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Gold, cocoa dip in revenues calls for focus on NTEs

23 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in ACCRA, Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, Bank of Ghana, banks, Business, Ecobank, Export, Get rich quick, Ghana, Ghana cedi, Gold as an investment, investment, Mining, Newmont Ghana, South Africa, Uncategorized, United States, usa, West Africa, World Bank

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Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, Bank of Ghana, Central bank, Export, ghana, Ghana cedi, Gold as an investment, Mining, Newmont Ghana, Price, Record producer, South Africa, United States, West Africa, World Bank

Reflex Eco Group – Africa News

Antony Sedzro (Ghanaian journalist)

sedtony@yahoo.com

This Blog is sponsored by http://www.reflexecogroup.com

The World Bank in its latest report is warning Ghana of huge drop in export earnings as a result of falling prices of gold and cocoa. The bank based its predictions on the huge fall in prices of the two commodities in the coming months.

The development has already affected revenue from these commodities. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Ghana, the country’s central bank, in July released figures to show that export earnings from gold for the first half of 2013 was estimated at US$2.7 billion, compared to US$3.2 billion in the same period in 2012, fall of about 16%. This fall is attributable to lower prices and volumes.

The price of gold on the international market has fallen from a high of about $1,700 in November 2012 to a low of $1,200 in the middle of this year. This is the highest fall in the value of the precious metal in thirty years.

Gold is Ghana’s main foreign exchange earner and the country is Africa’s second biggest producer behind South Africa. The fall in the world market price of the commodity has equally hit mining companies in the country.

Anglogold Ashanti, which operates one of the biggest mines in Ghana, has started the process of laying off about 430 of its mine workers. Newmont Ghana will cut at least 300 jobs in a bid to manage costs more efficiently, directors of the company said last month. Other mining firms have cut back on new mining projects in Ghana, West Africa’s second biggest economy.
During the boom in commodity prices, Ghana last year produced 4.3 million ounces of gold in 2012, a record for the country. Artisanal (small-scale) mining, which contributes about 30% to the country’s total production annually, also blossomed and saw the attraction of thousands of Chinese miners who mined illegally. A public outcry against the presence of Chinese miners led to a security crackdown on their operations. But even the artisanal miners have seen a sharp drop in their activities due to the steep fall in the precious metal’s price.

In a contribution on how this fall in revenue on the country’s economy can be remedied in the long term, respected Ghanaian economist, Dr. Joe Abbey, has revealed that concentrating on Non-traditional Exports (NTEs) could help address the expected challenge in the long term.

“So there is no choice for us but to look at the factors that determine the quality and cost of producing in this country. Oil may save something for us now, but we need to go beyond oil and get to non-commodity-based thing.”

Ghana produces and exports pineapples, oranges, bananas, cashew nuts, and others. These are normally produced by small-holder farmers with very low production capacity but with enormous potentially if supported financially.
For many years, the country has depended on hard currencies earned from exports from gold and cocoa to finance imports and shore up the local currency’s value.
The fall in price of gold and cocoa has also adversely affected Ghana’s currency, the Ghana cedi.
To stem this trend, Dr. Abbey, states that with less earnings from exports and an less controlled imports, “the Bank of Ghana would have to draw down on its holding of foreign exchange to meet the gaps”.
In spite of Ghana’s political stability, the Ghana cedi is currently the second most depreciated currency in Africa, according to the latest Ecobank report on the performance of currencies in Africa.
The report puts the cedi’s rate of depreciation at 14.5%.

Related articles
  • Ghana’s Terkper Seeks Budget Gap Below 9% of GDP in 2014 – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
  • Ghana cedi falls 3.9% in value in eight months of 2013 (ghanabusinessnews.com)
  • Ghana’s Biggest Cocoa Buyer Delays 150 Million-Cedi Rights Offer – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
  • Ghana Turns to Longer Term Debt After Fitch Cuts Rating – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
  • GNPA urged to publish names of debtors (modernghana.com)
  • Increase earnings of cocoa farmers to cushion them – Akrofuom MP (modernghana.com)
  • Ghana launches $1.2m cocoa platform (ghanabusinessnews.com)
  • Ghana cuts imports by $300m as trade deficit shrinks (ghanabusinessnews.com)
  • Fitch ratings doesn’t reflect true state of economy – Finance Ministry (modernghana.com)
  • COCOBOD forms committee to tackle cocoa farmers’ challenges (ghanabusinessnews.com)

Nigeria Digs Deep in a Bid to Revive its Mining Sector

13 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, banks, Business, Canadian International Development Agency, Get rich quick, investment, Mining, Mining industry of Nigeria, Nigeria, Nigerian Civil War, Nigerian government, Nnimmo Bassey, Politics of Nigeria, Uncategorized, World Bank, Zamfara State

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Reflex Eco Group – Africa News

by Lagun Akinloye (Columnist of ThinkAfricaPress)

http://thinkafricapress.com/

When people talk of Nigeria’s natural wealth, most immediately think of oil. After all, Nigeria’s black gold accounts for up to 95% of the country’s foreign exchange income and 80% of government revenue.

