François Conradie, Cape Town
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
On Friday 23 July, the Financial Times's City Editor, Mark Kleinman,
reported that HSBC and Standard Charter were exploring a takeover of Old
Mutual's controlling stake in Nedbank.
François Conradie, Cape Town
Friday, 23 July 2010
On 21 July, the fibre-optic broadband service launched in Lagos, made
possible by a 7 200 kilometre cable from Portugal to Nigeria laid by
MainOne Company. The development will make a big contribution to
communication and business in Africa's most populous country.
François Conradie, Cape Town
Thursday, 22 July 2010
On Wednesday 21 July, Sudanese president Omar
El-Bashir travelled to neighbouring Chad for a Community of
Sahel-Saharan States conference. Despite being a signatory to the Rome
Statute, in terms of which it is obliged to arrest any person wanted by
the International Criminal Court (ICC), Chad promised that El-Bashir
would not be arrested.
François Conradie, Cape Town
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
The bail-out of Nigerian banks in 2009 may lead to a consolidation in
the country's fractured banking landscape, as the Central Bank (CBN)
talks about liquidating some of the banks, and others are taken over by
rivals.
F.C, Cape Town
Friday, 16 July 2010
The NNPC had asked for government help to covert ists debts and fund its
operation. The company spokesman denied and said that the government
owes it money.
François Conradie
Thursday, 15 July 2010
After a book and a blockbuster film exposed the violence that often
fuels the diamond industry, watchers hailed the Kimberley Process,
which purports to certify all diamonds as being 'clean', i.e. not from
conflict regions and so not contributing to war. Zimbabwe is a member of
the Process scheme, but some question whether its diamonds should be
certified.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Standard Bank was named Africa's top bank by The Banker, a respected US
publication, in its latest edition of the world's 1 000 top banks. This
article takes a look at Standard's 2009 performance and its African
strategy.
Monday, 12 July 2010
While most of Africa joined the globe in
watching and cheering the World Cup, Islamist militants have made
worrying inroads in Somalia and other countries in the region, with some
of their victims actually being targeted for watching the football.
Adama Wade
Translation: François Conradie
Sunday, 11 July 2010
The most beautiful goal of the 2010 World Cup is, undoubtedly, the
faultless organisation of the first Cup in Africa.
François Conradie, Cape Town
Saturday, 03 July 2010
The "progressive" implementation of the East African Community (EAC)
Common Market protocol started today, 1 July. The EAC's member countries
are Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, and the Community has
set up a head office in Arusha.
François Conradie, Cape Town
Thursday, 01 July 2010
This weekend saw representatives from the G-20 group of countries
convene in Canada for a two-days summit meeting. In addition to the
developed countries usually present at these confabs, Toronto hosted
South Africa as well as Malawi, Nigeria and Ethiopia. At the end of the
summit, what can Africa expect?
Salim Dali
Monday, 28 June 2010
After BP and Statoil pioneered the technique at
In Salah in the centre of Algeria, Total, Gaz de France and Sonatrach
have launched a joint venture to capture CO2 from gas fields at
Timimoun, Ahmet and Touat in the South-West. But carbon capturing is not
yet part of the Clean Development Mechanism defined in the Kyoto
Protocol.
Sunday, 27 June 2010
The G-8 summit is underway in Canada. The annual summit of the eight
most developed countries in the world has started with an announcement
from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying that the G-8 will
contribute five billion dollars over five years to a maternal, newborn
and child death initiative.
F.C
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
In its Global Economic Prospects Summer 2010, the World Bank forecasts
developing countries to grow at twice the rate of developed ones in
2010, and so act as the engine for economic recovery.
François Conradie
Thursday, 10 June 2010
The day before the kick-off of the greatest
sporting event on Earth, South Africans' very visible enthusiasm is
dampened by disappointment at incompetence, nepotism and greed at FIFA,
and at the resilience of the West's negative images of Africa.
F.C & A.W
Tuesday, 08 June 2010
Even a few months ago, few would have predicted that Paul Kagamé would
be treated as VIP of the France-Africa summit in Nice.
François Conradie, Cape Town
Friday, 04 June 2010
According to the official results of Tuesday's
mid-term elections for Egypt's Shura council, the ruling National
Democratic Party (NDP) won 60 of the 74 seats being renewed. The Muslim
Brotherhood is calling foul.
François Conradie
Thursday, 03 June 2010
The 25th France-Africa summit was held on Monday and Tuesday in Nice,
and delivered some notable thoughts. Perhaps the most notable was a call
from delegates for a reform of the UN's Security Council to better
represent Africa.
François Conradie
Tuesday, 01 June 2010
At a time when investors are watching government finances closely, South
Africa's fiscal figures for April are reassuring. Trade balance figures
for the same month, however, still show slack demand and problems for
exporters.
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