TMCnet News

BRIEFS [African Business]
[November 10, 2014]

BRIEFS [African Business]


(African Business Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) BRANDS Nigerian basketball team bounces back with rebrand »Though the country's sports are dominated by football and athletics, the Nigerian basketball scene is evolving. The national basketball league is sponsored by African broadcast giants, DSTV, so the game is getting new investment.



Lagos Islanders, one of the leading teams in the DSTVBasketball Premier League, have reportedly secured a new team of investors led by Nigerian music star Olanrewaju Fasasi, known as Sound Sultan. Former Islanders Ugo Udezue and Tajudeen Adeyemi also have stakes in the brand.

The Islanders are about to undergo a full brand repackaging. The involvement of Sound Sultan will set up the team as a more appealing brand from the strategic point of entertainment. Basketball is also about entertainment, it is said. Sound Sultan, the entertainer, is not just a basketball fan but also a player.


11% Only 11% of all African trade is between African countries BANKING Linking up and expanding Ecobank/Nedbank: Nedbank Group acquired a 20% shareholding in Ecobank Transnational (ETI). Nedbank will subscribe in cash for 4,512,618,890 new ETI shares for $493.4m. ETI will repay Nedbank's loan of $285m granted to ETI.

First Bank: Following the agreement reached by First Bank of Nigeria Limited and International Commercial Bank Financial Group Holdings Ag, FirstBank of Nigeria launched FBN Bank Ghana, consolidating its position as the largest corporate and retail banking financial institution in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa.

AWARDS Honours awarded around Africa Mozambique: Mobile phone network Movitel, a subsidiary of the Viettel Group in Mozambique, won Fastest Growing Company of the Year at the 11th Annual International Business Awards.

Zimbabwe: Nic Rudnick, CEO of Liquid Telecom, has been named 60th in the Global Telecoms Business (GTB) Power 100, the third time he has appeared on the list in three consecutive years.

Four CEOs from telecommunication companies from Africa were named in total. The CEO of WIOCC, ChrisWood, was 62nd, Sifiso Dabengwa, Group President and CEO of MTN, 87th, and Shamel Joosub, CEO and Executive Director of Vodacom, was 91st.

Ethiopia: Ernst & Young Ethiopia won the M&A Deal Maker of the Year 2014, voted for by readers of Acquisition International magazine.

South Africa: Phuti Mahanyele, Chief Executive Officer of the Shanduka Group, won the Forbes Business Woman of the Year award.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Phuthuma Nhleko, the former CEO of the MTN Group. Asher Bohbot, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EOH Holdings was awarded Business Leader of the Year. The Entrepreneur of the Year award was given to Fred Robertson, founder and Executive Chairman of Brimstone Investment Corporation. The Young Business Leader of the Year award was jointly presented to Ran Neu-Ner and Gil Oved, co-CEOs of marketing advisory services firm, Creative Counsel, for their innovative entrepreneurial spirit.

PRIVATE EQUITY Private equity bridges infrastructure gap »Private equity investors are becoming more active in Africa's bid to narrow the $90bna-year infrastructure funding gap constraining the continent's growth, reports the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (Savca) and KPMG. The report found that, during 2013, 23% of the $14.4bn in assets under management were from funds with a dedicated infrastructure mandate.

The 2014 Private Equity Industry Performance Survey showed this was an 18% increase on the prior year.

Infrastructure assets in Africa offered private-equity-style returns and enabled private equity groups to invest in scale, Savca reported. Private equity funds from various regions - including Southern Africa - are funding infrastructure projects across sub-Saharan Africa in the energy, transport and information and communication technology sectors.

The bulk of the current investments are directed towards the power sector, particularly renewable energy, with smaller projects are favoured over the complex and difficult to manage traditional power projects.

Infrastructural investment has benefits for cross-border investments and regional integration, with the potential opening up of new opportunities for peripheral investments.

Private equity investment in Africa can serve as a catalyst for development on the continent in a way that fosters the achievement of targeted and specified developmental goals, the report concludes.

5% Power outages cost more than 5% of GDP in Malawi, Uganda and South Africa and between 1 and 5% of GDP in Senegal, Kenya and Tanzania $1.8bn Zambia has the highest inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) among the 16 Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) in Africa, attracting the most at $1.8bn Diaspora remittances to Africa reached $64bn in 2013 The Ebola outbreak could cost the West African economy $32bn, the World Bank warns Ebola affects 1% of Africa's economy. But everyone is talking about the 1% not the 99% - Carlos Lopes, UNECA Mombasa port transit traffic grew 9.6% in the first half of 2014 to 3.53m tonnes. Uganda cargo, its biggest transit market, increased by 14.4% to 2.72m tonnes ENERGY Going nuclear or renewable? South Africa: South Africa needs 40 GW of new power generation by 2025, about half of which should be nuclear energy, says state utility Eskom. Eskom supplies about 95% of South Africa's electricity and about 45% of Africa's.

