The Exporta Group’s fifth Annual East Africa Trade & Commodity Finance Conference has been hailed a huge success attracting more than 220 delegates to the Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club in Nairobi.
This comprehensive two-day conference opened with a keynote address by Phumelele Mbiyo, Head of Macroeconomic Research at Stanbic Bank.
He addressed the current trends within the East African commodities sector as well as the role of trade in shaping the macroeconomic landscape.
As the biggest trade and commodity finance gathering in East Africa, the conference brought together decision makers from some of the region’s biggest corporate players, such as Kenya Power, Hashi Energy, Gulf Power and Olam International to give their unique insights into today’s market.
The event also attracted many local and international delegates from the banking and financial services sectors to discuss liquidity challenges, corporate demand for capital, opportunities and challenges within the energy market, the impact of changing global trade flows and specific industry case studies.
Conference producer, Paul Greetham, said: “The economies of East Africa continue to attract attention, despite significant global challenges, with opportunities abound in many sectors.
“With international trade flows developing at an unprecedented rate, the conference was well timed to tackle key market issues and illustrate current commodity market trends.”
Megan McDonald, Director & Head of Structured Trade Finance at Standard Bank, further said: “We have seen that international commodity traders are increasingly turning to African banks to finance trade transactions as the uncertain global economic conditions, the Eurozone debt crisis and tougher capital requirements are forcing major global banks to pull back their lending in Africa.
“Through its operations in key East African markets, Standard Bank has the presence, experience and on-the-ground support to assist clients with the full spectrum of trade finance requirements in the East African region.”
With so many high-level delegates in attendance, networking was a key feature throughout the two-day event. With numerous networking breaks and an evening drinks reception, there was ample opportunity for anyone serious about doing business in East Africa to create new business contacts and build relationships with the foremost market actors.
“The annual East Africa Trade & Commodity Finance Conference has rightly become a flagship event within the Exporta calendar,” said Peter Gubbins, Managing Director of Exporta.
“Many delegates and supporters return year after year and have helped develop this key industry gathering into a hotbed of contemporary discussion and unrivalled networking. We look forward to facilitating business in the region for many years to come.”
The conference welcomed support from leading institutions, such as Standard Bank, Barclays, Ecobank, FIMBank, Nedbank Capital, Afreximbank, ITFC, Mauritius Commercial Bank, Rand Merchant Bank, Ace Global, PTA Bank, NIC Bank, Volante, ETG and Codix. The event is proud to have institutional partnerships with the IFC and the East African Business Council.
]]>Poor logistic skill is hampering South African firms’ ability to trade effectively, both internally and externally, reveals new research.
The 2012 Supply Chain Skills Gap Survey shows strategic level positions are becoming more challenging to fill with 63 percent indicating difficulties in 2011 and 66 percent in 2012.
The survey was conducted by University of Johannesburg researchers Rose Luke and Gert Heyns.
It shows employers have indicated that, although operational positions are relatively easy to fill (63 percent average over both years) around 65 percent indicated It was difficult to fill tactical positions.
Luke said: “The lack of skills is apparent in that although, in terms of logistics performance, South Africa is currently ranked as number 23 in the world, the country’s ability to perform more effectively is largely hampered by logistics competence.
Heyns said: “This clearly indicates that skills are an issue within the country, and logistics skills in particular are hampering South Africa’s ability to trade both within the region as well as with other countries and regions.”
“For this reason, it thus becomes critical to identify the logistics skills requirements in South Africa, so that these acute shortages can be addressed to the benefit of trade in and with South Africa and the SADC,” he adds.
According to Barloworld Logistics’ 2013 Supply Chain Foresight report, the supply chain skills shortage is viewed as one of the top five constraints to South African supply chains and the single biggest constraint on competitiveness.
Topping the list of skills that are in most demand, identified by participants in Luke and Heyns’ research, are the following: Customer Focus followed closely by Ability to Plan and Prioritise, and then Business Ethics.
