet, according to English-language newspaper China Daily. Grand China Express, which is owned by the Hainan Airlines group (HNA), had already ordered 50 E-190 and 50 ERJ-145 aircraft in August in a deal worth an estimated US$2.7 billion. The China Daily also reported that during the current year Embraer would deliver seven E-190 aircraft to Grand China Express and an Embraer ERJ-145 each month until it reaches the total of 50 ordered aircraft The aircraft will be built at the Harbin factory where, since 2003, Embraer has had a joint venture with Chinese companies Harbin Aircraft and Hafei Aviation Industry, which are both controlled by China Aviation Industry Corporation II. Harbin Embraer Aircraft, which is located in Harbin, capital of the province of Heilongjiang, produces aircraft for the Chinese market that are similar to the ones manufactured at the company’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, 90 kilometres from Sao Paulo, Brazil. If Grand China Express’ forecast is confirmed, over the next few years Embraer will sell 150 aircraft to the airline: 100 E-190s and 50 ERJ-145s. The managing director of Embraer China, Guan Dongyuan, said that in China airline fleets were made up of just 6 percent of aircraft with a capacity of 150 seats or less, whereas worldwide that figure was 30 percent. According to Guan, despite growth of the Chinese aviation market of 15 percent per year, of the 1.5 million flights carried out each year, just 30 percent were carried out with 100-seater aircraft. "On 70 percent of the 112 Chinese routes the number of seats bought is less than 300, which justifies having smaller aircraft,” said Guan. In the opinion of the managing director of Embraer China, the CHinese aviation market will need, in the short term, at least 1,100 aircraft of the type manufactured by Embraer. Chen Feng, chairman of Hainan Airlines, which controls Grand China Express, said that the company’s strategy was to operate in west China and in smaller cities. "We have chosen Tiajin and Xian as our operating bases with an eye to cover north, northeast, northwest and southwest China,” he said. Grand China Express has 38 aircraft that fly to 55 cities and controls 40 percent of China’s regional aviation market.
|
|
Macau: Economy Secretary Francis Tam expects Macau will grow 15 pct in 2008 2008-09-08 Macau, China, 8 Set – Macau’s Secretary for the Economy and Finance, Francis Tam, said Saturday that the growth rate for Macau is expected to be 15 percent in 2008, according to a note from the Government Information Bureau. Tam spoke during the Macau Forum for Economic and Commercial Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries and said that the economic growth figure of 26 percent in the first half is not expected to continue in the coming months. Tam also said that taking global economic slowdown into account, as well as the changes in the Macau economy, Macao’s growth rate at the end of 2008 is expected to be 15 percent. The Macau growth rate in 2007 was 27.3 percent and 17 percent in 2006. The Macau secretary for the Economy and Finance said that the government is going to continue to develop Macau with the objective of transforming the territory as a leisure centre and a regional service platform. “The Macau gaming sector is currently experiencing consolidation, especially after a period of rapid development in recent years,” he said. Tam also said "an adequate adjustment is necessary so that social facilities and other infrastructures, as well as human resources, can adequately respond to the development of the region". The government official revealed that gaming revenue rose significantly in the first half, compared to the same period last year, though added that this growth is expected to drop in the third quarter of this year. Macau currently has 31 casinos, though this number is expected to reach 40 by the end of the year.
|
|
Brazil: Chinese exports to Brazil rise 69 pct in first eight months of 2008 2008-09-08 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 8 Sept – Chinese exports to Brazil rose 68.9 percent in the first eight months of this year, against the same period of 2007, to US$12.81 billion, officials said. In the same period, Brazilian exports to China increased by 65.8 percent, to US$11.92 billion, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce. Trade between the two countries (imports and exports) totalled US$24.72 billion in the period, a rise of 67.4 percent against the same period of last year. China remained the second-largest exporter to Brazil, after the United States and ahead of Argentina. China’s trade surplus with Brazil rose frp, US$391 million, in the first eight months of 2007, to US$887 million in the same period of this year. China mainly sold electronic products, machines and equipment and bought soy, coffee, orange juice, iron ore and oil from Brazilian companies. Last year, total trade between Brazil and China was US$23.3 billion, with China posting a surplus of US$1.8 billion. Total Brazilian imports were US$113.94 billion, a rise of 52 percent, in the period. Brazil’s total exports in the first eight months increased 27.7 percent to US$130.84 billion as a result of greater volume and value of products sold abroad. This positive export performance led the Brazilian government to once again raise its forecast for exports in 2008 to US$200 billion from US$190 billion previously.
|
|
Mozambique: Delegation from Inhambane province visits Xiamen, China 2008-09-05 Maputo, Mozambique, 5 Sept – A delegation from the Mozambican provincial government of Inhambane is due to travel to China for negotiations on aid to build a bridge between the cities of Inhambane and Maxixe, expected to cost US$50 million, Mozambican daily newspaper, Notícias reported Thursday. Provincial governor, Itae Meque said that the trip to China followed an invitation from the Xiamen authorities. Xiamen is a special economic region of China located in Fujian province, with which Inhambane has ties of friendship and cooperation. Between 8 and 11 September the 12th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) is due to take place, at which Inhambane will exhibit its potential with the aim of attracting foreign investment. The Cape Verdean secretary of state for the Economy, Humberto Brito, is also due to travel to Xiamen next week after a visit to Macau, to sign na Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement to fund Electronic Governance (EGOV) projects. Of the total value of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement, US$82.5 million are for projects to be carried out during the second half of this year. The EGOV project will cost some US$30 million, 13 container scanners will cost US$12.5 million and funding of the first phase of social housing in Cape Verde is estimated at US$40 million.
|
|
Portugal: Brazilian company buys orange juice factory in the Algarve 2008-09-05 Silves, Portugal, 5 Sept – Brazilian company Sucocítrico Cutrale, one of the world’s largest citrus juice companies, has bought a factory in Silves, Portugal, an official from the Algarve region’s Regional Directorate for Agriculture and Fisheries (Drapalg). "The next orange season, which starts in a few days, and transformation into juice, will now be managed by the Brazilian company,” said Castelao Rodrigues, director of Drapalg, noting that Cutrale, which has seven factories in Brazil and has already entered the Asian market, had found a gateway for investment in Europe in the Algarve. Cutrale, a family-owned company considered by US magazine Forbes as being amongst the world’s top 500 companies, has 45,000 hectares of citrus groves in Brazil and 20,000 hectares in California. The acquisition of the orange juice factory in Silves is, “extremely important” for the region, said Castelão Rodrigues, noting that the Brazilian business owners had already said they were interested in investing in the small industry in Silves. Algarve citrus fruits remain one of the most important agricultural sectors for the southern Portuguese region, which each year produces around 300,000 tonnes of oranges and lemons.
|
|
Macau: Delegations from Portuguese-speaking countries meet in Macau 2008-09-04 Macau, China, 4 Sept – A seminar on the role of Macau as a platform for economic and trade relations between China and the Portuguese-speaking nations is scheduled for next Saturday, 6 September, officials said in Macau. Organised by the Permanent Secretariat to the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries (Macau), this seminar will be attended by delegations from the seven Portuguese-speaking countries. From 7 to 9 September, the delegations of the Portuguese-speaking countries taking part in the seminar will travel to Xiamen, in the Chinese province of Fujian, accompanied by the Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region of Macau, Edmund Ho HUa Wah, and other officials. During the event, the delegation will take part in the opening ceremony of the Portuguese-speaking countries pavilion, a photo exhibition about economic and trade cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, a forum on international investment and a session on mutual investment between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. On 9 September, the permanent secretariat to the Forum will call am extraordinary meeting of the investment working group, with the participation of the investment promotion agencies involved in The Macau Forum.
|
|
Mozambique: Japanese companies interested in mining resources in Mozambique 2008-09-04 Maputo, Mozambique, 4 Sept – The Japanese deputy Economy, Commerce and Industry minister, Yoshikawa Takamori, said Tuesday in Maputo he hoped that the mission he is leading would contribute to strengthening bilateral relations between Japan and Mozambique. Speaking to the press after the Japanese delegation had been granted na audience with the Mozambican prime minister, Takamori said that his country’s private sector, “has great interest in the areas of mining resources, not only in Mozambique but across Africa.” In relation to the current amount of Japanese aid to Mozambique, Takamori said that it was under negotiation between the two governments. “But I can say that, for example, Japan has concluded a development study of the ‘Nacala Corridor’, and that it is currently at the detailed design stage. After designs are concluded Japan will consider providing funds to invest in improving that infrastructure,” he added. A mission of around 50 people, including representatives of some of the biggest Japanese companies along with senior government officials, has been in Mozambique since Tuesday, with the aim of identifying investment opportunities and boosting relations between the countries. This mission follows the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), held in the Japanese city of Yokohama last May, at which Japanese prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda pledged to double official aid and private investment in Africa.
|
|
Macau: Macau to continue to grow but must boost infrastructures, Economist says 2008-09-04 Macau, China, 4 Sept – Macau in the coming years is going to face challenging growth and small and medium-sized companies will have difficulty surviving, as they will be competing against the gambling and tourism industries, according to the Economist’s Intelligence 2008/2009 outlook. The Economist Intelligence Report Unit’s most recent report states that the Macau government, with its coffers full, has to ensure that infrastructure projects meet the demand of the two sectors on which the territory bases its economy: Gambling and tourism. According to the report, the greatest concern for Macau will be if its transport and other infrastructure projects will be enough, “especially now that approvals for new construction and infrastructure projects have slowed dramatically in the wake of the high-profile sentencing of the former secretary for transport and public works, Ao Man-long, to 27 years' imprisonment on corruption charges.” The Economist Intelligence Report Unit also said that new hotels and entertainment centres that are built in the Cotai area (between the islands of Taipa and Coloane) should help reduce the high percentage that gambling revenues represent in concessionaires’ total income. “Non-gaming revenue makes up a mere 5% of casino resort revenue in Macau, compared with 50% in Las Vegas, but the string of new properties set to open over the coming 18 months has the clear potential to bring Macau closer to the Las Vegas mix,” the report said. The report said that Macau’s growth forecast is "bright”, with US$20 billion being invested in a series of new casinos and hotel projects, which will continue to be backed by gambling and tourism revenue.
|
|
Angola: Chinese company to re-build Balombo-Ganda road 2008-09-03 Balombo, Angola, 3 Sept – The deputy social governor of Benguela province, João Evangelista Basílio and a Chinese company last weekend signed a contract for the reconstruction of a 102 kilometre stretch of the Balmobo-Ganda road, including bridges. According to Angolan news agency Angop, the work, the cost of which was not given, is part of a programme to rebuild 2,100 kilometres of roads in the interior of the province, the first stage of which will cover 1,200 kilometres of secondary and tertiary roads.. The signing of the contract for the work, which is scheduled to take 24 months, was attended by municipal administrator, Francisco Miguel and members of the local government.
|
|
Brazil: Brazilian and Taiwanese businesspeople assess business opportunities 2008-09-02 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2 Sept – Around 100 businesspeople Monday in Sao Paulo took part the 8th joint meeting of the Brazil-Taiwan Business Commission where business, investment, partnership and technology opportunities were assessed. Organised by the Brazilian National Confederation for Industry (CNI), the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP) and the Chinese Association for International Economic Cooperation, the meeting discussed matters such as information and communication technology, the plastics and machinery industry and renewable energy. Over the last 10 years, bilateral trade has risen almost three-fold, from US$1.1 billion in 1998 to US$3.1 billion in 2007. From January to June 2008, Brazilian exports to Taiwan totalled US$823.5 million, higher than the US$815.9 million exported in 2007. Despite this, this year Brazil has so far this year posted a trade deficit of US$1.1 billion in its trade with Taiwan. Taiwan has a population of 23.4 million people. Last year the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) totalled US$365.3 billion and its per capita income was US$31,691.50, more than three times that of Brazil.
|
|
Angola: China’s CITIC invests in construction of Luanda satellite city 2008-09-02 Luanda, Angola, 2 Sept – The China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) Monday began construction of a real estate project worth US$3.535 billion to transform a rural area on the outskirts of the Angolan capital of Luanda into a satellite city, the company’s chief executive told Chinese news agency Xinhua. Chang Zhenming said that the real estate project would house a population of over 200,000 people. During a foundation stone ceremony, held Sunday in Kilamba Kiaxi, Chang said that the project would employ over 10,000 people. When the project is finished in 2011, Chang said, the new city would have 710 buildings with over 20,000 apartments, 246 shops, 24 childcare facilities, 17 primary and secondary schools as well as power plants, water treatment and supply plants and other facilities.
|
|
Angola: Chinese company to build bridge linking Cabinda to the rest of Angola 2008-09-01 Soyo, Angola, 1 Sept – The study for drawing up the construction project for the bridge linking the province of Cabinda to the rest of Angola is due to be concluded this month, the Angolan deputy public works minister, Joanes André said Thursday in Soyo. The deputy minister, who was on a visit to the municipality of Soyo, in Angola’s Zaire province, said that the China Road and Bridge Corporation, responsible for building the bridge, was meeting agreed deadlines for the study and carrying out the project, as the location of the bridge had already been decided. “With the conclusion of the year-long study phase, a phase of actual execution now follows, which will take another four years,” said André. The bridge will stretch 20 kilometres over the Zaire river and over land in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The project, which is expected to cost US$2.55 billion is scheduled for conclusion in October 2012.
|
|
Brazil: Embraer delivers first of five jets to China’s Kun Peng Airlines 2008-09-01 São José dos Campos, Brazil, 1 Sept - Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer Thursday delivered the first of five Embraer 190 aircraft to Kun Peng Airlines, one of the largest Chinese regional airlines. According to a statement published the Embraer website, the firm order for the five aircraft was presented by Kun Peng Airlines in July of 2008, as part of the 46th Farnborough International Airshow, held in Great Britain. The aircraft is configured to accommodate 98 passengers in two classes, said Embraer, which noted that it will significantly enhance Kun Peng’s operational capability. On Tuesday, 26 August, Embraer and Kun Peng Airlines signed a five-year agreement to supply spare parts. The contract includes the automatic replacement of parts and will reduce delivery time, the Brazilian manufacturer said in a statement. Embraer said this will allow Kun Peng to manage maintenance costs by cutting down on planning, controlling and purchasing of parts. In 2003, Embraer created a joint venture with Chinese companies Harbin Aircraft and Hafei Aviation Industry, which are both controlled by China Aviation Industry Corporation II. Harbin Embraer Aircraft, which is located in Harbin, capital of the province of Heilongjiang, produces aircraft for the Chinese market that are similar to the ones manufactured at the company’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, 90 kilometres from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Kun Peng Airlines is a joint-venture between China’s ShenZhen Airlines, and the US airline Mesa Air and in July 2008 it placed a firm order for five Embraer 190 aircraft.
|
|
Brazil: Macau mission to Sao Paulo brings businesspeople together and boosts business deals 2008-09-01 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1 Sept – Brazilian food producing companies should start selling their products in Macau, the Executive Director of the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), Echo Chan told Macauhub. Echo Chan also said that she had invited Brazilian businesspeople to take part in the 13th Macau International Fair (MIF), which will take place between 23 and 26 October. Brazilian and Macau businesspeople met last week in Sao Paulo, where an IPIM led mission stayed several days to promote the territory in Brazil and present Brazil to the members of the mission. The Macau group, made up of 14 businesspeople and representatives of IPIM, took part in business contact meetings and meetings with members of the government, visited a cosmetics fair and the port of Santos in the state of Sao Paulo. Echo Chan said that the mission to Brazil had two main objectives: “Bringing businesspeople to find out about the country and promoting Macau here, principally in the services sector.” The Macau businesspeople that took part in the mission are mainly from the food, conventions and fairs sectors, said Echo Chan, but also from the construction, pharmaceutical, electronics, chemical, education, clothing and financial sectors. In relation to setting up a representative office in Sao Paulo, Echo Chan said that there were currently no plans to do so. “But we already have great support from the Commercial Association of Sao Paulo (ACSP), Apex (the Brazilian export and investment agency) and the Macau community in Brazil,” said the IPIM director. Trade between the state of Sao Paulo and Macau doubled year on year in the period from January to July 2008 to US$3.341 million, according to figures from Brazil's Foreign Trade Ministry. The state of Sao Paulo was responsible for 40.5 percent of the total trade between Brazil and Macau in the first seven months of the year. Macau-Brazil trade totalled US$8.231 million in the period. After its visit to Sao Paulo the mission travelled on to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.