But, unbeknownst to many, oil is not the only precious resource lying under Nigerian soil. Though long neglected and forgotten, Africa’s most populous country also contains a vast array of precious minerals, from its 2.7 billion metric tonnes of iron ore to its 3 billion tonnes of coal to its 2.2 trillion tonnes of barite, a mineral used for drilling.

In fact, Nigeria was a major producer of mined metals before oil was discovered in the 1950s and came to dominate the economy. But now it seems the government is trying to regain a lost past. This June, Nigeria’s Minister for Mines and Steel Musa Mohammed Sada said in an interview with Reuters that Nigeria is aiming “to increase mining’s contribution to the economy to 5% by 2015, from its current level of 0.5%” – a tenfold increase. And amidst a raft of new legislation and push towards privatisation, the mining sector can also expect to benefit from the financial and technical support of developmental partners such as the World Bank.

Neglect and decline
Organised mining in Nigeria began as early as 1903 under the British colonial government. And by the 1940s, Nigeria had become a major producer of tin, columbite, and coal.

However, the discovery of Nigerian oil in 1956 led to the rapid decline of the mineral extraction industries. In the 1950s, global demand for petroleum products was increasing – pushed in part by post-WWII reconstruction efforts – while the international market for mineral commodities was weaker. Understandably therefore, the Nigerian government and industry alike took the decision to shift their focus from minerals to the newly-discovered and more lucrative oil resources.

The Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) also played its part in the decline of mining since it forced many mining experts to leave the country. Then, during the 1970s, the government’s drive for indigenisation and privatisation led to a monopoly by state-owned corporations and wealthy government-backed elites. Under their watch, mismanagement and corruption caused productivity to plummet.

As Abdullahi Ahmed, a professor of History at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, told Think Africa Press, “The Nigerian civil war crippled numerous industries in Nigeria and the mining sector was one that badly suffered. With oil, then as it is now, providing wealth for those in power, nobody took mining seriously and Nigerians are now suffering the consequences”.

The age of renewal
However, having neglected the once lucrative sector for the past few decades, the Nigerian government increasingly appears willing to revive the mining industry. Investors are being sought for 34 different types of mineral – including iron ore, coal, barite, gold, uranium and copper – found in commercial deposits at 450 sites scattered across the country.

This will build upon the stimulus provided by foreign institutions and governments. For instance in 2004, the World Bank committed $120 million to help establish the Sustainable Management of Mineral Resources Project (SMMRP). And since then, the World Bank, along with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), has launched a further two-year programme to support mines and steel development in Nigeria. This project is expected to build upon earlier reforms implemented within the SMMRP. And the support will help identify mineral resource corridors, improve education and training for mining sector employment, and update the fiscal regime for mining.

Meanwhile, the government has also been trying to create a regulatory environment attractive to foreign investors, such as by loosening regulation and taxation policies through the 2007 Minerals and Mining Act. This act reduces government participation in the mineral sectors to the role of “administrator-regulator”, and allows exploration and mining licences to be held in full by foreign companies. It also provides a more favourable taxation regime to foreign mining companies; royalty payments are relatively low — less than 5% — and Nigeria’s corporate tax rate is a competitive 35% of net profit, with mining companies exempt from all other Nigerian taxes. As part of the ongoing reform programme, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD) is also divesting its ownership in the sector.

Health and environment
However, while economic de-regulation may be useful for attracting investors, Nigerian mining is also calling out for much enhanced regulation of the health and safety kind. Indeed, regulatory deficiencies and the dangers of small-scale, unsupervised mining still plague the Nigerian mining sector.

These issues were made particularly apparent after the 2010 outbreak of lead poisoning in Zamfara State, which resulted in the deaths of over 400 children and left more than 3,500 children in urgent need of medical assistance. The epidemic — considered one of the worst lead poisonings in modern history — was linked to gold-mining activities. Unbeknownst to those involved in local artisanal and small-scale gold mining, high levels of lead existed in contaminated soil samples which were released into the air as lead-infused dust during the search for gold deposits.

The government response has been slow, with the 850 million Naira (about $5.3 million) fund budgeted for the environmental clean-up only being released in January 2013, more than two years after the outbreak.

Nnimmo Bassey, an environmental justice advocate on the board of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), told Think Africa Press, “It is well known that the poisoning happened because of the lack of standards in the informal solid mineral mining sector in Nigeria. We have a lack of standards as well as a lack of regulations and enforcement of what regulations there may be. The absence of these allows artisanal miners and others to utilise chemicals, methods and practices that are detrimental to the environment and the people and this is where we went wrong”.

Momentum is key
If mining is to benefit the country therefore, the Nigerian government will have to ensure there are strict health and environmental regulations to protect miners and the wider public.

But for now, many industry expert are focussing first and foremost on boosting the industry and developing its full potential. “Mining in Nigeria is still in its infancy stage”, Vaughan Wickins, Mining and Metals Executive at Standard Bank, explained to Think Africa Press. “We just hope the government continues in its new policy direction.”

