Rural Industries Promotions Company builds service centre in Palapye

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business, Palapye

source: Mmegi

The Rural Industries Promotions Company (Botswana) is building an Industrial Satellite Service Centre (ISSC) in Palapye.

The company started the project with a groundbreaking ceremony at the project site on 1 February 2008.

Constructed by Dolomite, with AMA Projects Botswana providing management services, the project is expected to provide mentoring and business advisory services to entrepreneurs in the small, medium and micro enterprises sector to empower them to undertake meaningful and profitable businesses.

This will ensure survival and sustainable growth of technology based small, medium and micro enterprises. The project should be [continue reading]

Parley approves P5bln bond

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Mmegi

WANETSHA MOSINYI
STAFF WRITER

Parliament has approved a government rollout of a bond issuance programme of up to P5billion in order to stimulate liquidity in capital markets.

This follows an appeal to Parliament to approve the bond issuance in line with government’s effort to support the development of domestic capital markets with a regular programme of issue and re-issue of government bonds by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning Baledzi Gaolathe last Wednesday.

In his 2008/09 Budget Speech, Gaolathe said a mix of maturities would replace the five-year bond that matures at the end of this month. The plan is to establish and maintain government’s presence in the bond market over the full range of maturities, from six-month treasury bills to 12-year bond maturities.

A further round after the March issuance will follow the mix of maturities for issue in September this year. The Minister said the [continue reading]

Bank of Botswana`s new inflation target a tall order

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Sunday Standard

by Sunday Standard Reporter
01.03.2008 12:32:55 P

Linah Mohohlo, the Central Bank governor made a disparate appeal last week as she launched a three-year rolling inflation target of 3-to- 6 percent which analysts said Friday that it is a tall order for the bank.

The move by the central bank is a shift from the usual short term targets to a medium to long term target in line with the international practice. However, the central bank, which is currently struggling to contain inflation rate to last year’s targets of 4-to-7 percent with inflation running as high as 8.4 percent as for last month, is faced with a raft of challenges to achieve its new target.

“It is a good move to hear that the central bank is aiming to bring the inflation rate to much lower rates of 3-to-6 percent. But there are lots of challenges which make it very difficult to achieve those targets,” an analyst at Capital Securities, Leutwetse Tumelo said on Friday.

He said with fuel prices running as high as US $ 100 per barrel and salary increases as high as 15 percent, this will present some challenges to the bank.

“There is no way you can avoid a hike in administrative prices if fuel is so high. And the 15 percent salary increase announced will mean that people are [continue reading]

Chinese promote Olympics

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Tourism

source: Mmegi

TUMELO SETSHOGO
CORRESPONDENT

The ambassador of the People’s Republic of China has pleaded with the Overseas Chinese Overland Challenge (OCOC) campaign team to tell the world that: “Botswana is a beautiful country with lots of wildlife and peace”.

Ding Xiao Wen said this at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC) recently where OCOC made presentations as a way of courting the world on the coming of the 2008 Beijing Olympics in China.

OCOC is a team of 12 Chinese living in African countries where China has Embassies such as Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. The team, which is moving around the world to promote the Beijing Olympics, started their journey in Cape Town, passing through most of the African countries until they arrive in Beijing after 43,000 kilometres in 100 days.

They are driving eight 4×4 vehicles made in their country. Wen told the Chinese that Botswana is a country with the biggest elephants, diamonds and “it has a beautiful environment”. He said Botswana is a shining example, not only in Africa, but also the rest of the world with [continue reading]

BizCapital finds financial solutions for SMEs

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Sunday Standard
by Sunday Standard Reporter
10.03.2008 9:51:19 A

BizCapital, the local financial institution, is shoring up its image in the local market as it is embarking on a brand-positioning strategy that includes a fresh service level approach dubbed bridge financing as well as a new logo and new corporate colours.

The local company which specializes in working with capital finance for SMEs by offering financial services products which are tailor-made to meet unique needs of customers in different SME sectors.

“Most of small and medium scale enterprises’ growth rate is usually stunted by cash flow problems as well as lack of supplier confidence.

“At BizCapital, working capital finance is made available to deserving enterprises through invoice discounting on tailor made supplementary solutions such as purchase orders finance and inventory finance,” the company said Friday.