|
|
Bissau’s New Administrative Building built with Chinese aid 2008-09-01 Bissau, Guinea Bissau, 1 Sept – Guinea Bissau’s new Government Administration Building is the next building to be erected in the capital with development cooperation from China, historically linked to the construction of key public buildings such as the National Parliament. The foundation stone of the new administrative complex, which is costing an estimated US$22 million, was laid last week in a ceremony led by Guinean President, Joao Bernardo Vieira, and attended by the new prime minister, Carlos Correia and other government officials, as well as diplomatic representatives based in Bissau. The Chinese ambassador in Guinea Bissau, Ian Ban Ghua, quoted by the Panapress agency, said that the Administrative Building was the biggest collaborative project between the two countries whose relationship dates from the time of Guinean independence (1975) and has intensified in recent years. Ian Ban Ghua considered the current state of relations with Guinea Bissau to be favourable, for which he commended the assembled Guinean and foreign dignitaries. The complex will be built in Bra, near the outskirts of Bissau, under the scope of an agreement between the two governments, signed on 20th February, and is made up of three two-storey buildings which will house 13 government departments. Chinese support in the construction of the new facilities is part of the objective of improving the functioning of Guinea's public institutions, a country that has one of the lowest human development index (HDI) rankings in the world, now experiencing peace after several episodes of social and even military unrest in recent years. The current president of Guinea Bissau, “Nino” Vieira, has shown himself in favour of strengthening of relations with China, publicly calling for greater investment from Beijing in his country. One of his first foreign visits on returning to power (2005) was to China, for talks with Chinese president Hu Jintao, before taking part in the head of state and government summit of the Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). On another visit in 2006 “Nino” returned from China with the promise of the building of a Military Hospital, the new Court House, and the dam on the river Geba in Saltinho, 200km to the south east of Bissau. Beijing also allocated US$10 million to Guinea Bissau to help towards development, cereal donations of almost US$1.5 million and a donation of US$1.1 million towards Guinea Bissau’s Government Budget. In the area of Education, Beijing last year provided 100 study grants to train Guinean students at Chinese colleges, particularly in the areas of Economics, Politics, Agriculture, Health and Education, leaving the possibility open for future expansion of the program. A protocol for financial aid from China to Guinea Bissau to the tune of US$4 million was also signed, to pay state workers, a key measure in ensuring stability in a country whose regular economy is practically paralysed and which faces serious difficulties in meeting its budget commitments. Chinese cooperation also extends to the Agriculture and Defence sectors. In the latter sector Beijing is helping to renovate military buildings in the capital, Bissau, as well as residences of military personnel. Bissau has sought aid for restoring the Palace of the Republic, damaged in the Civil War bombings of 1998-9, the building of a thousand council houses and also for building a bridge over the River Farim in the north of the country, a deepwater port at Buba, south of the capital and the rebuilding of the Buba-Catio and Quebo-Cacine highways in the south of the country.
|
|
Mozambique: Japanese businesspeople visit Mozambique in September 2008-08-29 Maputo, Mozambique, 29 Aug – A Japanese business mission made up of 30 businesspeople is scheduled to be in Mozambique from 2 to 4 September, a source from the Centre for Investment Promotion (CPI) told Macauhub Thursday. The source added that amongst the businesspeople would be representatives of groups such as the Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui, Komatsu, Sumitomo, Toyota Tsusho Africa and the Bank of Japan, interested in looking at opportunities in the infrastructure, banking, manufacturing, energy, retail and natural resources sectors, amongst others. This mission is due to travel to Mozambique following the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), held in the Japanese city of Yokohama last May, at which Mozambique was represented by a delegation headed up by the country’s president, Armando Guebuza. As part of this same mission, according to the CPI, a seminar has been scheduled to take place in the Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre in the city of Maputo. This will be the biggest Japanese business mission to visit Mozambique in the last five years. Japan, which is a Mozambican economic partner, has a large stake in Mozambique Aluminium Smelter (Mozal), via the Mitsubishi Corp, which owns 25 percent of its shares. Mozal is an estimated in investment of US$2.1 billion and is also owned by BHP Billiton (Australia), Industrial Development Corporation (South Africa), and the Mozambican state.
|
|
Angola: Bridge built by Chinese firm over river Dande inaugurated 2008-08-29 Caxito, Angola, 29 Aug – The bridge over the river Dande, in Porto-Kipiri, 13 kilometres south of the city of Caxito, in Angola’s Bengo province, was opened Wednesday, by the Angolan Public Works Minister, Higino Carneiro, according to a report from Angolan news agency Angop. The concrete bridge is 104 metres long and 10.2 metres wide with two lanes and its construction was the responsibility of Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation. This bridge, which took 24 months to build, represents an investment of US$211 million, and it was inspected by German company H.P. Gauff Ingenieure. In his speech, the Public Works Minsiter said that the new bridge, along with reconstruction of the road linking Kifangondo to Uíge, conditions had been created for vehicles to travel along the road.
|
|
Angola: Angolan fishermen receive 150 vessels funded by China and Spain 2008-08-29 Luanda, Angola, 29 Aug – One hundred and fifty fishing vessels were delivered Wednesday in Luanda to fishermen and shipping companies from the provinces of Luanda, Cabinda, Zaire, Benguela, Bengo and Kwanza Sul, in order to increase the amount of fish available to the population. According to Angolan news agency Angop, the fishing vessels, which include three semi-industrial ships, are part of a set of 440 vessels included in a funding package from China and Spain. At the hand over of the vessels, Angola’s Fisheries Minister, Salomão Xirimbimbi, said that this package was part of a 10 year programme with an average delivery of 600 vessels per year, funded by China with US$250 million, and Spain with 81 million euros. "The process also includes delivery of 21 semi-industrial vessels, of which 18 have already been delivered, with only three remaining according to the importance of each province, based on the type of fishing carried out in the provinces,” said Xirimbimbi. The programme, which includes funding for vessels, infrastructures and training, also includes building, in China and Spain, of shrimp fishing, semi-industrial, industrial, fish transport and other vessels to support fishing activities. The fisheries ministry has also ordered construction of 12 inspection ships, some of which have a large capacity, for surveillance of the Angolan coast. For 2009, the Ministry has scheduled construction of integrated traditional fishing support centres across the country (already under construction in Namibe, Luanda, Benguela, Kwanza Sul and Zaire provinces), a Cefopescas school, across all provinces and a fishing institute in Namibe.
|
|
Macao: Cargo airline flies between Macao and Angola 2008-08-29 Macao, China, 29 Aug – The Jett8 Airlines Cargo Company, of Singapore, this month carried out 10 cargo flights between Macao and Angola, the Macao Airport Company (CAM) said Thursday. “This is the first time that cargo transport flights have been carried out between Macao and a Portuguese-speaking African country,” CAM said in a statement. The 10 flights, which were carried out between 14 and 27 August, transported around 900 tones of Chinese goods to Angola. The flights were carried out by Boeing 747-200F aircrafts owned by Jett8, a private Singapore-based carrier that was set up in March 2006. The airline, which has a fleet of five cargo aircraft, has a partnership with Nippon Cargo Airlines and shipping company NYK Line.
|
|
Mozambique: Portugal to once again be biggest foreign exhibitor at Facim 2008 2008-08-28 Maputo, Mozambique, 28 Aug – Portugal will once again be the biggest foreign exhibitor at the Maputo International Fair (Facim), despite occupying a smaller area because it is not making use of its entire attributed area, a spokesperson for the fair’s organisers said Wednesday. The 44th edition of Facim, the most important fair in Mozambique, which opens on 1 September for a seven-day period, will be attended by 15 countries, including Portugal, which is traditionally the biggest exhibitor at the fair. The sales director of organising company, Sociedade Gestora de Feiras, Exposições e Congressos (Sogex) told Portuguese news agency Lusa that the Portugal exhibition area had been swapped for that of 250 Mozambican companies, many of which represented by the Institute for Export Promotion (Ipex). Thus, Ipex has an exhibition area of 1,426 square meters, followed by Portugal with 800 square meters, and South Africa with 367 square meters. Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries - Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland and Zambia – as well as Brazil, Spain, Italy, Indonesia, Macao, Kenya and Turkey will also be present at the 44th edition of Facim.
|
|
Angola: Reconstruction of Luanda railroad by Chinese company, concluded in November 2008-08-28 Luanda, Angola, 28 Aug – The reconstruction of the Luanda railroad (CFL), which has been underway since 2003, will be concluded by next November, with the restoration of two kilometres of railway between Bungo and Texatang and 12 kilometres between Viana and Baía, the company's project director said in Luanda. Estimated to cost around US$90 million the reconstruction project for the Luanda railroad is being carried out by Chinese company CMEC-TEC. Speaking to Angolan news agency Angop, Paulo Cuenza said that reconstruction of the first section depended on construction of two subways for people to cross the line in the Boavista area, where work, which is the responsibility of the Angolan National Roads Institute (INEA) and is being carried out by Brazilian company, Empresa Sul-americana de Montagens (Emsa). According to Cuenza, the four stations and eight sub-stations along the railroad are ready. By November, he said, all work related to the project is scheduled for completion, including construction of 25 bridges for pedestrians, repairing the Cazenga workshop, putting 12 automatic barriers in place, installing signals, sound and communications systems, amongst other jobs. He added that the CFL headquarters building had been restored and was now awaiting the installation of a communication system. As a result of work already carried out on the railroad, the train, which had not travelled in 10 years started operating again in May 2007, but only between Musseques and Viana.
|
|
Angola: Angolan government invests US$5 billion in infrastructures in Zaire province 2008-08-27 Soyo, Angola, 27 Aug – China’s Sinohydro and Italy’s CMC di Ravenna Tuesday started construction work on the Luanda-Soyo motorway, which is expected to take three years, Angolan news agency Angop reported. Angola’s news agency said that work on the motorway, which will be 500 kilomtres long and have six lanes (three in each direction), would employ over 1,600 workers. Angola’s deputy public works minister, Joanes André, who attended the launch of the work, said that the government would spend some US$5 billion on infrastructures in Zaire province in northern Angola. Amongst the projects to be carried out is the construction of the Nzeto/Soyo stretch of road with eight bridges, by Spanish company Carmon Reestrutura. The work, which is expected to employ 1,000 people, will be concluded within two years. Conduril Engenharia (Angola), which is Portuguese-owned, will also build a bridge spanning 450 meters over the Mbridge (Nzet) river, with six lanes, which will be built within 33 months. André also said that Brazilian company Odebrecht was building the Kipanji Technical Professional Training Centre and that company T-Angola would build three social housing buildings in Soyo with four floors and 48 apartments each, which are due to be finished in less than a year.
|
|
Brazil: Trade between Brazil and China expected to rise 50 pct in 2008 2008-08-27 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 27 Aug – Trade between Brazil and China is expected to total US$45 billion in 2008, a rise of 50 percent against 2007, the Chinese commercial attaché in Sao Paulo, Lu Yuzhong said in Sao Paulo Tuesday. Lu noted that trade between the two countries had risen over 12-fold between 1997 and 2007, when it reached US$30 billion. "This rise means many business opportunities between the two countries,” the diplomat said on the sidelines of a seminar attended by a business mission from Macao, in Sao Paulo. The rise in trade (imports and exports) has consolidated China’s second position in the ranking of Brazil’s biggest trading partners, behind the United States and ahead of Argentina. Lu said, meanwhile, that cooperation and investments between the two countries, “is still at an initial stage and does not correspond to the size of China and Brazil.” The trade attaché cited the “good example” of the rise in cooperation of the Sino-Brazilian program for satellite construction, which had already resulted in the launch of three units. The business opportunity and bilateral investment seminar brought together a business mission from Macao and dozens of Brazilian businesspeople, at the São Paulo Commercial Association (ACSP). Founded in 1894 and representing 30,000 companies in the State of Sao Paulo, the association recently opened an office in Macao to support Brazilian businesspeople interested in the Chinese market. The group of 14 Macao businesspeople, which is visiting Brazil this week, is headed by Echo Chan, executive director of the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM). "Macao offers Brazilian businesspeople a regional platform of services, with a legal environment and an entire regulation in Portuguese,” said Echo Chan. “Another advantage is that products certified as originating in Macao can enter China without paying taxes,” she noted. The IPIM executive director invited Brazilian businesspeople to take part in the 13th Macao International Trade & Investment Fair (MIF), which is scheduled for between 23 and 26 October. The vice president of the São Paulo Commercial Association, Alfredo Cotait said that his association’s decision to open an office in Macao had been a “daring and pioneering,” move. “We want to create a basis for supporting small and medium-sized Brazilian companies in their commercial relationship with the Chinese and also with other Portuguese-speaking companies in China,” he said.
|
|
Trade between China and Portuguese speaking world should reach 2009 target this year 2008-08-25 Macao, China, 25 Aug – The target of US$50 billion for trade between China and the Portuguese-speaking world in 2009 should be reached this year, thanks to an almost doubling of trade during the first half. Statistics released this month by Chinese Customs indicate that between January and June trade between the “eight” Portuguese speaking countries and China increased 91.5 percent to US$36.105 billion, with Angola and Brazil recording the most significant increases. This increase reflects a marked acceleration in the rate of growth in trade between China and the “eight” Portuguese-speaking countries, which has been increasing by around 30 percent per year. Compared to the first six months of last year, China’s exports were up 79.9 percent to US$10.735 billion, while imports reached US$25.37 billion, up 96.9 percent. In the period to June Brazil was clearly China's main trade partner among the “eight”, with trade at US$21.42 billion, up 78.4 percent compared with the same period last year. China is one of Brazil’s main trade partners, and for Chinese goods and services Brazil represents the biggest Latin American market. Brazilian export agency, Apex Brasil, predicts that trade between the two countries, where Brazilian raw materials and Chinese consumable goods weigh heavily, will double over the next five years. Yet in the first half of this year, the biggest trade increase between China and the “eight", without considering the less significant totals of Sao Tome and Principe, was recorded with Angola – over 137 percent, to US$13.346 billion. Chinese exports to Angola rose 130.3 percent, to US$1.168 billion, while Angolan exports of goods and services to China reached US$12.178 billion, a 137.8 percent increase on the same period last year. Angolan exports to China are made up essentially of petroleum, while Chinese products are mainly building materials, machines, cars and consumables. Between 2003 and 2006, trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries more than tripled to a total of US$34 billion at the end of 2006. Last year, this increase was 46.9 percent. The increase in trade value, linked to a greater number of transactions and also to a rise in the price of raw materials, leads to the prediction that the target agreed between the “eight” and China of trade to the value of US$ 50 billion in 2009, will be reached this year. Among other Portuguese speaking countries, significant increases in trade in the first half of the year is with Sao Tome and Principe (97.4 percent) and Mozambique (35.1 percent). It was mainly Chinese exports that increased in trade with Sao Tome (94.3 percent, to US$860,000) and also with Mozambique (59.8 percent, to US$105,080). In trade with Guinea Bissau it was mainly Chinese imports that grew – 368.3 percent, although this was to just US$690,000. With Chinese exports showing a slight fall, trade between the two countries rose 17percent on the same period last year. Portugal remains China’s third biggest trade partner among the “eight”, with Chinese exports up 18 percent and imports down 33.3 percent, in a trade balance already clearly favorable to China. In total Chinese-Portuguese trade remained at US$1.145 billion, 6.7 percent up on the same period last year. Less positive was the development of trade with Cape Verde (down 3.4 percent) and particularly with East Timor (down 43.1 percent). In the case of Cape Verde, trade did not exceed US$7.47 million, and of East Timor, US$2.93 million. In both cases trade was almost entirely Chinese exports to these two island countries.
|
|
Mozambique: Over US$200 million invested in mining sector between 2001 and 2007 2008-08-25 Maputo, Mozambique, 25 Aug – Mozambique’s national mines director, Fátima Momade, said Friday that over US$217 million had been invested in the Mozambican mining sector between 2001 and 2007. “This is a great increase, as we have to remember that in 2001 we had investment of around US$30 million. We therefore think that mining activities are developing according to the market’s own demand and this is being driven by last year’s approval of the fiscal law,” she said. Momade also noted that many companies were showing interest in entering the mining sector. “In 2001 we had 140 requests, but now that has risen to 1,100. It is a dynamic activity and every day we receive requests for prospecting, surveying licenses and mining certificates,” she said. The national mines director said that currently 42 companies held coal licenses, 95 percent of which were based in Tete and the remainder in Niassa province. “Coal mining is still beginning, but we are counting on it to see an increment in production and export in Mozambique, not only in the mining itself, but mainly in increasing our Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” Momade said. She also said that as well as coal, other areas of the mining sector were seeing strong growth. “For example, we have the heavy minerals at Moma, which have already begun exporting and we already have significant revenues from that project, we also have the areas of Tantalite, which have also started exporting, as well as smaller precious metals and gems projects that are also producing. As well as taxes on the surface, those projects are paying taxes on production. We are talking about figures of 3 million meticais that will reach our coffers this year,” Momade said. In terms of coal, the chief executive of state rail and port company, Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM), Adelino Mesquita, recently said that an increasing number of companies licensed for exploration and/or export were vying for exclusive use of the Sena railroad, which together with the port of Beira are part of the natural logistics transport chain for coal.
