Total Archives - Page 2 of 5 - AfricaBusiness.com

10Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy

Standard Bank Group commits R9.4bn to first batch of renewable energy projects

Standard Bank Group has emerged as the leading investor in the first round of South Africa's renewable energy independent power producer (REIPP) procurement process, backing a total of 11 wind and solar projects. Standard Bank Group will provide comprehensive corporate and investment banking services to all its clients, including underwriting R9.4-billion worth of debt, providing interest and currency hedges, carbon trading credits, and corporate bonding and guarantee facilities. Standard Bank Group has also taken an equity stake in four projects. The South African government's allocation of 1,416MW for this first round of the procuremnt process has translated...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Ireland’s Minister for Trade and Development Leads Enterprise Ireland Trade Mission to South Africa

On Sunday 10 November 2012, Ireland’s Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello TD, will lead an Enterprise Ireland trade mission with 37 companies to South Africa. The trade mission is being organised by Irish trade and technology agency, Enterprise Ireland in close cooperation with Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Embassy of Ireland in Johannesburg. It is aimed at cementing the growing trade relations between the two countries and is part of a broad, long term strategy to further develop Irish trade links and partnerships not just in the South African market, but in the wider Sub-Saharan region. Last year Irish exports to South Africa increased to €944m and exports for 2012 are expected to continue this momentum. South Africa exports ...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Leading IT summit to boost ICT sector in South Africa through improved broadband and infrastructure

The 4th annual IT Leaders Africa Summit will be held in South Africa's city of gold, Johannesburg from 13 to 14 March 2013. The summit is hosted and produced by international business-to-business conferencing company, Kinetic Events. The IT Leaders Summit series is hosted in strategic locations all over the world including Johannesburg, Dubai, Ghana, Cape Town and Nairobi. The series hosts over 150 CIOs and senior IT executives representing leading companies from the respective regions. South Africa, Republic of, Nov, 2012 - Telecommunications is one of the fastest growing sectors within South Africa's economy, driven by rapid growth in mobile and broadband connectivity within recent years. South Africa boasts a network that is reportedly 99.9% digital and includes the latest advancemen...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Coface projections on SA, Africa and the global economy will have to be tested

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa Africa is best positioned to provide a thriving business environment, a leading International credit insurer attests. Coface has projected that by 2016, South African exports into Africa will increase significantly but will be offset by an equivalent drop in trade with Europe. The group also says that the will also be an increase in trade with Asia but trade with the US will remain at the current levels. And Garth de Klerk, CEO of Coface South Africa, says: "China will play an important role in SA’s economic future. Currently, 13% of total SA’s exports are to China. They consume 65% of all primary aluminum produced in SA and 70% of all iron ore mined in SA. Notably, China’s biggest export markets in 2011 was the EU at $356-billion followed by the US at...

8Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

VAALCO Energy Provides Update on Mutamba Iroru Block Onshore Gabon

HOUSTON, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- VAALCO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: EGY) today announced that the N'Gongui 2 exploration well being drilled onshore Gabon in the Mutamba Iroru concession has encountered hydrocarbons in the objective Gamba sandstone section. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100316/NY71495LOGO ) Robert Gerry, Chairman and CEO, commented: "With our partner, Total Gabon, we have elected to drill this well as a "tight hole" and therefore specifics of the operation will not be released until a later date. Suffice to say that VAALCO is excited about the results as the reservoir encountered is the same oil bearing sandstone that produces so prolifically from our offshore fields in Gabon. We are presently conducting additional operations to ascertain the size o...

7Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

High-level Seychelles delegation and ProgressSoft at Connected World Forum

after nationwide mobile money launch 1000+ mobile lifeline experts gather in Dubai this month The global payment solutions giant ProgressSoft will share details of the countrywide roll-out of its mobile payment solution in the Republic of Seychelles at the upcoming Connected World Forum in Dubai from 20-21 November. ProgressSoft CEO, Mr. Michael Wakileh, the Seychelles Minister of Finance, Trade & Investment, H.E. Mr. Pierre Laporte and the Governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles, H.E. Ms. Abel, head up a distinguished list of more than 100 leading industry experts who will address the conference while some 70 exhibitors will display the latest lifeline technology and services. More than a thousand lifeline services experts will gather for the Connected World Forum, whi...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Energy, Green Energy, South Africa News

Serving up a POWER-GEN-sized slice of colossal Kusile

As part of the inaugural POWER-GEN Africa, taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 6-8 November, an intrepid group of delegates had a unique opportunity to visit Kusile, which once operational will be the fourth largest coal-fired power installation in the world. By its scheduled 2018 completion date the station, located in Mpumalanga province, will have a total capacity of 4800 MW. The first of its six 800 MW units is due to commence operations in 2014. Under development by South African state-owned utility Eskom, Kusile is the country’s most technologically advanced coal plant and will be the first to feature flue gas desulphurisation (FGD), a key environmental objective for Eskom. A base-load facility, Kusile forms part of Eskom’s plan to increase...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

International business must reach out to the global masses

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa An initiative aimed at mobilizing the Global business community to achieve sustainable prosperity must be taken seriously. A document released from Washington, D.C reveals that transnational corporations are now so numerous and in some cases so well capitalized that their global influence now rivals and in many cases exceeds that of governments, according to research published by the Worldwatch Institute. And that around 80,000 transnational corporations (TNCs) operate worldwide, a mere 147 of which control 40 percent of the total value of all these corporations' value. Any vision of a sustainable future must include full recognition of the role that TNCs play in shaping the planet's human and ecological destiny, authors argue in Institute's Stat...

6Nov

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African News

Lubricant Demand Growth Stalls in Mature Markets, Strong Growth on the Horizon for New Emerging Markets, Sees Kline

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Nov., 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the challenges of a precarious economic environment, the 2011 global lubricant market grew a resilient 2%, with global lubricant demand estimated at 38.6 million tonnes. This growth was largely fuelled by the BRIC countries' resurgent industrial activity and expansion in the commercial and passenger vehicles sales, according to the recent Global Lubricants: Market Analysis and Assessment report by international consulting and research firm Kline & Company. The United States remains the largest lubricant market, but its near 22% global share continues to decrease. China and India are the next biggest markets with a combined total of over 26%, with Russia's consumption expected to surpass Japan's and consequently be the fourth...

6Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Nigeria News, South Africa News

Having cracked the feature phone challenge, 2go heads for smartphones

Mobile social network 2go is extending its successful feature phone app to smartphones, while growing its team of software developers and support staff. 2go currently has over 10 million active users who send more than 6 billion messages a month, mostly on lower-end feature phones in Nigeria and South Africa. “Feature phones have been an incredibly successful platform for us and will continue to be so for the next few years at least,” says Alan Wolff, who founded 2go with fellow student Ashley Peter while still at university. “Research firms such as Informa indicate that by 2015 there will still be 5.6 feature phones in the African market for every one smartphone. But now is the right time to start extending to iOS, Blackberry and Android platforms as well.” The secret to 2go...