BizCapital Managing Director, Reuben Morapedi, said their financing is an [continue reading]

Lobtrans case deferred

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Sunday Standard
by GOWENIUS TOKA
10.03.2008 10:20:13 A

The case, in which two local banks, Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered, are demanding confirmation of provisional liquidation of Lobtrans PTY LTD and Lobatse Cash Store 1961 LTD for their indebtedness to them, has been postponed to April 3, 2008. The matter was initially set for February 22.
This follows an urgent application by Abdool Saned Asmal through his attorneys, Kamushinda Kaluzi Attorneys, on the one hand, objecting to the impending confirmation of provisional liquidation of his company Lobtrans, and another application by Rahim Khan, on behalf of former Lobtrans and Lobatse Cash Store workers, who sought the authority of the Court to appoint a certain Mr. Zinan from South Africa as their co-liquidator in the matter.

Reuben Kamushinda of Kamushinda Attorneys, said, “There is a general opinion that there are other options to explore, than liquidation, and thus our client’s instruction that we file opposing papers to oppose confirmation of provisional liquidation and therefore needed time to file opposing papers.”

Kamushinda said that they received instruction from Asmal in the [continue reading]

Business should position itself for Chinese money

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Sunday Standard
by Sunday Standard Reporter
10.03.2008 9:45:26 A

Martin Davies, a renowned expert on Africa-China relations, warned investors in Botswana to prepare Chinese sovereign wealth funds (SWF) which are chasing some investment opportunities across the African continent.

Speaking at a Stanbic Bank breakfast last week, Davies said China is using its sovereign wealth funds to assert its strategic interests.

“The Chinese see the current system as unfair and they are cutting the expensive middle man and are coming straight into Africa. In the next 15 to 20 years, we are going to see commodity market as we know it disrupted,” he said, referring to the commodities market which is set in European cities and United States of America.

In the recent past, China has poured money in a number of investment opportunities in Africa, including mining and banking sectors, in a bid to strategically position itself within the [continue reading]

Public Private Partnership to gain from African Venture Capital Association

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Mmegi

WANETSHA MOSINYI
STAFF WRITER

The Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative could benefit significantly from the upcoming 7th African Venture Capital Association (AVCA) conference that will be hosted by Botswana in just under two weeks.

Speaking at a press conference at the IFSC yesterday, AVCA Managing Director Mawuli Ababio said members of the association, who include international investors and fund managers, are beginning to focus their investment in infrastructure development. “In the past few years, many equity funds and investment into the African continent have been channeled to infrastructure development,” Ababio said. “This country is going to need partnerships in areas like expansion of airports and roads.” Lesego Selotate, an Investment Associate at VPB, said the time had come for African money to be used to develop Africa. “About 70 percent of our funds are flowing to other directions,” Selotate said. “We want it to come back.” He noted that while Botswana’s fund managers had largely put their funds into offshore assets, the trend was changing, especially with the introduction of PPP. Selotate said PPPs were taking hold, citing Bifm, which has partnered with other consortia for the construction of the new SADC headquarters, as a good example.”If you look at our capital flows, there is a lot of liquidity chasing little assets. But it’s encouraging because the trend is changing. BPOPF (the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund) has allocated more money to this asset class, and we need to [continue reading]

MRI under a spate of unsolicited bids

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Sunday Standard
by Sunday Standard Reporter
10.03.2008 9:43:06 A

MRI, the medical and emergency services outfit which is struggling to recover from losses, has come under a spate of take-over bids from a group of suitors that include one of the giant medical aid schemes.

By Friday, details of the intended transactions were sketchy but Sunday Standard was able to establish that “the negotiations were at an advanced stage”. It is understood that the board meeting that was held on Friday was appraised of the new developments relating to the possible bid.

Three monied companies, which include a medical aid scheme-backed private equity funds, are eyeing the company which has been limping financially for the past three years.

Earlier last month, MRI issued a cautionary statement alerting its shareholders that the controlling shareholders of the company “have received a number of unsolicited proposals from [continue reading]

Air Botswana soars to prosperity

10 March, 2008 in Air Botswana, Botswana, Business

source: Mmegi

Air Botswana chief executive officer, Lance Brogden is preparing to leave office as soon as a new management company takes over the national carrier. The following are Brogden’s responses to a questionnaire framed by Mmegi’s TUMELO SETSHOGO

Question: When did you started working at the national carrier and what was the duration of you contract?

Answer: My contract was for a fixed term of three years, starting 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2008.

Q: What can you say about your achievements since you made the national carrier to be profitable?