|
|
Angola: Angolan satellite “Angosat” to cost US$327.6 million 2008-08-25 Luanda, Angola, 25 Aug – The Angolan government plans to spend US$327.6 million on the project to create the Angolan satellite “Angosat,” according to a published diploma. The diploma earmarks an amount of US$327.6 million to carry out contracts for the construction, placing in orbit and operation of Angosat, signed between the Ministry of Postal Services and Telecommunications and State Federal Company "Rosoboronexport", representing a consortium of Russian companies. The diploma states that, “the project takes into consideration that the characteristics of national territory, particularly its population density, together with the need to harmonise economic growth, even in the furthest outposts of the country, make it necessary for a satellite communications company to be set up in the short to medium term.” The Angolan government has also noted the importance of the Angosat satellite considering, “the growing need for transmission resources including those by satellite, based on the Angolan state’s engagement in the creation of conditions to transform Angola into an active member of the information society via an increasing use of information technologies that require broadband.”
|
|
Mozambique: Macao business group invests US$5.1 million in Mozambique 2008-08-25 Maputo, Mozambique, 25 Aug – In the first half of this year Macao invested US$5.1 million in Mozambique according to information from the Centre for Investment Promotion (CPI), the government institution that analyses and approves investments in Mozambique. In the same period five investment projects from the People’s Republic of China were approved, with a total value of US$2.8 million. Sources from the CPI told Macauhub that foreign direct investment in the first half of this year totaled US$152.8 million. South Africa tops the list of biggest foreign investors, with US$60 million, applied to 30 projects. In the same list Macao and China occupies the seventh and ninth places, respectively. Portugal is ranked fifth with US$15.8 million, after Italy, which had total approved investments of some US$26 million. The CPI gave no indication of where the Macao investment came from, but banking sources said it related to an investment of Geocapital in Moza Banco, which opened last June in Mozambique. Geocapital, a company owned by Stanley Ho and Jorge Ferro Ribeiro and based in Macao, owns 49 percent of Moza Banco.
|
|
Brazil: Gerdau group plans to produce and sell steel in China 2008-08-22 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 22 Aug – Brazilian steel maker Gerdau palns to produce and sell steel in the Chinese market and has looked into opportunities in the country, the company’s vice president for finance and investor relations director said Thursday in Rio de Janeiro. According to financial newspaper Valor Económico, Osvaldo Schirmer said that Gerdau’s aim was to produce and sell steel in the Chinese market and that there was no intention of using China as a production area for later export. Schirmer also said that based on initial estimates the entry into China was already supposed to have happened but declined to give details about how the company planned to enter the market or give a schedule for when this would happen. The Gerdau group is the 13th biggest steel producer in the world in the leader in production of long steels in the Americas. It has a presence in 14 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Spain, the United States, Guatemala, Índia, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. Its products are aimed at teh construction sector and industry and its shares are listed on the Sao Paulo, New York, Toronto and Madrid stock exchanges. In the first half of the year, the Gerdau group's turnover rose 35.2 percent to 22.3 billion reais.
|
|
Mozambique: Coal company plans to explore open air mine 2008-08-22 Maputo, Mozambique, 22 Aug - The Minas de Moatize coal company is awaiting approval of an environmental impact study to mine an new open air coal mine in Mozambique’s Tete province, with reserves of 36 million tonnes of coal and an expected lifetime of 20 to 25 years, Mozambican newspaper Notícias reported. The paper added that the company currently mines the Chipanga XI underground mine in the same province, with estimated reserves of 1.6 million tonnes and an estimated lifetime of 20 years. This mine ensures monthly production of between 4,500 and 5,000 tonnes of coal. Augusto Antunes, of Minas de Moatize, recently said in Maputo that the exploration project for the new open air mine had already been submitted to the government, having already been approved by the Ministry for Mining Resources and Energy and the national mines directorate. Antunes also said that of current production, 30 percent was placed on the national market, whilst the remaining 70 percent was sold in the southern African market. “The business sectors that use the Moatize coal mines are those linked to the sugar manufacturing industry, tobacco and cement. In teh sugar sector we supply coal to Açucareira de Mafambisse, whilst in teh tobacco sector we supply coal to Fábrica de Tabaco de Tete. There are industries in Malawi that would not survive without Mozambican coal, such as the cement industry (clinker),” he said. The main countries that import coal produced by Minas de Moatize are Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
|
|
Angola: Activity of Port of Lobito may exceed that of Port of Luanda 2008-08-22 Benguela, Angola, 22 Aug – Cargo movement at the port of Lobito may exceed that of the port of Luanda if its growth level is maintained, the regional delegate for the Benguela National Reconstruction Office, Fernandes Andrade told Portuguese news agency Lusa. Built as a port for exporting mining products to neighbouring countries, as well as Angolan fishing and farming products, the port of Lobito, in Benguela province, “is now working as an import port,” Andrade said, adding that, despite not yet having exceeding the volume of unloaded cargo of the port of Luanda, “it is going that way if it continues at this rate.” The port of Lobito, he said, “is a very ambitious project, with several phases, and which, at the end of 2009, may have a different face.” When work is concluded to improve the port’s facilities as well as reconstruction of the Benguela railroad, the two facilities will be able to transport products from Angola’s interior and mining products from neighbouring countries, which currently use the South Africa corridor. As well as this, “the new Lobito refienry, when it is ready, could provide a bug push, not only to the Benguela railroad, but also to the port, because there is refined oil here that could be crucial for interior countries in Southern and Central Africa,” Andrade said.
|
|
Mozambique: Chinese company Construção CCM, Lda. builds three justice ministry buildings 2008-08-21 Maputo, Mozambique, 21 Aug – Chinese company, Construção CCM, Lda is to build three buildings in the Mozambican capital to house the Palace fo Justice, the Attorney General’s Office and the Central Office for Fighting Corruption. No figure was given for the cost of the the three buildings but Macauhub knows that they will be funded by a Chinese loan and that the Attorney General’s building is expected to cost US$40 million. The work carried out by Construção CCM Lda. Is scheduled to take 24 months and all three buildings will be built simultaneously. On Friday 22 August, the Mozambican Justice Minister, Maria Benvinda Levi, accompanied by the president of the Supreme Court, Mário Mangaze and the assistant attorney general, Carlos Edmundo Alberto, are due to lay the first stone. Chinese companies have recently been responsible for building several large public buildings in Mozambique, including the Joaquim Chissano conference centre. Another Chinese company, Anhui Foreign Economic Construction (AFEC), is recovering and modernising the main Mozambican airport, a project budgeted at US$75 million, also funded by a Chinese loan. Another company is responsible for building the new football stadium in the outskirts of the Mozambican capital, also making use of a Chinese loan.
|
|
Angola: China plans to help Angola to produce rice 2008-08-21 Luanda, Angola, 21 Aug – Angolan cooperation with China in the agricultural sector, particularly rice production, was a topic discussed Wednesday in Luanda at a meeting of Angolan prime minister, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, and the Chinese ambassador to Angola, Zhang Bolun. According to Angolan news agency Angop, Bolun said that the meeting had served to say that China was studying ways of supporting Angola in rice production and ensuring the country’s self-sufficiency in terms of food production. In the colonial period, Angola was a rice producing country, although plantations were abandoned during the civil war. Ambassador Zhang also said that he and the Angolan prime minister had analysed the development of projects included in the Angolan national reconstruction programme. Angola is implementing a national reconstruction programme, funded by China, in the areas of infrastructure, transport, health, education and other sectors.
|
|
Angola: First economic newspaper launched in Luanda 2008-08-21 Luanda, Angola, 21 Aug – Weekly newspaper, Economia e Finanças, the first financial publication in Angola, was launched Tuesday in Luanda, a step which was described by the managing director of state publisher Edições Novembro as a, "historical moment for the Angolan press.” According to José Robeiro, Economia e Finanças is the first Angolan newspaper able to offer information exclusively on the country's economic and financial news. The first edition of the paper, which will be out Friday, will be available to readers on 29 August, at a cost of 100 kwanzas (0.90 euros) and will have around 40 pages. State publisher Edições Novembro has three more publications, namely Jornal de Angola, the country’s only daily national news paper and sports newspaper, Jornal dos Desportos.
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe: Brazilian products to reach the archipelago in November 2008-08-20 Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 20 Aug – Sao Tome and Principe is due in November to receive around 200 containers of various food products from Brazil, under the terms of a US$5 million credit line set up by the Brazilian government. Abílio Afonso Henrique, president of the Sao Tome and Principe Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Services said that importing Brazilian products would benefit the Sao Tome population because they were cheaper than those from European Union countries, such as Portugal. The credit provided to retailers by the Brazilian government was granted in November 2007, when the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding. A mission of the Chamber of Commerce this week returned from Cape Verde where it negotiated a deal with retailers and shipping companies to transport goods from Brazil to Cape Verde and from there on to Sao Tome.
|
|
Mozambique: Indian firm to buy coal mine in Mozambique 2008-08-20 New Delhi, India, 20 Aug – Indian company Jindal Steel and Power is to acquire a coal mine in Mozambique for US$46 to US$57 million, Indian newspaper The Economic Times reported Tuesday. The paper added that the mine was expected to have coal reserves of 150 to 200 million tonnes per year and that, if the deal goes ahead, Jindal may build a power plant in the same location. The Economic Times, citing unnamed sources, said that the coal mine is currently state-owned, that negotiations with the Mozambican government had been concluded and that only bureaucratic issues were left to deal with before Jindal Steel and Power takes ownership of the mine.
|
|
Angola: Modernisation of port of Lobito to cost US$1.8 billion 2008-08-19 Lobito, Angola, 19 Aug – The expansion and modernisation of the commercial port of Lobito, on the coast of central Angola, work on which is underway, is expected to cost US$1.8 billion, Angola’s transport minister Augusto Tomás said in Lobito. According to Angolan news agency Angop, the investment will make it possible to build new facilities and modernise existing ones, which will give the port greater capacity to receive any type of cargo, the minister said on a visit to the port complex Friday. Construction of the dry dock, creation of a quay for mining products and another for activities linked to the future Lobito refinery are part of the expansion plan. The construction programme also includes paving the port across an area of 3 square kilometres, as well as setting up a new railway line for the company’s internal trains, work on which is already underway. The port of Lobito, the second largest in Angola by cargo processed, was built in 1928, to serve as a departure point for transporting mining products from the Katanga region, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at the time a Belgian colony, to Europe. With the construction of the port the Benguela railroad was created, stretching 1,314 kilometres and, which is currently under reconstruction.
|
|
Angola: Reconstruction of Benguela railroad to cost US$2 billion 2008-08-18 Lobito, Angola, 18 Aug – The reconstruction and equipping of the Benguela railroad will cost US$2 billion, Angola’s transport minister Augusto Tomás said in Lobito Friday. Reconstruction of the railroad includes preparing the platform, repositioning rails and building new train stations with the caapcity to process hundreds of tonnes of cargo each day. The de-mining of over 1314 kilometres, which was carried out over the last few years, also increased the cost of the project of reconstruction of the so-called Lobito corridor. The transport minister said that despite the costs and other constraints and obstacles, such as a lack of support from the international community, the government was going ahead with its implementation of the national reconstruction plan, rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed by the country’s civil war. He said he believed that with the reconstruction of the Benguela railroad, thousands of Angolan residents in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo Bié and Moxico, and not only, would see their level of economic development rise in the short term. He added that after it was built and equipped, the railroad would be able to transport 20 million tonnes of miscellaneous cargo each year and over 4 million passengers in the same period. Information from the Chinese contractor responsible for the work, China Railway 20th Century Group Corporation, show that by next December the railroad’s trains will reach the city of Huambo and that in 2011 they will arrive in Luau in Moxico province.
|
|
Mozambique: Europan Union foots bill for water supply in Maputo region 2008-08-18 Maputo, Mozambique, 18 Aug – The Mozambican water investment fund, Fipag, plans to expand the water supply system in the region of the country’s capital, Maputo in order to cover both the city itself and the neighbouring city of Matola and Boane district, a project which will be funded by the European Investment Bank, the Dutch government, the European Union and the French development agency. Mozambican news agency AIM, which reported the news, said that the Mozambican government would provide 13 percent of the total investment. On announcing the project Saturday, the chairman of Fipag, Nelson Beete, said that studies were now in their final phase and public tenders were expected to be launched this year for work to begin in 2009. The project includes expansion of the water treatment plant on the Umbeluzi River to a capacity of 10,000 cubic megtres per hour, up from a current 6,000 cubic metres, as well as laying new pipes between Umbeluzi and Matola. Three water distribution centres will also be built and, when work has finished, the network will have 500 kilometres of ducts. Most of the system is currently obsolete and some 60 percent of the water taken from the river never reaches customers’ taps, and Beete said the aim was to reduce those losses by 40 percent.
|
|
Brazil: Odebrecht to produce ethanol in Angola 2008-08-15 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 15 Aug - Brazil’s Odebrecht group announced Thursday that it will begin producing ethanol from sugar cane in a partnership with Angolan state energy firm Sonangol and local producers, company sources said. Clayton Hygino, deputy-chairman of Odebrecht subsidiary ETH Bionergia, told the Valor Economico business journal the project is in its final phase. He did not say where the venture will be located or what investments are involved in the project. The decision to invest in Angola allows Odebrecht to use its existing infrastructures in Angola. Another advantage is the opportunity to export sugar to European markets without paying import tariffs - a concession granted to African states. ETB Bionergia was created in July 2007 and has planned investments of 4.8 billion reais to build at least six sugar and ethanol plants in Brazil in the coming years. In 2008, the company will market 400,000 metric tons of sugar and 350 million liters of ethanol in Brazilian and overseas markets. In Angola, Odebrecht has developed real estate projects, built highways and is also involved in a diamond-mining project at Catoca, as well as the construction of Angola’s first shopping center in a joint venture with Angola’s HO Gestao. Odebrecht is also participating in building the Kapanda dam in Malange province.
|
|
Mozambique: Mozambican railroad operator launches tender for coal terminal at Beira port 2008-08-15 Maputo, Mozambique, 15 Aug - Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) is to launch a tender to select consultants to draw up a project for new coal terminal at the Port of Beira, the company’s executive director, Adelino Mesquita, has said. “Studies made by Vale and Riversdale Mining for this specific project, as well as point of view of other potential users who at a favorable moment already have mining concessions, will be taken into consideration to produce the final project,” said Mesquita. Mequita added “at the right moment, CFM will invite these firms and potential financers to become shareholders in the company created to manage construction and operation of the aforementioned coal terminal.” “We cannot and don’t want to give exclusivity to any of the coal companies however big they may be. We will have room for those who have weighting that justifies it and have financial muscle to join CFM in building and operating this terminal. This infrastructure will be managed by a specialized firm.” CFM, Mesquita said, is ready to discuss with its mining partners the manner of utilization of systems in construction and reconstruction, as well as new projects with sufficient technical and economic viability. In relation to the silting problems at the Port of Beira, where the Sena railroad terminates, Mesquita said CFM, with assistance from the Maputo government and Denmark, has already launched a pre-tender for the building if a dredger for the Indian Ocean port.
|
|
Brazil: Embraer’s Chinese unit gets certified for components and equipment 2008-08-14 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 14 Aug - Embraer’s component center in China has received certification from the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), Brazil’s regulator for the industry, the company announced Tuesday, Embraer, the world’s biggest producer of short-haul jetliners, said the certification allows expansion of its maintenance services and will cut delivery times of parts to the Chinese subsidiary. With certification of the Chinese center, the Brazilian company will boost its commitment to offer services and materials “at top level to improve coverage of support to the company’s growing airline fleet in the market.” “We are very proud at the certification of our team,” said Siu Ying Yeung, director of Embraer’s customer support services in China. Embraer delivered 33 regional jetliners to six Chinese customers by 30 June and has firm orders for another 88 planes in China. The company set up a joint venture in 2003 with Harbin Aircraft and Hafei Aviation Industry, both owned by China Aviation Industry Corporation II. Harbin Embraer Aircraft was the result of US$ 25 million investment by the Brazilian manufacturer and is situated in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province The partnership makes aircraft exclusively for the Chinese market using models identical to those produced at Embraer’s main plant in the city of Sao Jose dos Campos, 90 kilometers from Sao Paulo.
