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Friday, December 11, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines today:

Paper and pulp producer Sappi's Finnish subsidiary has announced that it will permanently close its 137-year-old 210 000-tons a year Kangas paper mill by early 2010.

In October, the subsidiary reported that it could close the mill owing to an overcapacity of coated magazine paper in Europe. The mill employs about 150 people.

The paper producer has now concluded agreements with employee representatives regarding the closure. The redundancy terms include provisions for outplacements and training support for all employees to ensure that they have the best possible opportunity to secure new employment.

Sappi states that it'll investigate the possibility of using the mill site as an industrial area in the future.

The East London industrial development zone, or ELIDZ, expects to make an announcement before the end of March on the first vehicle manufacturer to make use of its new multi-OEM assembly plant to be built in the IDZ.

ELIDZ business development manager Tembela Zweni doesn't want to divulge any names, noting only that the IDZ is courting Korea's Hyundai, Chinese manufacturers Foton, Chery, Great Wall Motors and Chana, as well as India's Tata and Mahindra to start local assembly in East London.

The multi-OEM manufacturing facility is based on a model where a number of manufacturers will share the same assembly facilities, such as a paint shop, a body shop, and trim and assembly lines.

Also making headlines:

South Africa's current account gap is at four-year low, with spending weak.
Aluminium semi-fabricator Hulamin completes its 970-million-rand rolled products expansion.
Renewable energy could become an engine for economic and social development in all African countries.
And, South Korea's Daewoo International has been named the preferred bidder to build a power plant in Kenya worth up to 1,3-billion-dollars.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. Creamer Media would like to wish its podcast listeners a happy festive season and a prosperous 2010. We'll resume podcasts in the New Year.