Of its total installed net capacity of 40.5 GW (44.2 GW gross), coal-fired power stations account for 34.3 GW and nuclear accounts for 1.8 GW.

Kenya: Kenya Electricity Generating Co (KenGen), 70% state owned, is seeking private investors for the first time to build geothermal power plants that would come on stream by 2016. By 2030 Kenya estimates it will need 15,000 MW of extra capacity, with much coming from geothermal and other renewables.

Zambia: State-owned power company, Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO), is to stop importing electricity from neighbouring Malawi as Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock (TBEA) has been contracted by ZESCO to construct Pensulo-MsoroChipata 330kv power transmission plant.

Zimbabwe: Sinohydro, China's biggest builder of hydroelectric dams, signed a $1.5bin deal with Zimbabwe Power Co to add two units to an electricity plant. The Chinese company will construct units 7 and 8 at the Hwange coal-fired plant, adding 600 megawatts of capacity to the station's current 940 megawatts. The project will be completed within 42 months after construction starts next year.

TELECOMS First-of-a-kind store opens MTN Ghana has established three switch and data centres aimed at improving voice and data service.

One of the new stores, in Accra, is the first of its kind in Ghana and it is primed to deliver provide experiential data services, high-end handsets, laptops, phone accessories, modems and other electronic gadgets.

INFRASTRUCTURE Sub-Saharan spending to grow 10% a year »Overall infrastructure spending in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to grow by 10% a year over the next decade and will exceed $180bn by 2025, says a PwC report. Nigeria and South Africa dominate the infrastructure market, but Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania are also poised for growth.

South Africa's spending will grow to $60bn by 2025, having grown by 10% average a year, but it may lose share relative to Nigeria because of Nigeria's better fiscal position and oil revenues. Overall infrastructure spending in Nigeria is expected to grow from $23bn in 2013 to $77bn in 2025.

Spending in chemical, metals and fuels is forecast to increase in the seven major African economies to $16bn annually, from $6bn in 2012. Spending on utilities has a forecast annual increase rate of 10.4% to 2025. Spending on electricity production and distribution is expected to rise from $15bn in 2012 to $55bn, while expenditures for improvements in water and sanitation services are forecast to increase from $3.3bn in 2012 to $10bn by 2025.

Extraction spending is projected to increase at 8% annually with the bulk in South Africa and Tanzania. The extraction sector will grow at an annual rate of 5%.

Resources and consumer market potential coupled with trade, economic and political reforms, increasing urbanisation and shifts in demographics will drive most investment. It is crucial for policy makers, citizens and businesses to act responsibly and strategically.

72% More than 72% of the 11.6m jobs created in Ethiopia over past 15 years were in agriculture. Agriculture contributes 50% to Kenya's GDP and employs 70% of the labour force $55.2bn Kenya rebased its data to increase its GDP by a quarter, taking it to middle-income country status. Its GDP was measured at $55.2bn last year from $44.1bn previously, compared to the World Bank's of $48bn for Ghana and $47bn for Tunisia The Brand Africa 100 survey found that homegrown names now account for 33.7% of valued brands In 2013 less than one third of climate funding approved for spending in Africa was disbursed Kenya is the world's biggest exporter of black tea and it supplies a third of the flowers traded in Europe 30% of the cost base of the private sector in Nigeria is power TRAINING Bridging the IT training gap Oracle Corporation has launched a skills development initiative for IT practitioners in Africa as a response to the gaps created by the increasing adoption of new technologies by institutions and governments With the initiative which consists of four key segments; employee readiness, ecosystem readiness, workforce readiness and youth readiness, Oracle will lend a hand to the private, public and third sectors and help implement a long term skills-gap reduction strategy.

RETAIL Online retailing clicks in Nigeria Nigeria's Konga is set to be Africa's biggest online retailer when a $60m investment brings its value to $190m. Swedish investment company AB Kinnevik injected $25m this year: South Af-rica's Naspers currently holds a 50% stake.

STOCK MARKETS Namibia broadens markets NamFin-X, a group of Namibian and international investors, is reapplying for a licence to establish a new securities exchange, which could broaden and deepen Namibia's financial and capital markets, make it easier for companies to raise funds, and keep the savings within the country.