Clearly much depends on the sustained commitment of the Nigerian government to truly expand and enhance the mining sector, especially as it could take several years for benefits from the reforms to be realised. And to sustain momentum for reform, it is important the government continue to place emphasis on strengthening institutions, transparency and accountability. Otherwise incentives offered to foreign investors could fall prey to the fate of other government initiatives of the past, and remain only an attractive mirage and could-have-been.

Related articles
  • Mining sector requires presidential intervention (vanguardngr.com)
  • FG denies importing 53 gold-plated iPhones. (konknaijamedia.com)
  • Nigerian Government Places Order For 53 Gold-Plated IPhones To Celebrate 53 Independence Anniversary – #MixedbagNG || @Mixedbag_ng (mixedbagng.wordpress.com)
  • Struggle in Nigeria’s University: From the Fight Over Chicken to This Sorry State (primewriters.wordpress.com)
  • USDA argues for revision of Nigerian wheat sector policy (ecoagriculturist.wordpress.com)
  • North Nigeria’s poor beat path to nascent mining boom (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Artisanal miners labour by hand in Nigeria (theglobeandmail.com)
  • Decadence in the Nigerian Education Sector (sheunoye.wordpress.com)
  • Protecting Nigerian Industry against External Aggression (ollorwiosaroblog.wordpress.com)
  • Abolition of mining perks bucked (manilastandardtoday.com)

GHANA: MINERALS DEVELOPMENT FUND UNDERWAY

23 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in ACCRA, Africa, banks, china, CNOOC Limited, EITI, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Get rich quick, Ghana, Ghana News Agency, investment, Korea, Mine, Mining, Natural resource, Revenue, Singapore, Uncategorized

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Reflex Eco Group – Ghana News

Antony Sedzro (Local journalist)

sedtony@yahoo.com

Ghana’s Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Inusah Fuseini, has announced that government is developing a bill to spell out the disbursement of revenues from the mining sector.

The bill will be similar to the existing Revenue Management Law which guides the usage of revenues from the country’s oil and gas sector.

Players in the mining sector have been calling for a fund which would help track revenues from the sector and enable Ghanaians appreciate its contribution to the economy.

Mr Fuseini announced this at the opening of the 6th Revenue Watch/GIZ Summer School for participants from 12 countries, in Accra.

He said “Ghana has also decided to put in place a Mineral Development Fund Bill which is going to be laid before Cabinet, to provide transparency in the management of ceded royalties to mining communities.”

When passed into law, the Fund is expected to track mining revenues and their disbursements. Currently, most mining royalties go to local assemblies and Chieftaincy stools and there are no clearly spelt out means of tracking the disbursements, especially by the local Assemblies.

Local mining communities will now identify projects for which the fund would be channeled into, the minister revealed. This, he believes, will bring transparency and accountability in the disbursement of mining inflows. He said this will also clear the perception that mining has contributed little to the development of the nation.

Speaking at the same event, the former CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Joyce Aryee challenged African leaders to stop failing their people in the midst of abundant natural resources.

Citing countries like China, Korea, and Singapore, Dr. Aryee said if these countries have become economically prosperous despite the global economic challenges, then Africans have no excuse to fail.

Ghana is a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international body that sets a global standard for transparency in oil, gas and mining sectors. The EITI has 39 countries as members, and 23 have achieved “EITI compliant” status including Ghana.

In May this year, the EITI approved a revised standard of performance requiring its 39 implementing countries to release wide-ranging new information about their oil, gas and mining industries.

This move by Ghana to establish a Mineral’s Development Fund is therefore seen as part of the measures to comply with the EITI’s standards.

According to the Ghana’s EITI publication of February this year, the mining sector recorded $942,698 million and $897,710 million as government revenue and company payments respectively, with the oil and gas sectors pooling in $792 million and $652 million as government revenue and company payments for 2011, information from the Ghana News Agency revealed.

The EITI gave impetus to related laws including the Minerals and Mining Law, ACT 703 of 2006 and the Petroleum Revenue Management ACT, ACT 815 of 2011.

Related articles
  • Minerals Commission fears decline in gold prices could hurt Ghana’s economy (ghanabusinessnews.com)
  • Mineral Development Fund Bill In The Offing (thechronicle.com.gh)
  • Mineral Development Fund bill to be laid before Cabinet – Minister (ghanabusinessnews.com)
  • Ghana loses $4.9b in extractive industry within 38 years (ghanabusinessnews.com)
  • Ghana Needs Natural Resources Revenue Data (spyghana.com)
  • Facing Challenges, Burma Seeks Extractive Sector Transparency by 2016 (irrawaddy.org)
  • OWASP Ghana to Be Launched in September (news.softpedia.com)
  • Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (pacific.scoop.co.nz)
  • Ghana committed to green economy – Oteng-Agyei (modernghana.com)
  • Sawla-Tuna-Kalba DCE vows to remove all schools under trees (modernghana.com)

Africa Focused News

12 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, banks, Central Africa, East Africa, Ecobank, ECOWAS, Ethiopia, Eurobond, Foreign Direct Investment, Gambia, Get rich quick, Ghana, gold, Graduates, investment, Ivory Coast, japan, Liberia, Mining, Nairobi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Uncategorized, West Africa, World Bank, Zimbabwe

