Africa

NEWSMAKERS: ETHIOPIA   By Valentina Pasquali   Plagued by corruption and emerging from three decades of stable but authoritarian government, Ethiopia is undergoing its first peaceful transfer of power after the death, in August, of longtime prime minister Meles Zenawi.   ...

ZIMBABWE'S BANKS TOLD TO BOLSTER CAPITAL RESERVES   By Antonio Guerrero   With the goal of stabilizing the financial system in mind, Zimbabwe's Reserve Bank has boosted minimum capital requirements for banks by as much as 900%.   Zimbabwe’s banks ...

AFRICA UNBOUND   By Antonio Guerrero   Arnold Epke, group CEO at Ecobank, a pan-African bank founded in 1985 and with a presence in 32 countries, shares his insights on Africa's past, present and prospects.   Global Finance : How will ...

TIME FOR CHANGE   By Antonio Guerrero   Nigeria holds great promise with its massive oil reserves, but endemic corruption, unfettered militant attacks on pipelines and lack of regulatory clarity could halt progress in its tracks.   When the Nigerian ...

FEELING THE EFFECTS OF ECONOMIC CONTAGION   By Antonio Guerrero   The Africa Finance Corp, a multilateral finance institution based in Nigeria, says it has a pipeline of sub-Saharan investment projects worth $3 billion over the next year. The AFC ...

NEWSMAKERS: ZIMBABWE   By Valentina Pasquali   After targeting the lucrative mining sector, Zimbabwe's indigenization minister Saviour Kasukuwere is now ramping up pressure on foreign banks operating in the country to hand over 51% of their shareholdings to indigenous Zimbabweans as ...

RETAILER EXPANDS IN NIGERIA   By Gordon Platt   Mr Price Group has developed a successful retail formula in South Africa that could work well in markets across Africa.   The majority of Mr Price’s 1000-plus stores are in South Africa, ...

SABMILLER MAKES MORE AFFORDABLE LOCAL BEER   By Antonio Guerrero   The UK’s SABMiller, the world’s second-largest brewer, plans to invest up to $2.5 billion in Africa over the next five years to build new breweries and revamp existing ones to ...

PLATINUM MINING PROJECT PROMISES BIG REWARDS   By Antonio Guerrero   South Africa’s state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has entered into a $420 million public-private partnership to develop a mine that could become one of the world’s largest platinum producers over ...

By Thomas Clouse, Jonathan Gregson, Antonio Guerrero & Gordon Platt AFRICA Not only is Africa rich in natural resources, but it also offers the promise of fast economic growth in a number of countries, and a population lacking basic banking services. ...

LAND OF OPPORTUNITY   By Antonio Guerrero   A number of African markets may be on the verge of massive growth—fueled by a rising consumer class.   Given the long-standing reputation for political and economic volatility in some African markets, ...

SOUTH AFRICAN MINING TO GET VENTURE CAPITAL INCENTIVES   By Antonio Guerrero   South African finance minister Pravin Gordhan will grant a major venture capital incentive for SME mining companies.   South Africa: Investing in small mining operations South African finance ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS   By Gordon Platt   More than 2,600 mergers and acquisitions worth $149 billion were announced in the global mining industry last year.   They represented an increase of 33% from 2010, making 2011 the ...

NEWSMAKERS: GLOBAL   By Luca Ventura   When Robert Zoellick announced in February that he would leave the World Bank in June, at the expiration of his five-year term as president, initial speculation over his possible successor revolved around the usual ...

SA-SWAZILAND RAILWAY LINK (FINALLY) GETS THE GREEN LIGHT   By Antonio Guerrero   Transnet, South Africa's state-owned transit and logistics company, and Swaziland Railway have joined forces to complete a $2.2 billion railway linking their two countries, a plan under ...

TURNING POINT   By Michael Shari   One of Africa's most vibrant economies is in the midst of a high-stakes political transition that will determine whether it continues on a path of reform or contends with the type of backlash that shook ...

EXPANDING PRODUCT LINES AT ZAMBEEF   By Gordon Platt   Zambeef Products of Zambia is one of the largest agribusinesses in Africa, with more than 4,000 employees. In June 2011, it became the first Zambian company to list on the London ...

LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES   By Dan Keeler   The improving economic and investment environment makes Angola a tempting target for foreign direct investors. But changes aimed at improving the business environment and building infrastructure must move forward before the country ...

NEWSMAKERS: MOROCCO   By Michael Shari   Minister until recently in the reigning government's cabinet in Morocco, Salaheddine Mezouar is now the official leader of the opposition party in the country's parliament.   Making his vote count: As opposition leader, ...

NIGERIA BUILDS BIOFUEL CAPACITY AS ZIMBABWE BRACES FOR ENERGY SHORTAGE   By Antonio Guerrero   The Nigerian government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Global Biofuels, a Nigerian biofuels producer, for the construction of 15 integrated biofuels refineries at ...