“It’s interesting that the top 10 highest ranking skills comprise mostly “softer” and broad management skills,” Luke said. “Meanwhile, customer focus and the abilityto see the big picture are the two most important logistics awareness skills viewed as essential by respondents.”
According to Luke and Heyns, the high importance placed on business ethics may be a reaction to a heightened awareness of corruption and mismanagement that currently pervades society.
“Also, the prominence of customer focus in the survey indicates that companies are realising just how important the fact-to-face aspect of the supply chain is,” said Heyns.
While highly educated and skilled individuals are desperately needed in the planning phases of the supply chain, the research confirms the fact that finding, for example, truck drivers who’re also able to interact well with customers, has emerged as an area of great importance.
It is vital also to note that companies are recognising the role that ‘seeing the big picture’ plays in driving greater productivity and effectiveness across the supply chain.
“Businesses are placing a high importance on getting all their staff to see the interrelatedness of what they do – that if someone drops the ball, it affects everyone’s work – and therefore to encourage people to perform even better; whether they’re the boss or the driver,” said Luke.
Another interesting finding that emerged from the study is the high importance placed on education, particularly by those working at an operational level.
A total of 40 percent of respondents felt that high school education is a must for working in supply chain, further emphasising the importance of the education system producing what the economy requires.
“The results of the study imply that there are significant skills shortages in the supply chain industry in South Africa and that urgent interventions are required to attract and retain the skills needed to operate efficient, effective and competitive supply chains.
“These severe skills shortages have a significant impact on the competitiveness of South African supply chains and the ability to develop commerce with our major trading partners,” concluded Luke.
Gert Heyns and Rose Luke’s presentation at the SAPICS Conference 2013 is entitled: An Update of the Supply Chain Skills Gap Survey in South Africa. Visit www.sapics.org.za for information and to register.
]]>US President Barack Obama has announced an African tour next month which will see him visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.
The trip announced by the White House yesterday is aimed at helping his administration broaden and deepen its relationship with the continent particularly sub-Saharan Africa in a bid to advance regional and global peace and prosperity.
The week-long trip will commence from June 26 to July 3 and the President will meet with a wide range of leaders from Government, business and civil society including youth to discuss America’s strategic partnerships on bilateral and global issues.
There is also growing speculation as to whether or not the President will meet with former South African president Nelson Mandela, whose health has been ailing recently.
Obama will be accompanied by his wife Michelle, on the trip, who has previously met with Mandela.
A White House spokesman said: The President will reinforce the importance that the US places on our deep and growing ties with countries in sub-Saharan Africa including through expanding economic growth, investment and trade, strengthening democratic institutions and investing in the next generation of African leaders.”
In June 2012, Obama unveiled a sweeping new Africa strategy, with the goal of reinforcing security and democracy on a continent facing the threat of Al-Qaeda and a Chinese economic offensive.
The new US blueprint seeks to boost trade, strengthen peace, security and good governance and bolster democratic institutions, declaring that a continent torn by poverty, corruption and discord could be the world's next big economic success story.
Just last month America came under criticism from Mo Ibrahim, the influential entrepreneur and founder of the Mo Ibrahim foundation which awards an annual prize for governance in Africa.
African Business Review reported that at a presentation ceremony, the renowned philanthropist called on the US to halt its retreat from Africa.
He said: “We are witnessing a gradual and continuous US retreat from Africa. We don’t understand that. The US has been a great friend all these years, but as soon as Africa found itself starting to move up, the US is really disengaging.”
]]>South Africa’s leading manufacturer and distributor of plastic pipes and fittings for reticulation systems Marley Pipe Systems has bought the assets of now defunct pipe producer Petzetakis Africa for in excess of R100 million.
The acquisition represents a significant investment for Marley’s parent company Aliaxis Group and shows confidence in Marley as company to grow and develop the Aliaxis footprint in Southern Africa,
Petzetakis’ somewhat controversial closing in 2010 resulted in liquidation and this acquisition presents a positive public interest outcome which is set to contribute not only to Marley as a brand, but also to the future of the South African economy.