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$1billion, Africa, Eurobond, Fina Bank Group, Foreign direct investment, Gambia, ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, West Africa, World Bank, Zimbabwe

REPORT OF LAST WEEK (from 05/08/13 to 09/08/13)

by Dario Galluccio

Ghana: Gold Fields Ghana invests US$2.8m in infrastructure projects

Gold Fields Ghana, one of the country’s leading mining companies has invested over US$2.8million in infrastructure projects in some communities in the country. The company said the projects are currently at various stages of execution.
Some of the projects the company has invested in this year include, connection of electricity to Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal Education office, the construction of 8 Seater WC facility at Huniano, supply of furniture to various schools in Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipal and Prestea/Huni-Valley District Assemblies, and the extension of Small Town Water Supply Systems in New Atuabo and Pepesa. The rest include, the construction of Community Center at Kyerekyerewere, construction of Early Childhood Development Center at Huni – Valley, Tarring of 3km Samahu-Pepesa Road (Phase 3) and the 1.5km UMAT Junction-Brahabobom Road and Construction of JHS at Pepesa.

West Africa: Experts discuss ECOWAS rail project

‘Today’s meeting is to discuss the initial arrangements needed to bring full realization of the proposed West Coast Speed-Rail Project,’ the Country’s Representative of Hammcobtb Engineering International Incorporation-Canada, said in a statement to welcome delegates from ECOWAS countries including, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.
Broadly the project is to transform the Region’s transportation system by launching new high speed passenger and goods rail services. It is also to facilitate major industrialization of countries, improve transportation of agricultural produce, and create immediate political awareness for further economic emancipation of the people.

Nigeria: Foreign Direct Investment now U.S.$8.9 billion

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, Thursday told the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the foreign direct investment (FDI) into Nigeria rose significantly to $8.9 billion at the end of 2012.
The amount, he said was far higher than the $6.1 billion realised by the country in 2010. He also said at the end of 2012, Nigerians in the Diaspora contributed over $15 billion to the economy. Also, the minister of foreign affairs told the PDP NWC members that there were over 9,500 Nigerians in foreign prisons.
Giving accounts of his stewardship, Ashiru cited the United Nation’s World Investment Report, which stated that the total FDI into Nigeria was $8.9 billion. This, he said was far above the 2010.

Rwanda: Nigerian Bank acquires a 70 Percent stake in Fina Bank

Balivada Rao, the managing director of Fina Bank Rwanda, a subsidiary of the Kenyan-based lender, confirmed the development in a phone interview on Thursday, saying the deal was subject to regulatory approvals. Rao said the buy-out would greatly benefit both the bank and its clients in terms of products and service delivery.
“GTBank is a well capitalised, technologically advanced and customer-focused bank. So, once they acquire the 70 per cent stake, they will enable us roll out better products and services and put us in a better position to get funding from foreign development finance institutions,” explained Rao. The deal is worth about $100m (Rwf65.1b). Rao said GTBank was a key player in the West African market, where it operates in Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast, as well as in the United Kingdom. At the end of 2012, the bank had a total asset base of $11.1b, shareholder funds of over $1.8b and earned $558.9m profit after tax. GTBank is listed on both the Lagos and London stock exchanges.
If the deal is approved, GTBank will join a list of other West African banks, including Ecobank and Access Bank, which have ventured into the region to tap into its fast-growing economies and immense opportunities, especially in oil and gas.
Fina Bank Group has total assets of $338m. Its loan book was $184m in the first quarter of this year. The bank operates 38 branches across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Ghana: $1 billion Eurobond cash will arrive on August 7th

Government is set to receive the Eurobond cash of $ 1 billion on August 7, 2013. It follows a successful bond sale which was over subscribed.
‘The cash comes in nine days from the deal. The deal was done on the 25 July, 2013 and per the deal which is Trade day plus nine working days, it then falls on 7 August, Deputy Finance Minister Kweku Ricketts Hagan said. With a 10-year grace period, the bond will mature on August 7, 2023, he added.
Out of the $1 billion raised, $300 million is expected to be used for the refinancing of expensive domestic debt. $250 million will also be used to retire part of the $750 million Eurobond which was floated in 2007. Ricketts Hagan stated that $300 million will also be invested in capital projects, which are self-financing.

Zimbabwe: Mining sector in dire need of FDIs

Governement has to be consistent in its polices to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the mining sector, permanent secretary for Economic Planning and Investment Promotion Desire Sibanda has said. Sibanda said FDIs remained a key ingredient for rapid economic growth but there was competition globally for investment inflows.
“Competition for FDI is fierce on the continent and is expected to intensify. It is therefore critical to note that the policies and approach to attract FDI has to be smart. There is need to demonstrate policy consistency and stability,” said Sibanda.
He also said the country’s mining sector was in dire need of investments, especially its infrastructure.
“What has been undermining Zimbabwe’s rich mineral wealth have been challenges such as inadequate infrastructure development, perceptions of corruption to unfair licensing practices, political risks and the high capital costs associated with establishing or expanding a mining venture,” he said.
“To attract more FDIs, Zimbabwe needs to improve the doing business indicator,” he said.
Sibanda said the turbulent political environment in the last decade and poor perception of the country from potential investors had negatively impacted on the country’s economic growth. He said government recently floated a US$32 million tender for an aeromagnetic mineral exploration exercise in the Eastern Highlands to determine the quantity of minerals.
“The exploration will help to comprehensively determine the extent of the country’s mineral wealth and have adequate information to lure investors,” said Sibanda. “Plans are in place to set up an exploration company to identify mineral deposits throughout the country.” He said the mining sector continued to grow and this was attributed to positive performance in diamonds, chrome, nickel, platinum and palladium.

