Links for Fri Sept, 7th

E.tv buys Botswana TV station

South African media company Sabido Ltd, the holding company of locally-based television station e.tv, has acquired 49 percent of Gaborone Broadcasting Company (GBC), e.tv said in a statement on Friday.

Blue buys into Namibia

BLUE FINANCIAL SERVICES will buy BONUS FINANCE NAMIBIA and three related trusts for R21.5m.

ArcelorMittal fined nearly R700m

ArcelorMittal SA is "disappointed" at the R691.8-million it was fined for price fixing by the Competition Tribunal on Thursday.

Links for August 21

East Africa: Region to Have Single Currency by 2012

THE East African heads of state yesterday resolved to have a common market and a single currency by 2012, then move on to a political federation.

While noting the overwhelming support of East Africans for a political federation, the leaders decided to "move expeditiously towards establishing a common market and a monetary union by 2012."

Zimbabwe parliament sits to debate empowerment law

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's parliament began a five-month session on Tuesday that will debate a bill giving President Robert Mugabe room to pick a successor if he were to retire and a proposal to localise foreign-owned companies.

Parliament sat for more than an hour and adjourned to Wednesday after two parliamentarians from the ruling ZANU-PF delivered speeches but there was no indication of when the bills would be debated.

Across Africa, a plague of discarded plastic bags

Discarded plastic bags -- in the billions -- flutter from thorn-bushes across the continent, and clog up cities from Cape Town to Casablanca.

South Africa was once producing 7 billion bags a year; Somaliland residents became so used to them they re-named them "flowers of Hargeisa" after their capital; and Kenya not so long ago churned out about 4,000 tons of polythene bags a month.

Links for Fri 13th

From AllAfrica.com

Southern Africa: SADC to Set Up Gas, Petroleum Body

The Southern African Development Community is setting up a Regional Petroleum and Gas Association to promote trade in the respective products.
The project will also harmonise standards and regulations in the sector.


Kenya: Brokers to Accept Plastic Money

Stockbrokers can now accept card payments for shares bought by retail investors.
The move is expected to increase access to the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) by overseas retail investors.

Also check out Reuters Africa - very good for African business news.

http://africa.reuters.com/