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Agriculture begins attracting funding

24 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, Arab Bank, banks, Business, Centenary Bank, DFCU Bank, East Africa, European Investment Bank, Finance, Get rich quick, investment, Islamic Development Bank, Order of the Bath, Private Sector, Uganda, Uganda Development Bank, Uncategorized

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Arab Bank, Centenary Bank, DFCU Bank, European Investment Bank, Finance, Islamic Development Bank, Uganda, Uganda Development Bank

Reflex Eco Group – Uganda News

by Stephen Otage (Local Journalist)

sotage@ug.nationmedia.com

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

The European Investment Bank has given three local banks a 11m-euro grant to lend to farmers at low interest rates so as to ensure availability of long-term and affordable financing.

Among the banks benefiting from the grant are Centenary Bank, DFCU Bank and KCB Bank.

While announcing the grant last week, Pim Van Ballekom  the Vice President European Investment Bank (EIB) said the three banks will be able to lend the money to farmers to invest in new opportunities and small businesses to act as a motor for new jobs and economic growth.

“The European investment Bank has a strong track record supporting private sector investment in East Africa and today’s lending demonstrates our continues and firm belief of supporting private sector investment by entrepreneurs and smaller companies in Uganda,” he said.

He added that improving access to finance and reducing constraints farmers face in accessing it are the key goals the European Investment bank hopes to achieve so as to support small business growth adding that the priority focus of Europe’s long-term lending institution is to support the private sector investment by smaller companies by reinforcing support for small businesses for to directly address the financing gap hindering their expansion.

While signing the agreements a total of EUR 11 million was handed over to DFCU bank in Uganda and KCB Rwanda and this is the first time that the EIB has lent to the two banks marking a new beginning in lending in the region.

Last week, the Uganda development bank also announced similar scheme where farmers are now able to access agricultural loans. In an interview Patricia Adongo Ojangole announced that the bank is lowering its interest rates by 26% where long term financing was reduced to 12.5% from 17%, the medium term financing from 18% to 13% while the short term financing is falling to 14% from 19%.

She said the bank was lowering the interest rates to address the shortage of cheaper development finance in the country which has been identified as a hindrance to the growth of private-sector led development especially to support development of industries for the private sector to play part in key development sectors like agriculture, value addition, industry and health.

She said the bank has identified crops like sorghum, Irish potatoes, tea and sugar cane where organized farmer groups which are adding value to the crops can be bank rolled by managing their risks through crop insurance by ensuring where the farmers will sign contracts with off takers.

“We must collect the money back because we are not only banking the farmer groups but also the off-taker by creating the market for the farmer through the off taker who in this case is the person involved in value addition,” she said.

Currently the bank is supporting Dairy farmers in Jesa dairy farm and the Balitweigomba farmers’ cooperative farm in Luuka district where the farmers who are involved in cotton sector are being supported by securing them market for their cotton.

Currently the source of funding is mainly from Arab Bank for African Economic Development, Islamic Development Bank, Afri-Exim Bank through which the bank hopes to cover its mandate which stretches across all Uganda.

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Uganda’s emerging BPO market to create employment

23 Wednesday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, banks, BPO, Business, Business process outsourcing, Get rich quick, Ghana, India, investment, Kampala, Outsourcing, Tanzania, Uganda, Uncategorized, World Bank

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BPO, Business process outsourcing, India, Kampala, Outsourcing, Tanzania, Uganda, World Bank

Reflex Eco Group – Uganda News

by Stephen Otage (Local Journalist)

sotage@ug.nationmedia.com

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

 

Uganda’s youthful population, its computer literacy and the good command of the English language, are special attributes which have been identified as potential factors to steer Uganda into a global business process outsourcing destination.

According to James Saaka the executive director National Information Technology Authority, India is currently the leading global destination for business process outsourcing jobs where companies in the developed world contract out non-core business processes to cheaper and effective service providers because of rising labor costs in Europe.

Speaking at the third annual BPO Conclave in Kampala last week, Mr. Saaka said India currently is the largest BPO employer where it now creates 100 million jobs per annum because it has proved to be the most cost effective because most companies have capitalized on business models to outsource.

“ICTs have linked the entire globe. Time and distance are no longer a problem. In 2006, the global outsourcing revenue stood between $120bn-150bn and most of it was offshore business with India alone taking between 5%-6% of the business,” he said. Currently, it is estimated that the global revenue from the business stands at $952bn.

Last week, government commissioned a 250 BPO incubation center at statistics house where 3,000 graduates are currently undergoing training. According to Rogers Karebi the Secretary General Uganda Business process outsourcing association, currently, there are only 48 registered members of the association and three operators running the incubation BPO training center. He said the main services they offer include tele-sales, which involve calling customers and conducting customer surveys, transcription services, and software development.

“We want to partner with local companies like Uganda National Examinations Board, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, The Uganda Registration Services Bureau so that we can help them to digitize all their records,” he said.

Among the possible job openings in the IT sector are services management which include managed operations, customer experience management, value added services business support systems, business intelligence and analytics data and cloud services. Other possible areas include telemarketing, out and in bound sales, in-bound helplines, help desk and trouble shooting, product installation, frequently asked questions creation and hosting, data processing and entry validation, document management, order management and e-mail responses among others.

According to industry experts, the Tanzanian public service is currently the best example in East Africa where government has benefited immensely from outsourcing the cleaning of its payroll. In an interview last week, Selva Kumar the chief executive officer Greeno Tech Solution, the World Bank and the Tanzanian government outsourced a pilot project to clean up the civil service payroll and the results have saved government and the civil servants time and the pain they previously went through.

“Today in Tanzania, government has weeded out ghost workers because the system automatically weeds them out when they die because they are supposed to be verified physically every three month,” he said.

He added that the system has been able to plug gaps like absenteeism amongst civil servants, failure to report to new duty stations when they are posted to work and it has also made it easy for civil servants to receive their salaries promptly.

“We found that some people were benefiting from salaries of dead workers, government did not know the exact number of workers in its payroll but now the system requires that for every 100 workers, there is human resource officer to manage them and the workers have to report every three months to be verified physical and their recent photographs taken,” he said.

According to Anand Nagarajan the head of the India national association of software service companies (NASSOM ) government must take advantage of the literacy of Uganda’s youthful unemployed population because most of them are computer literate and can speak excellent English saying it is one of the qualities that outsourcing companies lookout for.

“The entire world is doing business using English. You are lucky here that your children start speaking it when they are still young. In India speaking and learning English is a challenge because we speak our mother tongue all the time and the English sometimes has an accent,” he said adding that India earns $108bn from exporting services which contribute 8% of GDP and 70% of the foreign direct investment.

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Africa Focused News

14 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in ACCRA, Africa, Angola, Bank of Ghana, banks, Barack Obama, Barclays, Brazil, Business, Cape Verde, china, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, EU, European Union, Get rich quick, Ghana, Government, investment, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Nkroful, Oil, Road Fund, Rwanda, Somalia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, Uncategorized, United States, usa, World Bank, World Tourism Day

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Africa, Angola, Bank of Ghana, Barack Obama, Barclays, Brazil, Cape Verde, China, Dacian Cioloş, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, EU, European Union, ghana, Government, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Nkroful, Oil, Road, Road Fund, Rwanda, Somalia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, United States, World Bank, World Tourism Day

REPORT OF LAST WEEK (from 07/10/13 to 11/10/13)

by Dario Galluccio

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

Kenya: CFC Stanbic Bank partners Aeolus to build wind power plant

Kenya’s CFC Stanbic Bank has partnered Aeolus Kenya (AKL) – a member of the Power Africa initiative led by the United States President Barack Obama- to build a Sh12.9 billion ($150 million) wind power plant in Kinangop, Kenya. The proposed power plant will be the largest wind power generation project to be built in sub-Saharan Africa to date, outside of South Africa. It is expected to come on line in mid-2015. The wind project has already been registered under the United Nations’ Clean Development Mechanism.

The Kinangop Wind Plant which will provide electricity to approximately 150,000 Kenyan households, will add a further 60MW to Kenya’s 1,672MW national power grid.

According to CfC Stanbic Bank’s East Africa Head of Debt Solutions and Infrastructure Finance, Kwame Parker, “The project is designed to provide a clean source of electricity to Kenya. It will not only contribute to the social and economic development of Kenya, but will also significantly help ease the energy supply deficit that the country is grappling with.”

Ghana: Improved energy will push forward growth

Mr. Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, Minister of Energy has said that the vigorous expansion of various energy programmes is to increase power production as well as support the growth and expansion of all the weak sectors of the national economy. He said government is rolling-out the various programmes and projects, particularly in the Western Region, as part of the energy expansion drive — which is geared toward positioning the sector to play the critical role expected for directing Ghana’s effort toward industrialisation.

Speaking at the World Tourism Day at Nkroful in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, he noted that the country’s oil and gas sector is currently underdeveloped. According to him, the discovery of oil and gas in commercial quantities on the Western Region culminated in an influx of people — the stage is set for integrated tourism development in the region, so that instead of a potential threat from oil and gas activity to our environment, oil and gas activities will be made conducive to our situation and be a blessing to our environment.

Ghana: EU to support agriculture production

The European Union (EU) is to support Ghana to revolutionalise its agricultural production.

Mr Dacian Ciolos, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, who made this known in Accra, said the support would be in the form of financial and technical interventions.

Agriculture is not only an economic issue, but also a social issue and this calls for the support,” he said. Stressing that the EU would take Ghana’s agricultural development objectives into consideration.

Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, Manager of Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) said the partnership between EU and Ghana, which is under negotiation would take place from 2014- 2020. He said, it is a period for the promotion of agriculture and security.

Dr Akinbamijo said : agriculture would provide greater help to reduce poverty if done properly; pointing out that production, trading, finance, as well as infrastructure, education, science and technology and regional integration; are the seven pillars of FARA, which would be used to develop Ghana.

