In the News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: John F. Robinson
Tel. (212) 693-5050
nmbc@msn.com

NMBC CONGRATULATES SEN. OBAMA ON BEING ELECTED THE 44th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Urges the New Administration to Vigorously Support Small, Minority, Women- and Veteran-owned businesses

November 5, 2008 (NEW YORK) - The National Minority Business Council, Inc., congratulates Sen. Obama on his election as the forty-fourth and first African-American president of the United States and wishes him well as he embarks on his historic presidency.

Speaking on behalf of the Council's membership, John F. Robinson, president and CEO, said President-elect Obama's presidency comes as the country stands at a crossroads in the direction it must take to lift itself out of its current economic distress. He urged the president-elect to vigorously support small, minority, women- and veteran-owned enterprises, as they are the engine of real economic growth and job creation.

"As one of the oldest advocacy organizations for minority-owned businesses, the NMBC is proud of Sen. Obama's election to the highest office in the land. We hope that those he appoints to his administration will reflect the broad base of the American constituency," Robinson said. "We especially wish the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration to be someone who is grounded in small business issues, preferably a former entrepreneur, to adequately address the concerns of the entire small business community."

Gregory L. Reid, Esq., chairman of the NMBC's Board of Directors and a partner in the law firm, Reid Rodriguez and Rouse L.L.P., said, "The NMBC Board of Directors joins John Robinson in congratulating President-elect Obama, and we add our voice to the call for vigorous support of small, minority, women and veteran entrepreneurs, who are feeling the sting of the financial meltdown as sharply as Wall Street. The NMBC has outlined a support strategy that we would like to see incorporated into President-elect Obama's plan of action to buttress the small business community." During his campaign, candidate Obama pledged to eliminate all capital gains taxes on startup and small businesses to encourage innovation and job creation if he was elected president. He also proposed to give businesses a "new American jobs tax credit" for each new employee they hire in the United States over the next two years, and an additional tax incentive through next year to encourage new small business investment.

The NMBC's strategy calls on the new president to:

  1. Reactivate the President's Advisory Council for Minority Enterprise, established March 5, 1969, by Executive Order 11458, and expand its focus to include small, women- and veteran-owned enterprises.
  2. Move the Minority Business Development Agency into the Small Business Administration, making it an integral and permanent part of the SBA and removing its tenuous status as an Executive Order agency.
  3. Strengthen veteran-owned businesses by establishing a separate division within the SBA to address the needs of these businesses.
  4. Provide easier access to federal procurement opportunities for minority, women- and veteran-owned businesses.
  5. Enhance access to equity and other forms of "permanent" financing for minority and women-owned enterprises by, among other actions, streamlining regulations covering private placements and smaller public offerings, and revitalizing the SBA's Small Business Investment Company program.
  6. Eliminate barriers to international trade and support innovative programs and partnerships that will enable small and medium-size companies to take advantage of opportunities for growth in global markets.
Renee Brown, chair of the NMBC's Women's Business Committee and CEO of C.W. Brown, Inc., a general contracting and construction management firm, said, "We are encouraged by President-elect Obama's campaign commitment to small businesses and urge his new administration to pay special attention to women-owned enterprises as outlined in the NMBC's small-business support strategy. Women-owned enterprises are the fastest growing segment of the small business community."

Fritz-Earle McLymont, a co-founder of the NMBC and managing partner of McLymont, Kunda & Co., an international trade and business development strategies firm, said, "I'm excited at the prospects of supporting President-elect Obama's vision for change, especially in the global arena, where the NMBC has a long history of assisting small and minority-owned businesses to succeed, most notably in the Caribbean and Africa."

Founded in 1972 as a non-profit (501)(c)(3) corporation, the NMBC is dedicated to providing business assistance, educational opportunities, seminars, purchasing listings and related services to hundreds of businesses throughout the tri-state area and across the nation. For more information, contact John F. Robinson at (212) 693-5050, e-mail nmbc@msn.com, or go to www.nmbc.org.

