Weekly African Footprint: March 30, 2012

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Botswana

•  Botswana Diamonds Interim Loss Narrows to USD 365K

Egypt

•  Orascom Construction Q4 net falls more than expected
•  Egypt's Juhayna pays dividends despite weaker 2011 profits
•  Egypt Q4 balance of payments deficit USD 5.7bn
•  Ezz Aldekhela Steel 2011 Net Increases 4.2%
•  Turkey eyeing USD 1bn of Egyptian investments: Minister
•  Egypt Foreign Reserves May Drop by a Third by End-June
• Egypt Plans USD 4.6bn of Bonds in Quarter

Ghana

•  Tigo: We are still second largest telco in Ghana
•  RLG communications targets GHS 400m revenue for 2012
•  Produce Buying Purchases 274,000 Tons of Ghana Cocoa
•  Ghana Jubilee Crude Exports Revised Down to Two Cargoes in May
•  IFC, UT Bank sign USD 15m equity investment to support Ghanaian SMEs
•  Gold Output to Rebound In 2012
•  World Bank approves USD 100m for Agriculture
•  Ghana Cocoa Board Obtains USD 200m Pre-Export Facility
•  Ghana producer price index rises to 16.14%
•  Re-Capitalisation Grips Financial Markets

Kenya

•  Kenya Airways eyes ambitious KES 299bn growth plan
•  I&M Bank reports 37.5% rise in profit
•  Dry spell erodes profit at Kenya's Limuru Tea
•  Total Kenya year profit hit hard by price controls
•  Kenyan Athi River's profit up, to borrow USD 50m
•  Kenya's CFC Insurance 2011 profit doubles
•  Ophir plans Kenya, Tanzania drilling, eyes more blocks
•  Simba Energy eyes Kenya's tremendous oil potential
•  Kenya's Jubilee Holdings 2011 profit rises 4.5%
•  IFC in deal to fund Equity Bank to the tune of Sh8.3bn
•  Kenya to build Africa’s largest wind farm
•  Kenya strikes oil, to check commercial viability
•  Kenya inflation falls to 15.6% in March
•  Lack of adequate laws could delay Kenya oil flow

Maurtius

•  HSBC in talks on possible Mauritius retail bank sale
•  Mauritius sugar firm Terra's pretax profit jumps
•  Omnicane profit boosted by higher refined sugar prices
•  Mauritius says cuts 2012 growth forecast to 3.6%
•  Mauritius unemployment rises to 7.5% in Q4 2011

Morocco

•  Morocco axes Orascom-led group from solar project
•  Maroc Telecom says plans capital increase
•  Moroccan bank BMCE net profit up 4% in 2011
•  Morocco's inflation eases in February
•  Morocco cental bank cuts interest rate to aid growth

Namibia

•  Anglo’s Namdeb Venture Approves Funds for New Namibian Mine

Nigeria

•  UBA eyes Eurobond
•  UACN Plans NGN 1.40 Dividend as Julius Berger Pays NGN 2.40
•  Lafarge up dividend by 275% in 2011
•  PZ Cussons blames Nigeria for second profit alert
•  Afren's profit triples, shifts focus to Kurdistan
•  Ecobank Transnational Says Full-Year Profit Climbs 57%
•  Unilever increases dividend payout by 27.27%
•  Stanbic IBTC of Nigeria Full-Year Profit Declines by 21%
•  Nigeria In Line To Benefit In Protea’s NGN 20bn African Expansion
•  Fed Govt, GE in USD 10bn power deal
•  NGN 198b disbursed to 400 firms, says CBN
•  Fast Consumer Goods Market Suffers 20% Decline in First Quarter
•  Nigeria to raise pension fund stock market limit
•  Recapitalisation: PenCom Threatens to Withdraw Defaulting PFAs’ Licences
•  Foreign reserves rise to USD 37.5bn
•  Fed Govt seeks bidders for oil contracts
•  Nigeria to save NGN 258bn yearly if bakers use cassava
•  Nigeria to Guarantee Bonds for Road, Rail, Electricity Projects
•  Nigeria fails to tap USD 100bn medicinal plants fund
•  CBN: FG’s Revenue Hit NGN 3tn as at Dec 2011
•  NDPHC targets 4259mw power from NIPP by 2013
•  CBN to Withdraw NGN 736bn from Circulation in Q2
•  CBN disburses NGN 177.67b to power, airlines

Tanzania

•  BG Group JV discovers more gas off Tanzania
•  Barrick going for `Tusker` goldmine at Nyanzaga
•  Augusta Energy Wins USD 750m Tanzania Tender to Supply Oil
•  Tanzania Power Utility Gets USD 165m HSBC Loan for Plant

Zambia

•  First Quantum sees 15-yr life for Zambia copper mine
•  FQM’s Sentinel copper project to start soon
•  Zambia to introduce benchmark rate in April
•  Zambia GDP growth slowed to 6.6% in 2011-CSO
•  Zambia inflation quickens to 6.4% yr/yr in March

Zimbabwe

•  RioZim MD steps down
•  NicozDiamond EPS up 300%
•  KFHL mulls listing on foreign bourse
•  Royal Bank out of the woods
•  General Beltings narrows loss
•  CBZ profits surge to USD 30m
•  Murowa up for grabs
•  BancABC Zim props ABC Holdings
•  TA returns to profitability
•  Interfin securities, Remo suspended
•  CBZ plans bond listing on ZSE
•  BancABC sets sight on microfinance
•  BAT Zimbabwe unit swings back to profit on higher sales
•  Standard's Zimbabwe unit FY up, worries on local law
•  Diamond output surges at Rio's Zimbabwe unit
•  Cement demand spurs Lafarge
•  Ecobank sets sight on commercial banking
•  ZSE plans restructuring
•  Zimbabwe shortlists bids for enlarging power plants