|
|
Brazil: Business chiefs from 7 states to attend China investment fair 2008-08-14 Sao Paulo, 14 Aug - Entrepreneurs from seven Brazilian states will attend the CIFIT investment fair in Xiamen, China, from 8 to 11 September, one of the world’s biggest such events, the Brazilian Agency for Exports Promotion (APEX) has announced. The Brazil pavilion at the fair, organized by APEX, will have representatives from the states of Amazonas, Distrito Federal, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso. APEX investment manager Gutemberg Uchoa said the aim of the participation is “to draw investment by means of transmission of information on opportunities in Brazil and the business environment in various states.” APEX chairman Alessandro Teixiera, elected in April as chairman of the International Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), will address the event on the subject “Strengthening International Cooperation in Investment and Promoting Global Economic Development.” CLIFT occupies a 60,000 square meter area in Xiamen in the Chinese province of Fujian. The 2007 event was visited by 15,000 people from over 100 countries who signed 1,070 contracts representing investment of US$ 12 billion.
|
|
Mozambique: Economy grew 6.7 pct in first six months 2008-08-13 Maputo, Mozambique, 13 Aug - Mozambique’s economy expanded by 6.7 percent in the first half of the year, despite problems caused by increasing food and energy prices, a government spokesman said in Maputo. Luis Covane said the cabinet had appraised the Social and Economic Plan and concluded that average inflation was 10.4 percent. Rising global fuel costs have impacted on all price sectors in Mozambique. Rice increased in price from US$ 115.5 a ton to over US$ 331 in June, the government spokesman said. Imported wheat (Mozambique imports 400,000 tons yearly) reached a price of US$ 228 per tone. Other constraints on Mozambique’s economy this year were the return of tens of thousands of emigrant workers from South African anti-foreigner violence, as well as floods and typhoons. Consequently, the Mozambican authorities have taken various measures to alleviate the effects of rising costs, such as paying pf subsidies to private transport operators in the capital, importing 15 buses for use in Maputo, as well as VAT exemption for the manufacturing sector. Declining to put a figure on this extra state expenditure, Covane said it was apparent that Mozambique’s economy could have grown by more than the 7 percent originally forecast.
|
|
Mozambique: Coal exports to start within 2 years 2008-08-13 Maputo, Mozambique, 13 Aug - Mozambique will begin exporting coal within two years when rebuilding of the Sena railroad linking Tete province and the port of Beira is completed, national mining director Fatima Mamade has said. Cited by the Noticias newspaper, Mamade said once the Sena line starts operating at the end of 2009, it would transport coal reserves from the Moatize mines in Tete. Some 125 coal exploration licenses had already been issued by the Maputo authorities, mostly in the provinces of Tete and Niassa. Brazil’s Vale mining giant has been awarded a 25-year contract to develop a mine at Moatize with estimated coal reserves of 2.4 billion metric tons. Riversdale of Australia says it has an estimated 1.9 million tons of coal in its concession at Benga, near Moatize. Chanagra Investments, a subsidiary of London-based Central African Mining and Exploration Company (CAMEC), has confirmed it has 900 million tons of coal in a concession west of the River Zambezi. All these mining companies are waiting for the Sena line to open to begin transport of coal to the port of Beira for export.
|
|
Angola: Chinese credit insurer seeks to boost presence 2008-08-12 Beijing, China, 12 Aug - The vice-chairman of China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation, Liang Zhdong, informed Angola’s president Sunday that his company wants to expand its presence in Angola. Citing projects valued at thousands of millions of US dollars, Liang told President José Eduardo dos Santos that the Chinese group wants to invest in infrastructure sectors such as highways, ports, airports and railroads. The company’s presence in Angola will also serve to support firms working in the infrastructure sector. The Chinese credit insurer has invested US$ 800 million since 2002. Liang said his company’s investment now awaits a Luanda government decision, which will identify projects that need supporting.
|
|
Brazil: Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry calls for closer ties with China 2008-08-12 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 12 Aug - Brazilian business leaders need to be more concerned with gaining external competitiveness than finding ways of restricting entry of Chinese goods into the country, the head of the Brazil-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIBC) has said. Charles Tang said Brazil has more market niches, partnerships and business opportunities in China than commercial obstructions. The CCIBC, Tang was cited a saying by Gazeta Mercantil, has participated in bilateral advisory proceedings that have generated trade valued at US$ 2.5 billion. Among these ventures are six Brazilian firms interested in buying Chinese companies and partners eying investments in sheet glass, the auto sector and biochemical. One of the projects involves a Chinese biochemical group and a Brazilian sugar and alcohol producer who want to build an amino acid plant. This US$ 150 million venture involves the building of a second factory, Tang said, without revealing the firms involved. “China will invest more in Brazil to ensure continuous supply of products and guarantee continued growth,” he said, adding Brazil needs to eliminate its own obstacles to growth. The tax burden, outdated labor laws, high interest rates and excessive red tape do not facilitate competition, noted Tang.
|
|
Angola: Rebuilding of Luanda and Benguela railroads set to finish in 2011 2008-08-12 Beijing, China, 12 Aug - Reconstruction work on the Luanda and Benguela railroads will conclude in 2011, the chairman of China Railway 20th Century Group Corporation, Yu Wenzhong, told Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos Sunday. Dos Santos held talks during a Beijing visit with the executive from the firm that is rebuilding the two Angolan lines. Work on the 450 kilometer section between Luanda and Malanje will be completed 25 August. The Chinese firm says it will complete a 300-kilometer stretch in Benguela in the near future. More than 500 kilometers of the Benguela line will be finished by the end of the year. Angolan state news agency Angop said Yu has pledged his company will provide free maintenance of the Benguela and Luanda lines.
|
|
Brazil: Chinese machinery maker seeks to boost exports 2008-08-12 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 12 Aug - China’s Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) wants to increase its exports of machinery to Brazil instead of investing in local production, board member Li Suo Yun said Monday in Sao Paulo. Admitting his knowledge of Brazilian markets was limited, Li said he was aware the Acceleration Program for Brazilian Growth and a booming civil construction sector have fuelled his firm’s exports to Brazil. In 2007, the state-controlled Chinese firm sold 250 dock cranes to Brazil, 300 steamrollers and 100 other units including motorized levelers and forklift trucks. XCMG’s sales to Brazil account for just 10 percent of its total exports. Li said the firm would ship 450 cranes and 700 steamrollers to Brazil this year. In comments to business newspaper Valor Economico, Li said his company has no plans to invest in Brazil, but is seeking a local partnership. This will likely be with Brasil Maquinas, he added. XCMG produced 30,000 machines in 2007 with a turnover of US$ 5 billion, some US$ 600 million of which came from exports.
|
|
East Timor: Tariff-free exports to China 2008-08-11 Beijing, China, 11 Aug - The Chinese government has scrapped import duties on products imported from East Timor, President José Ramos Horta said Thursday after a meeting with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao. In comments to the Lusa news agency, Ramos Horta said Timor will buy two coastguard patrol boats from China valued at a total US$ 25 million to police the new nation’s exclusive economic zone. Coffee continues to be Timor’s main export to China, but Ramos Horta expressed confidence that future bilateral trade will widen to include fisheries and food products. He also said the Chinese patrol boats would join another two vessels provided by Portugal to provide surveillance in Timor’s territorial waters.
|
|
Brazil: China’s Lenovo develops computer for Brazil 2008-08-11 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 11 Aug - Chinese company Lenovo has developed a computer to be marketed solely in the Brazilian market, the chairman of the company’s Brazilian subsidiary, Marcelo Medeiros, was cited as saying by the Estado news agency. The development project involved 60 engineers working in Beijing, the state of Sao Paulo, and North Carolina in the US, who took six months to develop a computer that Lenovo will use to widen its presence among small and medium enterprises (SME) in Brazil. The Chinese firm expects Brazilian SMEs to account for 40 percent of its revenues, compared to the present 20 percent. Due to Brazilian government tax breaks, companies assembling computers in the country can sell their product for between 10 to 15 percent less than equipment made overseas. Marcelo Medeiros said, “the Brazilian subsidiary has managed to prove to the Chinese holding company that Brazil needed a model that took into consideration its particularities.”
|
|
Mozambique: Marromeu sugar transported by rail this year 2008-08-08 Maputo, Mozambique, 8 Aug - Sugar from the Marromeu refinery in Sofala province will be carried by rail again by the end of the year as part of a project to reintroduce freight traffic on the Sena railroad, linking the plant to the port of Beira. Some 60 percent of the Companhia do Sena sugar plant’s production is currently carried by barges to the port of Beira over a distance of around 1,800 kilometers, with the rest going by truck in a journey of about 600 kilometers, Noticias newspaper reported. About 330 kilometers of the planned 670 kilometers rebuilt Sena railroad have already been completed, according to a recent study on the project cited by Noticias. Access to the Marromeu sugar plant is made by the 88 kilometer Inhamitanga branch, currently been upgraded. Costs of sugar transportation on the Sena railroad have significantly fallen with the resumption of freight traffic on the line. Road haulage of the product is expected to be entirely replaced by rail. Companhia de Sena predicts some 636,619 metric tons of sugar cane will be available this year compared to 552,466 tons in 2007. Sugar production began 18 May and is due to end 12 Nov. The Sena railroad is part of the Beira network, managed by Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro da Beira, which is operated by Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) in partnership with the Indian consortium of Ricon - formed by Ircon International and Rites Ltd.
|
|
Angola: Luanda and Beijing could get air link this year 2008-08-08 Beijing, China, 8 Aug - The Angolan and Chinese capitals could soon have regular air services, Angola’s ambassador to China, João Manuel Bernardo has said. Cited by state news agency Angop, Bernardo said plans are well advanced for Angolan carrier TAAG to launch a Beijing route by the year’s end. Angola’s expatriate community in China “despite of diversification is not big”, added the diplomat, but boosted bilateral cooperation will benefit from the new air route. Angola’s emmigrant community in China is mainly resident in the south of the country and involved in temporary business ventures, noted Bernardo. Formerly Angola’s education minister, Bernardo has been his country’s envoy to Beijing for six years after previously serving as provincial governor of Malanje and at Angola’s embassy in Cuba.
|
|
Brazil: Vale orders 12 ships for China iron ore supply 2008-08-07 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 7 Aug - Mining company Vale has signed a contact with Rongsheng Shipbuilding and Heavy Industries of China to build 12 carries valued at US$ 1.6 billion to transport iron ore to China, the Brazilian company has announced. The very large ore carriers (VLOC) each have capacity to carry 400,000 metric tons, said Vale, and the shipbuilding order is part of the firm’s plan to maximize efficiency if its operations in the iron ore market, a strategy including using longer freight trains with 330 wagons and more efficient locomotives. Vale said its has decided to create a sea transport fleet dedicated to the Brazil-Asia route as this region will contribute most to growth of global demand for iron ore. The vessels under order are the biggest ore carriers being built in the world and are part of a logistical solution to transport iron ore from Brazilian ports to Asian clients. The first ore carriers will enter service early 2011 and the rest of the fleet will be delivered to Vale at the end of 2012. The mining company’s investment in the ships is additional to the US$ 59 billion planned for 2008-2012. With the four carriers ordered in 2007, as well as the conversion of an oil tanker, Vale’s Brazil-Asia operations will have 18 large bulk transporters with total capacity of 7.1 million tons, which can carry 30.2 million tons yearly from Brazil and Asia, corresponding to 31 percent of the company’s shipments to China in 2007.
|
|
Mozambique: Government issues treasury bonds to cover deficit 2008-08-07 Maputo, Mozambique, 7 Aug -The Mozambican government said Wednesday that it is issuing treasury bonds worth a total 350 million meticais to help plug this year’s budget deficit. Luis Covane, spokesman of the Maputo government, said the treasury issue would comprise 3,500,000 bonds in Mozambican currency each valued at 100,000 meticais. The Mozambican Treasury will work on the details of repayment periods and rates of interest for bearers of the bonds, said Covane, adding that high import prices of fuel and food have forced the government to boost budget spending this year.
|
|
Cape Verde: Angolan carrier boosts flights to islands 2008-08-06 Praia, Cape Verde, 6 Aug - Angolan national carrier TAAG plans to increase its flights to Cape Verde to three times a week to bring more Angolan tourists to the archipelago, the airline’s representative in Praia has said. Henrique Batalha, quoted by Cape Verde newspaper A Nacao, said TAAG’s services to the islands currently operate at above 70 percent capacity. There is increasing demand among Angolan tourists to visit Cape Verde, he added, and these trips usually begin Thursday and end the following Monday. Batalha said TAAG plans to advertise Cape Verde as a holiday destination for Angolans, particularly for weekend breaks. As around 85 percent of Angolan tourists head for Praia, TAAG intends to move its Cape Verde headquarters from Sal to the capital this year, a move that has been so far thwarted by logistical reasons.
|
|
Mozambique: Brazil’s Camargo Correa seeks finance to build Mpanda Nkua dam 2008-08-06 Maputo, Mozambique, 6 Aug – Brazilian construction group Camargo Correa has signed a deal worth US$ 3.2 billion to build a hydroelectric dam at Mpanda Nkua on the River Zambezi, says Mozambican Minister of Planning and Development Aiuba Cuereneia. The minister said the Brazilian firm would be responsible for building the dam and could also operate its infrastructures. Construction is expected to begin within a year, he added. “We want the building of the dam to start by July at the latest next year as part of our strategy to meet the energy needs of Mozambique and the region,” local media cited the minister as saying. Brazil’s ambassador to Maputo, Antonio Sousa e Silva, told Mozambican state radio that Camargo Correa is “mobilizing the financial, material and human resources needed” to begin the dam project, situated 60 kilometers downstream of the huge Cahora Bassa generating plant. The new dam, scheduled for completion in 2013, will have a 1,500 megawatt capacity, around 1,000 megawatts of which will be sent to South Africa. A 1,400 kilometer high-tension transmission line will also connect the dam to Maputo. Camargo Correa’s consortium includes two Mozabican energy firms, EDM and Energia Capital. The Brazilian group is also seeking a “strategic partner” for the venture, such as CPFL Energia and Electrobras from Brazil , Suez of Belgium or AES of the United States.
|
|
Mozambique: Northern Development Corridor gets six more locomotives 2008-08-05 Nacala, Mozambique, 5 Aug - The Northern Development Corridor (CDN), based in Mozambique’s Nampula province, will be allocated another six railway locomotives from September, a source in the organization’s board has told macauhub. Two of the new locomotives are currently en route to Mozambique from India and another four have already arrived in Maputo and will shortly be transported to Nacala. The new locomotives have cost the CDN some US$ 3.5 million, the same source added. The CDN is centered on the deepwater port of Nacala and its strategic railway running to Malawi over a 77 kilometer section of track. The undertaking has become “100 percent Mozambican” after Edlows Resources and American Railroad Corporation sold their shares in the project to BCI, Mozambique’s second largest bank, and the Insitec group.
|
|
Angola: Endiama chief wants Japan to train staff 2008-08-04 Hamamatsu, Japan, 4 Aug - Endiama CEO Manuel Arnaldo Calado has expressed interest in getting Japanese assistance to train workers of the Angolan state-controlled diamond company. Calado was speaking last week after a meeting in Japan with industrialist Yoshikatsu Kawashima, CEO of the eponymous business group, according to a statement from the Angolan embassy in Tokyo, cited by state news agency Angop. The Endiama chief said Angola’s priorities with Japan lie in the areas of staff training in specialist areas including diamond polishing, jewelry, medicine, logistics and interpretation of satellite data. Calado also said Japanese cooperation with Angola will create a mineralogy lab as well as build “long-lasting, quickly built homes”. Based in the city of Hamamatsu, the Kawashima group comprises 40 firms and operates in the sectors of diamond trading, aluminum alloys, analysis of rare metals, real estate and hotels.
|
|
Sao Tome: Islands to get deepwater port within 8 years 2008-08-04 Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 4 Aug – The government of Sao Tome signed an accord Friday with Terminal Link of France, a unit of the CMA CGM group, to build a deepwater port in the archipelago. The contract was formalized by Sao Tome’s infrastructure minister, Benjamin Vera Cruz, and Farid Salem, deputy chairman of CMA CGM. The new port facility will handle containers and is being built at Fernao Dias, 10 kilometers north of Sao Tome city. Under its accord with Sao Tome, CMA CGM, the world’s third biggest container operator with total share capital of US$ 11 billion, will undertake technical viability and environmental impact studies over the coming two to four yeas. The French firm will require a further four years to finish the port project, valued at US$ 400 million and funded entirely by private investors. Sao Tome’s deepwater port, with a total area of 80 hectares, is expected to transform the islands’ economy and make the country a regional maritime transport hub.
|
|
Mozambique: Chinese firm invests in poultry processing plant 2008-08-04 Maputo, Mozambique, 4 Aug - CGOG Africa, the Mozambican subsidiary of China Grains and Oils Group Corp, will invest US$ 10 million in a project to produce chicken in the Dondo district of the central province of Sofala, officials said. Dondo’s mayor said the Chinese-led project also includes the construction of a grain factory and a chicken-processing plant. The venture, due to begin producing 30,000 tons of chicken meat yearly when it starts up this year, will also create 50 jobs, he added.