HOUSING US builds in Kenya American construction firm International Green Structures (IGS) plans to build a manufacturing factory outside Nairobi, costing $14m. IGS, known for the manufacturing of compressed agricultural fibre (CAF) panels, will build two-bedroom housing units in Kenya using alternative building materials such as compressed rice and wheat husks. This is expected to create more than 4,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2015. IGS will also train the youth in manufacturing, construction and secondary finishing products.

EMPLOYMENT Which are the top firms to work for? Africa's Top Employers for 2015 certified by the Top Employers Institution include multinational Unilver, British American Tobacco, Becton Dickinson, DHL Express, Ernst & Young, G4S, Microsoft, Old Mutual, Orange and SAP Africa.

In addition to the 10 certified Top Employers Africa, which are certified in four or more count r i e s , ot her not able Top Employers on t he continent are Abbvie (Certified in Algeria, South Africa and Tunisia) and Valeo (certified in Egypt and Tunisia).

APPOINTMENTS Zeinab Badawi takes the chair at the RAS »Senior BBCpresenter and host of BBC WorldNews, Zeinab Badawi, has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Royal African Society (RAS).

Richard Dowden, the RAS executive director, said: "It is tremendous that the RAS will have a new Chair who is well known for her commitment to Africa, and her formidable experience as a journalist." Zeinab Badawi was born in the Sudan but moved to London at the age of two. She studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University and a Master's Degree (with distinction) on Middle East History and Anthropology at London University. In July 2011 Zeinab was awarded an honorary doctorate by SOAS, London University, for her services to international broadcasting.

Zeinab is one of the best-known broadcast journalists today. In 2009 she was awarded International TV Personality of the Year by the Association of International Broadcasters, and in 2011 was named as one of Britain's top 100 most influential members of the black community. She is a former patron of the BBC World Service Trust and a former trustee of the National Portrait Gallery.

She has been a board member of the British Council, a Chair of the freedom of speech campaign organisation, Article 19, and a board member of the Overseas Development Institute. She interviews on the BBC's Hard Talk, presents the World Debates and Intelligence Squared Debates, features on radio and TV and moderates discussions at conferences organised by bodies such as WHO, UNESCO and UNIDO.

3.3m Nigerians are selling items worth $526m on social marketplace MoboFree.com: it expects the volume of sales to reach $1.5bn by 2015. It has 3.3m registered users. Best-selling items are phones, tablets and mobile devices, clothes, fashion and beauty and electronic devices $4.7bn South African hedge-fund assets rose more than 27% in a year as equityfocused funds performed strongly. Assets under management increased by $890m to $4.7bn in the 12 months to June Ethiopia earned $245m from horticultural products in fiscal 2013-14, a 6.4% increase on last year. $199.74m was from flowers, $40m from vegetables and $6m from fruit. It is the world's fourth-largest flower producer and the second in Africa behind Kenya. The flower sector has created over 50,000 jobs and over 70% of the workforce are women Privately owned game reserves cover about 16% of land in South Africa TRADE One-stop-shop open all hours TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) has launched a web portal that will enable the business community in the region to access crucial information online. The portal contains information on trade and integration in East African countries and useful schedules, such as ship waiting time, vessel turnaround time and cargo dwell time. www.trademarkea.com MANUFACTURING Unilever backs Nigeria Nigeria: Unilever will invest up to $194m across its Nigerian production lines to enhance local capacity as well boost relations with domestic raw material suppliers. The group has invested 50% of its turnover in Nigeria in the last three years, and Nigeria now holds around 50% of its investments in Africa.

OIL AND GAS New fields to come on stream Chad: Chad expects to double oil production by the end of 2015 as new fields come on stream and it has appointed firms to inventory potential mineral deposits. Production is currently around 100,000 barrels a day.

Kenya: American firm ERHC plans to conduct seismic surveys or drilling of a well at Block 11A with CEPSA after completing preliminary work on its Turkana block.

Mozambique: The Mozambican authorities are seeking an international consulting firm to evaluate new domestic and regional markets for its oil and natural gas using a $50m grant by the World Bank under the Technical Assistance Project for Gas and Mining. Drilling of oil has begun in oil and gas reserves in Northern?Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province.

Nigeria: Nigerian oil trader Igho Sanomi is set to acquire Royal Dutch Shell's highly productive oil block, Oil Mining Licence 29 (OML 29) for $2.5bn. Sanomi's Taleveras Group will also be buying a pipeline. The oil block is the most coveted of all the oil assets, including OMLs 18, 24, 25 and 29, put up for auction.