Ghana: Oil production hits 115,000 barrels daily

Daily oil production hit 115,000 barrels per day in June 2013, significantly higher than the projected average for the year, the African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) report on Government Compliance with the Oil Revenue Management Act in the 2013 budget has revealed. Total oil revenue of GH¢1.15 billion also far exceeded the projected target by GH¢362.3 million.

The report urged government to initiate discussions with Sabre Oil and Gas to recover the capital gains tax from the sale of its stake in offshore blocks. It also indicted the 2013 budget for failing to capture capital gains tax as one of the revenue streams. It added “the Petroleum Income Tax Law should be harmonized with the Internal Revenue Act.” Released by the Executive Director of ACEP Mohammed Amin Adam, the report also said the projected transfers to the Ghana Petroleum Holding Fund will be exceeded when the data on petroleum is released.

Ghana: Government commits GH¢350 million towards road sector

Government has since June released GH¢ 350 million for the road sub-sector out of the GH¢ 706 million allocated in the 2013 budget. Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani, Minister of Roads and Highways, said the Ministry has also improved upon revenue generation into the Road Fund for maintenance works. The total fund accrued from January to June was GH¢ 126 million, an increase of GH¢ 9 million over the amount recorded during the same period in 2012.

Alhaji Sulemani, who made this known during the inauguration of the Progressive Road Contractors Association (PROCA), urged members as well as the Association of Road Contractors to unite for the growth of the industry.

Alhaji Sulemani told members of PROCA: “As a result of the many interventions that have been made in the sector since the last couple of years, the condition mix of the road network has improved from 29% good, 27% fair and 44% poor in 2000, to 43% good, 25% fair and 32% poor as at end of 2012.

Mrs Joana Adjei, National President of PROCA promised to run an open door policy as well as an all inclusive administration to make the association stronger. She said the new administration would help revive the training programmes of the Association. Mrs Adjei said majority of contractors are suffering as a result of delayed payment for work done. Mr Michael Aidoo, the outgoing President of PROCA advised the new executives to take criticism in good faith.

Ghana: Omega Capital launches 2 funds

According to Nana Kumapremereh Nketiah, Chief Executive Officer of Omega Capital Limited, a private equity and investment management firm, the capital market is currently underserved and it behoves industry regulators and fund managers to adopt a results-driven approach in order to bridge the gap.

Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of the company’s twin funds — Omega Income Fund and Omega Equity Fund — in Accra, he said the capital market has huge potential which calls for result-driven measures in order for such potential to be fully tapped.

On the way forward, Nana Nketiah called for improved investor education to, among others, enlighten the public on the benefits of investment as a means to financial and socio-economic development. He said introduction of the funds onto the market is the company’s way of empowering the general public to secure their future: “The funds seek to empower investors to secure their future. By encouraging them to invest, we are helping them to link their future to investments.”

Omega’s income fund is a medium-term open-ended mutual fund that seeks to achieve growth in income while conserving principal by investing in a diversified portfolio of fixed income securities. The equity fund targets superior long-term returns by investing in stocks and fixed income securities. Both funds will be managed by Omega Capital Limited, which is a licenced investment fund manager, with HFC Bank as fund custodian. It targets individuals, pension and provident funds, and other corporate institutions.

Tanzania: It Is All Rosy for Tanzania

It is good news for Tanzania as the economy grows impressively above the region’s projected rates, inflation is well controlled and the foreign investments pour in thanks to macroeconomic stability maintained over almost a decade and institutional and policy reforms.

The 2013 African Economic Outlook report launched last week, confirmed the impressive performance of the economy which grew to 6.9 per cent in 2012 and is estimated reach seven per cent this year and 7.2 per cent in 2014. The projected rates of the sub-Saharan region are 4.8 per cent in 2013 and 5.3 per cent in 2014. Mining boom, particularly gold production, tourism, construction transport and communication activities have been the main drivers of the growth.

The future looks ever brighter, with an impressive series of offshore gas discoveries set to further boost the economy and propel the country into a middle income status by 2025 as envisaged in the national development roadmap, the vision 2025. The mining portfolio is performing equally impressive with gold production going on well despite a slump in price at the world market and uranium extraction set to commence soon. With this kind of picture, it is hard to complain about the economy. Everything looks so rosy, albeit at the face value, that it covers the weak areas.

Ghana: Mining sector to reach US$774m

The value of the country’s mining sector is anticipated to reach US$774million in 2017, up from US$669 million in 2012, as bauxite and gold production see substantial increases.

This is a significant break from the past decade, when the mining sector value barely rose as gold output declined — offsetting much of the increases in price. “We expect gold to be the main driver of growth, but see bauxite playing a growing role,” Ghana Mining Report quarter-four survey conducted by the Fast Market Research, an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information has revealed.

Figures from the Minerals Commission indicate that the mining industry attracted US$1.0billion of total investment inflow into the country in 2012. These investments came from producing, exploration and support Service companies. The multiplying effect of this investment in the country’s economy cannot be overestimated. The Bank of Ghana also reported that the mining industry’s contribution to total merchandise export earnings was about 43 percent in 2012.

Data from the Ghana Statistical Service show that the mining sub-sector grew by 23.5 percent in 2012. This compared favorably with the 18.8 percent it achieved in 2011. Furthermore, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has stated that the mining sub-sector maintained its position as leading contributor to the authority’s domestic tax contribution in 2012.

Africa: World Bank boosts outlook for Sub-Saharan African economies

Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth should increase to 5.3 per cent next year, with strong private and public investment underpinning the region’s robust performance, the World Bank said yesterday. The bank lifted its forecast for 2014 from the 5.1 per cent projected earlier this year. The region was expected to grow 5.5 per cent in 2015, up from a previous forecast of 5.2 per cent.

Growth for this year is forecast at 4.9 per cent, higher than last year’s 4.2 per cent. The figure is more than double the bank’s 2.3 per cent estimate for global growth in 2013, underscoring the attractiveness of the continent for investors. But African countries could be vulnerable to declining commodity prices and the eventual tapering of the US Federal Reserve’s bond-buying stimulus, the organisation said.

Although strong export growth has also contributed to the region’s economic advance, many countries are prone to major swings in their fortunes because they rely on a single commodity for more than 50 percent of export earnings.

Foreign direct investment flows to Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to rise 24 percent to around $40 billion in 2013. Governments in the region, such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa, have also increased spending on public investment, much of it geared towards transport and power infrastructure.

Angola: Access to Banking Services May Reach 30 Percent By Year-Rend

The National Reserve Bank (BNA) pledges to work toward increasing the access to banking service rate among the Angolan population by at least 30% by the end of 2013, against 23% achieved in 2012, Angop has learnt. The information is expressed in a press release from the Southern Regional Delegation of National Reserve Bank, comprising the provinces of Benguela and Kwanza Sul. In order to achieve this goal BNA intends to resume in November its financial education programme, reads the document, signed by the regional delegate, Luis Henrique da Silva.

Mozambique: Investment to create 172,000 jobs over three years

Mozambique is to receive ten billion US dollars in investment over the next three years, creating 172,000 jobs, according to the government’s Investment Promotion Centre (CPI). CPI Deputy Director Godinho Alves explained that 900 projects have already received approval for implementation over the period.

The daily newspaper “Noticias” reported on Monday that foreign investment has stimulated economic development, with Mozambique being one of the world’s fasted growing economies.

Despite these positive developments, the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI) has warned that investors continue to be concerned about minimising risk and maximising returns. This is because the country has a history of some projects not reaching their promised potential.

Sub-Saharan Africa: To attract 33.8 million visitors from tourism in 2012

Sub-Saharan Africa earned over $36 billion from tourist visits in 2012, a new World Bank report says October 3, 2013. According to the World Bank, the continent attracted 33.8 million visitors in 2012, up from a low 6.7 million in 1990.

The report, “Tourism in Africa: Harnessing Tourism for Growth and Improved Livelihoods”, indicated that the amount earned from tourism in 2012 was 2.8% of the region’s GDP.

The report showed that Africa’s tourism is set to boost economic growth, create new jobs and will “now outpace other regions for new tourism investment”. The report highlighted the potential of African countries to improve and expand their tourism sector, and suggested that 33 of sub-Sahara Africa’s 48 countries currently have the capacity for tourism success through establishing strong political support for developing the industry and attracting increased private investment to help finance and sustain it. The industry is expected to directly employ 6.7 million people in the region by 2021, according to the World Bank report.

Ghana: Pension savings seen rising fivefold driving sales

The end of a monopoly by Ghana’s state-owned pension fund is poised to boost savings fivefold by 2017, helping revive the nation’s corporate bond market and end a drought in initial public offerings.

According to Ekow Fynn-Aikins, regulations officer at the National Pensions Regulatory Authority in Accra, the retirement industry, with assets of 1.06 billion cedis ($484 million) in 2012, may jump to 5.5 billion cedis over the next four years. While the Ghana Stock Exchange’s Composite Index (GGSECI) has climbed 68 percent this year, the best performance in Africa, the bourse’s last IPO was more than two years ago. No company has sold bonds on the domestic market since 2008. 

There’s a perceived demand out there for new issues,” Sam Mensah, chairman of the Ghana Stock Exchange and an adviser at the Finance Ministry, said in an interview. “It’s still early days and we’ll have to wait for the pension industry to grow to know exactly what their impact can be.”

Since Ghana implemented a 2010 law in December compelling employers to commit more toward workers’ pensions and set aside contributions for private money managers for the first time, volumes on the bourse surged 75 percent as of June. The number of pension managers increased to 45 from zero when the authority began registering last year.

Tanzania: Isles courts Chinese investors

The Zanzibar First Vice- President, Seif Sharif Hamad, has asked investors from China to establish businesses in the Islands, saying there are ample opportunities in the tourism sector.