AFRICA BRIEFS

Multilateral institution

  • The IMF is augmenting an existing facility and reshaping a second to help countries worst hit by the food and fuel price crisis, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The Fund has already increased low-interest loans under existing arrangements with Benin, Burkina Faso, Kyrgyz Republic, Central African Republic, Haiti and Madagascar under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) to provide balance of payment and budget support, opened new PRGF arrangements with Mali and Niger, and is in discussions with about twelve other countries. On July 2nd the Fund increased the nearly $90 million arrangement with Madagascar by about $30 million. Almost two weeks earlier it had approved some $26.5 million in additional aid to Haiti, enabling an immediate disbursement of about $38.7 million.

  • The EU has donated Sh12.3 million towards the production and sustenance of an Aloe Vera project in Baringo - Kenya - to boost rural livelihoods. The funding would improve the production of the Aloe plant and its products for local use and export in a bid to reduce poverty in the district. Aloe Vera is used in beauty, health, skin care and medicine. The EU's Community Development Trust Fund programme manager Joseph Ruhiu presented the money to Koriema Aloe project, which includes putting up a factory.

  • The African Development Bank (AFDB) Group has more than doubled its soft-loan window funding for Malawi, the Bank Group's President, Donald Kaberuka, said in Lilongwe, Malawi, on Wednesday. "Under our new soft loan lending cycle (2008-10), Malawi will receive a significant allocation -- more than doubling its level of previous resources to just under US$ 200 million," Mr. Kaberuka said at the official opening of the AFDB Malawi Country Office. He said the decision was based on Malawi's good economic performance. Mr. Kaberuka said that due to reforms, Malawi had registered unprecedented economic growth and strong macroeconomic performance. "These reform efforts are leading to major developments in the delivery of social services, economic growth and results which visibly impact the lives of the people," he said. - 30 July 2008

  • The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AFDB) Group approved on Tuesday, 22 July 2008 in Tunis, US$ 24 million for Togo's arrears clearance program. The approval followed the Board's assessment which indicates that Togo, as a fragile state, had met the criteria to benefit from the Fragile States Facility financial assistance, a new mechanism set up by the Bank Group to provide supplementary operational support to post-conflict countries that meet the two main criteria relating to the country's commitment to consolidate peace and security, and the implementation of sound macroeconomic and transparent public accounts management.

  • IFC recently signed a landmark agreement to establish Liberia's first microfinance bank. IFC will be a founding shareholder in Access Bank Liberia, providing financing to the bank's micro, small, and midsize customers, many of whom do not have access to financial services. This will be a crucial boost to the local economy. The investment will be among IFC's first in Liberia since the country emerged from a shattering civil war. This reflects our commitment to reaching a more diverse range of countries, including Africa's poorest and those affected by conflict, or where the private sector is at the very early stages of development. "The successful launch of Access Bank Liberia demonstrates our strong belief in the potential of the country's private sector," said Thierry Tanoh, IFC Vice President for Africa. "Supporting Africa's smallest businesses and entrepreneurs by helping extend financial services to people and places where they are most needed is a crucial part of our strategy in Africa."
Private sector

  • Horizon Plantation Plc, a newly-established company by Sheikh Mohammad Hussein Al Amoudi, will secure the 100,000 hectares of land it requested for its planned bio-fuel development. The plot is located in Dangur and Guba Woredas of Metekel Zone, Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State. The bio-fuel project is part of Horizon's grand vision to put up agricultural development schemes on 250,000 hectares of land in Ethiopia. Though the company has already reached agreements with the Gambella and SNNPR for its rubber tree and oil palm projects, the project on bio-fuel from the Jatropha plant has not progressed as anticipated.

  • The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) has announced to its customers the decision to adjust upwards the current tariffs for its services. The upward increase in passenger and parcel rates was to be implemented from July 1 with travelers being asked to re-confirm their bookings for exact fares to avoid any disappointment. Fares on both the Tazara Express and Ordinary passenger trains have gone up by 20% while parcels and luggage rates on the same trains will go up by 30%.