One of Africa's youngest billionaires, Sanomi topped the Choiseul Africa 100 list of African economic leaders under 40.

AGRIBUSINESS Olam seeks African growth The Singapore-based agribusiness group Olam is looking for strategic partners for its six product platforms - edible nuts, spices, cocoa, coffee grains and packaged foods - to step up investment in Africa. The group is implementing a new strategy to boost cash flow, lower debt and simplify its business model.

TOURISM Hotels still good investment choice »International hoteliers are expanding in Africa to exploit an increase in travel and higher economic growth rates than in the US and Europe, though the current Ebola threat has an impact.

Nigeria is seen as a business destination with little holiday tourism while Mauritius is principally a resort market. Kenya attracts eco-tourists and offers safaris and beaches, but is currently challenged by terrorism. South Africa attracts a mix of business and holiday travellers and offers a wide range of hotel classes and accommodation. Growth in room rates will be the principal driver in South Africa, aided by the positive impact of the depreciating rand on the number of foreign visitors.

Marriott International plans to build 50 hotels in Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt each before 2020, to benefit from a surge of travellers. The plan is to add 10,000 hotel rooms apiece in Africa's three biggest economies, targeting "super growth" based on their economic potential and tourist attractions.?As Nigeria's economy powers on, the demand for hotel rooms is going to be substantially greater, Marriott anticipates.

The owner of brands including RitzCarlton and Renaissance is boosting its presence in Africa and plans to open nine hotels with a total of 1,300 rooms in the next 14 months in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Incorporated, the US owner of the Sheraton and St Regis brands, also plans to add as much as 20 hotels in Africa over the next four years. Five of the new sites are earmarked for Nigeria.

15% Africa's is home to15%of the world's population yet produces just 3% of the its energy output 55.7m Africa gets 55.7mvisitorsayear with Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, Algeria and Mozambique being top five tourist destinations Gross production from Ghana's Jubilee field averaged 104,000 barrels of oil per day (b/pd) in the second quarter of 2014, an increase from 102,000 b/pd in the first quarter Mozambique's stateowned power company Electricidade de Moçambique (EdM) says it will invest $250m to upgrade its power generation plants in Mozambique but needs over $1bn to provide adequate electricity Kenya spends about 6.5% of its budget on health The Nigerian government created 1.7m jobs in 2013, 91% in the private sector, the CBN governor said ENGINEERING Meet the technology entrepreneurs Twelve Africans have been short-listed for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation organised by the UK's Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) for developing engineering innovations in areas such as agriculture, nanotechnology, sanitation, security and mobile applications. Applications covered all engineering disciplines and came from 15 sub-Saharan countries.

The entrants from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe were tasked with setting up a comprehensive business plan, and will enter a six-month mentoring period to develop their innovations for the commercial market. Three finalists will be invited to present their innovations and an overall winner will be selected to receive £25,000, with two runners-up to be awarded £10,000 each.

The shortlist includes: Samuel Njugana Wangui (Kenya), Abubakar Surajo (Nigeria), Ernst Pretorius (South Africa), Ian Mutamiri (Zimbabwe), Chinenye Justin Nwaogwugwu (Nigeria), Musenga Silwawa (Zambia), Samuel Malinga (Uganda), Rujeko Masike (Zimbabwe), Tolulupe Ajuwape (Nigeria), Askwar Hilonga (Tanzania), Oscar Kibazohi (Tanzania) and Reinhardt Kotzé (South Africa).

AVIATION East and West link with the Gulf East Africa: Dubai-based flydubai launched flights to Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

With the launch of daily direct flights to Entebbe, two onward flights a week to Kigali and three onward flights a week to Bujumbura, coupled with the recent announcement of three new routes in Tanzania, flydubai has doubled its presence in Africa to 12 destinations.

Angola: The Angolan Ministry of Transport have signed a deal with Dubai-based airline Emirates for the management and development of its state-owned Airline, TAAG. Emirates' executive team will be in charge of the running of the Angolan airline.

The management board will be made up of nine members of which four will be appointed by the Angolan government and five by Emirates.

West Africa: The Dubai-based airline also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of West Africa's leading airlines, Arik Air, to develop and expand their existing commercial relationship and explore further areas of cooperation.

GOVERNANCE Mo Index reveals Africa's champions Mauritius topped the 2014 Ibrahim Governance Index.

(c) 2014 IC Publications Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

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