Included in the assets procured by Marley are the land and buildings of the adjacent HDPE and hose sites at Rosslyn, and all productive equipment associated with these sites as well as all the movable assets of the PVC site.
The purchase of the land and equipment will strengthen Marley’s position to better service the Infrastructure and Building markets by extending their product range and capacity.
This includes additional solutions for large diameter storm water and drainage pipe applications with the manufacture of well-known structured-wall pipe, Weholite.
The assets further include production equipment to produce the renowned Megaflex Flexible Hose range used in the Mining, Irrigation and Industrial sectors.
Marley will now also have increased capabilities to cater for the production of Large Bore HDPE pipes in excess of 1m.
Marley Managing Director, Louis Albertyn, said: “This will put us in a position to add more value to our customers and business partners by ensuring world class service on a complete quality product offering, including Weholite, Megaflex Flexible Hose and Large Bore HDPE.”
To get to this point, Marley was mindful of regulatory requirements, having received clearance to go ahead with the acquisition from competition authorities back in December 2011.
Thereafter, Marley followed a challenging yet rewarding 18 month process that would allow them to strategically attain this influential acquisition for the benefit of their partners, customers and the country as a whole.
]]>Tanzania will open bids for gas and oil exploratory licences in May next year once it has been revealed by the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Prof Sospeter Muhongo.
The date for bids has been set as May 9, 2014 when the Natural Gas Policy and legislation will have been ratified by government.
The Minister made the announcement in parliament to allay the fears of some sector leaders that the government was planning to offer seven deep offshore blocks and one onshore block in October before policy had been approved.
Prof Muhongo said it was important to advertise for blocks as Tanzania was in competition for investors with other countries.
He said: "So if we say we should not advertise our exploratory blocks today, we will only invite them at a time when they have had enough of it somewhere else."
One of the reasons given for fast tracking legislation was the fact the US is currently exploring for Shale Gas – a natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations.
Prof Muhongo said It was important for Tanzania to develop its own natural gas before the US finds Shale Gas as it was one of the major markets for the hydrocarbon substance, but this may stop if the US discovers Shale gas reserves.
Kenya, he said, is yet another reason for Tanzania to speed up its pace, saying East Africa's largest economy is currently prospecting for natural gas and that it has found some two tcf.
Latest data shows that Nigeria has some 180 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, Mozambique has 200 tcf and Tanzania has some 42 tcf.
]]>Written by Darren Olivier, partner and head of Commercial IP at Adams & Adams
The talk around big corporate law firms is that Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activity has been buoyant in 2013 with large deal values in the pipeline.
Intellectual property (IP) firms also report increases in IP filings, another barometer of economic activity and positive sentiment.
This article observes the state of IP within businesses in M&A transactions, which is also the subject of increasing interest and deals with the most nebulous of them all - trade secrets.
Trade secrets are those little nuggets of confidential information contained within a business that give it a competitive edge over competitors. They could be contained in customer lists, technical processes, price lists and tender prices, unpublished trademarks, computer software, business connections or knowhow.
Very rarely are these little nuggets documented or recorded as “trade secrets” yet undoubtedly they are valuable and sometimes even critical to business success. They form part of the goodwill of the business or intellectual property, if you like. But businesses tend to find them difficult to describe, retain, record and value.
There is evidence that their omnipresence is being recognised. The ex-national rugby coach once spoke, amusingly, of the “intellectual property” in his scrum unwittingly referring to their superior techniques or trade secrets.
The Coca-Cola Company’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken’s secret recipes elevate trade secrets to a means of marketing the business and creating allure. Yet seldom are they, trade secrets, treated with anything more than disdain by most businesses.
It’s a shame really because trade secrets can be more valuable to a business than patents, for example. They have the ability to protect a business indefinitely, whereas patents expire.
For some businesses, like those who rely on superior business methods or develop computer software where patent protection cannot, as a general rule, be sought, the little trade secret can be one of the few ways in which market share can be protected. And there is no cost to registering a trade secret which increases their attractiveness to SMEs.