|
|
Angola: GDP doubles from 2004-07 2008-08-04 Luanda, Angola, 4 Aug - Angola’s GDP doubled from 2004 to 2007 with an average annual increase of 17.8 percent, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Aguinaldo Jaime said Friday. Speaking at the 1st Meeting of University Students of the Samba Municipality, the minister said rapid growth across all sectors on Angola’s economy is essential for sustainable development, although he admitted the role of the extractive sector is crucial. Angola’s economic expansion calls for more business competitiveness, knowledge and technological innovation and should be accompanied with lasting job creation to permit more social cohesion, added the minister, noting agriculture is the sector with most potential to generate employment. Extractive industries using advanced technology to create intensive capital are providing financial support for development of other sectors to create jobs, he added.
|
|
Angola: Government sets new rules for contracting foreigners 2008-08-01 Luanda, Angola, 1 Aug – Recruiting, integrating, training and development of staff in the oil industry must now give priority to Angolan citizens, according to the new rules and procedures that sector companies will have to follow in taking on staff. According to Angolan news agency Angop, the new rules established in a law approved by the Council of Ministers, cover foreign companies, mixed capital companies and private Angolan oil companies. These rules also cover oil refining, storage, transport, distribution and sales companies. From now on contracting foreign staff may only happen after it is proven that there are no Angolan citizens with the qualifications and experience required and even then will depend on “the due authorization of the Oil Ministry,” according to the statement from the Council of Ministers. The approved law is part of a number of diplomas for regulating oil operations in terms of hiring Angolan staff.
|
|
Mozambique: Malaysia’s M-mobile to build mobile phone factory in Mozambique 2008-08-01 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1 Aug – Malaysian company M-mobile is to invest over US$3 million in building the first mobile telephone factory in Mozambique, according to website Club of Mozambique. Production of 50,000 to 70,000 units per year will be channeled to regional markets, specifically the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique itself. Club of Mozambique said that Africa was becoming a good market for mobile telephony, which is more practical technology than fixed line, whose networks are old and do not cover much of the territory.
|
|
Mozambique: Fishing industry on brink of collapse due to fuel prices 2008-08-01 Maputo, Mozambique, 1 Aug – The director of the Mozambican National Fishing Administration, Ivone Lichucha, said Thursday in Maputo that 51 of the 59 motor-driven fishing vessels registered in the country had given up fishing due to vessel owners’ inability to purchase fuel. Speaking to news agency Reuters, Lichucha said that the Mozambican fishing industry was on the brink of collapse as fuel, with its constant price rises, had too high an impact on the cost structure and that many vessels were unable to operate. The fishing industry contributes around 3 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but the most common method of traditional fishing, guarantees the survival of over 100,000 families and food to a large part of the population. Lichucha said that revenues from the sale of Mozambique’s main fishing product, shrimp, had fallen from US$92 million in 2006 to US$78 million in 2007, which had also happened to the exports of other fish, such as deep water shrimp and others. These marine species, along with lobster, crab and squid are Mozambique’s main exports to other African countries and Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Lichucha also said that the government was negotiating with international cooperation partners to obtain funds to acquire new vessels for inspecting illegal fishing activities along the 2,500 kilometers of Mozambique’s coast. The Mozambican authorities recently impounded the "Antillas Reefer", a ship registered in Namibia, which was carrying 43 tones of shark in its hold, along with four tones of shark fin, 1.8 tones of shark tail, 11.3 tones of shark liver and 20 tones of shark oil, with a total value of US$5 million.
|
|
Mozambique: Mozambican telecommunications company negotiates financing from China 2008-07-31 Maputo, Mozambique, 31 July – Mozambican state telecom company, Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TDM) is negotiation the concession of US$25 million in funding from China for its program of expanding its network to rural areas, according to a report in Mozambican newspaper Notícias. The paper said that the fixed line network currently covers 82 districts, and it is expected that the remainder will be covered by 2010. As well as the fixed lien network, according to information provided during a working visit by the minister for Planning and Development to TDM Wednesday, the company is also focusing its attention on expanding it optical fiber network to provincial capitals. Joaquim de Carvlho, chairman of the board of TDM, said that the company was making efforts with a view to the optical fiber network reaching three new provincial capitals by the end of the year: Tete, Pemba and Lichinga. Carvlho said that Tete and Pemba would certainly be linked to the fibre optic system, but that there were some doubts about whether Lichinga would be reached this year or in the first quarter of 2009.
|
|
Angola: Soyo aerodrome to be renovated in 2008 2008-07-30 Luanda, Angola, 30 July – Renovation work on the aerodrome in the oil municipality of Soyo, in Angola Zaire province, is due to begin in November of this year, according to the chief executive of national aviation agency, Empresa Nacional de Navegação Aérea, Manuel Ceita. Ceita, who was speaking to the press on the sidelines of a visit to Soyo by the minister for Transport, Augusto da Silva Tomás, said that renovation work, which was part of the Public Investment Program, was aimed at equipping the aerodrome for the demands of air traffic, as it currently receives an average of 28 flights per day. Work on the aerodrome’s runway, which is 2,000 meters long and 30 meters wide, will focus on resealing the runway and widening the aircraft parking areas by a further 150 meters. Ceita also said that the board of Enana was working with Angolan company LNG on the construction of a new more modern air terminal in order to accommodate passengers in greater comfort. As well as renovation of the current aerodrome, Enana is putting together another project for the medium term, with a view to building an airport in the region, the location of which has already been identified. Ceita, who gave no schedule for work on the new airport, said that it would be located in the Lumueno area, some 20 kilometers south of the city, in order to remove the current aerodrome from its residential location.
|
|
Mozambique: Construction of oil pipeline to South Africa begins this year 2008-07-29 Maputo, Mozambique, 29 July – Construction of the oil pipeline costing US$600 million between Mozambique and South Africa is due to begin at the end of the year, state company Petróleos de Moçambique (Petromoc) said Friday in Maputo. The pipeline will link the Mozambican capital Maputo to the Quendal region of South Africa’s Gauteng province, the country’s economic heart where Johannesburg and Pretoria are located. The chief executive of Petromoc, Casimiro Francisco, said that the pipeline, which will carry some 6 billion liters of fuel per year to Gauteng, was vital to drive economic growth in the region. Casimiro also said that although the pipeline would fundamentally serve South Africa there were other countries in the region, such as Botswana, interested in building an extension from South Africa. This project, which has an overall cost of US$1.5 billion, is a joint venture between Petromoc and South African companies.
|
|
Mozambique: All 128 district capitals to have electricity by 2015 2008-07-29 Maputo, Mozambique, 29 July – The 128 district capitals in Mozambique are expected to be provided with national grid electricity by 2015, the Mozambican minister for Planning and Development, Aiuba Cuereneia said after a visit to power company, Electricidade de Moçambique (EDM). Cuereneia gave no indication of the amount of funding required for this project, but currently on 70 district capitals have electricity. The minister said that the expansion program of the electricity grid was affected by some constraints due to equipment being stolen, particularly angle irons and electrical cables in different parts of the country, which means that funds earmarked for setting up new transmission lines are redirected to replacing the stolen materials. Supplying electricity to all areas of the country essentially depends on funding and availability of electricity supplied to EDM by the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric Dam (HCB). The main financiers of the Mozambique electrification process are, amongst others, the African Development Bank, EDM itself, Nordic countries and German development bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW). HCB recently signed an agreement with EDM to increase its power supply.
|
|
Brazil: China’s ZTE to launch its brand of mobile phones on Brazilian market 2008-07-29 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 29 July – Chinese telecommunications equipment company ZTE plans to enter the Brazilian market with its own brand of mobile phones by the end of the year, the chairman of ZTE Brasil, Eliandro Avila said in Sao Paulo. The Chinese state company is not well known by consumers, as its strategy in foreign markets has been to sell directly to telephone companies, which place their own branding on the products. Ávila said that the company would carry out an aggressive marketing campaign in Brazil and would initially offer popular mid-range models, “in order to vie for market niches.” Latin America accounts for around 7 percent of ZTE’s world revenues and the group’s target is to increase turnover by around 200 percent this year. In terms of prices, Ávila said they would be competitive and that the company would not enter into a price war. Founded 23 years ago, ZTE last year posted higher foreign sales than domestic sales. In 2007 the company sold 6 million telephones to Vodafone. This year sales are expected to total 15 million. Portugal’s TMN also bought 2 million units. ZTE, which has headquarters in Shenzhen near Hong Kong, recently announced it was about to close a deal with a Brazilian mobile phone operator.
|
|
Portugal: Brazil’s Embraer invests 148 million euros in two factories in Portugal 2008-07-28 Lisbon, Portugal, 28 July – Brazilian aeronautical company Embraer said Saturday in Lisbon it would invest 148 million euros in two factories in the city of Évora, Portugal, at a ceremony attended by the company’s chief executive, Frederico Curado. Setting up the two factories in the city, a project, which had been under negotiation for two years, may be the first step for Embraer, which is the biggest shareholder of Portuguese aeronautical company OGMA, to also decide to set up in Portugal, a small jet aircraft assembly factory, according to Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias. The newspaper added that this investment by Embraer has been 30 percent funded by financial and tax incentives from the Portuguese state. The two factories will manufacture components and structures for aircraft and may create around 500 jobs and almost all production will be for export. The choice of Évora took into account potential access to a qualified workforce in the region, logistics facilities and a technological hub dedicated to the aeronautical industry outliend in the plans for the municipal área, Embraer said.
|
|
Mozambique: Sena sugar factory to reach installed capacity within three years 2008-07-28 Maputo, Mozambique, 28 July – The Sena sugar factory in the province of Sofala in central Mozambique, is investing in order to reach its installed capacity within the next three years, the factory’s director, Stephanies Isautier told Macauhub. According to Isautier, contacted over the telephone, after sugar production was re-launched in 2001, the factory has made annual investments of around US$3 million. The initial investment in this factory, after production was halted due to the civil war, was US$257 million. The factory’s director said that its installed capacity was 110,000 tones per year. For this year, she said the factory would produce 70,000 tones of sugar, which will be sold on to the National Distribution Directorate (DNA), which is responsible for placing the sugar on the European Union (EU) and Unites States markets. In 2001 the Sena factory produced 21,000 tones of sugar. Mozambique has six sugar factories, although only four are in operation. In most cases the factories are South African investments as well as from Mauritius.
|
|
Angola: Investment incentives include tax exemption for up to 16 years for less developed regions 2008-07-28 Lisbon, Portugal, 28 July – A new Angolan law regarding private investment, aimed at attracting investment, grants important incentives, such as tax exemption of up to 16 years for investors that opt for the less developed regions of Angola, particularly Namibe (south). Interest in Angola on the part of overseas companies runs across various sectors, but construction, relating to priority infrastructures, would receive the most incentives, said Rita Correia, partner at Miranda Correia e Associados law firm, speaking to the Semanario Economico in Lisbon. ”There are several contributing factors that are incentives, as well as the great openness of the National Agency for Private Investment (ANIP), which is very favourable to the construction sector," said the lawyer. According to their current level of economic development, the country’s various regions are classed, under the current law, as being type A, B or C: for example, Luanda is classed as A and therefore companies benefit from eight years of exemption from industrial tax; in Namibe, classed as a C zone, the period increases to double that, writes the Portuguese newspaper. The same source points out that banking and real estate sectors do not benefit from this incentive, though the latter can have exemption from conveyance tax (for real estate still to be built), from custom duties and from investment tax. The sectors most sought-after by investors in Angola are now finance, construction and real estate promotion. According to a recent IMF report, Angola is currently fourth among sub-Saharan African countries in receiving the most foreign investment. In 2007, private investment in the region reached US$50 billion; Angola received 5.2 percent of the total, behind Nigeria (29.4 percent), South Africa (18.2 percent) and Equatorial Guinea (9.1 percent). In an explanatory note on the new Private Investment Law (LIP), seen by Macauhub, the Institute for the Formation of Capital Markets (IFMC) said that the system of incentives established in the law “offers investors credible guarantees of legal security and stability for their investments” as well as establishing “clear, simple and quick and procedures and rules for the respective processes of approval. ”LIP tried to establish equal treatment for foreign and national investors. For this, any person or organization, resident or non-resident, irrespective of nationality is considered a private investor, thus moving away from residency criteria. (…) Given the great mobility of capital in the global world, the capital goes to where it is best remunerated. Thus it falls to the Government to create ways of attracting overseas capital to be invested in the country,” said the document. Access to the incentives and support implies a minimum investment of US$50,000 for capital domiciled in the country, belonging to nationals; for capital domiciled abroad, whatever the nationality of the investor, the minimum is US$100,000. According to the amount of investment, incentives and support for the investment operations will be subject to different procedural systems: if the investment is less than US$5 million, it is subject to a regime of previous declaration, subject to approval by the ANIP; if more than or equal to US$5 million, it is subject to a contractual regime and is dealt with by the Angolan Council of Ministers. The law regulates access or formation of the investment, its protection and guarantee, as well as the transfer of profits, dividends, the results of the sale of the investment including appreciation of assets, compensations and royalties, or other income resulting from the indirect investments related to the transfer of technology. LIP also establishes that the national investor (with capital domiciled in Angola) does not benefit from the “right to transfer dividends or profits abroad,” only being able to access incentives and support, a measure to avoid the loss of capital domiciled in the country. Investors considered foreign benefit as much from repatriation of dividends and profits, as from access to incentives and support.
|
|
Angola: New oil tenders in Angola to be launched after elections 2008-07-28 Lisbon, Portugal, 28 July – The tenders for grating new oil concession in Angola will be scheduled for after the elections in September, Angolan prime minister, Fernando Dias dos Santos said Friday in Lisbon. In Lisbon for a meeting of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), the prime minister said that the elections were being prepared and that the “climate is very stable” and that after the elections, “we will be open to any proposals.” Angola, which last year joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), rivals Nigeria for top spot as Africa’s largest oil producer. In June, Angola produced an average of 1.9 million barrels of oil per day whilst Nigeria, where attacks on oil pipelines and platforms have led to wells closing down, just 1.88 million barrels per day were produced. When it joined OPEC Angola was given a production quota of 1.9 million barrels of oil per day.
|
|
Angola: Chinese company finishes asphalting Ondjiva/Xangongo road in December 2008-07-25 Luanda, Angola, 25 July – Reconstruction work on a 107 kilometer-long stretch of road between Ondjiva and Xangongo which was begun in February 2006 by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) is due to end in December this year, Angolan news agency Angop reported. The agency saw on location that 27 kilometers of the 107 that make up the stretch of road, in Cunene province, had already been asphalted and signs placed along them since work began in February of this year. Twenty-three other kilometers of the right-hand lane between Ondjiva and Môngua have also been rebuilt and asphalted. Work on the rest of the road is at the leveling stage in the lane towards Xangongo, along with installing protection for the drainage system and widening the curbsides. Reconstruction work on the road, which is part of National Road 105, will be definitive, and include the reconstruction and widening of a bridge along the road. The aim is to significantly improve this important road that is part of the corridor linking Angola, Namibia and South Africa, with a view to the greater socio-economic development of the region.
|
|
Mozambique: 2009 State Budget includes increase to boost agricultural production 2008-07-25 Maputo, Mozambique, 25 July – The Mozambican 2009 State Budget will include an increase of 5 percent compared to the US$3.8 billion budget for this year in order to develop agricultural production and infrastructures, Minister Aiuba Cuereneia said Thursday in Maputo. The Mozambican minister for Planning and Rural Development told the Reuters news agency that the 5 percent rise was mainly as a result of fuel and food price rises. The Mozambican agricultural sector is the third biggest consumer of resources in the State Budget, following education and health, but the rise in food prices has altered the government's priorities. Mozambique, which does not produce or refine oil, has a budget of US$3.8 billion this year, half of which is to be supplied by international donors in the form of donations or loans with advantageous conditions. Each year the country spends some US$500 million on importing food products and US$350 million on oil products and expects its energy bill to rise this year to US$700 million. "We are trying to put together internal funds to fund the budget. Internally we have to depend on taxes and externally we are trying to obtain donation from our partners,” said Cuereneia. Mozambique, whose economy is one of the fastest-growing in Southern Africa in the last decade, is this year expected to see growth of 8 percent and keep inflation down to a single digit.