Ghana: Ghana Water and Ghana Urban merger complete

Transitional arrangements for the merger of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the Ghana Urban Water Limited (GUWL) into a single national utility company have been completed with the introduction of a new administration to manage the company. The new administration is to be headed by a managing director, two deputies and chief managers who will head the various regional offices of the company.
Before the merger, the two companies had been solely responsible for water services in urban areas throughout the country. To facilitate the government’s plans of merging the two companies, a 14-member committee was inaugurated to oversee the reform of the water sector.

Africa: West Coast High Speed rail project consultants meet beneficiaries

Consultants working on the 1,178 kilometre West Coast High Speed rail for the West African sub region Sunday presented technical details of the project to representatives of the beneficiary countries in Accra. The work, which has received the sanction of ECOWAS, will start from Nigeria through Benin, Togo, Ghana and end in Cote d I’viore.
The consultants of the project, HammcoBTB Engineering International Incorporated of Canada, met with representatives from Ghana, Benin, Togo, Cote I’dviore and Nigeria to brief them on the extent of work. Ghana has already expressed interest, but it is left with the commitment from the governments of Benin, Ivory Coast and Nigeria for the commencement of work.

South Africa: Nedbank posts solid interim results

South Africa’s fourth biggest bank, Nedbank, on Tuesday said it had posted a solid set of results in the six months to June this year, thanks to strong revenues derived from fees. But the lender’s share price remained unchanged on the JSE’s early trade as these results were said to be in line with expectation.
A subsidiary of Old Mutual, Africa’s biggest insurance company and an international wealth manager, Nedbank posted a 13 percent surge in interim profits.
Profits were made better by the company’s robust growth in revenues from fees, with headline earnings a share soaring to 831 cents during the period under review.
In the six months to June this year, Nedbank announced a half year dividend of 390 cents. This is 15 percent higher than the previous comparable period. Nedbank is also in a tactical joint venture with West Africa’s Ecobank, which has opened the JSE-listed lender to many Africa countries.

South Africa: Delta’s property portfolio will surge after acquisitions

Delta Property Fund is poised to inject a huge chunk of the R2 billion ($203 million) it plans to raise for acquisitions of buildings across South Africa. The firm, which leases office complexes to the South African administration, believes prospects are great in renting office space to government.
Bronwyn Corbett, the CFO of Delta, identified Telkom SA, electricity utility, Eskom, and ports-to-rail utility, Transnet, as state-owned companies that had all the likelihood to be its customers. The firm is going to obtain money for these acquisitions through debt markets in the wake of good financing rates, Corbertt said. Delta is set to escalate the worth of its real-estate collection to R7 billion ($710 million) in 2017. The portfolio will surge from R4.4 billion ($447 million) as demand for government offices increases. The firm rents almost 75 percent of its office complexes to government ministries and state-owned firms with nine-year-long leases.

South Africa: Nedbank allies with Bank of China for deals and trade

South Africa’s Nedbank Ltd said on Tuesday it had entered into an alliance with Bank of China to target trade and investment between Africa and the world’s second-largest economy.
“The alliance will provide Nedbank with access to new clients and new markets, and will facilitate both parties’ lending, trade finance and transactional banking businesses across Africa,” Nedbank CEO Mike Brown said in a statement.

Ghana: Subsidies on all petroleum products to be scraped by end of year

Consumers of Petroleum products should by the end of this year be prepared to pay the real price of petroleum prices on the world market. This is because government is working to completely remove subsidies on all petroleum products.
Government has already taken off subsidies on petrol, diesel and LPG, but is still subsidizing the other products, like Premix , Kerosene and marine gas oil. Edward Bawa who speaks for the Energy Ministry said the subsidy removal has been necessitated because the targeted poor was not benefiting even though it had a huge impact on government expenditure.

Ghana: Banks increase assets

Total assets of the banking industry as at the end of June 2013 increased to GH¢30.6 billion compared to GH¢24.6 billion in June 2012.
This was driven mainly by advances which accounted for 44.7 percent of the total assets.
Dr. Kofi Wampah, Governor of Bank of Ghana (BoG), who made this known at the close of a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Accra, said the asset growth was mainly funded by deposits which recorded an annual growth of 13.3 percent to GH¢20.4 billion at the end of June 2013. He also said Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio in the banking industry decreased to 12.8 percent in June 2013 from 13.2 percent in June 2012, adding that the ratio, excluding the loss category, also declined to 4.7 percent from 5.9 percent in the same period.
Meanwhile, Dr. Wampah said Annual growth in private sector credit slowed to 33.5 percent in nominal terms at the end of June 2013 from 39.0 percent in June 2012. “Similarly, annual growth of real private sector credit was 20.1 percent in June 2013 down from 27.0 percent in June 2012,” he added.

