Ibrahima Sory Bangoura, Alseny Maciré Fofana and Don de Dieu Agbossou are journalists who were recently received each a 6 month suspended prison sentence, a 50,000 Guinean Francs fine added to the payment of a symbolic franc to Breweries Company of Guinea (SOBRAGUI). They were found guilty of attempted blackmail and extortion toward the firm. Verdict was pronounced on May 3, 2016, by the...

In South Africa, Italian solar plant developer Enel Green Power (EGP) has commissioned the Paleisheuwel photovoltaic power plant. The infrastructure which is located in the Western Cape Province is presently the biggest of the kind in the country according to EGP. With a capacity of 82.5 MW, the plant will generate enough electricity to support 48,000 South African households while preventing...

South African pension fund manager Public Investment Corporation (PIC) will invest R70 billion ($5 billion) over the next three to five years to stimulate economic growth and create jobs across the country, Deputy Minister of Finance, Mcebisi Jonas said on May 4. Addressing deputies, Jonas added that the concerned investments would be made in sectors such as mining, agriculture and power....

In Algeria, Telecommunication and Post Regulatory Authority (ARPT in French) published on its website the latest statistics of the local market. These show that at December 31, 2015, the mobile internet segment recorded 6,208,000 new users going from 10,111,000 in 2014 to 16,319,000 in 2015, as a result of introduction of 3G in 2014. Algeria’s internet market registered a total of 18,583,427...

The government of Morocco released its “Master Plan for the development shipping-oriented port infrastructures by 2030” estimated to cost 4.5 billion dirham (slightly more than $468 million). According to local media sources, Sanae Elamrani, Head of the Planning and Funding Division at the Moroccan Ministry for Equipping, Transport and Logistics, said: “the plan aims to provide...

Medical Egyptian group, Cleopatra Hospital in which Abraaj has a 72.5% stake, started the day, May 5, 2016, with an IPO for 25% of its capital. This value represents 40 million shares, of which 36 million are to go to investors in Egypt and 4 million shares to institutional foreign investors, sources at Egyptian stocks revealed. In the meantime, in another transaction, shareholder who will sell...

The inability of the board of African Bank Investment to monitor actions of Leon Kirkinis, its former Chief Executive, is, among other things, one of the main reasons for the firm’s collapse, media sources said citing people who got hold of the case’s report, report which should be published on May 12, 2016. Comparing this information to that contained in the bank’s latest yearly report...

Concerns have been raised by environmentalists in Morrocco, as to the kind of gas that was discovered from the onshore Tendrara concession by Sound Energy. This is coming months after Sound Energy, announced on February 20 that it has completed the drilling of the first well on the concession. “We do not know if it's shale gas or other,” Soufiane Touil the President of the Local association...

Kuben Naidoo, Deputy Governor of South Africa’ s central bank said that as a regulator the institution “would not be comfortable” with seeing Barclays Africa be acquired by short and midterm investors. “We would not be comfortable with private equity play for any of the banks as it often implies leverage effects and exit strategies, when banks need long-term shareholders, with enough...

Swiss investment firm, Quantum Global Group (QGG) just said it plans to invest $50 million in Angola’s agro-forestry industry. The funding will extend over five years and be directed to the Huambo region where QGG obtained a 60-year concession over 80,000 hectares, a release from the group’s administration revealed. Besides agro-forestry, QGG will also invest in the construction of...