Moreover, legal due diligences critically analyse trade secret protection which may have a direct impact on purchase price.
Managing trade secrets are not without their challenges though. For example, unlike registered patents, copyright, designs and trademarks, in the absence of strong contractual protection on employees and former employees, businesses frequently need to rely on an amoebic claim based unlawful competition to enforce them, the outcome of which can be difficult to predict or risk disclosure of the trade secret to do so.
We also live in an age where social media and collaboration have a profound effect on business and employees have more information about the business (and others) than in any other era.
Protecting, documenting and valuing trade secrets is therefore much trickier than ever before but arguably so is their importance and strategic use. Engaging with experts has become necessary to properly protect and understand these little nuggets, Kentucky Fried or, as you like.
]]>Grocery stores are not just grocery stores anymore. Most South African retailers have added some form of product line extension to their standard offering of household items and produce.
Even corner cafés are selling electricity and airtime, while the larger chain stores now allow customers to pay their bills and speeding fines, or even book flights or join incentive programs.
While these services are effective as a lure to draw more traffic to the store – the real opportunity is the valuable customer data they generate, which is often overlooked or mismanaged. Rather than operate independently they should form part of a coherent customer engagement strategy that enables retailers to track and measure their success.
Retailers should be using their existing infrastructure – whether it is their till, a customer call centre or a self-service kiosk (or all of the above) – to make the most of the opportunities these services offer them. IT companies tend to lump these together as “value-added services” – but I’d argue that term should be defined far more broadly, to include a host of other virtual services that make life more convenient for the customer or help in other ways to keep them coming back.
Let’s take loyalty programmes as an example. Many retailers have or are considering one – whether it is a points system that generates paper vouchers after a few months, or stickers placed on a card that acts like a voucher and can be redeemed for a free coffee when full.
Over the years, these have been brought into question by marketers and retailers alike – mostly because these programmes were introduced simply “because our competitors have one”. Now, the ground is shifting. Companies have realised a cookie-cutter approach to loyalty, where every store hands out cards and points that can be redeemed, definitely doesn’t work for everyone.
A retailer that takes customer engagement seriously needs to be asking itself: What drives MY customers’ loyalty?
The answer will vary depending on exactly what business you’re in. For a computer store, support house calls and maintenance plans might keep your customers coming back even when the competition is offering deep discounts. For a high-end clothing store, maybe it’s a free wardrobe evaluation; a pharmacy might offer an annual cholesterol test. It’s about what’s relevant to the customer.
Then there are gift cards, vouchers and coupons. At the moment few retailers link all of these together into broader marketing efforts – losing a great deal of the value in the process.
The point is that every retailer should know its own customers well enough to know what works – and fortunately, the tools to support that knowledge are now available. With the right technology, you should be able to track in real time exactly what vouchers have been redeemed, when every gift card is presented and how much extra is spent, and what loyalty rewards have been claimed.
Gift cards, vouchers and coupons and loyalty programmes are the big three that need to be included in the mix. They’re very different animals, but if handled correctly as part of a high-level customer engagement strategy they can have a measurable impact on footfall and turnover.
Armed with this real-time information, marketers can fine-tune their campaigns in ways that have never been possible before. If there’s low uptake on one loyalty offer, try another next week – you can, because you’ll know.
Above all, these services should be driven by an overarching customer engagement strategy that’s carefully attuned to the needs of the business.
Duplication, wasteful ad-hoc projects that go nowhere and services that work against each other don’t belong in this picture. What does belong is intimate knowledge of the customer, enabled by real-time measurement and reporting of how marketing efforts are reflected in sales at the till. Without that, value-added services are anything but.
]]>Sable Mining Africa Limited, the AIM listed exploration company has announced encouraging results from recent exploration tests on its Kpo Iron Ore Project in northern Liberia.
The Kpo Project is located in the highly prospective West African Shield, where a number of world class iron ore projects are currently being developed.