Nigeria: Bourse records stellar performance

The Nigerian bourse continued its march towards new heights and outperformed other African markets by the end of July 2013.
Nigerian equities, among the best performing markets in 2012, have recorded a growth of about 35 percent by the end of July 2013. It managed to outperform other major African markets such as South Africa, Egypt, Zambia, Mauritius and Kenya. It trailed only Ghana, which achieved an impressive return of around 61 percent. During the same period, Mauritius, South Africa and Egypt posted returns of 7.9 percent, 5.2 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively.
In the first seven months of 2013, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) has increased from 23,488.79 to 38,424.34 points. Its market capitalization has also surged from N7.476 trillion ($46.8 billion) to 12.169 trillion ($76 billion). Compared to the same period last year, the Nigerian market rose by 63 percent.
Market analysts believe that the Nigerian market will be able to maintain its positive momentum and continue to attract investors in remaining part of the year. The market is expected to benefit from result announcements by major companies in the second quarter of this year. Even though bearish trend prevailed in June, the market still offers attractive returns in under-priced stocks.

Africa: World Bank commits record US$14.7 billion

World Bank Group committed a record US$14.7 billion to support economic growth in Africa in the 2013 fiscal year (July 2012 to June 2013). The move is also intended to help improve the development prospects of the continent despite uncertain economic conditions in the rest of the global economy.
In a report from the bank Mr Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, said: ‘The region has shown remarkable resilience in the face of a global recession and continues to grow strongly.’
‘Africa is at the centre of the World Bank Group 2030 goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity, in an environmentally, socially, and fiscally sustainable manner’, he added.
The World Bank Group continued its strong commitment to Africa by approving US$8.25 billion in new lending for nearly 100 projects in the fiscal year under review. These commitments include a record $8.2 billion in zero-interest credits and grants from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Banks fund for the poorest countries. This is the highest level of new IDA commitments by any region in the banks history, the report said.

Ghana: Abokobi Rural bank posts over 500 % profit

The Abokobi Area Rural Bank, a pioneer rural bank in Ghana, made a whopping 519.99 per cent increase in profit before tax in 2012 after it plummeted into a loss in 2010. The bank closed the financial year with a profit position of GH¢306,108.00 from GH¢58,868.00 in 2011, which the ARB Apex Bank, the umbrella body of rural banks, had attributed to effective and efficient management of its resources.
In the near future, the bank intends to open more branches, expand its microfinance programme, repackage its Susu scheme, provide mobile banking service, intensify loan recovery and build the capacity of its staff

Ghana: ‘Banks Must Issue Public Bonds’

The First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Millison Narh has raised concerns over the lack of interest by private financial institutions to issue public bonds in the country. He said findings of the bond market committee revealed more privately placed bonds than public listed bonds on the market.
He said bond issuance plays a critical role in resource mobilization by providing medium to long-term funds in financing investment. He also attributed the lack of willingness on the part of private users to issue public bonds to transparency, transaction cost, micro-economic uncertainty and lack of clear guidelines on corporate bond issuance.

South Africa: Old Mutual boosts offer to UK advisers

Africa’s biggest life insurer, Old Mutual, is set to boost services its Swedish subsidiary, Skandia, offers to financial advisers in the United Kingdom (UK). This emerged after Old Mutual on Wednesday said it had signed a 20-year contract with International Financial Data Services (IFDS) to achieve this.
IFDS is UK’s leading supplier of investor-recordkeeping services and systems to the UK domestic and to the European “offshore” market.

South Africa: Reserves rise in July

The Reserve Bank’s dollar-denominated holdings of gold and foreign assets rose in July from June, amid a rising gold price and currency fluctuations. The Bank said its dollar-denominated holdings of gold and foreign assets rose by $340m to $47.319bn in July‚ from US$46.979bn in June.
The Bank said the increase in the gross reserves mainly reflected valuation adjustments emanating from the significant increase in the dollar price of gold and the fluctuation of the dollar against major currencies.

Africa: Job-hungry graduates moving to Africa to avoid menial jobs in UK

Ambitious graduates are increasingly moving to Africa in a bid to avoid menial jobs in Britain, new research has revealed. The number of university leavers seeking employment in Ghana and other English speaking African countries has almost doubled in the last three years.
While managerial salaries are generally lower than those in the UK, graduate positions in West Africa’s thriving financial and property markets are “significantly” more plentiful. Competition is also less fierce, with African employers receiving an average of 15 applications for every graduate job, compared to around 85 in Britain.