|
|
Mozambique: Airport operator launches tender to upgrade Quelimane airport 2008-07-24 Maputo, Mozambique, 24 July - Aeroportos de Moçambique (ADM) has launched an international public tender to modernize and enlarge Quelimane airport in the northern province of Zambezia, officials said. Diodino Cambaza, chairman of the airport operator’s board, told macauhub the modernization of Quelimane, valued at US$ 1.5 million, will boost its capacity to handle both passengers and cargos. The work will allow two Boeing 737-200s to use the airport at the same time. The upgrading of Quelimane will also give the airport shops and office premises. Contracts for major refurbishment of airports in Maputo, Pemba and Vilancuclos have already been awarded to China’s Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Corporation (AFECC). Work to modernize Maputo’s airport cost US$ 75 million, with Mozambique using a credit line from China to fund the project.
|
|
Cape Verde: Country becomes 153rd member of WTO 2008-07-24 Cidade da Praia, Cape Verde, 24 July - Cape Verde became on Wednesday the 153rd member of the World Trade Organization, concluding a candidacy process that began in 1999, officials said. Cape Verde has until 2018 to adopt all its WTO convergence targets, particularly in relation to trade legislation, customs codes and authors’ rights. Economy Minister Fatima Fialho said Wednesday the islands are in the process of altering trade legislation, as occurred with standardization of customs rules last year. Cape Verde is the first African state to join the WTO though directs negotiations and the second in the world, after Tonga, which joined while still a less-developed state. The WTO, created in 1995, oversees accords on trade rules.
|
|
Mozambique: Government invites foreign investment in hydroelectric ventures 2008-07-24 Maputo, Mozambique, 24 July - The Mozambican government has invited overseas companies to invest in around 100 hydroelectric projects in the provinces of Manica, Tete and Niassa, national media reported. Antonio Saide, head of the Department of New Energies at the Ministry of Energy, said the combined power potential of the projects is estimated at 14,000 megawatts. Viability studies and foreign investment are needed for the projects to progress, he added. Saide said Mozambique is diversifying its energy sector towards cleaner sources and has opted for small-scale hydroelectric projects, which will provide local energy in a country whose national power grid has yet to reach many regions. Besides these potential power sources, Saide said 38 thermal springs with average water temperatures of between 50 and 100º C have been identified as possible power energy sources. But more studies are needed in this sector before major investment can begin, he added. Saide also said studies have been undertaken on possible wind farms at Ponta do Ouro, Maputo province, and Tofinho in Inhambane. Mozambique currently produces 2,500 megawatts of electricity, mainly from the giant Cahora Bassa dam in Tete province. Only 15 percent of Mozambique’s 20 million populations have access to power.
|
|
Brazil: Portugal’s Sonae group seeks to expand business in Brazil 2008-07-23 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 23 July - Portugal’s Sonae conglomerate wants to widen its insurance broker services in Brazil via acquisitions and will also supply its European retail network with Brazilian products this year, CEO Paulo Azevedo said. Sonae began business in Brazil in 1989 and the company’s plans for the Latin American country aim to make it the conglomerate operating in the most sectors and with strong a presence in Europe as a manager of shopping malls, and at a global level as a manufacturer of wood-based panels, or Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF). “We are most known in Brazil for retail activity, but we are active in various sectors,” said Azevedo, cited by business journal Valor Economico, adding that before becoming head of the company last year he had been in charge of the group’s telecom and IT division. Azevedo said he wanted to extend the partnership with the Feffer business family, owners of the Suzano pulp factory and his partner in Brazil’s Lazam-MDS insurance company. Investments of 35 million euros in Lazam-MDS are planned for 2008 and the priority is to buy other insurance correctors and operate in the area of reinsurance, said Azevedo. Sonae has also started a company in Sao Paulo to buy Brazilian products to supply its retail network. This is the third trading venture undertaken by the firm after similar operations in Hong Kong and India. In Brazil, Sonae Sierra owns nine shopping malls and another three will open this year. The Portuguese company’s biggest earner in Brazil is Tafibras, owner of the Tafisa MDF plant in Paraná state, which in 2007 posted a turnover of 410.7 million reais and net profits of 60.1 million reais.
|
|
Mozambique: An extra 52,000 tons of sugar to be produced this year 2008-07-23 Maputo, Mozambique, 23 July - Mozambique will produce 295,000 metric tons of sugar this year, 21 percent more than in 2007 when national production was 243,000 tons, a source in the Association of Mozambican Sugar Producers (APAM) told macauhub. Around 165,000 tons of sugars are earmarked for domestic consumption and the remainder for export. The APAM source said the sector plans to invest around US$ 6 million in sugar cane production. Mozambican sugar exports go to preferential markets (the EU and US) and have a significant favorable impact on the country’s balance of payments. In 1972, Mozambique was the world’s fourth-largest sugar exporter after Mauritius, South Africa and Egypt. Maputo wants to attract investments to boost annual national production to 500,000 tons over the coming years, said the APAM source. After being almost totally depleted during Mozambique’s civil war, the country’s sugar sector is resurgent and more than US$ 500 million has been invested in the industry, much of this by South African firms.
|
|
Brazil: Apex-Brasil presents Angolan business opportunities in Sao Paulo 2008-07-22 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 22 July - Brazilian export and investment promotion agency, APEX-Brasil, in August is due to organize a meeting in Sao Paulo to present the “Business Opportunities for Brazilian Products in the Angolan Market.” During the meeting, which is due to be held on 12 August in Sao Paulo, Apex-Brasil will present to Brazilian businesspeople the possibilities of doing business in Angola for companies in the food and drink, construction, clothing, jewelry and industrial machinery sectors. Maurício Manfre, project manager at Apex-Brasil, said that, "the trade figures could be much greater," considering that, "the changes that have taken place over the last three years in Angola show a stable government that is open to investment." A study by Apex-Brasil showed that, between 2004 and 2007, trade between Brazil and Angola rose 500 percent reaching over US$2 billion. In the four-year period Brazil imported goods worth US$945 million and exported US$1.2 billion. The president of the Association of Brazilian Businesspeople and Executives in Angola (Aebran), said last week that Brazilian investment in Angola totals US$4 billion. Alberto Cury Esper Filho, who heads up Aebran, an association whose members total 30 Brazilian businesspeople, noted that, as well as Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Económico e Social (BNDES) having this year granted a credit line of US$1.75 billion for investments in Angola, the Programme for Export Funding (Proex) had also provided a further US$300 million, “which makes over US$2 billion.” The president of Aebran said, however, “there is at least double that amount in the fixed assets of the companies (…), which means there are around US$4 billion in Brazilian investments in big construction projects, clinics and even shopping centres.” A report from the World Bank said that Angola is the African country with the greatest presence of Brazilian companies.
|
|
Angola: Renovation of infrastructures in Angola is a priority for Brazilian cooperation 2008-07-21 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 21 July – Angola’s Foreign Minister, João Bernardo Miranda, said Angola’s cooperation with Brazil was strategic, and noted that the priority was the renovation of infrastructures in Angola. Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa after a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim, Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, the minister said that, “the immediate priority is infrastructure in Angolan cities such as water treatment and electricity.” The 1st Brazil-Angola Meeting on Policy Consultation was set up on the occasion of a visit by Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to Angola, in October 2007, and served as an initial step to boost bilateral cooperation incentives and prepare for a visit to Brazil by Angola president, José Eduardo dos Santos, next year. Also according to Miranda, there should be a greater bond and improvement of communications between the two countries. "There is a great lack of information about Africa, as well as us also having a significant lack of information in Angola about Brazil,” he said. There are currently over 30 Brazilian companies working in the Angolan market and the trend is for this number to increase, based on the high levels of growth in the African country. Last year trade between Brazil and Angola totaled US$2.164 billion and, in the first half of this year alone, trade between the two countries has reached US$1.957 billion. According to the Brazilian government, from 2003 to 2007, that amount increased almost nine-fold. In this same period, Brazilian exports increased from US$235 million to US$1.21 billion.
|
|
Angola: Angola’s LNG project expected to produce over 5 million tons per year 2008-07-21 Luanda, Angola, 21 July – The Angola LNG (liquid natural gas) project, which is due to be concluded in 2012, is expected to produce 5.2 million tons of gas per year, the director for Local and Government Matters, Modesto Laurentino da Silva said in Luanda. Speaking to Angolan news agency Angop, he said that preparing and dredging the land had been finished in May and that by the end of 2008 actual construction of the factory is due to begin so that it can go into operation in the first half of 2012. Angola LNG is being built in Soyo, northern Angola. In the first half of 2012 production of gas at the Angola LNG project is due to begin, with the company forecasting that 125 million cubic meters of gas will be consumed by the domestic market and remaining production will be exported to the Atlantic basin, particularly the United States. In the first phase of construction, the project may employ a total of 7,000 people, 60 percent of whom will be Angolan workers. In the operating phase around 450 jobs will be created and recruitment is already underway for maintenance, operations, instrumentation, human resources, accounting and IT staff.
|
|
Angola: Portugal opens 1.1 billion-euro credit line for Angola 2008-07-18 Luanda, Angola, 18 July – Portugal Thursday opened up credit lines worth 1.1 billion euros for Angola during a ceremony held in Luanda in which the finance ministers from both countries signed four agreements. The first of the agreements signed by Fernando Teixeira dos Santos and José Pedro de Morais, the finance ministers for Portugal and Angola, respectively, established a credit line of 100 million euros. This loan from the Caixa Geral de Depósitos credit line is part of the Convention for Concession of Aid Loans signed by both governments on 5 April, 2006 and which has been approved by their respective Councils of Ministers. An agreement for another credit line was also signed with credit insurance company Companhia de Seguros de Crédito (Cosec), which was increased from 300 to 500 million euros. Another credit line was also set up in the amount of 500 million euros. This was an Addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Medium and Long term Credit Line, to be repaid over 12 to 15 years, which will fund public investment projects in Angola, with the participation of Portuguese companies. Lastly, a technical cooperation and reciprocal technical assistance agreement was also signed, in the area of Public Finances, between the departments of both ministries.
|
|
Brazil: Brazil expected to be world’s second-largest chicken meat producer by the end of 2008 2008-07-17 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 17 July – Brazil is expected to end 2008 with greater chicken meat production than China, thus becoming the world’s second-largest producer behind the United States, a sector official said in Sao Paulo. Francisco Turra, president of the Brazilian Association of Chicken Producers and Exporters (ABEF), told Reuters that this was due to Chinese chicken production being practically stagnant, whilst the Brazilian industry, which is more competitive than that of other countries at a time of high corn prices, is able to expand its activities to meet both domestic and external demand. “China has practically stopped growing, it produces 12 million tones (of chicken meat) per year. The way things stand we could reach the end of the year in second place by chicken production, overtaking China. I think that Brazil could end the year with production of 12.5 million tones,” Turra said. According to him the Brazilian industry is less affected than that of other countries by the rise in price of raw materials as the country has a corn surplus and will have up to 10 million tones for export this year. As well as having consistent domestic consumption, the Brazilian industry also expects to export some 800,000 extra tonnes of meat in 2008, as compared with 2007, with total exports of almost 4 million tonnes generating revenue of US$6.5 billion, or US$1,5 billion more than last year. The president of ABEF also said that if China was having difficulties increasing production of chicken meat, Brazil was ready to beging selling directly to the Chinese market. Brazil currently exports to China only via Hong Kong (200,000 tonnes in the first half of the year) and the governments of both countries are preparing a deal for Brazil to export the meat directly.
|
|
Mozambique: Ethanol factory approved for Manica province 2008-07-17 Maputo, Mozambique, 17 July – The government of Mozambique has approved a sugar cane plantation project for ethanol production in Dombe, Manica province, the spokesman for the Council of Ministers, Luís Covane said Wednesday in Maputo. The project, estimated to cost US$280 million, was presented by the Mozambique Principle Energy company which, according to Covane, has Mozambican and Mauritian shareholders, despite being owned by Principle Capital, which is based in London. The aim of Principle Energy is the production of 213 million litres of ethanol per year, as of 2013, which requires production of 2.5 million tonnes of sugar cane per year, or 12,000 tonnes per hectare of land. The project also includes production of 82.2 megawatts of energy, as of 2012, with the company consuming 20 percent in ethanol production and selling the remainder to the national grid. The Mozambican government hopes this project will be a big contributor to tax revenues and expects a total of US$57 million in 2012 and US$144 million the following year. Principle Capital announced the launch of Principle Energy in December 2007 when it said it had funding for the first phase of the Dombe project, specifically US$70 million. At the time it also said that it planned ot obtain a further US$90 million, potential through an initial public offering (IPO), with the remainder accessed via a bank loan. In 2007 the Mozambican government approved Procana, a large ethanol production project based in the district of Massingir, belonging to London-based Central African Mining and Exploration Company (CAMEC).
|
|
Mozambique: South Africa’s Sasol to start prospecting in Mozambique’s offshore area 2008-07-17 Johannesburg, South Africa, 17 July – South African petrochemical group Sasol said Wednesday in Johannesburg that it would start prospecting for oil and gas at its Mozambican offshore project in the third quarter of 2008. In a statement issued on its website, the group said it planned to put the natural gas on sale in the Mozambican and South African Markets if the prospecting was successful. The statement also said that, together with Mozambican company ENH it had signed a lease agreement for a mobile offshore drilling unit as well as for towing and anchor handling vessels with the Varun Shipping Company. "The drilling of explorations wells will take place in deep water, well away from the shallow environmentally sensitive waters of the Bazaruto Archipelago (…) expected to be completed by year end," the statement said. Sasol Petroleum Sofala Limitada (SPS) and ENH are the concession holders of Blocks 16 and 19 offshore Mozambique. The exploration area covers about 11 000 square kilometres and is directly opposite Sasol's existing onshore gas operations at Pande and Temane.
|
|
Brazil: Brazilian imports from Portuguese-speaking countries more than double in first half 2008-07-16 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 16 July – Brazilian imports from members of the Community of Countries with Portuguese as an Official Language (CPLP) rose 154.8 percent in the first half of the year to US$1.43 billion, according to figures from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. In the same period, Brazilian imports from the CPLP totalled US$562.2 million, the ministry said. Amongst the CPLP nations, Brazilian imports from Portugal rose by 41.7 percent to US$219.29 million in the period. In the opposite direction, Brazilian exports to CPLP countries totalled US$1.76 billion, a rise of 37.1 percent year on year for the first six months of 2008. Trade between Brazil and CPLP countries (exports and imports) totalled US$3.19 billion, a rise of 72.9 percent for the period. Despite strong growth in imports, the trade surplus remains in Brazil’s favour by a total of US$330 million, namely because of oil, soy, maize, steel laminate and iron ore exports. From the CPLP Brazil mainly imported oil, olive oil, salted cod-fish, acrylic cables and wine, according to official figures. Brazil’s total exports in the first half increased 24.8 percent to US$90.6 billion as a result of greater volume and value of agricultural and basic products such as oil and iron ore. In the opposite direction, Brazilian imported a total of US$79.2 billion, a rise of 51.8 percent year on year for the first six months of 2008. This positive export performance led the Brazilian government to raise its forecast for exports in 2008 to US$190 billion from US$180 billion previously. The government has set a target of US$210 billion in exports by 2010, which would account for 1.25 percent of total world trade. “This is quite an ambitious target, but very possible,” the executive secretary for the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade, Ivan Ramalho claimed recently. Brazil is currently one of the world’s top 30 biggest exporters, with 85 percent of its exports sent to over 100 countries, whilst the remaining 15 percent go to the United States market.
|
|
Brazil: Chinese exports to Brazil rise 72 pct in first half of 2008 2008-07-16 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 16 July – Chinese exports to Brazil rose 71.7 percent in the first six months of this year, against the same period of 2007, to US$5.21 billion, officials said. In the same period, Brazilian exports to China increased by 50.7 percent, to US$7.41 billion, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce. Trade between the two countries (imports and exports) totalled US$16.36 billion in the period, a rise of 61.5 percent against the same period of last year. China remained the second-largest exporter to Brazil, after the United States and ahead of Argentina. China’s trade surplus with Brazil rose five-fold, from US$296 million in the first six months of 2007, to US$1.54 billion in the first six months of this year. China mainly sold electronic products, machines, optical equipment and instruments and bought soy, iron ore and oil from Brazilian companies. The increased Chinese sales to Brazil followed overall growth of foreign imports to Brazil in the period under review. Brazilian imports increased 51.8 percent to US$79.2 billion in the period, which was a record for the last few years. Brazil’s total exports increased 24.8 percent to US$90.6 billion in the period as a result of greater volume and value of agricultural and basic products such as oil and iron ore. Last year, total trade between Brazil and China was US$23.3 billion, with China posting a surplus of US$1.8 billion.