The tests found positive initial in-house XRF results from a total of 314 soil samples taken across the central-northern and north-eastern section of the Kpo Project.
The XRF results together with field evidence support the potential for two zones of enhanced iron mineralisation consistent with the regional mapping and geophysical results.
Sable Mining Chief Executive Officer Andrew Groves said: “These positive findings from preliminary exploration work support the potential for two zones of enhanced iron mineralisation within our licence area and reinforces the Kpo Project’s potential to be a major new iron ore discovery.
“The XRF work provides real time analytical results, which enable us to plan and define appropriate follow-up infill sampling strategies, which we hope will inform our planned prospect drilling strategy.”
Ground mapping and sampling at Sable Mining’s 60 percent owned Kpo Project commenced in February 2012. The Kpo Project is located in a highly prospective area between Sese Goa’s Western Cluster (Bong Mine) and Wologisi.
Recent exploration work has focused on the length of the north-central and north-eastern sections of the license, across the main target structure identified by a high resolution airborne geophysical survey flown during 2011.
Sable Mining Africa Ltd has a world-class portfolio of iron ore projects with multi-billion tonne potential in West Africa, primarily Guinea and Liberia as well as a coal portfolio with a multi-billion tonne attributable resource across near-term production and exploration/development assets in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
]]>MEF, the global community for mobile content and commerce, has today announced the inaugural MEF Connects Kenya event for mobile industry leaders in Kenya.
The pan-African business partnering event will be held at the Sankara Hotel on the fringes of East Africa Com on Wednesday, May 22.
MEF, which is the leading trade organisation for companies wishing to monetize their goods, services and digital products via the mobile connected device, launched its dedicated Africa office in association with Vodacom in November 2012 to help promote African mobile growth and showcase innovation.
Often lauded as one of the most innovative mobile markets in the world, Kenya is a key market in MEF Africa’s continued roll-out across the continent.
With a mandate to help drive mobile growth and innovation at both a continental and country level MEF Africa is advancing regional market initiatives aimed at boosting consumer trust and promoting monetisation as well as providing business development and dedicated analytics across the African region.
The African members’ steering committee comprises BlackBerry; Comviva; Content Connect Africa; Digital; EA; Integrat, KPMG; Mira Networks; Mondia Media; MTN; Nokia; Prieskel & Co LLP; Redbull Mobile; Vodacom; Samsung; Spice and Spinlet among others.
MEF is now looking to Kenya’s mobile opinion-shapers to take a leadership role in driving MEF Africa’s agenda.
Emma Kaye, MEF EMEA Co-Vice Chair, said: “We’re delighted to extend MEF Africa’s reach to Kenya, an exciting mobile market with a burgeoning consumer base.
“MEF brings with it over a decade of mobile heritage as a truly global trade body and we are looking forward to working with the key mobile content and commerce players in Kenya to showcase home-grown innovation on a pan-African and international platform.”
MEF Connects Kenya is sponsored by Spice VAS Africa, a leading telecommunications player with expertise in mobile value added services. Spice is headquartered in Singapore, but is focused on the African market.
Spice VAS Africa Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director and MEF Africa steering committee member, Arun Nagar, said: “Kenya has a strong and dynamic mobile industry, which Spice has proudly been part of since 2010.
“MEF can provide this industry with a strong platform to drive the regional agenda and connect local businesses to MEF’s global member base. We are pleased to support MEF Africa’s continued rollout across the continent.”
]]>The Namibian Manufacturers Association has launched the country's first ever Manufacturer of the Year Awards 2013
Through the awards ceremony, the NMA hopes to recognise and reward those Namibian manufacturers who are putting in the extra effort needed to successfully compete against international competition.
Scheduled to be held on June 20, the event is the first the NMA has organised since coming into being almost 20 years ago. The NMA’s 140-strong membership will also be given the opportunity to participate in a project geared towards showcasing their products at the ceremony.
