South Africa’s largest banks, Firstrand, Nedbank, Barclays Africa and Standard Bank, have over the 12 months ended on June 30, 2016, spent R30 billion ($2.1 billion) in information technologies (IT) and to pay their staff members. This sum represents 15% of these institutions’ combined operation expenditures. According to an analysis by Hilton Tarrant, who invests in the Johannesburg Stock...

WAEMU’s stock market, the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) is the “most innovative stock exchange” of Africa. The institution received the title at the ninth edition of the Investment Forum recently held in New-York. The stock thus beat its nine rivals which are Johannesburg’s, Egypt’s, Nigeria’s, Kenya’s, Ghana’s, Mauritius’, Namibia’s, Botswana’s and...

In Algeria, public airlines Air Algérie has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with world-class manufacturer and one of the leaders of aircraft maintenance, Honeywell. The agreement aims to boost the airline’s capabilities in terms of aircraft maintenance, Air Algérie said in statement dated September 19. The partnership will allow the firm to boost its capabilities in terms of...

The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has secured from a local financial institution $81 million to buy spares for power plants and stabilise national grid. “The deal was signed last week and Zesa can start drawing down on the facility,” an unknown source told Business Reporter. Out of the sum raised, $50 million was mobilized through the full subscription to...

On Sept 15, 2016, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda said in a policy paper on “priorities in selecting cases” that destruction of environment and land grabbing will from now on be considered as crimes against humanity. With this move, multinationals’ impunity should come to an end. “The International Criminal Courtwill give particular...

The National Oil Corporation of Libya has demanded for an immediate reopening of the shut oil pipelines located south west of Libya. This is coming days after it has announced plans to resume crude exportations from the oil terminals in the east. The pipelines in Al-Rayana town, connect El-Sharara oil field which has a production capacity of about 370.000 barrels a day to the Al-Zawiya...

Sound Energy has announced that its TE-7 well on the Tendrara licence in Morocco is currently just 10 metres from the targeted reservoir. According to the company, drilling has reached the third and final casing point at 2,623 metres where the crew has begun setting and cementing a 7” liner into the TAGI shale formation.“The company will now proceed to drill the reservoir to the final target...

A legal counsellor for the forces loyal to Libyan general Khalifa Haftar and his interim government, Salah Abdul Kareem, has said that the country is prepared to export Libyan crude oil to Egypt in Egyptian Pounds (EGP) in order to ease the latter’s burden in securing foreign currency for fuel purchases. According to the counsellor, the plan for oil exports to Egypt was presented to the Libyan...

Angola's offshore Plutonio oilfield has resumed production after it was shut down for about 10 days for maintenance, according to industry sources. The oilfield which is operated by BP, usually exports about 130,000 barrels per day. The field is located in the Greater Plutonio accumulation which in 1,200m to 1,500m of water, 160km northwest of Luanda in the Block 18 concession. Originally, BP...

Petrofac is currently threatening to withdraw and terminate its investment in Tunisia if protests over jobs are not called off immediately, a government officials said. The sit-ins by people looking for jobs began since the beginning of this year and have upset gas production in the country. “Petrofac officials told us they will be forced to declare force majeure and resort to international...