COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Aspen to partner with IFC

A group of global finance institutions led by the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) said on Wednesday they would help to facilitate an increase in vaccine manufacturing know-how in Africa by partnering with South African Aspen Pharmacare.

As a first step, the IFC, French development institution Proparco, German development finance institution DEG and the US International Development Finance Corporation jointly loaned 600 million euros (US$712 million) to the company.

The initiative comes days after the WHO announced setting up a technology transfer hub in South Africa to give companies from poor and middle-income countries on the continent the know-how and licenses to produce Covid-19 vaccines.

Advanced countries in North America and Europe have been criticized by scientists and politicians for hoarding vaccines, thus making it difficult for poor African countries to purchase vaccines and inoculate their citizens.

Africa currently has among the world's worst vaccination rates, with South Africa, the region's' most industrialised economy, having partly vaccinated only 4% of its entire 60 million population. - Nampa/Reuters

Eskom seeks funding for emissions plan

South African state power utility Eskom, Africa's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, is pitching a US$10 billion plan to global lenders that would see it shut the vast majority of its coal-fired plants by 2050 and embrace renewable energy.

Discussions have already started with development finance institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank, a senior Eskom official told Reuters.

"South Africa can offer you the biggest point source of carbon emissions reduction in the world," said Mandy Rambharos, general manager at Eskom's Just Energy Transition office.

Eskom, which generates more than 90% of the country's electricity chiefly by burning coal, is looking for around US$7 to US$8 for every tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent it cuts from its greenhouse gas emissions.

The utility is already looking at "repowering" its Komati coal plant using solar and battery storage and could present the project at COP26 to show it is serious about curbing emissions. - Nampa/Reuters

Angola owes energy giant Sonangol

Angola has accumulated around US$1 billion in debt to Western oil companies operating its oilfields, with the bill prompting the African country's recently launched sale of stakes in its flagship offshore blocks, three industry sources told Reuters.

The magnitude of the debt, built up over several years, is a sign of deepening financial woes at state oil giant Sonangol, one of Africa's largest companies, due to underinvestment in declining offshore fields that worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It comes as global companies rethink their presence in high-cost ventures worldwide in order to meet their climate targets more quickly and could make Angola with its ageing and complex offshore fields a less attractive prospect.

An asset auction announced by Angola on June 14, the sources added, is tied to its previously unreported failure to pay so-called cash calls to which it is contractually bound in order to maintain the fields.

"Sonangol has been unable to meet its financial requirements in some of the blocs most needing investment," a banking source told Reuters, adding the international firms had in some cases taken Angola's share of production in lieu of money owed. - Nampa/Reuters

Ethio Telecom's mobile money lures 4 mln

Ethio Telecom has signed up 4 million Ethiopians for a mobile money service that it launched in May, a document published by the Finance Ministry said, as the government seeks to sell a stake in the state-owned company.

The Telebirr service allow users to send and receive money, deposit or take out cash at appointed agents, pay bills and receive cash from abroad, mirroring services that have spread elsewhere in Africa where many people do not have bank accounts.

Ethio Telecom launched the service as the government seeks to sell a 40% stake in the company, part of a broader plan to liberalise its largely closed economy. A tender for the stake sale was issued this month.

"Ethio Telecom's mobile money services will provide a valuable opportunity for upscaling the financial inclusion of the unbanked population," consultancy firm Deloitte wrote in the document on the stake sale published on the Finance Ministry's website.

Telecom’s operators have expanded mobile financial services across Africa after the idea was pioneered by Kenya's Safaricom with its M-Pesa service in 2007.- Nampa/Reuters

Orange sees role for Huawei in 5G rollout

Orange, France's largest telecoms firm, will avoid using equipment from Chinese vendors when developing Europe's 5G networks, opting for suppliers such as Ericsson and Nokia instead, its chief executive said.

But the company sees no issue in working with Huawei in Africa, where the Chinese company dominates as a supplier of equipment to many telecoms’ operators.

"We're working more and more with Chinese vendors in Africa, not because we like China, but we have an excellent business relationship with Huawei," CEO Stephane Richard told Reuters at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Tuesday.

European governments have tightened controls on Chinese companies building 5G networks following diplomatic pressure from Washington, which alleges Huawei equipment could be used by Beijing for spying.

Some countries, such as Britain and Sweden, had banned the Chinese vendors outright, while others have encouraged telecom operators to opt for European suppliers, particularly in the core parts of their networks. – Nampa/Reuters