“We would love to have investors from China to invest in tourism including eco-tourism in Pemba Islands. The investment climate is conducive,” said Hamad to China Councillor General in Zanzibar, Mr Xie Yun Liang.

The Vice-President informed the ambassador that Zanzibar also welcomes investments in deep-sea fishing. Liang, who was recently appointed to the post, visited Hamad for familiarization.

“The government has been improving infrastructure which include expansion of the Zanzibar International Airport, roads, and having stable supply of electricity,” he said.

Ambassador Liang welcomed the offer saying that the historical relationship between China and Zanzibar would be further cemented by the coming of investors from China.

Uganda: To seek investor to build $2.5 Billion oil refinery

Uganda is looking for a lead investor to develop a refinery estimated to cost $2.5 billion, two weeks after issuing its first production license to China National Offshore Oil Corp. as it seeks to exploit reserves.

The investor, either a company or a group of them, will be named by April and will take an interest of as much as 60 percent in the facility, which is proposed to have capacity of 60,000 barrels a day, Robert Kasande, an assistant commissioner in the Energy Ministry, said today by phone from Entebbe, near the capital, Kampala.

Uganda, classified as one of the world’s poorest nations by the World Bank, discovered oil in 2006 and has an estimated 3.5 billion barrels of crude, according to the Energy Ministry. London-based Tullow Oil Plc (TLW), Cnooc and France’s Total SA (FP) are jointly developing the finds. The country has sub-Saharan Africa’s fourth-biggest oil reserves.

The government’s stake in the facility will account for as much as 40 percent, and the nation has invited Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, which are partner countries in the East African Community, to buy an interest of as much 10 percent in the facility from Uganda, he said.

Tanzania: Inflation down to 6.1 percent

The inflation rate went to over two and half years’ low rate of 6.1 per cent last month, showing that the country’s economy is on the right track. National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that the inflation descended from 6.7 per cent of August to 6.1 per cent in September, this year. The decline, according to NBS, was supported by all four major measures of inflation index – energy, food and non-food and non-energy – that also decreased satisfactorily in September.

The new National Consumer Price Index released by NBS for September also indicated that the Annual Inflation Rate for energy and fuels has decreased to 9.6 per cent in September compared to 15.2 recorded in August.

While the Tanzania rate descends to a pleasing level, in Kenya and Uganda the inflation rate climbed up in September to 8.29 per cent and 8.0 per cent from 6.67 per cent and 7.3 per cent in August respectively.

Tanzania’s inflation rate averaged 7.72 per cent from 1999 until 2013. It reached an all time high of 19.8 per cent in December, 2011 and a record low of 3.4 per cent in February, 2003.

Nigeria, Brazil: To sign MoU on trade, investment

Nigeria and Brazil in Abuja signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their bilateral cooperation on trade and investment. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, signed on behalf of Nigeria, while Mr Ricardo Shaefer, his Brazilian counterpart on Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, signed for his country. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agreement aims at strengthening bilateral cooperation on the promotion and facilitation of trade and investment between the two countries.

According to Aganga, the agreement goes beyond trade and investment to include industrial cooperation and financing as well as how both countries can double their trade volume. The minister listed the sectors covered by the MoU to include infrastructure, power, automobile, agriculture and sugarcane to sugar among others.

“This agreement will cover cooperation in all these areas including how we double trade between the two countries, and of course how we attract investment into strategic areas of the economy.”

Nigeria: Dangote plans U.S.$34.7 Billion fresh investment in economy

The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said that the Group is poised to make an additional investment totaling $US 34.7 billion in the economy by 2017. He also said the cement arm of the group will commission an additional 10 million metric ton capacity in Nigeria by mid 2014 with an additional plan to also invest US $4.7 billion over the next four years in order to ensure that cement supply stays ahead of demand.

In a keynote address during the just ended Nigeria’53rd Independence Anniversary Lecture, organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Dangote said, the Nigerian financial sector has demonstrated its ability to support big ticket industrial projects – the most recent being the US$9 billion refinery project by Dangote Group and is poised to invest $US 34.7 billion by 2017.

Dangote said in setting an agenda for the next decade, government should improve the business climate and continuously benchmark our business environment against “best-in-class” investment destinations, implement the recently unveiled Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, support the new investors in the power sector to ensure they “hit the ground running” and provide the kind of outcomes Nigerians desire. He said their investment in agriculture is driven by our desire to create jobs for thousands of Nigerians and that It will increase their workforce from its present level of 26,000 employees to 750,000 employees .

Somalia: Oil and gas discovery offers ‘hope’ for investment

Somali Minister of Finance and Planning Mohamud Hassan Suleiman encouraged foreign investors to “seize the opportunity” to invest in Somalia during the Somalia Oil and Gas Summit in London Monday (October 7th).

“The discovery of oil and gas in Somalia opens up an array of hope and opportunities for the new Somalia, enabling it to influence the pace of economic recovery and the future stability of the country,” Suleiman said. “International investors and multi-national corporations are turning their attention to Somalia and we must now seize the opportunity and work with them.” Suleiman added that the government recently revised the Investment Law to make Somalia “investment friendly”, while at the same time ensuring that a fair portion of profits from the industry are re-invested in the country’s economic growth.

Ghana: Indonesian investors confer with Chamber of Commerce

A delegation of investors from Indonesia have held bilateral discussions with the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), aimed at strengthening business relations cooperation between the countries. The delegation was led by the Director for African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Lasro Simbolon.

Mr Lasro Simbolon underscored the need for the two nations to forge ahead in business by creating opportunities that can help increase cross-border investments.

He said was particularly impressed with the country’s development agenda, especially in areas such as infrastructures, agriculture, technological development and capacity building, which, he said are geared up to meet the expansion plans of the country.

The President of the GCCI, Hon Seth Adjei Baah, who received the delegation, said it is time to review and explore new areas of cooperation that the two countries can share experience and benefit from. He said the two countries’ interest should be in line with national development plans which are geared towards enhancing economic growth for the welfare of their people.

Nigeria: Barclays to expand operations ‘cautiously’

Barclays Bank CEO, Anthony Jenkins said the British banking group is planning to expand its footprint in Africa’s second largest economy, Nigeria without making a large or expensive acquisition in the country.

We have a rep office there. We do some business in Nigeria and we are going to grow that business and I think quite cautiously over time, and then we will see what opportunities present themselves,” Jenkins said.

Although Barclay does not have much representation in Nigeria, it is likely to launch corporate banking in Nigeria like it did with First Rand’s Rand Merchant Banking (RMB) in order to tap into the opportunities being presented by multinational companies looking to invest in Africa. RMB previously had a representative company but was awarded a merchant banking license in Nigeria last year.

Jenkins said all options are still open as the bank has not decided whether to apply for a license or acquire some business in the country. He also noted that there are opportunities for corporate banking. “We have quite a footprint from the African continent and so bringing our corporate customers to Africa is going to be a very important strategic focus for us and that’s the unique advantage of Barclays because we have got a global footprint and we have got the presence. If you put those two things together it’s a very powerful combination. So a lot of this is about execution and accelerating the pace of execution within the context of the aspiration to be the Go To Bank,” Jenkins said.

Ghana: Petroleum sector to see a $20 Billion investment over the next 5 years

Ghana’s Oil and Gas Industry is projected to attract a $20 billion investment in the next five years on the many discoveries that have been made. This was disclosed by the deputy Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Dr. Ben Dagadu, in Accra at the launching of a book titled ‘Oil and Gas Ghana’.

He stated that the government, since the discovery of oil, had taken measures to see to it that the petroleum sector was run efficiently to ensure that the resource benefits all Ghanaians.

In this wise, the deputy Minister said several legislations such as the Petroleum Revenue Management Act and the Petroleum Commission Act had been worked out to provide direction and clarity for the management of oil revenues and for regulating the sector. The Minister noted that in order to build the capacity of Ghanaian entrepreneurs, small and medium scale enterprises – which form major stakeholders in the industry – for the realization of this goal, the Ministry together with the Jubilee Partners had established the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC).

Rwanda, Uganda: Ties Stronger

Uganda has made economic progress over the years both as a country and as a core believer in the region’s integration process, especially as its ties with Rwanda gets ever stronger, Amb. Richard Kabonero has said.

The Ugandan High Commissioner to Rwanda was hosting his compatriots working and living in the country as well as well-wishers at his residence in Nyarutarama, Kigali, to celebrate Uganda’s 51st Independence anniversary.

“We have been growing despite some shocks and challenges. We have made tremendous investments in infrastructure and energy. At regional level, Uganda has played a big role in promoting peace in the region, including hosting nine summits that seek peace in the DR Congo,” Amb. Kabonero said.

He said bilateral ties between Uganda and Rwanda will always remain strong through collaboration on several development projects.

Nigeria: To plan regular Bond sales in bid to build yield curve

Nigeria is planning to raise debt abroad regularly as Africa’s largest oil producer seeks to develop a benchmark for borrowers, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.

The government returned to international debt markets for the first time in two years in July, issuing $1 billion in five-year and 10-year Eurobonds. The country now plans to raise $100 million by selling so-called diaspora bonds targeted at citizens living overseas.

If it succeeds, we’ll do more,” Okonjo-Iweala said, adding that the sale will take place in the first quarter of next year. “We intend to enter the market on a regular basis because we’re trying to build a yield curve.”

Nigerians abroad would have sent $21 billion home by the end of 2013, according to World Bank figures, and the government wants “to tap some of that,” Okonjo-Iweala said. The nation is stepping up debt sales to finance infrastructure as it faces inadequate budget allocations for capital spending.

The yield on Nigeria’s $500 million in Eurobonds due July 2023 dropped 18 basis points this month to 5.94 percent yesterday, the lowest level since July 23, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The Nigerian economy may expand 6.75 percent next year, compared with an estimate of 6.5 percent in 2013, Okonjo-Iweala said. The budget deficit will stay little changed at 1.9 percent of gross domestic product, she added.