  • BSE-listed Standard Chartered Bank Botswana has reported a 28.5% growth in earnings for the first quarter of 2008, according to a Stockbrokers Botswana report. For the period under review, the bank's interest income rose by 12.8% against the comparable period last year to P303 million, while interest expense went up by 8.9% to P181 million. Net interest income rose by 19.2% to P122 million. Other operating income rose by 10.3% to P46.9 million, while operating expenses dropped by 6.7% to P56.7 million. The impairment charge increased by about P5.6 million to P10.6 million, being about 0.3% of the loan book. Net income after tax increased by 28.5% to P78.9 million. The counter lost 10.7% during the period under review.

  • Listed mobile phone service provider Safaricom has been nominated for the prestigious CBC-African Business Awards 2008. The awards, in association with the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), have 16 categories including the African Business Leader of the Year. Safaricom, formed in 1997 and which has more than 11 million subscribers, was nominated for two category awards - the African Business of the Year and the Telecoms Company of the Year. The ceremony was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

  • Libya Oil Holdings Ltd, a company registered in Mauritius, has officially been given the green light by the Treasury to buy 50% of the Kenya Petroleum Oil Refineries from three oil majors - Chevron, Shell and BP - at a price of $10 million and to appoint two directors to represent them on the board of the company. The development is the latest twist in the bidding war over half ownership of the Mombasa-based refinery that has been brewing for months, pitting the Libyan company and Indian conglomerate, rate Essar Group Ltd.

  • "STEG International Services", a branch of the Tunisian national electricity and gas company STEG, will set up a pilot project in Rwanda shortly. The project which was announced during a press conference by STEG's CEO, Othman Ben Arfa, is financed by the World Bank and will bring electricity to 4000 households in a country where the electrification rate does not exceed 4.5%, he said. It will necessitate investments of the order of 10 million dinars and will require the assistance of 20 Tunisian cadres, including 3 engineers, 17 qualified technicians, and 3 financial officers.

  • The increasing amount of broadband capacity in Africa has seen some operators begin to offer "triple-play" - that is voice, Internet and broadcast content - giving rise to satellite pay-TV market, which fits into the continent's existing broadcast and media market. But according to a new report on Africa's broadband, - African Broadband, Triple Play and Converged Markets - the converged content has come too early to the continent with mobile TV being rolled out in several countries, including Kenya. With the demand for Internet access continuing to grow at exponential rates on the continent as well as the increased amount of Internet traffic due to multimedia, Internet service providers are now faced with the challenge of keeping up with demand for network bandwidth.

  • After its prolonged civil war, Mozambique has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the African continent. The Southern African country is trying to make up for lost time. Crime is low and the seriousness with which the country has taken to reconstruction is clearly visible, despite numerous setbacks such as the annual flooding that wipes away many of its gains. The momentum picked in 1992, when the ruling Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo) and the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo) signed a peace agreement after 16 years of civil war. Currently, Mozambique - with a population of 17 million - is considered one of the strongest economic performers in sub-Saharan Africa. Mozambique's economy has been growing at an average of 8% for the past five years.

  • Mozambique Airlines (LAM) has announced that it is raising its fares and cutting its capacity in order to face the sharp increase in the price of jet fuel. A press release from LAM pointed out that in the first half of this year jet fuel rose from 35% to about 50% of the company's total costs. That meant a monthly increase in fuel expenditure of $950,000. The price of jet fuel rose by 43% between January 2007 and January 2008 - but in just four months (March to June) of this year, the rise was 39%. LAM said that initially it made every attempt not to pass on the higher fuel costs to its passengers - but that policy was no longer viable.

  • Nearly three weeks of controversial industrial action at Lev Leviev Diamonds (LLD) ended in the sacking of 148 striking workers. About 100 others, who have not been camping out near LLD's premises, are to be served with notices of dismissal by the Messenger of the High Court. The Windhoek-based diamond-polishing factory finalized a series of disciplinary hearings, albeit in the absence of the workers affected. Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) General Secretary Joseph Hengari said that the union would appeal the dismissals.