Awards up for grabs include the NMA Corporate Manufacturer of the Year, NMA SME Manufacturer of the Year, NMA New Manufacturer of the Year, NMA Innovator and Designer of the Year, NMA Ambassador for Manufacturing, NMA Most Environmentally Friendly Manufacturer of the Year and the inaugural NMA Manufacturer of 2013.
NMA Chairperson, Brian Black, said: “Prior to independence, Namibia simply did not have a manufacturing industry. Everything was happening outside; even water was imported from South Africa. Obviously the NMA, with government and various stakeholders’ support, has to start somewhere in encouraging local manufacturing.
“We believe that the time has now come to start showcasing what our members are capable of. We are looking forward for these specific awards to grow year on year.”
Keen to address the challenges facing Namibian manufacturers, NMA Chief Executive Officer, Ronnie Varkevisser said: “Retailers should buy from local manufacturers and not import all their products from South Africa. I can state that there are certain retailers in Namibia that don’t carry one Namibian manufactured product on their shelves.
“The time frame to get the VAT refund paid back to manufacturers, the time frame to put in an application for a work permit to import skilled workers – it takes a long time. We know the government is busy looking at (certain tenders to be exclusive to Namibian manufacturers).
“We had a discussion with the Trade & Industry Minister, Calle Schlettwein two weeks ago and we brought up this issue of tenders.”
]]>BHP Billiton Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie was due today to outline his company’s strategy for growth at the 2012 Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference being held in Barcelona.
Mackenzie says that in order to increase returns from new investment challenges will need to be met and returns squeezed from installed infrastructure.
Prior to the conference he said: “In this regard capital exploration expenditure for the 2014 financial year will decline significantly, to approximately US$18 billion and the rate of spend is expected to decline substantially thereafter.
“By reducing annual spend and increasing internal competition for capital, we expect to maximise returns from incremental investment while delivering a substantial increase in the group’s free cash flow.”
BHP Billiton is a leading global resources company with extensive operations across South Africa and is among the world’s largest producers of major commodities including aluminium, coal, copper, iron ore, manganese, nickel, silver and uranium. It also has substantial interests in oil and gas.
In his presentation, Mackenzie was due to outline the group’s strong track record which has seen average return on capital of 27 percent and since FY03 returns US$56.9 billion to shareholders, approximately 50 per cent of underlying earnings.
In the past five years, the group has invested US$3.6 billion in minerals exploration and about 75 per cent of this expenditure was allocated to low risk, high return brownfield programmes.
The group will continue to increase competition for capital with about 80 percent of major projects aiming to deliver first production before the end of CY14 and continue to simplify the portfolio with divestments totalling US$5 billion.
Mackenzie said: “This is a wonderful time to be at the helm of the world’s largest natural resources company. We believe our strategy when combined with our great ore bodies, will deliver strong margins throughout the economic cycle, a simpler and more capital efficient structure, a substantial increase in free cash flow and growth in shareholder value.”
]]>By Elrica Quick, APC Specialist at Drive Control Corporation
Unstable power, power cuts and voltage fluctuations are an unfortunate reality of doing business in South Africa and aside from causing lost productivity; these power issues can also damage sensitive Information Technology (IT) equipment such as – PCs and servers, costing the Small Office Home Office (SoHo) and Small Medium Enterprise (SME) markets even more money.
Specialised equipment is necessary to not only protect IT equipment, but to allow businesses to continue running through power outages.
However, many people are unsure of whether they need an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) or a generator – or even both. This confusion results in businesses often choosing the wrong device, which can prove to be a costly mistake.
A UPS and a generator each has its place, but they are designed for distinct uses, and ensuring you have the right equipment to suit your needs will result in minimum disruption and maximum productivity no matter what the power situation.
A generator’s main function is to supply power to various electrical equipment and components and this unit will power equipment for extended periods of time.
This equipment is vital for organisations that experience severe power outages and need to continue running for many hours without power. A UPS on the other hand is a power conditioning unit, which is designed to protect equipment from power spikes and dips.
Safe shutdown
The UPS also allows for a safe shutdown of IT equipment to be performed in the event of a power failure – in other words giving people enough time to turn off their equipment correctly to ensure data is not lost and equipment is not damaged.
