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Thursday, January 22, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon O'Donnell.

Making headlines today:

On Wednesday, energy and chemicals group Sasol announced that it was officially reviewing and reprioritising its planned R70-billion, three-year capital expenditure programme. This is in the light of dramatically altered and weakening market conditions.

The company also downgraded its earnings guidance for 2009 from an earlier forecast of "robust growth" to a new expectation of "a moderate reduction in earnings" for the year.

The JSE-listed group said it had entered a "cash conservation mode". It would seek to sustain a strong balance sheet by lowering its targeted gearing from the previous range of 30 to 50%, to a new range of between 20 and 40%.

On Thursday, Angola's Transport Minister, Augusto Tomas, said that several European airlines have expressed interest in forging partnerships with Angolan carrier TAAG. The carrier hopes to resume flying to the EU after being barred for safety issues.

Tomas didn't provide details about how a partnership would work. Angola has become one of the world's fastest growing economies as it rebuilds after a civil war that ended in 2002.

Tomas said that TAAG hoped to resume flights to the EU this year.

The state carrier was banned from EU airspace the same year one of its planes crashed, killing six people on board. The government recently fired TAAG's board and created a commission to investigate and improve safety.

Also making headlines:

South African construction firms with international exposure are starting to feel the pinch.
Construction company Group Five says its interim earnings could rise 30 to 40%.
The final plans to upgrade the Mthatha airport are expected in February.
And, South Africa's Competition Tribunal has approved the merger between cellular operator Vodacom and Storage Technology Services.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.