  • The number of cars repossessed by banks increased by 28% during the first quarter of the year, according to the Bank of Namibia. Helene Baden Horst, Head of Corporate Communications at the Bank of Namibia (BON), told The Namibian that the total number of vehicles sold during the first quarter of 2008 also was 1.1% lower than in the last quarter of 2007. Sales of commercial vehicles were particularly low, she indicated. "The prospects for the rest of the year look good and it is expected that the economy could still expand by about 4% in 2008.

  • A German firm supplying the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) with paper for bearer cheques has been asked to halt business with Zimbabwe because of concerns it was helping prop up President Robert Mugabe's regime. The move could have disastrous consequences for a country already reeling from cash shortages. While the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) failed to honor the promise to respond to questions on the issue, an official with the Germany embassy said he was aware of reports that the Munich-based firm, Giesecke and Devrient, had been asked to stop supplying Zimbabwe with paper.

  • Expressions of interests for the $70-million Kazungula Bridge, development of which would provide a much-needed alternative to ferry transport over the natural boundary between Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, could be issued by November or October. However, the Nepad Business Foundation (NBF), which was a keen supporter of the projects, given its potential economic benefits, warned that efforts would have to be made to ensure that politics did not stand in the way of progress. Both Zambia and Botswana, which would be the main beneficiaries of the new transport link, had openly criticized both the recently one-person election as well as Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's handling of the political and economic crisis in that country.

  • Employers in the East province of Cameroon have said they will not apply the Prime Minister's text raising the Inter-Professional Guaranteed Minimum Salary, better known by its French acronym as SMIG. The PM's text signed recently raises SMIG from FCFA 23.514 to FCFA 28.216. One restaurant operator in Bertoua generally known as Vero told The Post that she does not make enough benefit to consider raising the salaries of her workers. "The prices of cooking oil, cooking gas, fuel and the various foodstuffs are rising by the day. Just a year ago, a litter of Diamaor was sold at FCFA 700. She suggested that the Prime Minister signed the text without considering the economic variables that could favor its applicability. "For such a text to take effect, the prices of basic commodities must be reduced so that when we sell food to customers, we can make enough profit to be able to improve the pay package of our workers," she said.

  • The Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Louis Paul Motaze, underscored the need to hasten the process for making the newly-created airline company, Cameroon Airlines Corporation (CAMAIR Co), operational. He was speaking to journalists after presiding at two important meetings, one with the technical team charged with working out the formula for facilitating the effective takeoff of the new company and the other with authorities of Elysean Airlines Company who wish to take over the management of CAMAIR Co internal flights ahead of the effective commencement of the company. The meetings follow the signing of an order by the Prime Minister on 26 June, 2008, creating a technical team for the putting in place of CAMAIR Co. Minister Motaze told pressmen that the State needed the minimum infrastructure to kick start the company.

  • In less than two weeks a spate of arrests took place in Cote d'Ivoire with the most powerful players in the strategic cocoa sector sent to jail one after the other, all accused of corruption and embezzlement of public funds, mismanagement and forging documents. In Cote d'Ivoire, cocoa is what oil or gold is to other nations. In 2007, according to estimates from the World Cocoa organization, Cote d'Ivoire produced 37.4% of the total 3.5 million tons harvested in the world, this represents 1.3 million tons.

  • The Board Chairman of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NICOL) Cleamesuer Urey says there are probabilities that Liberia could have oil as the search for one of the world's hottest natural resources continues off its shore. Urey said if oil is discovered in Liberia, some of the socio-economic problems the country is facing would be solved. He said studies conducted indicate that there are high probabilities that oil could be found in Liberia. Urey spoke at the second Liberia offshore Petroleum Biding. The bid process took place at the Episcopal Church Plaza on Ashmun Street. Three companies biding for blocks include HK Tong Tai International, Mittal Investment SARL and Anardaco, an American firm said to have been involved in the discovery of oil in Ghana. The three companies each made a non-refundable payment of $25,000 to begin the process.

  • Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), has denied getting any directive from the Federal Government to leave Ogoniland. Speaking in an interactive session with journalists in Port Harcourt, the Managing Director of Shell, Mutiu Sumonu, said Shell had heard of the Presidential pronouncement on its facilities in Ogoniland like every other Nigeria via the media. He said: "We are yet to get any letter or official directive on the matter as at today. The Federal Government has not formally notified us. There has not been a formal letter. We have heard and discussed it. What the President said is headline statement which details are not available."

  • Ad-man Ethiopia, a local advertisement and development company, signed a trade fair deal with the Slovak's Arab and Africa Chamber of Commerce. The agreement will enable the company to organize trade fairs in Slovakian and in Ethiopia. The agreement would also allow both countries' businesses in the sector of tourism, sport, education, culture, health and in other kinds of trade to stage exhibitions and strike deals amongst themselves. Exporters of agricultural products; semi processed and processed products, cultural dress and products makers, women's entrepreneur associations, persons with disabilities will participate in the upcoming exhibitions.

  • More oil blocks may be revoked following moves being made by the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), its subsidiaries and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). There are reports that the committee will urge President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua not to sign the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) agreements with the companies which won oil blocks during the controversial 2005 and 2007 bid rounds. Preliminary investigations by This Day discovered that in spite of the anomalies believed to be inherent in the bid rounds between 2005 and 2007, the Federal Ministry of Finance is allegedly asking the president to sign the PSCs.
Government

  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a five-year road rehabilitation accord worth $110 million with the World Bank and Great Britain, for the rehabilitation and upgrading of 1.800 kilometers of high priority roads in the DRC. The accord, known under the programme "Pro Routes" will see the rehabilitation and upgrading of high priority roads in the DRC provinces of Orientale, South Kivu and Katanga.

  • African leaders urged the Group of Eight (G8) rich nations to keep promises to help their continent and pleaded with them to remember that soaring oil and food prices were making their poverty worse. The G8 has been accused by activists of reneging on the promise made at its 2005 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, to double aid by 2010 to $50 billion, half of which would go to Africa. "Some African leaders just wanted to emphasize that while appreciating G8 leaders' commitment to help Africa in past G8 summits ... they would like to see these commitments fully implemented," said Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson Kazuo Kodama.

  • Tanzania has no intention of rejoining the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). The stance contradicts a World Trade Index 2008 report prepared by the World Bank which indicates that Tanzania is planning to reapply for a membership of the economic bloc, from which it withdrew in 2000. "It is totally untrue," Edward Sungula of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Marketing told a seminar in Dar es Salaam. "Tanzania does not think of going back to COMESA after withdrawing in 2000 due to lack of economic gains in that bloc."

  • Bank of Tanzania (BoT) governor Prof Benno Ndulu has called for close cooperation among EAC central banks to enhance efficiency and timely response to globalization challenges. At the official opening of a training seminar for EAC central bank managers, Prof Ndulu said working together would be effective in developing and monitoring the financial sector among member countries of the fast growing EAC trading bloc. The BOT chief urged closer cooperation among the central banks to fend off negative competition and enable them to respond timely to globalization challenges. He added that central banks in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda were all currently operating under complex and dynamic conditions that required them to constantly re-examine their respective roles.

  • The decision by Kenya's Finance Minister Amos Kimunya's to step aside to allow for investigations into the controversial sale of the Grand Regency Hotel has left a vacuum at Treasury, which analysts said could derail the government's agenda in the new financial year. Additional signs that the hotel crisis could affect government programs came from Prime Minister Raila Odinga's statement to Parliament that he had received a call from the deputy director of the World Bank informing him that the financing of the Northern Corridor road that was to go before the board for approval on Thursday had been removed from the agenda because of concerns over the Grand Regency affair. The project is worth Sh4.3 billion.

  • Rwandan President Paul Kagame said that relations with Uganda have been fully restored. Asked how we would rate present relations between the two countries, whose armies fought each other in the DRC ten years ago, he said: "Very good". Pressed to analyze what had caused the rift, President Kagame smiled and said: "I don't think I'll go into this. Going into that is a disservice to the level of friendship we have again attained." The Rwandan leader, who took over the EAC chairmanship last week, said he wanted to remove the obstacles to trade and investment in East Africa by reducing the number of corruption-breeding weighbridges and check points.