Ghana: Turkey to build industrial parks

Turkey is to construct two industrial parks at Accra and Kumasi respectively beginning next year at a cost of over $300 million.

Outgoing Charge d’Affairs of Turkey Embassy in Accra, Simay Erinoglo, speaking to journalists in Accra, said the two projects, which are designed to attract many Turkish investors into Ghana would be funded by the Turkish Exim Bank.

The Ankara Chamber of Industry and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce & Industry signed an agreement to that effect recently. Ms Erinoglo said Turkish exports to Ghana last year recorded $223.5 million while it imported $303.5 million worth of goods from Ghana. For the first six months of 2013, Turkey exported $103.6 million worth of goods to Ghana while it imported $128.9 million worth of goods from Ghana.

Ms Erinoglo said Turkish investors were eyeing a number of projects in the various sectors of Ghana’s economy, including construction. Also, it intends to help with the construction of an international airport. In the health sector, Turkey wants to assist with the construction of eight pre-fabricated hospitals at a cost of $118 million.

The Turkish Development Agency (TIKA) is working on a lot of projects in Ghana, she indicated. Turkish investors are hesitant to come over to Ghana to invest because of the monstrous land acquisition challenges, she stated.

Cape Verde: AfDB approves $24m budget support loan

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group, approved a €15-million general budget support loan for Cape Verde, to help the country finance its Public Corporate Governance and Investment Promotion Support Programme (PAGEPPI). The Programme aims to help Cape Verde consolidate its macroeconomic framework and foster growth by improving public corporate governance in State-owned enterprises and promoting private investment.

The PAGEPPI’s operational objectives are to improve public corporate governance so as to streamline public expenditure and promote private investment to spur economic growth and foster job creation.

On completion, the Programme is expected to strengthen public corporate governance and improve the operational and financial performance of State-owned enterprises. This will help to reduce the burden on the State budget and corresponding risks on public finances. The Programme is also expected to clarify the State’s role as both a shareholder and a regulator as well as to implement international and local investment promotion measures that will create a more attractive environment for economic activities and private sector development. The Programme will enhance Cape Verde’s overall development strategy which rests on economic diversification based on competitive clusters. In particular, it will support governance and private sector development reforms that constitute two main pillars of the government’s Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (GPRSP) 2012-2016.

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UDB lowers interest rates on agricultural loans

11 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, banks, Business, Farmer, Finance, Financial Services, Get rich quick, investment, Islamic Development Bank, Private Sector, Uganda, Uganda Development Bank, Uncategorized

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Reflex Eco Group – Uganda News

by Stephen Otage (Local Journalist)

sotage@ug.nationmedia.com

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

The recapitalized Uganda Development Bank has announced its revised long term financing lending rates that take effect beginning 1st October so as to promote its mandate of transforming Uganda.

In an interview last week, Patricia Adongo Ojangole announced that the bank is lowering its interest rates by 26%. The long term financing has been reduced to 12.5% from 17%, the medium term financing from 18% to 13% while the short term financing is falling to 14% from 19%.

She said the bank was forced to cut the interest rates because of absence of cheaper development finance in the country which has been identified as a hindrance to the growth of private-sector led development to support development of industries for the private sector to play part in key development sectors like agriculture, value addition, industry and health.

She said the bank has identified crops like sorghum, Irish potatoes, tea and sugar cane where organized farmer groups which are adding value to the crops can be bank rolled by managing their risks through crop insurance by ensuring where the farmers will sign contracts with off takers.

“We must collect the money back because we are not only banking the farmer groups but also the off-taker by creating the market for the farmer through the off taker who in this case is the person involved in value addition,” she said.

According to Daniel Kaggwa the director finance, government early this year committed a 400% shareholder capital to the bank by increasing the funding from Shs.100bn to Shs. 500bn.”Government negotiates cheap funding from different lines of credit through the ministry fo finance and because the bank understands the current economic climate where businesses are not accessing appropriate finance, that is why there is need for more cheaper financing,” he said.

He said currently the source of funding is mainly from Arab Bank for African Economic Development, Islamic Development Bank, Afri-Exim Bank through which the bank hopes to cover its mandate which stretches across all Uganda.

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Why are Chinese firms snapping up African energy deals?

07 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in ACCRA, Africa, Apache Corporation, banks, Business, china, China Development Bank, China National Petroleum Corporation, Egypt, Get rich quick, Ghana, investment, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sinopec, Tullow Oil, Uganda, Uhuru Kenyatta, Uncategorized, United States, usa

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Reflex Eco Group – Africa News

Antony Sedzro (Ghanaian journalist)

sedtony@yahoo.com

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

Introduction

Chinese investment and interest in Africa has been well documented. The Sino-Africa engagement over the last decade has been so intense that some commentators have labeled it as a form of ‘neo-colonialism’, that is a new form of colonization to exploit Africa’s natural resources. Chinese-African trade stood at $12billion in the year 2000 but over a decade later, the figure rose to an astonishing $200billion a year.

A look at the nature of the investments reveals that apart from infrastructure projects, which Africa badly needs anyway, there is a trend towards energy deals in the form of constructing energy plants with attendant supply terms favourable to China, to snapping up minority stakes in Western energy firms.

With a population of 1.6billion, the demands for petroleum and gas to satisfy its huge energy needs are immense. China rose to become the second biggest economy after the United States in the last five years. Backed by government funding, no expense is spared in securing deals to ensure regular energy supply and outbid Western companies, who formally used to dominate the hydrocarbon industry. A sample of some of the energy deals in selected countries reveals the true picture.

Ghana

Ghana discovered oil in 2007 in the Jubilee oilfield and in 2010 began commercial production of same. There are four Jubilee partners-Tullow Oil (British), Kosmos Energy (American), Anadarko (American) and Sabre Oil, Petro SA (now South African). There were no Chinese firms.

But the Chinese found other ways to join in the party. When Ghana wanted to build a new gas processing plant to increase the country’s energy supply, Chinese firm Sinopec won the $750million project. The funds will be supplied as part of a bigger $3billion loan to the Ghana government from the China Development Bank. Information published by local media show that part of that agreement includes Ghana supplying a certain quantity of the oil produce to China.

Ghana is also building a 400MW, $980million hydro-electric dam at Bui, in the Brong Ahafo region. It is being built by Sino Hydro, another Chinese company. Shenzhen Energy Group (SEG), the mother company of Sunon Asogli — an Independent Power Producer in Ghana’s power sub-sector, has announced it is to build a 700MW coal power plant in the country. Sunon has already built a 200MW gas plant in Ghana, together with a few private Ghanaian firms.

Nigeria

In December 2012, Nigeria signed a pact with Sinohydro-Cneec Corporation, a synergy of two Chinese firms (Sinohydro Corporation and China National Electrical Equipment Corporation), to build a 700MW Hydro Power station on the Northern Zungeru River, Niger state. The project is expected to be 163 billion Naira (about $1 billion).

In July this year, Nigerian president paid a visit to China and signed a raft of deals totaling $3billion. Part of the funds will be channeled into a new power plant.

China’s demand for crude oil produced in Nigeria is expected to rise tenfold to 200,000 barrels a day by 2015, according to information provided by a team accompanying the Nigerian president on that visit. A number of Chinese companies are already active in the Nigerian petro-chemical sector.

Kenya

Just last month, Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, who is snubbed by Western governments because he and the county’s Veep, William Ruto are under investigation at the International Criminal Court, visited China. He was welcomed with a red carpet and a 21 gun salute. Uhuru secured $5 billion (3.7 billion euros) of infrastructure deals with China and a statement by Kenyan officials said “the deals include a batch of energy projects”.

In another development, China Hydro-Power Company will next month, begin preliminary work for the construction of an electricity dam in Kenya.

The project, which is situated at Uasin Gishu county and cost an estimated Sh30 billion ($342 million), would help reduce high production cost in country, already East Africa’s biggest economy.

Uganda

In July ths year, Reuters reported that Uganda has awarded a Chinese firm a contract to build a new dam and power plant on the Nile. The latest 188-megawatt hydro-electric project, the Isimba hydropower dam, would be developed by China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) and China’s Export-Import Bank would give Uganda another loan worth $500 million, which would be on concessional terms.

Earlier in June, Uganda gave China’s Sinohydro Group Ltd a contract for the east African nation’s biggest power project yet, Karuma Hydropower, also on the Nile, at a cost of $1.65 billion, partly financed by a $500 million Chinese loan.

Uganda is due to start commercial production of oil in 2016.

Mozambique

Italian energy group, Eni, in July this year completed the sale of a 28.57 percent stake in its East African unit to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Eni East Africa previously controlled a 70 percent stake in the Area 4 block of the Rovuma basin, in northern Mozambique, next to the Tanzanian border.

The 20 percent sale to CNPC is at a cost of $4.21 billion. While the Chinese group now has an indirect 20 percent stake in the oil block, the Italian company will remain as lead operator with a 50 percent share.

Egypt

Only last week, China’s state-owned oil major, Sinopec, acquired 33 percent of the Egyptian oil and gas unit of US-based Apache Corp for $3.1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“Through this partnership, Sinopec is able to enter the upstream oil and gas sector of Egypt for the first time and expand its international upstream portfolio,” Sinopec said in a statement.

The company said the transaction will see its production surge by 130 000 oil barrels a day, or 6.5 million barrels a year.

Conclusion

China became the third-largest investor in mergers and acquisitions in Africa, favouring the oil and gas sector, according to a report by international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer that came out this month showed.

Well if the accounts from the various countries are anything to go by, the trend is set to continue.

