MTN Uganda eyes domestic takeovers as rivals tie-in

Posted on May 2, 2013 by

By Matt Smith MTN’s Uganda unit is considering buying rival local telecom firms following the agreed merger of the country’s No.2 and No.3 operators, its chairman said on Wednesday. Uganda has eight mobile companies serving its 34.5 million people and call tariffs have fallen by about 40 per cent since 2010, data from the Uganda Communications Commission shows, as operators embarked on a price war to woo customers. This squeezed margins and deterred investment, according to a report from Business Monitor International (BMI), but the competitive pressure could ease after India’s Bharti Airtel agreed in April to buy smaller rival Warid Telecom Uganda. MTN Uganda – 96 per cent owned … Continue reading →

Posted in South Africa, Uganda | Leave a comment

Soda King seeks African franchisees for their range of drinks

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

Soda King, a South Africa-based manufacturer of soft drinks, purified still & flavoured waters, fruit juices and specialty malt drinks, is offering business people and entrepreneurs across the continent a unique franchise opportunity to establish a bottling plant in their country of choice. Soda King offers an amazing range of delicious carbonated soft drinks, as well as premium still, sparkling and flavoured water variants. A new range of 100 per cent fruit juices has been added to the offering as well as the popular dark and flavoured non-alcoholic malt drinks. The company is owner of the Soda King, King Cola, King Malta, Soraya and Aqua King brand names. The company has … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa | Leave a comment

CAR rebels set up government in country’s only luxury hotel

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

Rebel fighters in the Central African Republic (CAR) seized the presidential palace when they overtook the capital in March, though when it came to setting up shop they set their sights a bit loftier – the city’s sole luxury hotel. With no advance reservation, rebels armed with rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles have turned the five-star Ledger Plaza Bangui into the temporary seat of government. And rebel leader Michel Djotodia is giving new meaning to the term presidential suite: His luxury villa behind the drained swimming pool has a listed rate of about $3,850 a night. Here, the heavily armed rebels stand guard inside a thatched hut pool bar, and … Continue reading →

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What the UAE needs from Africa to invest in her agriculture

Posted on April 17, 2013 by

By Kate Douglas Food security is a problem for many regions around the world, including the Middle East. The World Bank estimates that 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land is in Africa, placing the continent’s role in agricultural production at the forefront of global discussions. One of the economies that are eyeing Africa’s agricultural potential is the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to H.E. Hisham Abdullah Al Shirawi, chairman of Economic Zones World in Dubai, Africa has the solution to the UAE’s limited food production capacity. “Food security is a major issue for us in the UAE and in the region in general. As you know we are part … Continue reading →

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Africa’s richest man plans to build refinery in Nigeria

Posted on April 17, 2013 by

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, plans to invest up to $8 billion to build a Nigerian oil refinery with a capacity of around 400,000 barrels a day by late 2016, almost doubling Nigeria’s refining capacity, the tycoon told Reuters on Tuesday,. “This will really help not only Nigeria but sub-Saharan Africa. There has not been a new refinery for a long time in sub-Saharan Africa,” Dangote said in a telephone interview. The country currently has the capacity to produce some 445,000 barrels per day among four refineries, but they operate well below that owing to decades of mismanagement and corruption in Africa’s leading energy producer. Nigeria, the continent’s second-biggest economy, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Africa, Nigeria | Leave a comment

French president wants all tax havens eradicated

Posted on April 16, 2013 by

ICIJ’s series of investigative stories on offshore secrecy were in the news again last week as French President François Hollande went on national television to declare that “tax havens must be eradicated in Europe and worldwide.”  The New York Times suggested Hollande’s bold move was motivated by a domestic political scandal, an ailing economy and “angry public reaction” to ICIJ’s tax haven reports, which are based on a cache of 2.5 million secret offshore records. The Times said the reports by ICIJ and its media partners around the world have “set off something of a scramble to calm public anger over widespread tax dodging by the rich at a time … Continue reading →

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Somali piracy costing world economy an estimated US$18 billion

Posted on April 11, 2013 by

Somalian piracy is said to be costing the world economy an estimated US$18 billion a year despite a fall since 2012 in the number of attacks due to tougher security aboard ships and increased Western naval patrols, a report released by the World Bank says. The report says ending Somali piracy requires a shift from reliance on security at sea to targeting those on land who enable the lucrative business to thrive. Pirates now operate far beyond Somalia’s waters, disrupting shipping on global routes in the Indian Ocean and into the Red Sea. Since the first reported hijacking in 2005, 149 ships have been seized, raising total ransoms of $315 … Continue reading →

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Mystery of pre-civil war helicopter deal in Congo revealed

Posted on April 6, 2013 by

Secret records from a British Virgin Islands (BVI) firm show a South African and two Americans reaped $2.5 million from aborted sale of surplus military choppers to a Congolese leader. On June 5, 1997, all hell broke loose in Brazzaville when Presidential forces moved on the compound of a former president, whose militia hit back, igniting a civil war that would lay to waste much of the Congolese capital and claim the lives of thousands of civilians, many of them victims of indiscriminate bombardment from helicopters. Five days earlier, as his forces readied for the offensive, then-President Pascal Lissouba personally approved the purchase of four ex-South African Air Force helicopters … Continue reading →

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Posted in Congo | 1 Comment

African cities with the greatest growth potential revealed

Posted on February 1, 2013 by

Companies looking to expand into Africa should seriously consider setting up shop in Accra, Lusaka and Luanda. Angola’s capital Luanda is expected to see strong economic growth over the next five years. This is if the recently released MasterCard African Cities Growth Index is to be believed. The index, produced on behalf of MasterCard by Prof. George Angelopulo of the University of South Africa, includes 19 sub-Saharan African cities, ranking them according to their economic growth potential between 2012 and 2017. The capitals of Ghana, Zambia and Angola have been identified as the sub-Saharan African cities that have the greatest economic growth potential over the next five years. Sudan’s capital … Continue reading →

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Davos delegates excited about business opportunities in Africa

Posted on January 26, 2013 by

Move over, China. The market that has got bankers attending the World Economic Forum at Davos this year excited is Africa. “One market where we see plenty of opportunity is Africa,” Peter Sands, Standard Chartered’s (STAN.L) Chief Executive, said during an interview. “It’s a part of the world that doesn’t get so much focus because everyone, quite rightly, is all excited about India and China and the whole ASEAN region.” Chinese banks were among the first to make their way into the continent, with ICBC (1398.HK), the world’s biggest bank by market value, having bought a 20 per cent stake in South Africa’s Standard Bank (SBKJ.J) in 2007. Since then, other … Continue reading →

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