  • Japan has provided $6.5 million for extension of power to rural areas in Masaka - Uganda. The project, which involves construction of a 33KV line from Nyendo in Masaka town to Bukakata, will tee off at Lambu Landing Site and cover 53 kilometers. It will supply nine trading canters. Construction is expected to start in February 2009. The main contractor is Nishizawa Corporation, while the sub-contractors are Japanese firms, Kiden Corporation and Dyden Corporation. Ferdsult Engineering is the local firm.

  • The United Kingdom will be spending some $750 million in Africa by 2010, through its "Aid for Trade" strategy forming part of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). This is according to the UK Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Consumer Affairs, Gareth Thomas. "The UK has been fostering trade in Southern Africa intended to unlock internal barriers," said Thomas, adding that since 2005 they have increased the export of nuts, tea and coffee by 1500 tons.

  • The Mozambican government plans to press ahead with a plan to use natural gas as a road transport fuel, in order to reduce the country's dependence on imported fuels, declared Environment Minister Alcinda Abreu. Speaking at the opening of a seminar on the use of gas-powered vehicles, Abreu said Mozambique's own plentiful supplies of natural gas could play a vital role in achieving the country's energy and environmental goals. "Mozambique is a country with huge potential in the energy sector", she said, "and natural gas is a resource that occupies a special position, with reserves estimated at 3.6 trillion cubic feet in the Pande and Temane fields (in the southern province of Inhambane)".

  • Liberia's Minister of Lands, Mines and Energy, Dr. Eugene Shannon has told visiting members of the US Congressional delegation that as part of phase two of the Emergency Power Program (EPP), the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) would turn on more lights in and around Monrovia on July 26, 2008. Briefing members of the Congressional delegation Monday at the headquarters of LEC in Monrovia, Minister Shannon said government attaches importance to electricity and was doing everything in collaboration with its international partners to restore electricity to Liberia. He said electricity is the strength for any developed nation saying "this is why government is doing all it can to restore electricity to our people." The Chairman of the Board of Directors of LEC, Ian Yhap who also spoke at the meeting said under phase two of the EPP, the corporation is expanding to 10 megawatts.

  • Out-of-court settlement talks between pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the Kano State government broke down at the weekend after the government and representatives of victims' families turned down an offer of $10 million compensation from the company. This was disclosed to newsmen yesterday by chairman of the victims' association, Alhaji Mustapha Maisikeli, shortly after a Kano High Court presided over by the acting Chief Judge, Justice Shehu Atiku, adjourned the case to October 6 and 7. He said after a series of meetings in Abuja, London and in Dubai last week, the victims turned down an offer of $10,000 to each victim with minor deformities and $100,000 to each victim with major deformities or death arising from the Trovan drug test of 1996.

  • Nigerian environmental and health officials warn that slightly radioactive tailings found in abandoned mines in central Nigeria's Plateau state poses a health risk to around two million inhabitants. Laboratory analysis conducted earlier this year by officials from Nigeria's nuclear research agency of 1,100 abandoned mines where tin and a mineral called columbite had been mined showed levels of radiation that could be harmful to human health, the officials said." The people living around these mining fields are at risk of cancer of the skin, lungs and liver as well as sight impairments from prolonged exposure to radioactive mine tailings we discovered in the mines", an official from the nuclear research agency told IRIN.

  • President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone said in the current era of rising commodity prices especially for fuel and rice, the need to restructure the minerals sector is urgent. Speaking at a one-day presidential workshop on minerals sector reform organized by the strategy and policy unit of his office and the ministry of mineral resources, President Koroma said the minerals sector should benefit from increased private sector investment from credible companies. He said the minerals sector should also provide a fair share of the benefits in the form of public revenue for further investment. "It is customary for mining companies to support communities in the localities of the mines so that they will realize reasonable benefits," he said.

