African Review of Business and Technology articles from December 2005

African Review of Business and Technology archives from December 2005

Voice over internet protocol.(Briefly)
December 1, 2005... TELKOM KENYA HAS launched a voice over internet protocol (VolP) telephone service that will drastically reduce the cost of international calls. Managing director Sammy Kirui says the service will be available through all corporation lines...

Pharmaceutical company glaxosmithkline.(Briefly)
December 1, 2005... PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY GLAXOSMITHKLINE made a profit in excess of N22bn during the last five years of its operations in Nigeria, according to a Nigerian press report quoting the Chairman, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, who was speaking at the...

Trade between Ghana and Nigeria, which suffered a setback recently, was given a boost when President Obasanjo, announced the lifting of the ban imposed on certain imports from all parts of the world.(Briefly)
December 1, 2005... TRADE BETWEEN GHANA and Nigeria, which suffered a setback recently, was given a boost when President Obasanjo, announced the lifting of the ban imposed on certain imports from all parts of the world. The ban, which has been in force since...

The volume of trade between Nigeria and Turkey.(Briefly)
December 1, 2005... THE VOLUME OF trade between Nigeria and Turkey is well in excess of US$300mn, according to a Nigerian press report quoting the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, who added that both sides expect the figure to reach US$1bn within the next four...

Equipment for the last phase for the completion of the Bumbuna hydro electric project has arrived in Sierra Leone.(Briefly)
December 1, 2005... EQUIPMENT FOR THE last phase for the completion of the Bumbuna hydro electric project has arrived in Sierra Leone. The project, being implemented by Italian firm, Salini Construction has started full operations in the town of Bumbuna with 220...

The German government.(economic recovery and job creation)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT has signed an agreement with Sierra Leone to provide euro 12.6m for development projects enhancing peace and reconciliation. According to the German charge d'affaires, Astrid Ilper, the assistance will go towards...

Subsahara aviation.(exclusive rights to carry the Republic of Congo flag on flights )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... SUBSAHARA AVIATION, (SSA) the airline wing of the SubSahara Group of companies, will have the exclusive rights to carry the Republic of Congo (RoC) flag on its scheduled flights from Johannesburg to Brazzaville, RoC's capital city, in the...

Safaricom.(active subscriber mark)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... MOBILE PHONE SERVICE provider Safaricom has attained the three million active subscriber mark. Safaricom chief executive officer Mr. Michael Joseph in a media release confirmed the signing of the firm's three millionth subscriber describing...

Safmarine.(Safmarine and Rennies Holding Ltd. )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... SAFMARINE HAS ANNOUNCED plans for a second string to its Safari service between Asia and Southern Africa, plus two new direct services between Asia and East Africa and between Asia and West Africa. The introduction of a second string to the...

Foster wheeler South Africa.(Foster Wheeler South Africa Proprietary Ltd.'s engineering, procurement and construction management contract from Sasol Technology Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... FOSTER WHEELER SOUTH Africa (Pty) Limited has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management contract by Sasol Technology (Pty) Ltd (Sastech) for a new research and development (R & D) facility associated with Sasol's...

Boeing Electronic Flight Bag.(Briefly)
December 1, 2005... BOEING WILL INSTALL the industry-standard Boeing Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) on two 777-200ER and four 737-700 airplanes to be delivered to TAAG Angola Airlines beginning in the third quarter of 2006. With this installation, TAAG will become...

Kenya's new French connection.(Kenya Airways)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... FROM SUNDAY 2 July 2006, Kenya Airways (KQ 113) will offer a daylight service on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, arriving the same evening. From Nairobi, the...

Durban maintains lead as busiest port.(Commercial Review)
December 1, 2005... THE PORT OF Durban is implementing a series of major capital projects to increase its capacity, improve operations, and maintain its status as Africa's busiest seaport. With NPA approval the capacity of the existing container terminal is...

NGOs inspect Africa Commission.(Nongovernmental Organizations)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... THE COMMISSION FOR Africa, an initiative of the UK government, is featured in two of the latest annual reports from leading NGOs. The Commission argued that economic success in SSA is very much in the interests of all, not just Africans ...

HIPC progress.(Heavily Indebted Poor Countries)(International Monetary Fund)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... THE IMF SAYS four more sub Saharan countries reached their 'completion points' under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative within 2004/5, both Rwanda and Zambia achieving this at year end in April following earlier successes by Ghana and offshore...