The confusion comes in where UPS devices with external battery packs are involved. External battery packs on a UPS allow the UPS to run IT equipment for longer periods of time and smaller organisations sometimes use these instead of a generator.
A UPS is not designed to run 24/7 and the additional time provided should not be excessive on a daily basis. If you use your UPS on a daily basis as a back-up device to run your IT equipment, it is recommended to allow this to run for 2-4 hours only.
Running a UPS with extended battery packs for long periods of time can shorten the lifespan of the device and its batteries and even cause the device to fail at a critical junction.
Another key point to note is that the battery packs on a UPS are fairly expensive equipment, so running a UPS with eight hours of battery life, for example, may prove far more expensive than simply purchasing a generator.
These batteries then need to be recharged once power resumes, which may not happen efficiently if the power is highly unstable, shortening the available running time of the UPS. A generator on the other hand will be available to run equipment for any length of time required with fuel. A UPS should then be used in conjunction with the generator to condition the power.
Ultimately the best solution to power problems is to evaluate the needs of the organisation and then make an informed decision on what equipment is required.
If the business only needs to ensure clean power and time to shut down in case of an outage, a regular UPS device is ideal. If the business requires an hour or two of run time for short durations or occasional power failures, a UPS with a battery pack will be sufficient.
However, if the organisation requires extended run time regularly to see them productively through lengthy power outages, then a UPS and a generator in combination are the ideal solution.
Given the South African power context, where power outages can be experienced for many hours, even days, a UPS and generator combination are necessary to protect expensive IT equipment and ensure that businesses do not experience crippling disruptions which could negatively impact their bottom line.
]]>Sable Mining Africa Ltd has announced that is going to be drill-testing an extension to the area of mineralisation covered by the recently completed JORC Resource report at the company’s Nimba Iron Ore Project in Guinea.
The AIM listed resource company will carry out drilling to an extension area which is about 200m wide and up to 3.9km in length and has a target potential of between 45Mt and 80Mt of canga.
Sable Mining Chief Executive Officer Andrew Groves said: “The Nimba Project has already demonstrated itself to be one of West Africa’s premier high grade iron ore deposits, and the significant mineralised extension on two of the three plateaux further reiterates the quality of the deposit and the commercial value of its development.
“We are now focused on further drill programme to better define the enlarged resource potential of the Nimba Project, adding to the current JORC Resource of 121.5Mt at an in-situ grade of 57.8 percent Fe. In conjunction with this exploration work, the company continues to advance its logistical solutions and accordingly, we are pleased with the progress made in this region.”
Sable’s house broker GMP said: “If delineated, this would be the largest on-rail DSO deposit in Africa outside Sishen in South Africa...With low capex because of existing nearby rail, and low opex because of the DSO grades (early years ROM grade 64-66 percent Fe washed only, ie no beneficiation), this is a truly world-class deposit.”
The Sable Mining exploration team has identified an area underlain by canga contiguous to the orebody modelled on Plateau 2 and 3 of the Nimba Project, which had remained open to the north-west following the drilling campaign concluded in March 2013.
Subsequent geological interpretation using light detection and ranging (‘LIDAR’), ground penetrating radar (‘GPR’) and geological mapping and modelling of the surface and sub-surface (basement) components has indicated that this area is an extension of the adjacent thick canga material found across the Nimba plateaux and is approximately 200m wide and up to 3.9km long (an area of approximately 78Ha).
Extrapolating the Company’s existing drilling data in the area, this extension is believed to consist of thick and high grade iron mineralisation and presents an exploration target for this area expected to be between 45Mt and 80Mt.
To confirm the quantity and quality of this material for inclusion into the company’s next Mineral Resource Statement update targeted for Q4 2013, a 37 borehole programme has been designed.
Drilling will commence as soon as drill mobilisation and re-supply are completed, which is anticipated during Q2 2013, and the drilling is expected to be completed in two months.
