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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (4703)	9/5/2006 10:55:57 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24206

Ghana: Power Crisis Worries Gold Miners Business Day (Johannesburg) September 4, 2006 Posted to the web September 4, 2006 Charlotte Mathews Johannesburg LAST week's warnings from gold miners operating in Ghana that their operations could be hit by power disruptions highlighted increasing power shortages across Africa, as growing economies grapple with inadequate planning and higher energy costs. In SA, government and power utility Eskom have faced mounting public criticism over failure to plan several years ago for the demands of an economy which grew at 4,9% in the June quarter. SA's mining sector has assisted Eskom during the past winter with energy-saving measures to ensure continuous power supply to urban areas. Ghana's state power utility, Volta River Authority, relies on power generated at the Volta hydroelectric power station, Aboadze thermal power station and imports from Côte d'Ivoire. The immediate crisis is being attributed to seasonal effects on hydroelectric power. Water levels in the Volta catchment area are generally at their lowest at this time of year but are replenished this month and next. This year, rains are late. The problem is exacerbated by retrofitting to Aboadze to enable it to operate on gas when the west African gas pipeline comes online late this year. That means it is now operating at less than full capacity. Gold Fields said it was assisting the Volta River Authority in expediting the rewinding and return from the UK of a generator rotor for Aboadze. A mining source said the mines were giving assistance in helping Ghana meet its power needs. Ghana's major industrial users of power are the Volta Aluminium Company (Valco), which is owned jointly by the Ghanaian government and Alcoa, and the gold miners, including AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Newmont and Golden Star. Aluminium smelters are huge electricity users, dwarfing the mines, but only some of the Valco smelters are in operation. AngloGold is a bigger user of electricity in Ghana than Gold Fields, partly because AngloGold operates Ghana's only underground mine at Obuasi, which depends on electricity to power ventilation and pumps. But Ghana is a bigger contributor to Gold Fields' overall operations than it is for AngloGold. AngloGold, Gold Fields and Golden Star said they, together with other bulk users, had been instructed by the Volta River Authority to reduce power usage 25%-50%. Relevant Links Southern Africa West Africa Mining Economy, Business and Finance Ghana Energy South Africa Through the Chamber of Mines, they have been in discussion with the authority to identify ways in which to minimise usage from the electricity grid and help mitigate power disruptions. They can use diesel-powered generators, but the costs, says Golden Star, are about five times the cost of grid power. AngloGold operates the Obuasi, Iduapriem and Bibiani mines in Ghana, while Gold Fields operates Tarkwa and Damang. Golden Star's mines are the open-pit Bogoso-Prestea and Wassa mines. Newmont, which has not yet put out a statement, is in the early stages of constructing the Ahafo and Akyem mines. allafrica.com

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (4703)	9/5/2006 11:28:50 AM
From: Mannie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24206

I think Vietnam is going to be an unbelievable investment opportunity...not mentioned in this article is the Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VTOPF) which I own and plan to add to. Vietnam expects new wave of foreign indirect investment A new wave of foreign indirect investment (FII) could flow into Vietnam soon thanks to the country’s stability and accession to the World Trade Organization, financial experts forecast. Dominic Scriven, director of the UK-invested fund management firm Dragon Capital, said Vietnam was likely to attract around US$500 million this year, representing one-third again of the total amount it had so far attracted. Many people considered Vietnam a growing economy and appreciated its competitive capacity, investment opportunities, integration process, and reform of state-owned enterprise and the financial-banking sectors. To lure more FII, Vietnam should scale up its financial market by developing the stock market and combining the equitisation of state-owned enterprises with their listing. It should also build a healthier and more transparent market and improve its legal framework, Scriven said. Up again Vietnam saw the first inflow of foreign indirect investment some 10 years ago when seven foreign investment funds, including the Vietnam Lazard Fund, Templeton Vietnam, and Beta Fund, were set up in the country with a combined capital of $700 million. However, they withdrew after the 1997 economic crisis in Asia except for the Vietnam Enterprise Investment Fund run by Dragon Capital. Scriven said foreign investors’ interest had resumed in the Vietnamese market since 2000. Dragon and other foreign investors had made profits in Vietnam, making the country more attractive to other investors, he said. The second wave of investment began in 2002 as foreign investors found great business opportunities in the equitization of state-owned enterprises. It had been marked by the appearance of the $18.5 million Mekong Enterprise Fund, Scriven said. The country has since seen over 10 funds established with a total capital of more than $1 billion. The latest fund is Vietnam Holdings, which is capitalized at $120 million, 60 percent of which was mobilized from Swiss investors. However, the amount of capital flowing in has remained modest compared to the demand of Vietnam's developing economy which, like other neighbors, considers investment funds and financial institutions as major FII channels. More coming Nguyen Quang Vinh, Director of the Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Company (BVSC), believed that the flow of FII into Vietnam would increase sharply in the coming future, especially after the country joined the WTO. Many foreign investment funds planned to invest in Vietnam, some much larger than existing ones like Dragon Capital, Mekong Capital, and VinaCapital. The PPF Group, one of the Czech Republic's leading financial firms, was expected to establish an investment fund in Vietnam with a registered capital of $50-60 million in the first phase. A group from Israel too intended to invest in the country. Some funds already operating in Vietnam planned to expand to mobilize capital. An increasing number of foreign individuals and organizations had begun to invest in the Vietnamese securities market. The State Securities Commission's Securities Custody Centre averagely provided trading codes to 40-50 foreign investors a month, Vinh said.