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Africa Focused News

07 Monday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in ACCRA, Africa, Angola, Bank of Ghana, banks, Barack Obama, BoG, Botswana, Business, china, Debt, Egypt, Ethiopia, Foreign Direct Investment, GDP, Get rich quick, Ghana, investment, Ireland, Mozambique, Nigeria, Petroleum, Reykjavik Geothermal, South Africa, Tanzania, Treasury bills, Uganda, Uncategorized, Unilever, United States, usa, World Bank

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Africa, Angola, Bank of Ghana, Barack Obama, BoG, Botswana, China, Debt, Egypt, Ethiopia, Foreign direct investment, GDP, ghana, Ireland, Mozambique, Nigeria, Petroleum, Reykjavik Geothermal, South Africa, Tanzania, Treasury bills, Uganda, Unilever, World Bank

REPORT OF LAST WEEK (from 30/09/13 to 04/10/13)

by Dario Galluccio

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

Ghana: GIPC is working to promote the growth of local businesses

The Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC) has explained that the centre is not only interested in Foreign Direct Investment but is also seriously interested in promoting Ghanaian businesses to attract investment and grow the economy.

Speaking at a general meeting of the Sekondi-Takoradi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (STCCI), he explained GIPC is providing direct promotion support to identified local investment project sponsors to solicit international as well as local investment partnerships.

>Our mission is to attract private domestic and foreign investments and to transform Ghana into a broad-based industrial and export-led economy through aggressive investment promotion activities,” said Mr. Isaac Ebo Newton, an Official of GIPC.

Ethiopia: Reykjavik Geothermal to build 1000MW power plant

US-Icelandic geothermal development company, Reykjavik Geothermal (RG), has agreed to build a 1000MW geothermal plant in Ethiopia to help the East African nation harness its energy potential. The power plant which will be built in Ethiopia’s Corbetti Caldera region is part of President Barack Obama’s $7 billion Power Africa initiative which seeks to double electricity supply on the continent. The geothermal plant will be Ethiopia’s first independent power plant project and it is expected to be one of the world’s largest geothermal power plant.

The deal will also make Reykjavik Geothermal Ethiopia’s first independent power producer, while the Corbetti project will be the largest single geothermal plant ever built in Africa, RG Chairman, Michael Phillip said.

Reykjavik Geothermal, a company that has helped build power plants in about 30 countries globally expects to invest $4 billion over an 8-10 years period. It has been working with Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) and various government ministries for the past two years to finanlise the purchase agreement. The geothermal development company will build and operate up to 1000Megawatts of geothermal in two 500MW phases. While the first 10MW of power will be online in 2015 with an additional 100MW in 2016; the full 500MW will be operational in 2018.

Ghana: Industrialization process depends on energy sector

Government intends to use the energy sector as a springboard to develop other sectors of the economy, Mr Armah Kofi Buah, Minister of Energy and Petroleum, has stated. Mr Buah was speaking at a durbar to celebrate this year’s World and National Tourism Day at Nkroful in the Ellembele District of the Western Region at the weekend. The celebration was under the theme: “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future”.

Mr. Buah said the tourism sector must take advantage of the numerous oil and gas projects in order to strengthen its position as a critical sector of the economy. He said the hospitality industry could take advantage of the oil and gas projects to expand and create jobs for the country’s teeming youth.

Nigeria: China to build $1.3 Billion Zungeru power plant

Nigeria has signed a $1.3billion deal with two Chinese state companies, China National Electrical Equipment Corporation (CNEEC) and Sinohydro Consortium, to build the Zungeru power plant. The deal will help to put an end to the chronic electrical power supply shortages that continues to slow growth in Africa’s second-biggest economy. The plant, which is scheduled for completion by 2018, will help add 700 MegaWatts (MW) electricity to Nigeria’s current 4600MW.

The Zungeru power plant in Niger state (about 150km to federal capital, Abuja) was first conceived in 1982, but was abandoned due to lack of funds. Now, 75 percent of the fund needed for the project will be supplied by China’s Exim bank while Nigerian government will foot the rest of the bill.

This project will create thousands of jobs for Nigerian engineers, technicians and artisans during the construction phase…. it will also boost the economy,” Nigeria Finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at the signing of the deal.

According to Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the loan being finalised was part of the $3bn approved by China at interest rate of less than 3 percent.

President Jonathan and Chinese president, Xi Jinping had met in July 2013 over the signing of the accords between the governments to facilitate $1.1 billion in low interest loans for infrastructure projects in Nigeria.

Uganda: China wins $2 billion oil deal

China’s state-owned CNOOC has secured a $2-billion deal to develop a petroleum field in Uganda and help propel the east African nation into the club of oil-producing countries, an official said Friday. “This is a major breakthrough as a country,’ Uganda’s junior energy minister Peter Lokeris told AFP, confirming that a deal had been reached earlier this month with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Uganda has oil reserves estimated at 3.5 billion barrels but the path to production has been a bumpy one since deposits were discovered in 2006 near its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Such reserves have the potential to radically alter Uganda’s economy and could eventually as much as double the national income.

Ghana: Petroleum prices to go down

Motorists will experience a little over 4 percent decrease in the price of fuel at the pumps. Diesel users will save a little over 2 percent at the pumps. The latest move follows a revision of the prices of petroleum products by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA). Petrol is now GHC 2.22 a lite while Diesel is going for GHC 2.18 a lite.

However prices of premix fuel and kerosene have been revised upwards. A litre of premix fuel is now going for about 98 pesewas which is up by almost 23 percent. While kerosene is now GHC 1.59 up from the GHC 1.28 leading to almost an 8 percent increase.

Ghana: GDP Pegged At 7.4%

Ghana’s economy is expected to grow provisionally at 7.4 percent for the year, the Ghana Statistical Servic (GSS) said. Speaking at a media conference, Dr Philomena Nyarko, Government Statistician, said it is likely government could achieve its target growth in 2013 due to expected increases in oil production.

Dr Nyarko stated that the real quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the second quarter of the year was 6.1 percent year-on-year. Non-oil GDP was 5.8 per cent while the total value and services amounted to $44.2 billion with a per capita income of $1,667, she said.

Dr Nyarko added that the services remain the largest sector, contributing about half of the GDP. The services sector growth rate however fell to 9.2 per cent from 10.2 per cent in 2012 on the account of positive increases in information and communication activities, real estate, professional, administrative and support service activities. This was followed by the industry sector 2.5 per cent while the agriculture sector showed a negative growth of 3.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, the annual producer price inflation fell for the fifth consecutive month to 4.7 per cent year-on-year in August from 5.0 per cent in July.

Tanzania: Northern Zone invites investors

Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) has reaffirmed its continued commitment to support local and foreign investors who want to invest in Northern Zone regions and other places in Tanzania. The TIC Executive Director, Ms Juliet Kairuki told journalists during a recent Northern zone Investment Forum that her centre is ready to receive and help all those with interest to invest in the Northern regions of Manyara, Tanga, Kilimanjaro and Arusha.

She noted that the forum has enabled investors, business community and entrepreneurs to learn about the investment opportunities available in the Northern Zone and the government’s role in initiating investment projects. She said that during the past 12 years, Tanzania has performed well in attracting huge investment projects in agriculture, tourism, industries, communication, infrastructure and transport. Within that period, a number of those projects have risen from 178 to 869 in 2012; 53 per cent of these projects are wholly owned by Tanzanians. The projects have contributed on the increase of capital from 874 million US dollars up to 12 billion dollars within that period.

The two-day forum that was opened by Premier Mizengo Pinda attracted over 1,500 international and local investors plus officials from the government, private sector, religious leaders, ambassadors and high commissioners and other development stakeholders.

Ethiopia: Premier called Western companies to invest

PM Hailemariam Desalegn has called upon western companies to take part in the positive investment regime in Ethiopia. Noting that investors from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East have already established themselves, the PM urged representatives of American businesses he met in New York to consider investing in Ethiopia’s untapped investment potential.

Prime Minister Hailemariam has also explained Ethiopia’s investment policies, regulations and incentive; and responded to questions raised by the attendees of the event regarding ICT, banking services and privatization of state owned public enterprises. In a study presented in Prime Minister Hailemariam’s meeting with representatives of American businesses, manufacturing, mining, construction, hotel and tourism, and healthcare were identified as areas of engagement promising to the American businesses.

Routinely praised for its pro-poor development policies, Ethiopia has been one of the fastest growing economies in the world for the past ten years. And although the share of Foreign Direct Investment to as a share of the GDP growth has not been satisfactory, recent trends have shown a significant hike in the amount of annual foreign direct investments. The government’s focus on attracting FDI as a means of stocking up capital and technology transfer has paid off dramatically. FDI stood at 300 million USD in 2010, and three years on it has now reached at an incredible 1 billion USD, making Ethiopia the second biggest destination for FDI in Africa, next to South Africa.

Among the countries of origin in Ethiopia’s inflow of foreign investment, emerging economies and other countries from Africa, Asia and the Middle East hold the lion’s share. And western companies are expected to enter Ethiopia and invest in the numerous possibilities shortly.

Mozambique: Government open to French investment

Mozambican President Armando Guebuza declared in Paris on that Mozambique is open to new French initiatives in various spheres of cooperation, particularly in economic matters, and in security in the Mozambique Channel.

Briefing the Mozambican journalists accompanying the visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Henrique Banze, said it had been agreed at the meetings to deepen cooperation between Mozambique and France in various spheres. ‘This is a very fruitful and promising visit’, said Banze. ‘Our President has shown openness and the two sides have agreed that cooperation should be deepened. The assessment is that relations are good, but there is space to expand them’.

During his meeting with the business representatives, Guebuza praised the work of some of the French companies already operating in Mozambique, said Banze. He also noted that others want to enter the Mozambican market, including Air France. Should Air France decide to re-open the Maputo-Paris route, this will give travellers to Europe a convenient alternative to the current routes (via Lisbon, Johannesburg, Nairobi or Addis Ababa).

Ghana to net-export power in four years

The President of the republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama has revealed that, Ghana will become a net-exporter of power within the next four years given the pragmatic and practical measures the government is putting in place to solve the energy crisis in the country. The President assured the Independent Power Producers, willing to invest in the energy sector of his unflinching government commitment to create an enabling environment for their business to flow efficiently, which would help mitigate the current energy crisis the country is facing.

