Congo | - Part 2

Congo Cement Factory to Boost National Production Four-Fold

KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Democratic Republic of Congo Prime Minister Matata Ponyo Mapon said his government will protect local industry as Lucky Cement Ltd., Pakistan’s biggest producer of the building material, and Groupe Rawji prepare to open a new plant in the country this month that will boost production four-fold in the central African nation. The $270 million project, known as CIMKO, is owned jointly by Lucky and Groupe Rawji, a closely held Congolese company, and…

Glencore Reviewing Bribery Allegations Said to Involve Gertler

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Glencore Plc, the world’s biggest commodity trader, is reviewing allegations by U.S. authorities regarding the bribery of officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo said to implicate its partner, Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler. Some of Gertler’s projects in Congo were funded by Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, which on Thursday agreed to pay more than $400 million to settle a U.S. investigation that it committed bribery violations in Africa. Och-Ziff’s partner in…

Och-Ziff Plea Halts Rise of Hedge-Fund Billionaire’s Protege

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – At the turn of the century, hedge-fund billionaire Daniel Ochsent protege Michael Cohen, still in his twenties, to spearhead Och-Ziff’s expansion into Europe. Cohen’s team bet so successfully on equities and corporate deals that less than a decade later he was able to buy a 900-acre estate in the English countryside. A relentless investor with little patience for small talk, he was always looking for his next score, say people who know him. That led…

Diamond Magnate at the Heart of Och-Ziff’s Africa Ambitions

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – Dan Gertler, an Israeli diamond tycoon, gave Och-Ziff access to some of the richest mineral deposits in Africa. Using his close ties to the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gertler developed a virtual monopoly in the country’s diamond exports for a time. He then expanded into other types of mining, becoming a billionaire. Capitalizing on his resourcefulness, Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC created a joint venture in 2008 that invested in…

Congo Election Body Proposes Two-Year Wait for Presidential Vote

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s electoral authority said presidential elections will be delayed until 2018, angering opposition leaders who are demanding President Joseph Kabila step down this year. The commission “hasn’t called elections in 2016 because the number of voters isn’t known,” Norbert Basengezi Katintima, vice president of the Independent National Electoral Commission, known by its French acronym CENI, told reporters Thursday in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria. Voter registration has started…

Congo Raises Key Rate to 7% to Check Inflation, Defend Franc

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KINSHASA (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Democratic Republic of Congo raised its key interest rate by 5 percentage points to 7 percent because of accelerating inflation and “tensions” in the foreign-exchange market. The increase marks the first change in the base rate in almost three years and comes after the government’s foreign-exchange reserves dropped below $1 billion for the first time since 2008. Reserves have fallen by a third since the start of the year as a sustained…

Gecamines Says Lundin Withdrawal From Congo Would Be Problematic

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CONGO, Capital Markets in Africa: Gecamines, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned miner, warned that any decision by Lundin Mining Corp. to withdraw from the Tenke Fungurume copper mine could scupper Freeport McMoRan Inc.’s proposed sale of its stake in the project. By exiting at the same time as Freeport and transferring full ownership of the project to new parties without securing Gecamines’ approval, Lundin and Freeport would further violate the state-owned miner’s rights, Chairman Albert…

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