Anglo-South African services firm, Old mutual, plans to divide into four activity segments, Sky News reported on March 6. The 24-hour news channel, without citing its sources, said the group would divide itself into four standalone companies comprising its stake in South African bank Nedbank, its UK-focused wealth subsidiary, its emerging markets operation based in South Africa and its assets...

In Mauritania, the Saudi Development Fund (FSD) will finance the laying of a high-voltage power line connecting Nouakchott to Nouadhibou. A funding agreement worth $50 million was indeed signed to this effect. In addition to providing power to regions it goes through, the 456km-long line will also help accelerate the nation’s economic development. “The line will supply power needed by...

In South Africa, dispute over poultry import with the U.S has finally come to an end. Indeed, the rainbow nation which was threatened by the U.S of exit from African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) just received the first shipment from USA. The arrival of this shipment before the deadline set by Washington – March, 15, 2016 – is the end note of months of tensions between both...

In Kenya, the transmission line which is to connect the Menengai geothermal station to the national power grid will be completed in the next two months, Kenya Power Transmission Company in charge of construction announced. The 12.6km line will convey 105MW of energy from the plant to the grid. The project includes, among others, the construction of 132kV sub-station in Menengai and the...

2015 has proven quite stressful for Kenyan NIC Bank as its outstanding doubtful loans almost doubled to Sh14.3 billion ($141 million). This resulted in the bank making provisions amounting to about Sh1.6 billion ($15.7 million), thus five times what was planned to this effect in 2014, Sh329.1 million. The provisions, to a large extent, contributed to operational costs increasing by 38.1%. In a...

The ports of Dakar and Dunkerque just announced an agreement in principle for the creation of a platform to support export of fruits and vegetables from Senegal to the European Union and Russia. According to Senegal’s minister of agriculture, Papa Abdoulaye Seck, the agreement provides a solution which will highly help support fruits and vegetable exports to Europe and Russia. François Soulet...

The Managing Director of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue (photo), on Friday assured the public that the existing scarcity of petrol throughout the country will end by weekend. According to her, PPMC has introduced ways to make sure that the scarcity comes to an end, adding that eight vessels carrying petrol of approximately 40 metric tonnes each is...

Nigeria LNG has named a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier constructed by Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries for Bonny Gas Transport. The LNG Abuja II, 175,000 cbm vessel is the fifth out of the six vessels just obtained by NLNG to be commissioned. According to NLNG, the vessel is also the third vessel constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) on a four vessels contract, signed between BGT...

Micoperi has been chosen as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for Tema Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Ghana. According to the Italian offshore contractor, the project will commence this year will have a capacity of approximately 3.40 mtpa of LNG, which is equal to 500 Mmscf/d of gas, using a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) anchored 12 km...

Director of International Monetary Fund Africa, Ricardo Velloso, said on March 3, that oil-producing nations would struggle to get funding from the international debt market due to oil price’s sharp plunge. “In the current environment, it is difficult for oil exporters to borrow money in the international market,” said Velloso during a visit in Angola. Many African oil producers including...