|
|
Angola: Angolan railways to be linked to networks of neighbouring countries 2008-07-15 Luanda, Angola, 15 July – Angola’s three railways – Luanda, Benguela and Namibe – are to be linked to the rail networks of neighbouring countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Namibia. The plans are part of a programme called, Development of the Integrated Railway System, approved by the government in 2001. Thus, the Benguela railway (CFB) – which in August is due to reach the city of Huambo, in the centre of the country, by November 2010 is expected to reach the border between Moxico province and the Republic of Zambia, then be linked to Zambian Railways. A special branch line will be built between Luacano station in Moxico and the Lumwana mine, which is under construction in Zambia. The Namibe railway will be linked to the Namibian rail network, starting at Cuvango station stretching 343 kilometres as far as Oshikango, in Namibia, next to the border with Angola’s Cunene province. Construction of the Congo railway line is being studied, which will link Luanda to the provinces of Bengo, Uíge, Zaire and Cabinda, stretching over 950 kilometres, then linking with Chemin de Fer du Congo Ocean, in Congo Brazzaville.
|
|
Mozambique: Mozambique to produce 300,000 tonnes of rice per year within three years 2008-07-15 Maputo, Mozambique, 15 July – Within the next three years Mozambique will start to produce enough rice to meet domestic demand, estimated at around 315,000 tonnes per year, according to the Minister of Agriculture, Soares Nhaca. Speaking to Mozambican news agency AIM, Nhaca said that the provinces of Maputo and Gaza, in southern Mozambique, and Zambézia, in central Mozambique would be essential to efforts to reduce the rice deficit in the country. “We hope that both the district of Matutuíne, in Maputo province, and other regions with enormous potential for rice production, namely Chókwè, in Gaza province, and others in Zambézia, will increase the areas for production of this grain, taking into account the deficit,” the minister said. He also said that the Ministry of Agriculture was making efforts to Mozambique to produce between 20 and 30,000 tonnes of rice this season. Around 250 hectares of land for rice production are available in the Mucelo irrigation area, in Nicoadala district, Zambézia, which was renovated under the terms of a project funded by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). In 2007 grain production in Mozambique was estimated at around 2.2 million tonnes (1.6 million of which was maize), or 10 percent more than in 2006. Despite this progress, the authorities estimate that the grain deficit totals around 500,000 tonnes, mainly due to a lack of wheat and rice.
|
|
Brazil: Brazil’s Embraer sells five jets to China’s Kun Peng Airlines 2008-07-15 Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, 15 July – Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer said Friday it had signed a contract for the sale of five Embraer 10 jets to Chinese company Kun Peng Airlines. According to a statement published on its website, the deal is valued at US$187.5 million and the aircraft will be configured to carry 98 passengers in two classes. The first delivery is scheduled for 2008, the statement said. Based in the Chinese city of Xian, Kun Peng Airlines is a joint venture between Chinese company Shen Zhen Airline, which has a majority stake and the Mesa Air Group of the United States. Kun Peng Airlines began operating in September 2007 and currently operates over 20 routes, according to Embraer’s statement. Embraer was founded in 1969 and manufactures commercial jets with up to 120 seats and is one of Brazil’s biggest exporters. Based in Sao Jose dos Campos, in the state of Sao Paulo, the company has offices, industrial units and servicing workshops in Brazil, the United States, France, Portugal, China and Singapore. China accounts for 15 percent of Embraer’s total turnover, making it the company’s third largest market, after the United States and the European Union. The Brazilian aeronautical company since 2002 has had a joint venture to manufacture aircraft with China’s AVIC II in Harbin, northern China. The Chinese-Brazilian partnership has already manufactured and delivered 20 aircrafts in China and has a portfolio of orders for 46 airplanes.
|
|
Cape Verde: Spain funds archipelago's development 2008-07-14 Madrid, Spain, 14 July – The Spanish government has pledged to provide funding of 53 million euros to various infrastructure projects, for transport and electricity and water supply in Cape Verde, officials said in Madrid Friday. The pledge was made in a cooperation protocol signed Friday in Madrid (Spain), by the Spanish state secretary for Trade, Silvia Irazno, and by Cape Verde’s minister for Finance, Cristina Duarte. According to a statement from the Spanish government, the protocol provides Cape Verde with financial aid of 50 million euros as part of a Development Aid Fund (FAD) and 3 million euros in donations from the Technical Assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa line and the Feasibility Study Fund. The boost to bilateral cooperation between the two countries is emerging alongside growing financial investment by Spain in Cape Verde, both via companies in the Canary Islands and the Galicia region. Spanish corporate presence on the archipelago has mainly been focused on the hotel sector, but, lately has also widened to cover sectors such as food and drink, construction and fishing.
|
|
Brazil: China wants to invest in more infrastructure projects in Brazil 2008-07-14 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 14 July – The China Development Bank has shown interest in taking part in investment projects in the area of energy and logistics of the Brazilian Growth Acceleration programme (PAC) and has granted credit lines to Brazil for these purposes, according to the Folha website. The PAC, which was launched in 2007 by the Brazilian Federal Government, includes a number of economic policies that aim to boost Brazil’s economic growth and outlines total investment of US$314 billion by 2010, giving priority to infrastructures, particularly ports and motorways. Investment opportunities in Brazil where presented to the Chinese authorities and businesspeople in Beijing Friday, by the deputy head of the civil house, Miriam Belchior, and by the secretary for foreign trade, Welber Barral, during a mission of the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce to China. The visit by the Brazilian mission to Beijing, which followed stops in Macao and Hong Kong was part of the “China Agenda – Positive Action for Chinese-Brazilian Economic and Trade Relations” for which Brazil plans to increase exports to China three-fold to US$30 billion per year by 2010, via the sale of added-value products. Barral said that the China Development Bank would fund several projects in the energy and logistics sectors and made all available credit lines open to Brazil. The logistics and energy projects presented to the bank include taking part in public tenders for concessions of work on roads, railways, dredging at 13 ports, power plants and transmission grids. At the meeting the Brazilian mission announced that the government planned to spend US$6.4 billion on 7,297 kilometres of motorways, US$18.4 billion on railways and US$17.3 billion on 29 hydroelectric power plants. Amongst the work due to be tendered are the motorway linking Brasília to Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte and the high speed train linking Rio de Janeiro to Campinas. The China Development Bank is providing funding of US$750 million for the Gasene pipeline stretching over 946 kilometres, linking the southeast and northeast of Brazil via the cities of Cacimbas, in the state of Espírito Santo, and Catu, in the state of Bahia. The project, which is expected to cost US$2.6 billion is being built by Chinese oil company, Sinopec.
|
|
China’s funding of infrastructures in Africa is vital for stimulating economic growth – World Bank 2008-07-14 Washington, USA, 14 July - Since 2006 China has provided nearly US$11.5 billion in financing of communication lines and hydro-electric power stations in Sub-Saharan Africa, which have driven the economic growth of countries in the region, said the World Bank. According to the study, “Making the bridge: The growing role of China as investor in infrastructures in Sub-Saharan Africa,” presented at the end of last week in Washington, the Asian giant is currently financing the reconstruction of 1,350 km of rail lines and the construction of over 1,600 km of new railways, “an important contribution to the 50,000 km of existing rail network on the continent.” Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Sudan – countries rich in natural resources – receive around 70 percent of Chinese investment in Sub-Saharan Africa, but the number of countries covered already totals 35. “The success story of China in reducing poverty through rapid and sustained economic growth is remarkable. And the enormous investment in infrastructures was a key factor,” said vice president of the World Bank for Africa, Katryn Ezekwesili Obiageli at the presentation. Today, she added, “the growing involvement of China in Africa is helping to deal with the significant lack of infrastructures on the continent. Obviously there are challenges which will have to be met by African countries and by China, together with the support of their development partners. However, by working together, we can create winning partnerships for both sides.” The lack of infrastructures in the region costs the countries there the equivalent of one percentage point in GDP growth “per capita”. According to the World Bank, before 2004, Chinese investment in the region was less than US$1 billion per year, but since then it has taken off. Last year, it reached US$4.5 billion, after having reached a historic maximum of US$7 billion in 2006. Of the roughly US$16 billion of Chinese investment, 10 percent concerns projects that have already been finished, 25 percent are currently underway and 65 percent are at the contract stage. “The growing South-South cooperation is being driven by the strong complementary characteristics of China and Africa. China’s search for natural resources finds a parallel in Africa’s considerable and often unexplored petroleum and mineral reserves. The urgent need for infrastructures in Africa finds its parallel in the Chinese construction industry, which is competitive on a worldwide scale,” said World Bank economist, Vivien Foster, co-author of the report. The study highlights that 10 of the projects supported by China to the tune of US$3.3 billion could increase the continent’s capacity for production of hydro-electricity by 6,000 megawatts, or 30 percent. It also points out that usually funding contracts include a concession of 33 percent, close to the world standard, even though the terms of contracts with African countries vary greatly depending on the projects. According to Chuan Chen, co-author and former lecturer in civil engineering at China’s Tsinghua University, “the key challenge is to maintain the rhythm so that the results are long-lasting in terms of development.” Currently, only one in four Africans have access to electricity and travel on the main roads used for export take two or three times longer than in Asia. This greater involvement is having consequences in bilateral trade and Angola is currently by far China's biggest trade partner on the continent, followed by the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa and Sudan. The greater involvement of China in infrastructures came about at a time when western donors were concentrating on social support, namely the fight against AIDS or malaria. The World Bank’s report underlines the role, though on a smaller scale, of other “new” investors such as India and Arab development funds.
|
|
Mozambique: Italy’s ENI optimistic about striking oil in Rovuma basin 2008-07-11 Maputo, Mozambique, 11 July – Italian oil group ENI is optimistic about striking oil in large quantities in the Rovuma basin, in northern Mozambique, the Italian deputy minister for Economic Development, Adolfo Urso said Tuesday in Maputo. Speaking to journalists, Urso said that ENI’s prospecting projects since 2007 have confirmed its optimism about the possibility of striking oil, particularly in the marine segment of the Rovuma basin. "It is very likely that large quantities of oil will be found in the deep waters of the basin,” said the deputy minister. Seismic surveys and drilling began in 2007 after the government of Mozambique granted concessions to ENI and another three companies - Norway’s Artumas, US company Anadarko and Malaysia’s Petronas. These companies have already invested some US$300 million on drilling eight test wells. The Rovuma basin, measuring 400 by 160 kilometers, is located on the Rovuma river delta, on the border between Mozambique and Tanzania. The basin is located both on land and at sea and covers an area of 60,000 square kilometers in the provinces of Nampula and Cabo Delgado. The Italian deputy minister for Economic Development was in Mozambique heading up a group of investors searching for business opportunities in that African country.
|
|
Mozambique: China invests US$60 million in Mozambique in 2007 2008-07-11 Maputo, Mozambique, 11 July – China invested over US$60 million in Mozambique in 2007, making it the sixth biggest investor in the country, according to the Chinese ambassador to Mozambique, Tiang Guangfeng. The diplomat, cited by Chinese news agency Xinhua, said that China had invested in 69 “large projects” in Mozambique and created a center for investment promotion. Trade between China and Mozambqiue reached US$284.11 million in 2007, eight times more than in 2001, according to the Chinese ministry of trade. Chinese exports to Mozambique saw a sharp rise following the Beijing Summit for cooperation between Africa and China that was held in the Chinese capital in November 2006. Ambassador Tian Guangfeng told Xinhua that there was great potential in the bilateral economic and trade relations namely in the agriculture, infrastructure and construction sectors. The diplomat noted that China was involved in construction of the national stadium, the Attorney General’s Office and the International Airport of Maputo. Tian Guangfeng also said that Mozambique was, “on the road to development, reforms and economic openness showing great interest in the development and experience of special Chinese economic area,” namely in Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Xiamen.
|
|
Brazil: Portugal’s Cimpor plans to increase cement production in Brazil 2008-07-11 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 11 July – Portuguese group Cimpor plans to invest 400 million reais in Brazil with a view to consolidating its position in the Brazilian market, in which it is the third biggest cement manufacturer, newspaper Valor Económico reported in Sao Paulo. By 2011, the Brazilian subsidiary of the group plans to considerably increase the productivity of the furnaces of its three main factories and will reactivate a production line at a fourth unit, as well as making smaller investments in another four factories in the country. In order to meet increasing demand the company also plans to build two new factories by 2011, one in the Central-West region and another in a state in the South or Southeast. The two new units, which will have a minimum production capacity of 650,000 tonnes per year each are not included in the investment package now being put into place. According to the company’s Sales director, João Ghira, Cimpor is still studying the size of those factories and the amount of resources to be applied to this new investment. "We are still analysing the details, but we are certain that we will need these units to meet demand, which will remain strong over the next two to three years,” Ghira said.
|
|
Brazil: China biggest importer of Brazilian agricultural products in 1st half 2008-07-10 Brasilia, Brazil, 10 July – China was the biggest importer of Brazilian agri-farming products in the first half of the year, accounting for 11.7 percent of the total and an 81.9 percent rise on the same period of last year, according to figures from Brazil’s Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Ministry. Between January and June, the Brazilian agri-farming sector, driven by soy, meat and grain, exported goods to the value of US$33.784 billion, a rise of 26.3 percent on the same period of 2007. The sector’s imports rose by 42.7 percent and totaled US$5.63 billion in the same period, particularly driven by a rise in purchases of wheat flour and natural rubber, and thus the trade surplus for Brazil totaled US$28.154 billion in the first half. According to figures from the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry, soy beans led Brazilian goods exports, with the sale of US$9.03 billion from January to June, or a year on year rise of 67.5 percent. As well as China, Venezuela was another of Brazil’s big purchasers in the first half, with a rise of 152.4 percent, followed by Thailand, with a rise of 121.3 percent.
|
|
Mozambique: Mining and oil sectors’ contribution to Mozambique’s GDP increases 2008-07-10 Maputo, Mozambique, 10 July – The contribution of the mining and oil sectors to Mozambique’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could see growth of around 15 percent by 2010, the national director of Mining Resources, Fátima Momade, said in Maputo. Momade said that the contribution of the two sectors to the country’s economy was related to the prospects of many projects being launched that are currently in the implementation phase, including the Moma and Chibuto heavy minerals projects and the Moatize coal project. Other projects underway are for gold mining in Manica, tantalite in Marropino, in Zambézia, gold mining in Monarch, Manica, and several other mineral water projects. Momade also said that Mozambique had recently seen a rise in investment in the mining sector, with US$217 million being applied in 2007 as compared with US$169 million in 2005. At a meeting to present the activities of the National Mines Directorate, Momade said that the main challenge for her institution was reforming current legislation that applies to the mining sector, and by the end of the year regulations on diamond mining is expected to be concluded. The need to guarantee that precious and semi-precious stone mines go into operation in Nampula and the reopening of gold mines in Manica is another challenge, with Momade guaranteeing that within a short period some of these mines would be in operation.
|
|
Brazil: Brazilian business mission to visit Mozambique in September 2008-07-09 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 9 July – A Brazilian mission is due to visit Mozambique between 20 and 27 September, the director of the Brazil-Mozambique Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIABM) said Tuesday in Sao Paulo. Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa, Mário Tavernard said that the aim of the businesspeople from the states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro was to assess opportunities and the potential of the Mozambican market. The mission, made up of around 20 businesspeople from various sectors, will meet with local authorities and have business meetings promoted by the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique. Last week, Tavernard presented business opportunities in Mozambique at a seminar at the Federation of Industries of Minas Gerais State (Fiemg). In 2007 trade between Brazil and Mozambique totaled US$30 million, mainly made up of Brazilian exports. The director of CCIABM said that Mozambique offers business opportunities in the sectors of food, drinks, cosmetics, machinery, equipment, construction materials and services, medication and agricultural tools. The CCIABM, which was set up just two months ago, is headquartered in the Mozambican Consulate in Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais state.
|
|
Mozambique: Twelve countries confirm participation at Maputo’s Facim 2008 fair 2008-07-08 Maputo, Mozambique, 8 July - The 44th edition of the Maputo International fair (Facim/2008), due to take place from 1 to 7 September, already has the confirmed participation of 12 countries, Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias reported. A source from the fair’s organisers, Sociedade Gestora de Feiras, Exposições e Congressos (Sogex) told the paper that at least four foreign companies (including one from Pakistan and two from Portugal), as well as 73 Mozambican companies had registered to take part in the fair on an individual basis. “Considering that there are still around two months to go for the fair to begin we believe that national and foreign participation will certainly increase,” the source said. Last year, 15 countries and 220 companies (105 of which were Mozambican) took part in the 43rd edition of Facim. Facim is held annually and makes it possible for businesspeople and the general public to find out about the stage of development achieved by the companies present and the opportunities they provide.
