DAILY TRUST
Monday, May 2, 2011
29
Business International
Zambia copper output at2m tonnes by 2015 COPPER output in Zambia, Africa's top producer of the metal, will rise to 2 million tonnes by 2015 from around 900,000 tonnes this year as new mines open and others are expanded, the country's finance minister said on Saturday. Situmbeko Musokotwane told Reuters that new mines and expansion projects by Canada's First Quantum Minerals, Brazil's Vale. EqUinox. London-listed Vedanta and Glencore International AG would boost copper production.
"We are opening new mines and expanding others so in all, in the next five years, we will be close to 2 million tonnes:' Musokotwane said in an interview. Musokotwane said copper production was expected to rise to the targeted I million tonnes by 2012. "There are new mines still to open and that should help raise production:' he said. First Quantum on Friday launched the start of can" struction of a $1 billion copper mine in north路western Zambia, which is due to start operations in 2014 with peak production estimated at 300,000 tonnes. Vedanta's Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) plans to invest $1 billion in the next 3-4 years on expansion and upgrades in a bid to become a major global copper producer, its chief executive said in December last year.
Musokotwane said the government d id not intend changing current mining policies. _ "We will maintain the existing policies in order to continue attracting investors". (Reuters)
Zimbabweeconomycould Tunisian economy to grow 100/0- Tsvangirai grow 1-20/0 - cenbank ZIMBABWE'S MDC can grow the economy by 10 percent a year if it wins elections that President Rober t Mugabe wants held this year, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Sunday. Tsvangirai, a long-time rival of Mug abe, formed a power-sharing government with his opponent in 2009 after disputed elections won by his Movement for Democratic Change but marred by violence against his supporters. Since the formation of the unity government, the country's economy has stabilised and the International Monetary Fund expects GDP growth of7.3 percent this year -- much lower than the government's official estimate of9.3 percent. Tsvangirai told delegates to an MDC congress aimed at revitalising the party that he was confident of taking power in the next elections. Mugabe has called for a fresh vote this year but Tsvangirai said e1ec-
tions will only be heldin 2012. "The elections are critical in !hat they will, without doubt, usher an MDC government into power:' Tsvangirai said. "It is only an MOC government that has capacity and support to grow this economy by about 10 percent every year." Tsvangirai said his party would embrace investor-friendly policies, attracting investment in mining, infrastructure development and agriculture to boost growth and deal with a jobless rate of more than 90 percent. Zimbabwe's economy is recovering after a decade of economic collapse, which critics largely blame on Mugabe's policies, including the seizure of white-owned commercial farms for black resettlement. The country has the world's second-biggest platinum resources after South Africa and sizeable gold, diamond, coal and fe rrochrome resources. (Reuters)
.Sudan sells Isukuk' worth $286m SUDA_N, which is due to split up in July, started on Sunday selling Islamic bonds or sukuk worth 765 million Sudanese pounds. a debt official said. The issue will have an expected return of be路twee n 14 and 15 percen t, said an official at the state-owned Sudan Financial Services Co which sells sukuk on behalf of the central bank. The offering would run for 10 days, he added.
Sudan sells sukuk domestically as a main source of fund ing as it is denied access to international markets due to the U.S. t rade embargo imposed in 1997. Previous debt issues have been marred by an economic crisis. foreign currency sho rt~ges and a devalued currency. The oil-producing south of Africa's biggest country voted in January to become an independent state in July. (Reuters)
TUNISIXS economy will grow by only 1-2 percent this year because of continuing uncertainty, the central bank governor said in remarks published on Friday. Mass protests toppled the former president, Zine aI-Abidine Ben Ali, in January and Central Bank Governor Mustapha Kamel Nabli repeated his view that weak growth could threaten the transition to democracy. "The fundamental problem is in the situation of uncertainty and lack of confidence prevailing in the country:' the official TAP news agency quoted Nabli as saying.
"This leads to a wait-and-see attitude on the part of companies and also consumers who keep their savings:' He said Tunisia's economy needs to grow 7 percent a year on average to create
enough jobs. Weaker foreign investment and lower revenues from tourism were both strain-
ing the Tunisian economy, Nabli said. The Tunisian economy has also been hit by lower remittances, he said. Tunisians abroad sent home 530 milli0n dinars in the first quarter of20 II, down 12 percent from the same period last year. (Reuters)
Rising food, fuel prices a challenge for Congo: IMF RISING food and fuel prices will pose a major challenge for Congo this year, the International Monetary Fund said on Friday, as it announced the release of$80 million in loans to the government. The vast central African country posted better than expected 7 percent growth in 2010, driven by the mining and service sectors. the IMF's country representative Samir Jahjab told a news conference. But with growth p.redictions for 20 II downgraded to 6.5 percent from 7.2 percent and inflation on the rise. the country's main challenge this year will be how to address the rapid rise in consumer food and fuel costs, he said. "The government has expressed a desire to limit the impact (of price rises)," Jabjab said, adding that the IMF was working with the authorities to help ensure stable fuel prices. .
The World Bank's head of African agri路 culture told Reuters that a surge in food prices would hit the continent's urban populations harder than in 2008, posing a threat to leaders in an election-heavy year. Congo is due to hold elections in the coming months, pitting President Joseph Kabila against a fractured opposition. jahjah praised efforts by Congo's government to restructure the country's
mining and fmancial sectors, saying he expected the central bank's foreign reserves to hit $1.5 billion by the end of the year. Congo is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world. but has been devastated by decades of conflict. Analysts say its heavy reliance on imports and widespread poverty mean the country is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in the global market. (Reuters)