Iran forges links across Africa.(Iran a supplier of crude oil to South African )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... FOR MANY YEARS, Iran has been a major supplier of crude oil to South African oil refineries. During 2005, Iran has signed trade and co-operation, agreements with a number of countries in North, West and East Africa and become involved in a...

SADC countries plan for single currency.(Commercial Review)
December 1, 2005... DESPITE THE COMPLEX process, Southern African nations are maintaining their plan to eventually set up a single currency in order to facilitate trade. According to Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza, the 14-nation Southern African...

PEP-Africa launched.(Private Enterprise Partnership)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... GROWTH IN SSA was up from 3.1 to 4.4 per cent in 2004 notes the IFC. But it points out that this is still way below the seven whole points needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals within 10 years. "Africa faces immense challenges in...

Nigeria's Bonga starts flowing.(deep water development)
December 1, 2005... THE SHELL-OPERATED Bonga field -- Nigeria's first major deepwater development--was brought on stream at the end of November, exactly two years behind the original target. The project was also substantially over-budget, at about US$3.6bn...

Equatorial Guinea.(Oil News)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... A GAS DISCOVERY off Bioko island is improving the prospects for the construction of a second train at the country's liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, due to come on stream with one train in late-2007. The find was made by US firm Noble...

Angola.(British Petroleum Company PLC discovers oil)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... THE ULTRA-DEEPWATER Block 31 has yielded its ninth oil discovery for BP. The firm's Hebe-1 well, drilled by the Jack Ryan drillship in 2,008 metres of water, tested 5,956 barrels/day. BP said the discovery raises prospects for a multi-field...

Egypt.(Oil News)
December 1, 2005... EGYPTIAN NATURAL GAS Holding Company is considering the construction of a plant to produce liquid fuels from gas. The firm signed an agreement with Canada's Ivanhoe covering a feasibility study for the facility, with capacity options of...

Libya.(Oil News)
December 1, 2005... SHELL SAID IT HAS started seismic work in the five blocks the firm was awarded in May 2005. By March, four seismic crews will be operating and an aeromagnetic survey will also be under way. By mid-2007 the firm says it will have acquired...

Gold a stone's throw from US$500 a troy ounce.(Commodity Report)
December 1, 2005... GOLD SAW FRESH 18-year highs in November, with the spot precious metal reaching US$497.00-497.50 a troy ounce in London on 28th, and up over US$37 an ounce on its month opening position. As November drew to a close, gold was readying for an...

Copper hits all-time highs.(Commodity Report)
December 1, 2005... COPPER RALLIED FURTHER during November, reaching all-time highs of US$4,260 a tonne basis the three-month price on the London Metal Exchange (LME) by 30 November, and more than 33 per cent higher than where it opened the year. LME three-month...

Platinum a tad off US$1,000.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... PLATINUM HAS CONTINUED to rally in recent weeks and by late November was just US$3 an ounce short of US$1,000 on a spot basis. The precious metal had already registered 26-year highs in mid-month, with the spot price fixed at US$992 a troy...

Coffee futures volatile.(Commodity Report)
December 1, 2005... ARABICA COFFEE FUTURES on New York's Board of Trade (NYBOT) exhibited a fair degree of volatility during November. Arabica climbed to a three-month high on 8 November, buoyed by fund buying and bullish technical signals, amid concern about...

Quality impacts on tea prices.(Commodity Report)
December 1, 2005... KENYAN TEA PRICES continue to be impacted by quality issues, as well as increased volumes being put on sale. Consequently, prices achieved in recent auctions in Mombasa have been mixed depending on the quality of the grades in question. ...

Cotton futures fall on selling pressure.(Commodity Report)
December 1, 2005... RUNNING COUNTER TO the surge in most commodities prices, cotton futures on the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) have been falling in recent weeks on the back of strong fund selling. The Nybot's most-active March contract settled 75 points...

Exchange rates.(Financial Forecast)
December 1, 2005... The currencies shown below are valued at the middle rates between buying and selling on 5 December. The rates are an indication of the value and are not intended to be used as the basis for transactions. The publisher accepts no...

Forecast movements against the dollar.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
December 1, 2005... Forecast movements against the dollar 29 Nov end-Dec Feb 2005 2005 2005 (actual) Japan (Yen) 119.5 118-122 116-121...