A: The results speak for themselves. My role was just a link in the chain of many dedicated and focused employees at Air Botswana. After financial losses over the past few years, this past year profitability has become a reality, with a net profit of around 10 percent or well over P15 million for the first 10 months of this financial year. One must remember that IATA’s 240 airlines only recorded around one percent profit for [continue reading]

EU to press ahead with Economic Partnership Agreement

10 March, 2008 in Botswana, Business, SADC

source: Mmegi

BRIAN BENZA
STAFF WRITER

The EU will go ahead and sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with willing SADC states whether or not South Africa comes on board, says European Commissioner of Trade Peter Mandelson.

He was speaking after a review meeting of the interim EPA signed between the EU and five SADC nations late last year.

Mandelson emphasised the commitment of the EU to signing the EPA for the “massive benefit” to be accrued to both parties. Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland broke ranks with South Africa late last year and signed an interim EPA.

At a SADC ministerial meeting at the GICC two weeks ago, South Africa expressed concerns about the EPA, calling it to be negotiated afresh.

Among South Africa’s concerns were liberalisation of services and the elimination of export taxes, which it said could limit the [continue reading]

MDGs challenge SADC to improve

9 March, 2008 in Botswana, SADC

source: BOPA
06 March, 2008

GABORONE – The Southern Africa region is going through a complex process of transformation perhaps much more complex than what Europe has ever been through says trade and industry minister Mr Neo Moroka.

Speaking at a the joint SADC-EC ministerial meeting in Gaborone Mr Moroka said this occurred at a time when other important transformations were taking place both at the continental and globe levels.

At the continental level, Mr Moroka said the AU had built momentum on the aims and objectives of the Abuja Treaty to accelerated African Economic Integration.

He said at the global level, the process and effects of globalisation, including the WTO agenda presented further challenges not only to SADC, but also to most African and other developing regions.

In addition, he said the Millennium Development Goals also challenged the region to do everything it takes to improve the [continue reading]

Firestone hails Botswana find

8 March, 2008 in Botswana, Mining

soure: Mmegi

Gem miner Firestone Diamonds suggests its Tsabong kimberlite field in Botswana ‘has the potential to be one of the biggest diamond finds for 25 years’ after evaluating drilling at the MK1 pipe, one of 83 kimberlite formations in the field.

This evaluation, based on exploring down to 500 metres below ground, suggested MK1 could hold 1.1 billion tonnes at 20 carats per hundred tonnes, but the company says ‘the deepest samples show 119 carats per hundred tonnes’.

Bulk sampling should reveal the incidence of particularly large and disproportionately valuable stones in MK1 and further drilling will see how much deeper it goes. Firestone points out that the whole Tsabong area is four times the size of Jwaneng, gem-rich Botswana’s richest diamond mine to date, owned jointly by [continue reading]

Hana Receives Additional Results for Ghanzi Copper-Silver Project, Exploration on Other Targets in Progress

8 March, 2008 in Botswana, Mining

source: The Earth Times

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — 03/06/08 — Hana Mining Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: HMG) is pleased to report results from four new holes completed as part of its ongoing 10,000-meter diamond drilling program at its sediment-hosted Ghanzi Copper-Silver Project in Botswana, Africa. All four holes intersected varying amounts of copper-silver mineralization within the H-I area. Highlights include 7.0 meters grading 1.80% copper, 23.98 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 674 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum and 3.28 ppm rhenium in hole HA-10-D. This intercept includes a very high-grade section that returned 0.5 meters grading 20.5% copper, 285 g/t silver, greater than 10,000 ppm molybdenum and greater than 50 ppm rhenium.

“We are extremely pleased with the results from drilling at Ghanzi to date,” said Peter Wilson, President of Hana Mining. “At the same time, we believe that the [continue reading]

UB establishes energy study centre

8 March, 2008 in Botswana, Education

source: Mmegi

The University of Botswana recently established a Centre for the Study of Renewable and Sustainable Energy (CSRSE), consistent with the national agenda on renewable energy for continued economic development.

UB faculties made a joint proposal which culminated in the Senate’s decision to establish the Centre.

The UB inter-disciplinary research centres already in existence are the Centre for the Study of HIV/AIDS, the Centre for Scientific Research on Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation, the International Tourism Research Centre and the Centre for Culture and Peace Studies.

Using inter-disciplinary programmes of research, education and training, and outreach, the CSRSE will strive to be a centre of [continue reading]