West Africa: To be Africa’s fastest growing region in 2014

The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) lead Research Economist, John Anyanwu, said that West Africa would be the fastest-growing region in Africa between 2013 and 2014, with 6.7 per cent and 7.4 per cent economic growth rate.
He said: “West Africa is expected to continue its rapid growth with rates of 6.7 per cent in 2013 and 7.4 per cent in 2014, thereby becoming the fastest-growing region of the continent in the period under review.
“Growth in the region is not only driven by oil and mineral sectors but also by agriculture and services and on the demand side often by consumption and investment.”
Commenting on the continent, he said that in 2012, growth performance varied widely, adding that oil-exporting countries achieved significantly higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth than oil importers.
Anyanwu said that Nigeria’s average growth was expected to continue growing by between 6.7 per cent and 7.3 per cent in 2013 and 2014 respectively, while that of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire would likely exceed eight per cent and nine per cent respectively during the period under review.
In East Africa, he noted, most countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda, were on a solid growth path of between five per cent and seven per cent during the projection period. According to him, growth in Kenya, with no major post-election turmoil, is expected to amount to 4.5 per cent in 2013 and to accelerate to above five per cent in 2014. He said that the Sudanese economy was affected by the secession of South Sudan but would witness moderate growth and some acceleration in 2014.
In Central Africa, Anyanwu said that the GDP would likely grow by 5.7 per cent in 2013 and 5.4 per cent in 2014 with above average growth in Chad and in DRC.
On Southern Africa, he said: “The GDP is expected to grow by around four per cent in 2013 and to accelerate to 4.6 per cent in 2014, while Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana growth will remain buoyant.
The report forecast average growth on the continent at 4.8% this year and 5.3% next year.

Ghana: Mine workers threaten strike

The Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has sternly cautioned the Labour Commission not to interfere in matters relating to the payment of their salaries.
They noted that their position to deal directly with the Fair Wages and Salary Commission (FWSC) and government to address the huge salary disparities is intact. The GMWU warned that it would embark on an industrial action if the Labour Commission attempts to prevent their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).
The General Secretary of GMWU, Prince William Ankrah noted that “there will be serious repercussions on the labour front if the Labour Commission puts any impediment in our effort to directly jaw-jaw with government on salary inequalities.”
“As a union, we will not tolerate any lukewarm approach of having our grievances resolved by the labour commission but will rather seek to present our case by ourselves to the FWSC, as well as government,” he said.
He added “we will therefore not countenance any attempt to foil our resolve to have our salaries streamlined by government to reflect those currently on the Single Spine Salary Structure.”

Kenya: Old Mutual continues with Africa expansion plan

In an effort to support its growth in the rest of Africa, Old Mutual, Africa’s biggest insurance company, says it is in search of more “suitable targets” to acquire.
According to the insurer, its incorporation, and that of its subsidiary, Mutual & Federal (M&F), in the rest of Africa is currently being executed as the first phase in an attempt forge the amalgamation of its entire property & casualty unit into the Johannesburg-based Old Mutual Emerging Markets (OMEM) business.
Old Mutual made this disclosure shortly after stating that it is ready to lay out its insurance offering in East Africa’s second biggest micro-finance firm, Faulu Kenya. This was after it bought a controlling stake in Faulu, which is based in Nairobi, for an undisclosed sum.
Ralph Mupita, CEO of Old Mutual Emerging Markets, recently told reporters in Johannesburg that this acquisition will give Old Mutual exposure to over 400, 000 Faulu clients.
At the time the deal was announced, Mupita said the acquisition permitted Old Mutual a smooth entry into the mass market.
Old Mutual said the money used to buy the stake in Faulu will come from the R5 billion ($506 million) the firm recently said is earmarked for acquisitions in Africa.
Faulu is the first deposit-taking micro-finance firm to be given the go ahead to operate in Kenya by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). The Kenyan insurer has a distribution network that spreads across Kenya with over 100 branches. Its market is equal to the one that is served by Old Mutual’s Mass Foundation business in South Africa.

Africa: ‘Adopt progressive industrial policies’

Economic development on the African continent would continue to be impeded if leaders do not address the lack of progressive industrial policies, a new report has indicated.
The Aspire West Africa report said major barriers to the growth of businesses include inefficient logistics, the lack of adequate housing for companies and families, the lack of medium and long-term financing, as well as weak private sector and malfunctioning institutions.
It said leaders have not evolved efficient long-term plans to make businesses competitive. Dr. Lucy Surhyel Newman indicated that businesses could gain immensely if they work together.
“There are several reasons why firms in Africa should adopt business integration strategies because they will be able to market their products to billions of consumers and be able to use the technical know-how of neighbouring countries to upgrade production.” She said regional conflicts, corruption, bureaucracy and the lack of viable business networks often hinder the process of integration.
Dr. Newman called on policy makers to focus on restructuring industries to become competitive in external markets instead of attempting to establish business conglomerates in particular sections of the continent. Authur Hubert, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Interplast Ghana, also asserted that African countries could deliver quality products in conducive environments.

Zimbabwe: Telecel licence extended for 20 years

Egypt’s cellphone operator, Orascom Telecom, on Wednesday disclosed that Telecel Zimbabwe, its majority-owned subsidiary, has had its mobile business license extended by 20 years. However, Orascom failed to disclose if it had consented to Zimbabwean government’s request that it reduce its shareholding in the operation to at least 40 percent.
Telecel Zimbabwe parted with $137.5 million for the renewal of the contract to operate in the country for another 20 years.

