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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tomas who wrote (2639)	7/15/2001 10:35:30 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

Sudan gains investment Africa Analysis KHARTOUM, July 14 The appointment of former international banker Abdel Rahim Hamdi as Sudan's finance minister has had some definitely beneficial spin-offs for the country's economy. Hamdi appears to have rallied to the cause of Sudan all his contacts in the world of Arab banking and finance. This has come at a time when Sudan, boosted by its new-found oil wealth, appears at last to be turning the economic corner. The fact that it remains a country at war with itself can, at one level, almost be discounted. Last month, for example, the Opec Fund for Development granted Sudan a credit line for irrigation projects, while the Kuwait Fund, the Islamic Development Bank and Abu Dhabi Fund for Economic Development all pitched in to fund various business ventures. Hamdi can take much of the credit for this inflow. Now he is on course to win $500m from the Arab development funds for an ambitious $1.5bn hydroelectric project, designed to generate 1,300MW. Astute and persuasive, Hamdi is aware of the vast and largely untapped potential of Sudan. In this he has won the support of the Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation (AIGC). The AIGC has become his strongest ally as he seeks out investment in everything from airlines, maritime ventures, utilities, free trade zones, mining, railways, livestock, money markets, telecom and banking, as well as healthcare and education. The AIGC is studying the possibility of providing investment guarantees of $250m. Total foreign investments now equal $7bn. The Arab Gulf sheikhdoms account for $1.3bn of this amount. Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) recently gained a majority stake in SudaTel, the telecommunications utility. This was followed by the acquisition of stakes in GIAD, the giant industrial complex built by China some 50km south of Khartoum. Private investors from the UAE have also acquired a majority stake in the Zayed al Khair agriculture project that cultivates and exports maize and oilseeds. The newly-signed trade and investment agreements with Egypt have also opened the doors to the privatisation of Sudan Airways. Infrastructure projects, including road and bridge construction, and the development of free trade zones are also available for tender and investment.