The President made these remarks at a town hall meeting hosted for him at his hotel in New York City, to interact with Ghanaians across the United States. Speaking on the current state of the various sectors of the Ghanaian economy President Mahama noted that, the Ghanaian economy is moving at a faster pace, hence the government is targeting 8 percent growth rate per year. And expressed hope and optimism that, “Ghana will progress to a middle income status in the next eight years.” Touching on the transport sector, he disclosed that, “95 percent of our transports are dominated by the road sector, and there is the need for the government to revamp the rail sector, which adds to the GDP of any country.” He noted that the government has taken over the Tema Shipyard from the Malaysian investors, with the intention to revamp and re-invigorate it, so that all the ships in West African will use it to dry-dock in Ghana.

He also expressed government commitment to revamp Tema Oil Refinery to enable Ghana’s crude oil be refined right within the Ghanaian shores which will create more jobs for the unemployed youth.

Angola: To lead investment attraction in SADC

Angola is in a privileged position as compared with the other countries of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) regarding attraction of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), as it combines its economic potential with political stability.

This was said Tuesday, 1st of October, in Luanda by the economist Fiel Constantino.

Speaking to Angop, Fiel Constantino, who was speaking about the country’s FDI, said Angola’s political stability places the Democratic Republic of Congo in a second position, despite the neighbouring country’s huge economic potential. As to the continent’s strongest economy, South Africa, with an also stronger political stability and recognised established democracy, the specialist said it has not an economy as great as the above mentioned countries, as it is nearing exhaustion and more and more becoming an FDI emission economy.

Nigeria: Irish firms to invest in Nigeria

Various Irish companies would soon invest in Nigeria, Irish High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Fay has said. Fay, who disclosed this during a recent launch of a premium product – the Irish Mayor – in Abuja, said efforts are being made to boost commerce between Nigeria and Ireland. He stressed that, as part of efforts to enhance the economic ties between both countries, the Irish Minister for Trade and Development would, in November 2013, lead a trade delegation to Nigeria.

He said: “We are trying to develop the link and make it stronger. To do that, we are working closely with the Nigerian Ambassador in Dublin and the Department of Foreign Affairs to work together to develop our trade.”

Africa: India wants early trade pact with African nations

India has pitched for early conclusion of the preferential trade pact with African nations, which is expected to help enhance business ties between India and minerals rich countries of the continent. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma urged his South African counterpart Rob Davies to expedite the much delayed India-SACU preferential trade pact that will reduce tariffs on several key products. Sharma is in Johannesburg for the third Indo-Africa Trade ministers meet. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) consists of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.

India has been waiting for the response from the African side on its proposal of an average margin of preference of 70%. This means imports from SACU will be subject to a tariff 70% lower than the most favoured nation rate.

The bilateral trade target of $100 billion by 2015 and $200 billion by 2020 is a modest one and is certainly achievable, Sharma said. Air connectivity and visa related issues were the two other concerns raised at the second India-Africa Business Council ( IABC) meet here, co-chaired by Bharti group chairman Sunil Mittal. Indian business chamber FICCI is the institutional partner of the council.

Sharma assured that the air connectivity issue has been taken up at the highest level and that Air India will resume its flights to Africa from 2014 onwards.

South Africa: Debt could grow to 63% of GDP by 2020

South Africa should set a debt target to improve the credibility of its fiscal policy as slower economic growth makes it difficult to keep the budget deficit under control, the International Monetary Fund said.

Government debt may stabilise at about 47% of gross domestic product in five years, with a 10% chance that the ratio can reach 63% by 2020, the Washington-based lender said in its annual Article IV country report, published on its website today.

Determining an appropriate debt benchmark remains highly controversial,” the IMF said. “Given South Africa’s outlook, the magnitude of macroeconomic and fiscal shocks, and cross- country comparisons, reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to around 40 percent by 2020 would allow the country to rebuild adequate fiscal space.”

Falling tax revenues and spending pressures contributed to a widening in the budget deficit to 5.1 percent of GDP in the year through March, prompting the government to increase borrowing. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan forecast gross debt will reach 45 percent of GDP in the year through March 2016 from an estimated 42 percent last year.

While the state’s agreement to limit wage increases for the next three years to 1 percent and to set explicit expenditure ceilings were positive, “the government’s poor record in controlling the wage bill and potential spillovers from high wage demands in other sectors represent downside risks,” according to the report.

Angola: Huila invests AKZ 950 Million

The government of southern Huila province will invest in 2014 roughly AKZ 950 Million Kwanza (about 10$ million) for construction of cultural and religious infrastructure in the municipalities of Lubango, Chicomba, Chibia and Caluquembe. The information is part of a report from Huila government that reached Angop on Thursday, 3rd of October, which says that the construction of this infrastructure is part of the Public Investment Programme.

The report adds that 60 million Kwanzas will be spent on rehabilitation of the head Office of Evangelic Church Sinodal of Angola (IESA) in Lubango and the construction Catholic Church in Kola, Caluquembe Municipality. It is also part of the Public Investment Programme for 2014, the construction of regional museum of Huila/Lubango), house of Culture, as well as the rehabilitation of boarding school from catholic church in Chicomba.

Nigeria: FG, World Bank Micro Projects gulp N28.7 Billion

The federal government has revealed that it has spent over N28.72 billion in the execution of micro-projects, under a joint partnership programme with the World Bank and twenty six state governments in the country. The National Coordinator of the Federal Support Unit, an arm of the Presidency supervising the implementation of the scheme, Mr. Chidi Onuoha, while giving a recent update on the performance of the development initiative in Abuja, said about 5,464 community-driven projects have been completed since the inception of the programme in 2009.

He listed some of the benefiting states to include, Kogi, Benue, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Bauchi Adamawa, Ekiti, Kwara and Ondo. Onuoha said the projects were executed based on eight sectoral interventions, including education, water supply, transport, health, rural electrification, socio-economic, gender and vulnerability, and environment.

According to Onuoha, the micro project initiative had received a start-off fund of $200 million from the World Bank, and it has since committed 98 per cent of the amount as part of the Bank’s counterpart funding of the various community development projects in the participating 26 states. Also as at June this year, contribution from the 26 states is N5.8 billion out of the expected N13 billion counterpart funding obligation.

Ghana: To rank first with highest yield on Treasury bills

Investors looking for higher return on their investment could turn to Ghana’s securities market. This is because the country has been ranked number one with the highest yield on its 91-day and 182-day Treasury bills among 12 countries surveyed.

Out of the 12 countries surveyed by Ecobank Research, Ghana recorded an interest rate of 21 and 21.34 percent respectively on its fixed income securities. Malawi and The Gambia followed suit with interest rates of 14.92 and 20.17 percent and 14.76 and 16 respectively on their 91-day and 182-day Treasury bills. Sierra Leone and South Africa recorded the least rates of 3.36 and 7.05 and 5.05 and 5.31 percent respectively on their 91-day and 182-day Treasury bill rates.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana is expected to issue a new 7-year bond next month. This underlines the Central Bank’s aim of extending the yield curve to develop the bond market.

Interest rates remain high particularly at the short end of the yield curve, at around 22 percent for the weekly Treasury bills.

Ghana: Digicraft to explore new markets

Digicraft, an indigenous advertising and marketing communications company, has expressed its commitment to explore new markets beyond the boundaries of Ghana. According to the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Kwaku T. Danso-Misa, the move forms part of the company’s resolve to face new challenges and to increase its profitability.

‘We are willing and ready to take up the challenges of this new age, one that defines competition in a global setting and not just a local one. In moving forward, we will spread our wings wider and totally consolidate our gains or equity we have as a brand’, he said.

Mr Danso-Misa admitted to the competition within the industry but noted that the company only saw competition as one ‘for space in people’s minds. It is about creating something that is memorable, sustainable, coherent, flexible and ultimately adds value and we are ready for that at all times’.

On his part, the General Manager, Mr Kwasi Danso-Misa, attributed the company’s growth since its inception to hard work, dedication and teamwork. ‘Our strategy has always been aligned with the thinking of their client and their consumers. In effect, it explains simplicity and effectiveness in communication, as well as quick turnaround time is what separates Digicraft from the rest,’ he said.

Botswana: London-based De Beers Operation moved to Botswana

World’s biggest Diamond miner, De Beers, will move its entire $6 billion-a-year “sales operation” from London to the Botswana capital of Gaberone. The global newswire reported that this meant that 85 workers out of 300 staffers based in London would be moved to the country with a 230 000-strong population. The decision, taken almost three years ago, cost the company over $120 million, which included the construction of flashy offices in Gaborone.

This comes after many years of talks between the government of Botswana and De Beers, which is owned by the mining giant Anglo American.

The Southern African country of Botswana is the biggest producer of gem diamonds and it is where the world’s richest mines are located including the famous Jwaneng. It is believed that the move to Botswana will put to trial Botswana’s capability to advance people expertise and reduce jobless rate in the country. Unemployment rate stands at about 18 percent in Botswana.

Africa: Godrej to expand business In Africa with more acquisitions

Indian-based international conglomerate, Godrej Consumer Product Ltd (GCPL) has announced that it is in discussions to take over more businesses in Africa as part of its expansion plan on the continent. Godrej which already has manufacturing plants in four African countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Mozambique wants to expand its manufacturing footprint to Tanzania and Uganda. GPCL Chairman, Adi Godrej confirmed this move saying the firm is in talk with some local firms in the country.

GPCL is betting on the African continent to drive its international sales via acquisition.

Africa accounts for majority of GPCL international revenue. In the year ended June 30, its revenue from Africa stands at R214 Crore. As at 2012, Godrej said the group is growing at 25-30 percent rate in Africa with an investment worth over $3.3 billion.