Ghana: To seek more concessionary loans for projects
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, has said the government is seeking more concessionary loans to finance some key projects in the country.
The projects include infrastructure, energy, construction of health facilities in the Western and Central regions, building of commercial markets, reconstruction of the Ghana Trade Fair Centre, road construction in the Western and Eastern corridors and the establishment of industrial zones (parks).
The minister, who said this in an interaction with a number of business groups and companies in Turkey during his recent visit to that country, added that the government would also welcome public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement to execute those projects, since that formed part of the key policies of the government to get projects done faster.
The minister and his entourage met with Mr Nihat Ergün, Minister of Science Industry and Technology of Turkey, MNG, officials of the Ankara Chamber of Industry, officials of the Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock, Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Test Centre (TAMTEST) and officials of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, National Food Reference Laboratory.
In his meeting with Mr Ergün, the minister recalled the healthy relationship between the two nations and noted that Ghana was interested in improving and strengthening the relation between the two countries to boost and increase trade.
Mr Iddrisu urged the two countries to work together to be able to increase trade between the two nations from the current $500 million to $1billion per annum.

Related articles
  • FDI – Nigeria First in Africa for a Second Year (mpoverello.com)
  • Ghana drops to 5th largest receiver of FDI in Africa – UN (ghanabusinessnews.com)
  • Gold Fields builds new block for Bagri School (modernghana.com)
  • Mills’ reverence for Parliament was exceedingly significant – Ablakwa (modernghana.com)
  • Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment Now $8.9bn (naijainvest.com)
  • War Against Malaria Reaches Ghana – Thanks to ECOWAS, Cuba and Venezuela (youthandeldersja.wordpress.com)
  • Experts discuss ECOWAS rail project (ghanabusinessnews.com)
  • Ghana gets two positions on ECOWAS Commission (modernghana.com)
  • Ghana places 5th as the largest receiver of FDI in Africa (spyghana.com)
  • Common Currency By January 2015 (theinvesmentman.wordpress.com)

Mining in Kenya

09 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, banks, Get rich quick, gold, investment, Kenya, Mining, Nairobi

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Balala, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Kenya, Kwale, Mining, Nairobi, Najib Balala, Rare earth mineral

Reflex Eco Group – Kenya news

by Kennedy Opalo (Kenyan journalist)

Najib Balala, cabinet secretary for mining, says the new Mining Bill is ready. The bill will be forwarded to the Cabinet for approval before publication. Balala gave hints of its contents, which include the establishment of the following:

  • National Mining Corporation (NMC) – Investment arm of the government in the mining sector. It will hold interests on behalf of the government in mining companies.
  • National Mineral Certification Laboratory
  • Minerals and Metals Commodity Exchange
  • Minerals Sovereign fund
  • A 10% free carry interest

At the presser, Mr. Balala also revoked allegedly irregularly issued mining licenses between January and May of this year.

I like the ideas of the NMC, the certification laboratory and the sovereign fund. I hope the certification lab also includes a program to boost the skills set of government officials in the mining ministry – geologists, valuers, financial experts, etc. As I have written before, African governments remain at a disadvantage when dealing with mining companies that far exceed them in capacity. As a result, more often than not they end up not getting the best of deals, all things considered. For instance, Kenya will only get about 5% in royalties from its massive recent rare earth minerals find in Kwale County.

Also, the fund will be great. As long as it is transparently managed and does not become another NSSF, which is currently a cash cow for well connected individuals.

But the proposed bill also has the ludicrous requirement that mining companies get verification from the government 21 days before publishing any information on mineral discoveries. I see mischief in this. If the intention was to ensure that mining companies do not engage in speculative manipulation of the public why doesn’t the government just have a rule that those who mislead the public on mineral discoveries will be fined?

Given the revenue implications of mineral discoveries and extraction – the central government must share revenue with county governments – the central government geologists ought not be the sole final deciders on the value of discoveries. And if the government insists on pulling through with the proposed directive then county geologists must also have access to the information from mining companies before it is approved for release by the government.

ImageTo put it mildly, so far Nairobi has not been transparent about mineral deals. I hope that when the bill gets to parliament MPs will ensure that at the very least it meets minimum standards of transparency required for the proper management of the nation’s mining sector – including membership in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, EITI.

 

Related articles
  • Balala undermined us in revoking licences – traders (capitalfm.co.ke)
  • Balala revokes 31 mining lincenses (nation.co.ke)
  • Man at the centre of Sh500m maize case caught up in mining licence controversy (nation.co.ke)
  • Kenya revokes mining licences (bbc.co.uk)
  • Kenya cancels mining licenses; gold royalties double (mining.com)
  • Kenya mulls minerals commodity exchange (africareview.com)
  • Kenya to Form State-Owned Company for Stakes in Mining Projects – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
  • Kenya revokes new mining licences (news.com.au)
  • Kenya revokes new mining licences, hikes royalties (foxnews.com)
  • Mining licences were issued in a rush, says Balala (nation.co.ke)

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