The exploration will be conducted by Sable Mining’s in house team of geologists supported by external independent consultants Xstract Mining Consultants from Perth, Australia. All samples will be analysed by UltraTrace laboratories in Perth, Australia, under strict quality control management.
]]>Imperial Holdings Limited has acquired 49 percent of MDS, a leading logistics provider in Nigeria, for a cash consideration of US$26 million.
The transaction gives the diversified industrial services and retail group Imperial entry into the logistics sector of the fast growing Nigerian FMCG, telecommunications and pharmaceutical industries.
MDS, a wholly owned subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria Plc, a company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, offers warehousing and distribution solutions through a network of 50 distribution centres by linking companies with their customers in more than 600 cities and villages across Nigeria.
Marius Swanepoel, Imperial Logistics’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said: “Our newest acquisition strengthens Imperial Logistics’ footprint in our continent and is consistent with our strategy of focusing on these consumer opportunities and following our customer base on the continent.
“MDS has a quality customer base with a strong new business pipeline. Through the transaction, Imperial has also secured a specialist management team which strengthens and complements the group’s existing skills set in the logistics business.”
Peter Matlare, CEO of Tiger Brands, which owns 49 percent of UAC Foods Limited, said: "Imperial is a trusted logistics partner to Tiger Brands in South Africa. It is wonderful that they are entering Nigeria in this way. It means that we can rely on their logistics support for our ever-growing business there."
Commenting on the rationale for the transaction, UACN’s Group Managing Director/ CEO, Larry Ettah, said: “We look forward to working together with Imperial Logistics as our strategic partner to engage the underserved and fast growing logistics market in Nigeria.
“We believe this transaction creates an outstanding opportunity to drive growth in MDS. The combination of MDS’s vital local experience and the value adding international logistics expertise of Imperial Logistics will lead to efficiencies and raise benchmarks in Nigeria for the benefit of all stakeholders.”
This announcement follows Imperial’s acquisition in January 2013 of Imperial Health Sciences formerly RTT Health Sciences, one of Africa’s leading pharmaceutical and healthcare supply chain service providers.
Imperial Health Sciences specialises in multi-channel solutions for delivering essential medicines and consumer health products in South Africa, and to Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
Swanepoel explained: “The acquisitions of MDS and RTT Health Sciences offer exceptional growth prospects as they strengthen our current exposure to these high growth economies.”
Imperial employ some 50,000 people worldwide having been founded as a motor dealership in Johannesburg in 1948. Today it has activities spanning logistics, car rental, tourism, financial services, vehicle distribution, automotive parts and industrial products distribution.
]]>The local community and neighbouring schools will also be able to use the new centre, which has been equipped with 20 computers and internet access at the Rene Graffin school. The MTN foundation will also fund computer training for nine months.
School Principal Sister Brigitte Marie Anaba thanked the Foundation for selecting her school as the beneficiary of the new multimedia centre, which she said, would greatly contribute towards technical training for the students.
The new centre has been created under the Foundation’s Community Connectivity programme and is the sixth centre to be set up with the support of the African Institute of Computer Science and the 33rd of 38 centres already installed by the MTN Foundation since the launch of the programme in 2005.
To date some 60,000 students and 4,000 teachers have benefited from multimedia centres created by the Foundation, 70 percent of which are located in rural areas.
The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Professor Ebénezer Njoh Mouelle, MTN Foundation Board member who was accompanied by the Executive Secretary of the Foundation, Jean-Melvin Akam, and MTN Cameroon Regional Director for the Centre, South and East, Leon Ottou.
Professor Ebénézer Njoh Mouelle said: “The centre will help to increase of knowledge of the learners which must be felt with regard to the world of opportunities which internet access represents”. He equally recommended the creation of a mechanism to ensure sustainability of the multimedia centre.
As MTN seeks to lead the delivery of a bold new, digital world to its customers, the MTN Foundation will contribute in making the lives of our communities a whole lot brighter by carrying out projects that will change schools, equip teachers and empower learners.
]]>