With presence across 14 African countries, Godrej has over 10,000 employees on the continent.

Ghana: BoG predicts 6% inflation in March 2014

The Bank of Ghana is projecting inflation within the band of 6 and 10 percent by the end of March next year. It has already projected 11.5 percent end year inflation while government is targeting between 7 and 11 percent rate. The Central Bank’s latest forecast is based on the exchange rate, energy prices, crude oil assumptions and the fiscal policy stance.

Inflation dropped for the first time this year to record a rate of 11.5 percent in August. The relative stability of the Ghana Cedi to the US Dollar appeared to have impacted on the decline of the price levels. This is because the non food inflation went down from 15.4 percent in July to 14.2 percent in August. However, the food inflation went up despite the beginning of the food harvest season. The monthly change for August was -0.7 percent.

Nigeria: World Bank approves $300m mortgage facility

The World Bank has approved a $300 million International Development Assistance (IDA) credit facility for Nigeria to aid low-income citizens own homes, through affordable mortgages. The World Bank, which disclosed this at its Abuja office, said the project would support the establishment of a mortgage liquidity scheme that will generate long-term funds for borrowers who fall in the middle and lower class categories in the country, guardian reported.

This project will directly benefit new home owners who struggle to find available cash to purchase long-term mortgage” said World Bank’s task team leader Michael Wong, adding that the project was expected to also create jobs in construction, designs, finance and other sectors throughout the country. Adding to this was Marie Francoise Nelly, World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria who said; “The Nigerian financial system has quickly grown and is becoming increasingly integrated into a global financial system.

The coordinating Minister and Minister of Finance of the federation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had in April revealed that the Global body had agreed to assist Nigeria reintroduce mortgages and was ready to lend the Giant of Africa up to $300 million to realise the goal.

Kenya: To diversity exports to Egypt

The Exports Promotion Council (EPC) now plans to diversify the country’s exports to Egypt in order to increase trade and investment in both countries. Exports Promotion Council Director Bramwell Simiyu says Egypt is a medium sized economy and there is need to leverage on other opportunities available. Simiyu says tea accounts for 95 percent of exports to Egypt and the council is looking at introducing horticulture, livestock, beverages and services to export to Egypt’s exports.

“With the instability in Egypt in the recent past, unless we are able to diversify the product menu, we stand a risk of losing out on other opportunities that are there,” he said.

Simiyu says currently, Kenya’s imports almost double exports to Egypt, and the council is working to reverse the trade imbalance.

He says the council’s new strategy is to take advantage of the local and regional markets, pointing out the nearer markets are better, and expanding away from the traditional goods to products like human resources as well as sports tourism. He says the entry conditions for the regional market are much more flexible and by focusing on products produced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) achieving a 20 percent increase in exports every year will be realized.

Nigeria: Foreign investors plan U.S.$16 Billion investment in Delta

The Delta State government has attracted more than 16 billion dollars worth of investment for its export free zone, which is expected to create some 500,000 jobs. The state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, said in Warri, Delta State that investors from Saudi Arabia and India are ready to invest in petrochemical and fertiliser plants. He also said that the Koko Export Free Zone had been approved by the Federal Government and the issue of approval for Warri Export Free Zone was still being pursued.

He said that it was the nature of Koko as an export free zone that attracted the investors since the Federal Government/NNPC Master plan approved three states, namely, Rivers State, Delta State and Akwa Ibom State for such projects.

The governor said that the Delta State government has done much in Koko by ensuring the approval of its status as an export free zone, ensuring peace and following closely the gas master plan. He said that already, the state government has prepared grounds for the free zone by putting in place the Asaba Airport, which would assist investors to fly their equipment into the state.

Uduaghan said that the strategic location of Koko also would assist cargo shipping through the Benin River. Uduaghan said that the Federal Government would tackle the dredging of the Benin River to allow bigger vessels to get to Koko, adding, “‘transport infrastructure is very critical”.

Kenya: Unilever plans Sh17 Billion investment

Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch manufacturer, plans to invest €150 million (Sh17.6 billion) in a new manufacturing plant in Kenya, global chief executive officer Paul Polman has said. Polman told President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House Nairobi that the planned investment will cater for the company’s expanding interests in the greater eastern African region, including in Ethiopia and Tanzania. The investment will also result in skill and technology transfer opportunities, as well as creating hundreds of jobs for Kenyans, he added.

The CEO said the company also planned to expand its existing factories in the lush hill-top farmlands of Kericho, to increase the amount of teas processed there to 50,000 tonnes per year from the current 30,000 tonnes. Unilever was also working with researchers on how to raise tea yield on Kenyan farms by up to 40 percent.

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Sugar sector regulation in the offing

04 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, banks, Business, Busoga, Farmer, Food and Related Products, Get rich quick, investment, Kakira, Manufacturing, Sugar, Sugarcane, Uganda, Uncategorized

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Reflex Eco Group – Uganda News

by Stephen Otage (Local Journalist)

sotage@ug.nationmedia.com

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

Government has started drafting the law to regulate Sugar business in the country following the confusion that has marred the industry in Busoga region which is currently in a mess.

Busoga region is currently the epi-center of a silent war between sugarcane growers and manufacturers where the big players in the sector Kakira, Kinyara and SCOUL are embroiled in a territorial fight with new sugar manufacturers where the new companies are being accused of poaching on sugar-cane from out-growers they are not supporting financially.

According to Deo Byaruhanga the Senior Industrial Officer Ministry of trade, the sugar policy which the industry players have been using, has failed to regulate the sector because most of the contracts that the estimated over 100,000 farmers have signed with the manufacturers are not enforceable under the policy and the entire document is weak in regulating the sector because of several loopholes.

In an interview yesterday, Mr. Byaruhanga said there are many provisions within the policy which should be used for arbitrating disputes but they are not enforceable. “These are rules or guidelines which the industry players formed by themselves and agreed to abide by. But how do you sign a contract with a farmer who does not know how to read and write and you expect him to respect it,” he wondered.

According to press reports, President Museveni recently  wrote to Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Minister Amelia Kyambadde, demanding the closure of new sugar factories located within a radius of less than 25km from the existing ones as well as those that had disregarded their obligation to guarantee food security while carrying out their activities.

But Mr. Byaruhanga said this directive would be counterproductive because some of the factories acquired licences to operate before the policy was enforced. “Laws are not made in a retrospective manner. There is no way you can say that a factory which started operations legally before the implementation of the Policy should be shut down after the policy has been implemented,” he said.

Asked if the president’s directive was anything to go by, he said the President is the president and he can say anything anytime. Asked what level the new law has reached, he said consultations are currently going on before it can be sent to cabinet and eventually Parliament.

 

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Africa’s Burgeoning Telecommunications sector

01 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, banks, Business, Daily Monitor, Get rich quick, Internet access, investment, MTN Group, MTN Uganda, Short Message Service, Short Message ServiceX TwitterX MTN UgandaX Internet accessX Social networking service, Skype, Social networking service, Twitter, Uganda, Uganda Communications Commission, Uncategorized

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Africa, Daily Monitor, Internet access, MTN Group, MTN Uganda, Short Message Service, Skype, Social networking service, Twitter, Uganda, Uganda Communications Commission

Reflex Eco Group – Uganda News

by Othman Semakula (Ugandan journalist of Daily Monitor)  

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

Telecoms take on data, as Sms, voice revenues fall

Whereas Uganda’s telecommunications sector has registered massive growth in the last two decades, technological shifts continue to pose key challenges to the sector’s traditional revenue streams including short messaging services (Sms) and voice platforms.

The change is a paradigm shift that currently defines how global telecommunication channels have been affected by a tranche of radicle technological changes.

Globally telecommunication companies are playing catch up as they seek to fend off competition from social networking sites including Twitter, Skype, Facebook and Watsapp.

The above have significantly eaten into telecommunication’s revenues but have helped to upscale internet connectivity most especially using mobile phones.

Whereas there is no particular data to show how technology has eaten into telecommunications’ voice revenues, available figures indicate that text messaging continues to be a major victim of new technology.

For instance MTN Uganda, the country’s largest telecommunications company with about eight million subscribers, reported a significant reduction in voice and Sms revenues attributed to the growing use of social networking sites as alternatives means of communication.

In its half year financial report for the year ended June 30, 2013 the telecommunications giant reported a 14.6 per cent fall in Sms revenue as customers opted for newer data-driven social media platforms to communicate.

However, the drop forms part of the basis upon which telecommunication companies have had to rethink through a raft of measures as they seek to cover up for lost revenue.

In an article published in Uganda’s media recently, Mr Sifiso Dabengwa, the MTN Group President and chief executive officer, said Africa needs to show some sense of urgency so as not to fall behind global technological trends.

He said whereas much of Africa was still struggling to adapt to 3G technology the rest of the world including Europe, Americas and Asia had upgraded to 4G LTE as well as developing prototypes for fifth generation (5G) technology.

He said: “The reality is that mobile broadband spectrum is vital for Africa’s socio- economic transformation and must be taken seriously as a key ingredient in the growth of the continent’s telecommunications’ revenue streams.” 

This, according to Mr Dabengwa means that data is not only the next big thing in the telecommunications sector but Africa needs to take advantage this cheaper and affordable alternative compared to traditional communication models.

 

For instance MTN Uganda’s financial report indicated that the company had posted significant improvement in internet browsing, thus having a positive impact on the company’s data revenues.

The company reported a 57.4 per cent increase in data revenue assisted by a rapid growth in the use of smartphones especially among the youth.

Currently two in every 10 mobile phone users in Uganda, own a smart phone which is internet enabled and has access to social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, Watsapp and Skype among others.

The above explains why the company and others in the telecommunications sector have taken radicle measures that seek to invest huge sums of money towards upgrading their data platforms.