|
|
Macao: Brazil wants a base in Macao to increase exports to China 2008-07-08 Macao, China, 8 July - Macao is a fundamental factor for carrying out Brazil’s objectives of increasing exports to China, the Brazilian secretary for foreign trade, Welber Barral said Monday in Macao. "The cultural proximity between Brazil and Macao and the logistic possibility of the territory as a services city is being publicized in Brazil in order that it be used as a gateway for Brazilian companies into the Chinese market,” said Barral, who was in Macao heading up a mission from the Brazilian government. Barral said that the role of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries based in Macao was “important in the strategy of greater economic proximity between Brazil and China via Macao.” The government of Brazil said in June it planned to increase exports to China three-fold to US$30 billion per year by 2010, via the sale of added-value products. The launch of the “China Agenda – Positive Action for Sino-Brazilian Economic and Trade Relations,” is now being publicized in China specifically in Macao, Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing. At the meeting with some 200 Macao and Pearl River Delta businesspeople, Barral said that the Brazilian plan to boost trade relations with China based on infrastructure work, logistics projects (airports and ports), raising awareness of the Manaus duty free area and publicizing export processing areas. Last year, of Brazil’s total imports from China, 95.1 percent were manufactured products, which have a higher added value than basic products, and just 26.8 percent of its exports had a high added value. Currently, 74 percent of Brazil’s exports to China are basic products, specifically, iron ore (34.5 percent) and soy (26.3 percent). The Brazilian government’s plan has identified 619 manufactured products from 48 different sectors, representing almost 70 percent fo China’s imports, or US$637 billion. In the first six months of this year, Brazilian exports to China totaled US$7.4 billion, a rise of 50.7 percent against the same period of last year. Chairman of Brazilian export and investment agency Apex, Alessandro Teixeira, who is part of the Brazilian mission, said meanwhile, according to Macao newspaper Tribuna, that contacts were underway with the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) to set up a local office to be the “base for entry of more Brazilian companies in the Macao market.” “Macao is much more than just a platform to enter China. Macao, in itself, has a strategic position in the region,” said the chairman of Apex. The Sao Paulo Commercial Association (ACSP) said in June it planned to open a representative Office in Macao to support small and medium-sized Brazilian companies that want to work in the People’s Republic of China.
|
|
Brazil: China wants partnership with Petrobras for oil drilling off Chinese coast 2008-07-08 Sao Paulo, Brazil, 8 July – China plans to invite Brazilian state oil company to drill for oil off the country’s coast, a region with estimated production potential of some 7 billion barrels of oil. In return China wants the opportunity to explore oil along some 800 kilometers of the Brazilian coast, where large reserves were recently discovered. “We know we have a lot of oil,” said the chairman of Chinese state company CNOOC, Fu Chengyu, speaking to Brazilian newspaper, Estado de São Paulo. “But that oil is in deep waters and we know that Petrobras today is the company that can best identify that. Therefore we are going to invite the company to work with us on this project,” he noted. The Chinese government said, meanwhile, that the CNOOC, “also wants to explore the possibility of acting on the Brazilian coast, where there is an indication of large reserves.” Fu Chengyu said that each inhabitant of a developed country consumes 17 barrels of oil per year, seven times more than in an emerging country and 17 times more than a Chinese consumer. Last week Petrobras and Sinopec, one of the biggest land-based oil producers in China signed a memorandum of understanding to increase trade in oil. Petrobras has so far this year exported some 12 million barrels of oil to China, as a result of an export contract with the Chinese company.
|
|
Angola: China expected to replace Portugal as biggest supplier to Angola in 2008 2008-07-07 Luanda, Angola, 7 July - Angola already has China as the biggest destination for its exports, particularly oil and, according to available figures, this year China is also expected to overtake Portugal to become Angola’s biggest supplier of goods. Official Chinese figures showed that between January and April exports to Angola rose 138 percent to US$742.5 million, whilst Portugal’s exports to Angola were 453 million euros (US$712.1 million) in the first quarter. The slower rate of growth of Portuguese exports – 25 percent, and slowing down on last year – show that the former colonial power is likely in 2008 to lose its position as the main exporter to the Angolan market. Between January and April of this year, Angola’s exports to China rose 128.6 percent, reaching US$7.48 billion, mainly made up of oil. Trade between the two countries has been rising in an unstoppable fashion thanks to the re-emergence of the lines from China’s Eximbank applied to infrastructure construction projects in the country and repaid via oil exports from Angola to China. In 2006, trade between Angola and China reached US$11 billion and last year continued on the same trajectory, to US$14.11 billion. Trade with Angola and Brazil has contributed most to the rise in trade between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, which in 2008 is expected to reach a total of US$50 billion which had been projected by the authorities for 2009. Chinese funding for infrastructure projects in Angola has also grown and this year may reach some US$11 billion, according to figures from international agencies. The most recent funding agreements, signed last week in Luanda include the expansion of the electricity grid in the cities of Dundo (Lunda Norte) and Saurimo (Lunda Sul), the refurbishment of the waste water treatment plant at Quifangondo (Luanda), construction of a distribution center in the Luanda municipality of Cacuaco, as well as installing new piping systems in buildings. Figures from Brazil’s Foreign Trade Ministry also showed strong growth in exports to Angola: 66.9 percent in the first five months of the year. The total of US$606 million also places Brazil ahead of Portuguese exports to Angola, despite having accounted for more months. Traditionally, the main export products from Brazil to Angola have been cane, beet and sucrose sugars, gasoline and iron and steel piping for oil and gas pipelines. In 2006 and 2007 Angola’s imports from Brazil rose 61 percent and 45 percent, respectively. In Angolan trade, “Portugal clearly has the top position, but the fast approach of both China and Brazil is clear," said Portuguese bank BPI in one of its most recent reports on the Angolan economy. The report also said that South Africa, “could quickly increase exports in the near future, as soon as road transport becomes possible, particularly due to logistical problems arising from the saturated capacity of the port of Luanda.” In the opposite direction, Angolan imports from the United States fell by 17 percent, to around US$1.2 billion, the level at which Chinese and Brazilian imports are now.
|
|
Mozambique: Mozambican computer factory to begin production this year 2008-07-07 Maputo, Mozambique, 7 July – Mozambique by the end of the year will have its own computer factory, from a partnership between Instituto de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (Institute for Information and Communications Technologies) and South African company, Sahara Computers, Mozambican newspaper Notícias reported. The renovation of the building where the factory will be set up is now underway and it is expected to be concluded within two months, in order that all the necessary equipment be installed. According to Jamo Macanze, manager of Instituto de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação, the factory, which will have a minimum production capacity of 100 computers per day, will go into operation by the end of the year. Macanze said that computer production would be carried out in phases and that the amount produced depended on the business model and reaction from the market. The price of imported components will determine the end price and the amount of computers manufactured, and the company is currently discussing tax incentives with the Center for Investment Promotion (CPI) on the import of components.
|
|
Mozambique: Australian company to build US$2 billion thermal power plant in Tete 2008-07-07 Maputo, Mozambique, 7 July – Australian company Riverdale Mining in 2009 plans to start construction of a coal-fired power station expected to cost US$2 billion, in the northeast Mozambican province of Tete, the company’s director for Mozambique, Syd Parkhouse said. Parkhouse told Mozambican newspaper Notícias that the feasibility study for the project, which will have a production capacity of 500 megawatts, would be ready by the end of this year, and work is scheduled to be concluded within three years. According to Parkhouse, Riversdale Mining has been granted a license for coal mining in 29,080 hectares of Tete province, an area which according to him has a higher concentration of coal than the Moatize area, granted to Brazil’s Companhia Vale do Rio Doce Moçambique. He also said that the US$2 billion needed to build the new plant in Tete would be provided by foreign banks and international financial institutions, and that most of the electricity produced would be exported to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. Parkhouse did not rule out the possibility of power from the new plant also being sent to other countries in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), such as Namibia and Botswana. For this project Riversdale has gone into partnership with Indian group Tata Steel, the world’s sixth largest steel producer, under the terms of which the Indian group has a 35 percent stake.
|
|
Brazil: Brazilian government announces plan to triple exports to China by 2010 2008-07-04 Brasilia, Brazil, 4 July – The Brazilian government Thursday announced a plan in Brasilia to increase exports to China three-fold to US$30 billion per year by 2010, via the sale of added-value products. The launch of the “China Agenda – Positive Action for Sino-Brazilian Economic and Trade Relations,” in Brasilia, with the participation of the authorities of both countries. Last year, of Brazil’s total imports from China, 95.1 percent were manufactured products, which have a higher added value than basic products, and just 26.8 percent of its exports had a high added value. Currently, 74 percent of Brazil’s exports to China are basic products, specifically, iron ore (34.5 percent) and soy (26.3 percent). The Brazilian government’s plan has identified 619 manufactured products from 48 different sectors, representing almost 70 percent of China’s imports, or US$637 billion. Next week, a delegation made up of Brazilian government representatives and private companies is due to visit several cities in China to establish direct negotiations with the local authorities. In the first six months of this year, Brazilian exports to China totaled US$7.4 billion, a rise of 50.7 percent against the same period of last year. Total Brazilian imports from China were US$8.95 billion – or 71.7 percent more than in the same period of last year.
|
|
Brazil: Chinese company Yingli Solar considers building factory in Ceará state 2008-07-04 Fortaleza, Brazil, 4 July – Chinese company Yingli Solar plans to build a solar panel factory in the Brazilian state of Ceará, with company officials meeting recently with governor Cid Gomes, a spokesperson said in Fortaleza. According to the president of the Economic Development Agency of Ceará State, Antônio Balhmann, it has not yet been decided if the factory will actually be built in Ceará, although research is being carried out with that in mind. Yingli Solar is involved in supplying solar panels to Brazil’s MPX energies, for construction of a solar energy station. Representing an investment of US$250 million, MPX’s plant, will be the second-largest in the world and the biggest in Latin America producing 50 megawatts of energy once it is concluded in 2011. The plant will cover an area of 250 hectares, 150 of which will be covered with solar panels and, due to its size; the complex will be visible from space.
|
|
Brazil: Government mission visits Macao to promote business opportunities and attract investment 2008-07-04 Macao, China, 4 July – A Brazilian delegation is due to visit Macao Monday to provide information about business and investment opportunities in Brazil to local businesspeople, officials said Friday. The mission is headed by Brazil’s Secretary for Foreign Trade, Welber Barral and includes officials from the Growth Acceleration Programme (PAC), Brazilian Export Promotion Agency (APEX), the Superintendence of the Manaus Free-Trade Area (SUFRAMA), the Planning and Articulation of Northeast Development Superintendence Policies, from the Department of Sugar cane and Agri-energy and the Ministry of Agriculture. The Macao secretary for Economy and Finance, Francis Tam, will be present at the presentation of the Brazilian government to local businesspeople and is expected to highlight the potential of Macao in its role as a platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries that wish to invest in China. The visit to Macao was jointly organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries (Macao) and by the Brazilian Ministry for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, along with Apex. The Brazilian mission will be in Beijing on 11 July for a presentation to Chinese businesspeople of the business and investment potential of Brazil. A Macao delegation from the Permanent Secretariat of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and the Portuguese-speaking Countries visited Brazil between 25 June and 2 July to promote bilateral cooperation. It met with businesspeople and government institutions. The Sao Paulo Trade Association (ACSP) said in June it planned to open a representative office in Macao to support small and medium-sized Brazilian companies that want to work in the People’s Republic of China.
|
|
Mozambique: Oilmoz Holding announces construction of refinery in Maputo province 2008-07-04 Maputo, Mozambique, 4 July – Mozambican company Oilmoz Holding is set to build an oil refinery in the Mozambican province of Maputo with a capacity to process 350,000 barrels of oil per day, shareholder and chief executive, Fausto Cruz said in Maputo Thursday. The company’s shareholders are Fausto Cruz and Leonardo Simão, former Mozambican foreign minister and chief executive of the Joaquim Chissano Foundation. The feasibility studies for the project, which is expected to cost US$8.4 billion, will be carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers and by Petróleos de Moçambique (Petromoc). According to the CEO of Oilmoz Holding, construction of the refinery will begin in 2009 and end in 2013. Cruz noted the fuel deficits that Southern African countries have as the reason for Oilmoz building the refinery. As well as the refinery, the project also includes construction of a petrochemical derivatives plant, a gas-fired power plant, a sewage treatment plant, a fuel storage facility and a potential offshore port terminal to transport crude oil, Cruz added. In 2007, Ayr-Petro-Nacala, a subsidiary of US company Ayr Logistics also announced it planned to build an oil refinery in the port city of Nacala, in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula.
|
|
Angola: Angola and China sign funding agreements 2008-07-04 Luanda, Angola, 4 July – Angola and China Thursday in Luanda signed three funding agreements, within the scope of the credit line offered by the Eximbank (China) since March 2004, according to Angolan news agency Angop. The first agreement is for funding the project for renovation and expansion of the electricity grid in the cities of Dundo (Lunda Norte) and Saurimo (Lunda Sul), expected to cost at least US$50 million. The second convention is to fund the refurbishment of the waste water treatment plant at Quifangondo (Luanda), construction of a distribution centre in the Luanda municipality of Cacuaco, as well as installing new piping systems in buildings, to the value of US$28.798 million. The third agreement signed between the Angolan Finance Minister, José Pedro de Morais and the chairman of Eximbank, Li Ruogu, is to fund reconstruction of roads in the cities of Caxito (Bengo province), Uíge and Negage (in Uíge province), in a contract estimated to cost around US$56 million. Within the scope of Chinese funding for Angola, in February 2005 the two countries signed nine cooperation agreements – of which five were inter-governmental and four were corporate. These deals were signed following official discussions between delegations from the two states, during a visit by Chinese deputy prime minister, Zeng Peiyang, to Angola. Official figures have shown that Angola is China’s second-biggest trading partner in Africa, after South Africa and it is estimated that the average trade between the two countries is of US$4.9 billion per year.
|
|
Cape Verde: Cape Verde and Spain sign agreement for development fund 2008-07-03 Madrid, Spain, 3 July – Cape Verde and Spain are due next week in Madrid to sign a protocol for a development fund with capital of 50 million euros, Cape Verde’s prime minister, José Maria Neves said in Madrid Thursday. In an interview with Portuguese news agency Lusa in Madrid, Neves said that the protocol would be signed on 8 July and noted that Spanish funding, which had risen three-fold from 9 to 27 million euros and was now being consolidated with the establishment of the development fund. Noting the recent installation of the Spanish Embassy in Cape Verde and of an office of the International Cooperation Agency of Madrid, the prime minister said that the Spanish cooperation program covered the immigration sector, combating poverty and the environment. Bilateral cooperation is emerging alongside growing financial investment by Spain in Cape Verde, both via companies in the Canary Islands and the Galiza region, with “strong corporate investment.” He particularly noted investments by the Rio Tuy group, which has built several hotels on the archipelago, and investment in creating a logistics base to support fishing in the port of Sao Vicente, in this case with the funding of Galician business owners.
|
|
Angola: Oil industry to receive investment of US$100 billion 2008-07-03 Madrid, Spain, 3 July – The Angolan oil and gas industry is to receive investments of US$100 billion over the next five to seven years, the chairman of state oil company Sonangol, Manuel Vicente said in Madrid Wednesday. In a speech in Madrid at the 19th World Oil Congress, Vicente said that investment in production and exploration were aimed at “ensuring production levels for the next five years (until 2014),” which currently stand at approximately 2 million barrels per day, above that of the Africa’s usual biggest producer, Nigeria. Investment in exploration, he added, included drilling 100 new oil wells per year, over the next ten years. The chairman of Sonangol noted that Angola’s efforts made it possible to “participate in the stabilization of oil prices,” currently at record levels on the international market. Angola’s gas reserves are estimated at around 12.5 billion barrels, according to Sonangol’s estimates. In his turn, Desidério Costa, Angola’s oil minister, said in Madrid that Angolan production was expected to rise from the current 1.9 million barrels per day to 2 million barrels per day, "by the end of the year," after Sonangol director, Syanga Abílio told Angolan news agency Angop Monday that this target would be reached by August. Angolan oil production remained at the highest level in Africa in May for the second consecutive month, exceeding that of Nigeria, which ahs been affected by strikes and raids on oil facilities, according to information from OPEC.
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe: Anti money laundering law comes into force 2008-07-02 Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe, 2 July – The law against money laundering in Sao Tome and Principe went into force Monday, after being endorsed by the country’s President at the weekend, officials said in Sao Tome Tuesday. The new law was approved by Parliament in April and had been awaiting ratification by the President. "The publication of this law will help Sao Tome and Principe to be taken off the list of countries that are vulnerable to this type of crime, including funding terrorism,” the press advisor to the National Assembly, Hilário do Espírito Santo told Portuguese news agency Lusa. Sao Tome and Principe is one of a list of countries, including Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan that have been “observed” by the international community due to high levels of transaction risk. The process of combating Money laundering will involve various government bodies, such as the Justice Ministry, the Criminal Investigation Police, the Migration and Borders Service, Customs, Tax Directorate and the Central Bank of Sao Tome and Principe.
|