Energy costs, interest rates boost dollar.(Financial Forecast)
December 1, 2005... FIRM ECONOMIC GROWTH in the US compared with most other OECD countries--both actual this year and forecast for 2006--underlies the strengthening of the US dollar that has been seen over recent weeks. This is backed up by the continuation of...

Health insurance gains ground in Ghana: the National Health Insurance Scheme is designed to make life fairer for the average Ghanaian. Kofi Asante talks to an insurance expert, Kwasi Asante of KAY Asante & Associates, Accra.(Insurance)(Interview)
December 1, 2005... Q: GIVEN YOUR TWO years' in top-level management in the insurance industry, what is your personal view about Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme -- the NHIS? A: Ghana National Health Insurance is a scheme whereby all subscribers and...

Opportunities and challenges for foreign investors: "Africa has yet to achieve its true FDI potential" concludes Moin Siddiqi from his survey of the 2004 figures. But developing countries as a whole are increasing their market share and local activity has been looking good this year.(foreign direct investment)
December 1, 2005... WORLDWIDE, FOREIGN DIRECT investment (FDI) rose slightly during 2004 to reach US$648.14bn, the first increase since the end of the dot-com boom in 2000, according to the annual report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)....

Unlocking venture capital: MD of the African Venture Capital Association Barbara James discussed ways of mobilising funds--and what's blocking them--with Stephen Williams.(Interview)
December 1, 2005... SW: CAN YOU explain what the African Venture Capital Association does, and specifically what your own role is? BJ: AVCA is a not-for-profit entity founded to develop and stimulate private equity and venture capital in Africa. Our head...

Print management keeps pace with change: as organisations worldwide try to find ROI justification for IT spend, one of the most ubiquitous technologies--printing--is under the spotlight too. Karen Young enters the world of print management.(Information Technology)
December 1, 2005... INCREASINGLY, THE ADOPTION of a scaleable print management solution helps to build and maintain an efficient, reliable printing environment that will reduce waste, leverage the existing IT structure and keep pace with company change. For...

TallyGenicom launches 5040 passbook printer for finance sector.(Product enhancement)
December 1, 2005... A MAJOR NEED within banking is for devices that are effortless in operation. This is especially so at the teller station where the prime requirement is to service customers. Such tasks are inherently stressful as each of the banks customers...

It is best left to the experts.(Information technology)
December 1, 2005... HARI PADMANABHAN, PRESIDENT of 3i Infotech, continues his examination of the changes and shifts that IT is bringing about in the way that business is being done, and reflects that there is now a need to reinvent business itself. What are...

Easy printing from digital cameras.(IT News)
December 1, 2005... WITH THE GROWING popularity of digital cameras, HP has introduced a new industry standard PictBridge on selected cameras, printers and MFPs. This technology enables a range of digital photo solutions, including the direct printing of photos...

Secure power supply for critical applications: installing a UPS is an exercise in risk management. Without it electronic hardware and the costly data it contains is threatened by Africa's frequent power-quality failures.(Information Technology)
December 1, 2005... WHEN A TOP retailer wanted an uninterruptible power supply system to protect its Durban regional headquarters last year it turned to local UPS specialists Square One Power Solutions. A proven 60KW APC Silicon unit was duly supplied, able to...

Eaton's Powerware 9355 gets unique upgrade.(Company Focus)
December 1, 2005... DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURER Eaton Corp has unveiled the all-new Powerware 9355, a unique double-conversion online 20-30 kVA uninterruptible power system (UPS). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The new version of the Powerware 9355...

Evolving paradigms in the regulatory world.(Information Technology)
December 1, 2005... The importance of regulation With the emerging importance of capital markets as a mechanism for mobilization and distribution of capital, corporations find themselves increasingly looking at earnings stability and shareholder value...

Off road issues for the confused: all-wheel drive vehicles have taken the world by storm. The choice in Africa is smaller, but the impact of economies of scale in production is real. So use our advice to get just the vehicle you need--and with a few useful extras thrown in.(Vehicles)
December 1, 2005... IN AN OVER-supplied world car market more attention has probably been paid by vehicle manufacturers to the all-wheel drive (AWD or 4x4) sector than any other. Suddenly it was discovered as a profitable niche roughly 20 years ago. Well-off...