Recently telecoms including MTN, Smile Telecom, Orange and Airtel have had a series of ru ups as they seek to upgrade their networks from third generation [3G] to 4G LTE.

According to data from the Uganda Communications Commission, there are about 2.7 million Ugandans accessing the internet through mobile phones with about 98,334 registered on fixed internet.

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A sneak peek into Uganda’s nascent PR and Adverting industry

18 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in Africa, Airtel, banks, Bharti Airtel, Business, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Get rich quick, investment, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Uncategorized, Warid Telecom

≈ 1 Comment

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Africa, Bharti Airtel, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Daily Monitor, MTN Group, South Africa, Uganda, Warid Telecom

Reflex Eco Group – Uganda News

by Othman Semakula (Ugandan journalist of Daily Monitor)

 

In April 2011 ZK Advertising, a subsidiary of ZK Tanzania, and one of Uganda’s biggest (then) advertising firm summarily closed after it lost one of its key accounts (Zain and later Airtel).

ZK had handled Zain’s [which was in 2010 sold to India’s Bharti Airtel] PR and Advertising budget for about 10 years, as the telecom sought to turn around its fortunes through transiting from a high end telecom to a mass market.

The sale forced a revision of a number of deals including the renegotiation of the PR and Advertising contract that was handed to Moringa Oglivy in a deal negotiated in South Africa.

Thus as it seemed Airtel thought it needed a new partner to drive its agenda as ZK had failed to substantially influence an increase in subscriber numbers that had stagnated at about three million subscribers despite a huge spend of about $8 million (Ushs20 billion) in advertising annually.

However, it should be noted that early this year Airtel acquired Warid Telecom which has driven its subscriber numbers to about 7.2 million active subscribers.

The events that followed meant that ZK had not only lost its account in Uganda but had also been deprived of huge sums of money in advertising spend in other countries including Tanzania, where the parent company later collapsed in 2012 due to huge debts and loses admittedly spurred by the loss of one of the firm’s cash cows [Zain and later Airtel].

In this case ZK Uganda had lost about 70 per cent of its revenue streams that at the time would rake in about $703,125 [about Ushs1.8 billion] annually.

Airtel operates in 16 African markets and recently entered Rwanda’s data market that has in the last five years registered marked improvements.

In Uganda [Airtel] at least spends in the excess of $8 million [Ushs20 billion] annually on brand image, media placement, sponsorships and public relations among others.

The above scenario is not an isolated case in Uganda’s PR and Advertising industry but is a mark that defines the challenges of continuity especially when such firms lose some of their key accounts.

In 2010 QG Saatchi & Saatchi with links in South Africa and a market leader [then] in Uganda’s PR and advertising sector was almost wiped off the market after the government and a section of civil society accused it of mishandling tax payers money that had been meant to promote and publicize the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala in 2007.

The accusations dented the firm’s image forcing the exit of key accounts including MTN Uganda and Stanbic Bank both subsidiaries of MTN and Standard Bank based in South Africa respectively.

The firm had also previously handled key accounts including Gtv [which collapsed in 2008] and Woolworths, a South Africa based clothing line.

Although the firm has scrambled through the fragile tide it was in 2011 almost wiped off Uganda’s market but continues to operate though as a market peripheral.

The above is a clear illustration of Uganda’s fragile but profitable PR and Advertising industry.

The industry continues to register tremendous growth but there is a void with a lot of opportunities ready to be tapped into.

However, the industry is as well saturated with firms that are seemingly not up to the task.

A recent survey conducted by Daily Monitor, a Ugandan newspaper, indicates that the country has about 45 PR and Advertising firms all competing to have a share of the seemingly small corporate market.

However, majority of the above are according players just but scrambling through with many accused of being press release experts with no major impact on building brand image.

Mr Herbert Zzake, the Standard Chartered Bank Uganda head of corporate affairs and a market analyst, shares his frustration when it comes to dealing with PR and Advertising firms.

He says the two firms [though he does not name them] that he had tried to deal with seven years ago disappointed him thus the bank took a decision to handle its PR in-house.

“It was frustrating we had to physically follow them [PR firms] to accomplish the assignments with virtually no value added.”

However, he adds the industry is beginning to pick the rags, which as he says was not the case ten years.

“We still have a long way to go to reach the level of our neighbours like Kenya, however, indications show the industry is on the right path to prosperity.” he says.

Mr Zaake’s claims are a signal that singles out and explains the challenges of Uganda’s PR and Advertising industry as firms struggle to have a share of the small but lucrative corporate market.

And thus the industry has been fondly caught off guard as players employ all forms of underhand methods to suffocate free media in Uganda.

Such firms have an array of means including bribery to fix or kill sensitive stories about their clients as well maligning media managers through cutting advertising spend to critical media houses.

The above is attributed to a struggle that seeks to keep clients ‘happy’ as well as the need to retain or recruit new accounts in a market with a limited number of companies that have capacity to hire third party publicity and media buying.

A 2011 survey conducted by Synovate Uganda – a research firm, indicates that PR and Advertising firms in Uganda rely on about five sectors that form the bulky of the industry’s publicity and advertising spend.

Data obtained by Daily Monitor indicates that MTN Uganda leads in media spend, according to the 2011 Industry Exposure survey.

The survey indicates that the telecom spends about $12.8 million [Ushs33 billion] on PR, sponsorships and advertising

Among the 20 firms surveyed the least spender was Bidco Uganda spending over $156,250 [Ushs4 billion].

Other companies including Airtel Uganda [currently merged with Warid Telecom], Orange Uganda and Mukwano Group are identified by the survey as some of the companies among Uganda’s top spenders in the PR and Advertising industry.

However, it should be noted that the substantial amounts of money involved in the industry is a pivotal feature that defines ethical conduct of most PR and Advertising firms in Uganda.

For instance it’s a known fact that media ethics continue to be compromised through the use of crafty and underhand methods.

However, even amidst challenges, players continue to see optimism considering the country’s growing corporate sector.

In an email exchange recently, Mr Alex Rukundo, the Metropolitan Republic managing director, which currently handles MTN Uganda’s PR and Advertising budget told Daily Monitor the sector continues to register progress even with a number of challenges.

He says: “I strongly believe the industry has strong potential but there will be pain, before happiness. If you compare the industry today and five years ago we have come a long way, people ought to give us some credit.”

Mr Muhereza Kyamutetere, the Fireworks general manager and a market analyst echoes Mr Rukundo’s optimism, saying the industry continues to see some improvements considering the fact that a number of corporate companies are finding it necessary to hire third party publicity firms to spur their brand images and development.

He says although it is still a small sector, market indications suggest a huge void that needs to be tapped into by both local and multi nationals.

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IN DEFENCE OF HISTORY

17 Tuesday Sep 2013

Posted by theinvesmentman in ACCRA, Africa, Ali Mazrui, Business, Business and Economy, ECOWAS, Get rich quick, Ghana, Government, investment, Kumasi, Kwame Nkrumah, Nigeria, Uganda, Uncategorized, United States, University of Ghana, US, usa

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Reflex Eco Group – Ghana News

By Akwasi Agyeman-Dua (Local Journalist & Media and Advocacy Advisor)

 

History is defined as “The study of past events, particularly in human affairs”. The eminent Kenyan scholar, Professor Ali Mazrui, many years ago (in the early 1970’s) in an article in the “Transition” Pan-African magazine then published in Uganda, wrote, “I am not a historian but like the rest of us, I am a product of history. I therefore take interest in what men have done in the past and the causes and consequences of those past actions”.

He goes on to say that, “Reading our own history is of course, quite fundamental but never enough. We must also read the history of others, discover the sources of their achievements and the causes of their failures”. History in every aspect of life is indispensable in reviewing the past, confronting the present and predicting the future.

History is as old as the beginning of creation and mankind. Its lessons are good for progress and human development. History is about people, men, women and children. It’s about good people and bad people; dictators and philanthropists; sportsmen/women, etc. It is about families, groups and nations. It is about what people have done and may likely repeat in the future. There is a popular axiom which says, “History repeats itself”.

The great good book, the Bible, tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. As a school discipline or social study course, history appears boring to many people. It entails a lot of reading and sometimes memorizing of important dates. However unless anybody or group of persons are serious with their history, they are likely not going to make a serious headway with their future. Mrs Coretta King of the USA was right in saying that “As a nations honours its heroes and heroines, it interprets its history and destines its future”. The USA and many developed countries have very learned history scholars who try to study their country’s past historical issues and document current events. Ghana could sometime ago boast of eminent historians like Professor Adu Boahen and Dr. Kofi Buah. We still have some historians and history scholars working on the quiet in this country. They include Profs. Irene Oddoteye and Akosua Perbi, who are associated with the University of Ghana, Legon. They and others like them ought to be supported in their work of recording the country’s current history.

Scholars and governments in developing countries must review their attitude to the study and utilization of history in advancing national development goals. It has been said that “Experience is a good teacher”. History is full of experiences and the wise person would learn from experience while a fool would not and could thereby suffer serious consequences. History can help shape the values of a family, an organisation, a school or nation. Our educational system must be well-rounded to ensure that we groom our people to compete realistically on the global market as Africans and not as half-baked and seemingly second-rate Westerners.

We all have to consider and confront our history, as individuals or groups of persons, from nations to groups of nations like the ECOWAS, Africa Union or the UN. Always remembering that “It is only the fool who would not learn from experience”. The Ghanaian Akan proverb says, “Tete wo bi ka, tete wo bi kyere” (Literally translated “Our forebears have something to tell us and teach us”). Prof. Ali Mazrui admonishes that “We study history in order to understand ourselves. But we should also study it to be wiser, more humane, less rash, certainly less brutal and often with an eye on the future”. “A word to the wise is enough”, so said the wise old man/woman in your village and mine.

AKWASI AGYEMAN-DUA

P.O. Box C991

Cantonments, Accra

GHANA

E-mail: aadua061@yahoo.com

Accra

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