  • The government of the People's Republic of China has confirmed assistance to Sierra Leone-owned telecommunication company, Sierratel, with the signing of an inter-governmental agreement that made available a concessional loan to support a Code Divisional Multiple Access (CDMA) project for Sierratel. According to Zhao Zhongqiu, the Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Freetown, the venture which is code named Sierra Leone Rural and Sub-urban Telecommunication CDMA Network Project is designed to provide the people of Sierra Leone with an improved and convenient telecommunication system. "The Chinese government's concessional loan refers to the medium and long-term, low interest rate credit extended by China Export-Import Bank under the designation of the Chinese government, to the government of the borrowing country with the nature of official assistance.
Investment Trade & Finance

  • The recently-concluded three-day EAC( East African Community) investment conference held in Kigali(Rwanda) ended with several promises to increase investment portfolio in the region. The conference that took place concurrently with the summit and retreat of EAC heads of state attracted over 1,000 participants from across the globe with the majority being East Africans. During plenary sessions, heads of regional Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) highlighted investment opportunities, challenges and the way forward in financial sector, agro-industry, Tourism and ICT, energy and business environment within the region. They noted that the region still needs more and can do more but bureaucracy is still disconnecting the speed of doing things despite the ongoing reforms.

  • Kenya's official foreign exchange reserves have risen to $3.3 billion in June from $3.2 billion in May, signalling a halt to a steady erosion of the country's import cover reserves since January, this year. Import cover reserves, which refer to the amount of foreign currency available at Central Bank (CBK) for import bill payments, increased from an equivalent of 4.55 months cover as at the end of May to 4.60 months in June.

  • The approach taken by the EU in trade talks with Africa has been strongly criticized in an official report commissioned by France, the new holder of the EU's rotating presidency. Christiane Taubira, the member of the French national assembly who authored the report at the request of her country's government, has recommended that the mandate given to the European Commission to negotiate economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries should be amended. Although trade officials have been leading the talks on behalf of the 27-strong EU, she advocates that the basis for the negotiations should be rethought so that there is a greater emphasis on social and economic development.

  • Much of the new money pledged at a G8 summit for investment in cleaner energy will go to Africa, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. G8 leaders pledged $6 billion to three funds run by the World Bank and $44 billion of its money - to be spent on low carbon energy projects, stopping deforestation and helping nations adapt to climate change. Brown said that combining the public money pledged with private finance, the total amount to be invested in developing countries before 2012 would be about $150 billion. "Much of that will go to Africa, some it will go to Asia as well," PM Brown told reporters. Britain says that to get developing countries on board for global targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, rich countries should help poorer nations pay for cleaner energy as it tends to be more expensive than just using coal.

  • Mozambique's GDP growth rate is faltering, according to figures released by the Bank of Mozambique. The economy grew in 2007 by 7%, but growth in the first quarter of this year, compared with the first quarter of 2007, was only 3.5%, the Bank's spokesperson, Waldemar de Sousa, told a Maputo press conference. Essentially, this was due to poor performance by manufacturing industry, which showed a 9% decline in production. The electricity and water sector also declined, by 10.4%. But the government can take heart from continued strong growth in other sectors during the first quarter - in transport and communication (16.4% growth), mining (12.6%) tourism (11.8%), agriculture (8.3%) and construction (8.1%). The balance of trade worsened over the quarter, with exports declining by 7.1%, while imports rose by 19.5%.

  • There are several factors including globalization and the political, economic and social situation in Zimbabwe that may derail the transformation of the SADC into a Free Trade Area (FTA) and creation of a customs union. It was agreed during a SADC meeting in Lusaka, Zambia in August last year that the sub-region should transform itself into an FTA and have a comprehensive customs union. These are some of the strategies that have been mapped out for economic development in SADC. Transforming the SADC is expected to be launched in August this year.

  • The Zambian government has asked Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to import 21,000 tons of fuel to beef up the current stocks after Indeni Petroleum Refinery exhausted its crude oil. Energy and Water Development Permanent Secretary, Peter Mumba, said in Lusaka that the OMCs had already started importing diesel and petrol following the Government's request to raise the stocks. Mumba said in an interview that the government had asked the OMCs to bring in about 15,000 tons of diesel and 6,000 tons of petrol. "There is no need to panic because the country still has enough refined fuel in the reserves to meet the demand but we just want to ensure that we have enough stocks," Mumba said.