Energy saving strategies cut schools' costs in Kenya.(Power News)
December 1, 2005... WITH THE RISING costs of petroleum products in the international market, schools and other institutions in Kenya are coming up with ways of reducing their energy bills. When schools reopened for their final term of the year the...

Intelligent switchboard series launched.(Schneider Electric S.A. introduced Merlin Gerin Prisma Plus )
December 1, 2005... SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC SA has announced the launch of its new Merlin Gerin Prisma Plus intelligent indoor switchboards. The functional switchboard systems comprise sets of components that make up low-voltage electrical switchboards with an IP...

Renewable resources are key to rural energy: MTU of South Africa argues the case for complementing renewable sources with its reliable range of engines for generator sets in off-grid areas.(Power Supply)
December 1, 2005... AT THE CORE of a long list of basic rural infrastructure requirements in South Africa is the need for sustainable low-cost energy. There is a strong argument for the availability of electricity in rural areas as a prerequisite for economic...

Water turns turbines: Ronald Watts reviews Africa's potential for greater use of water power and the principles of a rural hydroelectricity plant.(Power Supply)
December 1, 2005... THE USE OF the power of moving water has been an important energy source for well over 2,000 years. At first it was used for tasks such as milling grain and lifting water. With the invention of generators that could produce electricity, its...

Oil sector boosts local services: Abuja wants more materials and services to come from domestic sources. Bola Olowo reveals that the industry's top executives agree.(Oil and Gas)
December 1, 2005... WITH THE WORLD waiting eagerly for more Nigerian oil, government officials are concerned that the companies are abandoning onshore and continental shelf exploration and moving to deep water. The Nigerian Association of Explorationists is...

Where will you drill? UN figures just released show the stark contrasts in water availability in sub-Saharan Africa. Nowhere else on earth is more water used proportionally for farming and irrigation.(Water Supply)
December 1, 2005... ACCORDING TO THE World Resources Institute, working in collaboration with the UN Development Programme, sub-Saharan Africa has some of the world's most abundant renewable water resource bases per national inhabitant, eg Congo Republic, as...

Electronic management systems from Motorola improve the efficiency of water projects.(Company Focus)
December 1, 2005... Introduction WATER USE IS increasing at an accelerated pace, due to growing world population, the higher standard of living, increased per capita use, rapid industrialisation, and the expansion of irrigation to supply the needs of the...

Privatisation is top topic at Water Africa: two trade exhibitions due to open in Accra in January now seem particularly appropriate for Ghana. In November the Works & Housing Ministry added the title Water Resources to its role and the Minister outlined the work in progress.(Water Supply)
December 1, 2005... WATER AFRICA 2006 and West Africa Building & Construction 2006 will run during 25-27 January at the Accra International Conference Centre. Just before the exhibition opens, the government has ensured a lively debate in the seminar programme...

Degremont wins African contracts worth euro100mn.(Company Focus)
December 1, 2005... SINCE JANUARY, SUEZ Environment subsidiary Degremont has won seven contracts for building and operating water treatment facilities in Africa, for a total of over euro100mn. One is for Morocco's largest urban wastewater treatment plant. The...

Reflectivity increases road safety: better signing of hazards could cut Africa's appalling toll of road accidents. SkyBlue Incor says it has the answer for Nigeria.(Construction)
December 1, 2005... NIGERIA -- BEING ONE of the most densely populated countries in West Africa with a total road network of approximately 194,394 km--is losing thousands of citizens in road accidents every year. Available data on the road accidents in Nigeria...

Gold Fields sets its sights on Ghana: Gold Fields is using its South African base as the platform from which to grow globally. Its position in Ghana is typical explains Priscilla Ross.(Mining)
December 1, 2005... GHANAIAN GOLD MINING output continues to grow. With a production increase of 23 per cent the Tarkwa mine has become the largest gold producer in Ghana. Operating profit of U$129mn was 35 per cent higher in the financial year ending June 2005...

New equipment is making the grade: building on proven strengths is one key strategy in the construction and mining equipment market, taking real notice of customer opinion is another.(Volvo introduced new products )
December 1, 2005... ACCORDING TO THE guidebooks, the Portuguese city of Sintra evokes a sense of magic. This certainly worked for Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), by way of a lightshow in a nearby quarry to launch the company's new G900 series of motor...