  • Earnings from the sale of tobacco in Zimbabwe since the opening of the selling season topped $80 million as sales resumed after a brief stoppage to pave way for the Presidential run-off. Earnings to date are slightly higher than the $76.9 million that was earned during the same period last year. According to latest statistics released by the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board, the money was earned from the sale of 26.4 million kilograms of tobacco at an average price of $3.16 per kilogram. During the corresponding period last year a total of 33.7 million had been sold at an average price of $2.27.

  • Nigeria made about $2.13 billion from the sales of oil blocks, otherwise known as Signature Bonus, between 2005 and 2007, which, under the law, ought to have gone to the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) says the Executive Secretary of the PTDF, Alhaji Kabir Mohamed. Mohammed, former Counsel to the Aso Villa, however said that, the amount would have been too much for the Fund to handle, as a special arrangement has been made in which $672 million of the Signature Bonus is held in a Special Account called PTDF Reserve Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mohammed said that the need not to give all the Signature Bonus to the PTDF was because, when the law establishing the Act was promulgated in 1973, policy makers never imagined that a time will come when sales of oil fields will gross so much.

  • Rwanda is becoming a leader in business regulatory reform in Africa and the IFC-managed investment climate team for Africa is supporting the government's efforts to develop successful reforms. The team is working on the invitation of Rwanda's government on a multi-year investment climate reform project. The project supports a range of businesses -- small and large, formal and informal, local and international -- to do business better by addressing broad, systemic reforms. On starting a business, the investment promotion component aims to improve and facilitate private investments (prior to incorporation and beyond the registration of the company). On dealing with licenses, this component involves a comprehensive inventory and review exercise of all business licenses (including but not restricted to construction permits) and overall regulatory simplification. On trading across borders, the trade logistics component will address longer term issues to facilitate trade.

Barbados -- A New Approach to Excellence

Sponsored Section from the July/August 2008 Issue of Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/sponsored_sections/country_focus/barbados/2008

Sweeping into victory in last January's elections, David Thompson's Democratic Labor Party (DLP) won a clear vote for change by the Barbados people. Nevertheless, the makeover is not drastic for those interested in doing business in Barbados. The Prime Minister underlined a pro-growth strategy involving the attraction of new investment, creating a more business friendly environment, finding global export markets for its services and building a distinctive 'Business Barbados' brand. Strategic Media looks at how the new mandate aims to make tourism and services everybody's business.

For more information about Strategic Media, please contact: info@smlstrategicmedia.com

Trinidad & Tobago - Igniting Ambition

Sponsored section in the September/October 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/sponsored_sections/country_focus/trinidad_tobago/

Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean's energy success story, is building on a decade of growth by focusing on its non-energy qualities. Greatly enhancing its diversification capacity, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Patrick Manning continues to open up its financial, ICT, tourism, manufacturing, and services sectors to international enterprise. With inside analysis and firsthand insight, Strategic Media outlines the spark of innovation and ambition enveloping this energetic twin-island nation.

DR Government advertorial in Economist

www.dr1.com - Sept 9, 2008

On occasion of the inaugural of the second term of President Leonel Fernandez, The Economist carried an advertorial produced by the staff of Press Tribune of London. The feature highlights the Dominican Republic as "A Caribbean Economic Success Story." It carries interviews with then Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez, Juan Hernandez Batista of the Tax Department, Economy Minister Temistocles Montas, Competitiveness Council director Andres Van der Horst, Energy Commission president Aristides Fernandez Zucco, and features on the Santo Domingo Metro, Induban coffee, Rizek cacao, Central Romana Corporation, Basic Energy Group, Vicini Group, Roco Ki and D Westin.

http://www.ifcreports.com/reports.htm

NMBC's Fact-Finding Mission to Guinea, West Africa, June 18 - 30, 2005

Highlight of My Internship at The NMBC, Inc. Written by: Mikiko Takeda

Reflections on an Internship. Written by: Benny Koenig