Monday, March seventeen, 2008

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

Making headlines today:

World number-one beverage maker Coca Cola, on Friday launched a new six million dollar quality testing laboratory in Midrand, which it lauded as its most technologically advanced globally.

Coca Cola South Africa president, William Egbe, said that Coca Cola's investment in the facility was an affirmation that the firm believed in South Africa as an investment destination, while countries were "clamouring" for foreign investment.

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Black-owned miner Mvelaphanda Resources, would receive fifty million shares in gold major Gold Fields, should it exchange its 15% stake in Gold Fields' South African assets for shares in the parent company, it was announced on Monday.

Mvela Resources' Pine Pienaar, said that this agreement would bring certainty to the shareholders of Mvela Resources as to the size of its potential future stake in Gold Fields.


South Africa has signed a memorandum of understanding to help fund a seven hundred million dollar submarine cable to boost broadband capacity and ease Internet tariffs, a government official said on Friday.

"The shareholder's agreement will be signed on April 15, 2008 with financial close the same day," Lulu Bam, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Enterprises, said in a statement.

South Africa's state-owned telecom infrastructure company, Broadband Infraco, will hold a 26 percent stake in the cable project with the remainder in private hands.


The world's major greenhouse gas emitters headed into a final session of talks on Sunday on the shape of a post-Kyoto Protocol climate pact, with Japan's aim to promote sectoral caps for industry under fire.

Japan is hosting a three-day meeting of G20 energy and environment ministers and feels capping emissions for polluting industries such as power generation is one way to curb rising carbon dioxide emissions.

But developing nations in the grouping feel the concept is unclear and want more specifics, something the Japanese haven't provided in great detail, delegates say.


Also making headlines today:

The DTI adjusts an incentive programme for capital project studies

Coega moves to reassure Rio Tinto that its smelter is viable

Standard Bank and Zambia are to sign a $1,2-billion oil deal

Gold is up 3%, briefly clearing one thousand and thirty dollars an ounce

Kimberley Consolidated Mining sells blue-white diamond for one comma two eight million dollars

Aim Resources to raise a further fifty six million dollars for its Burkina Faso project

Mbeki calls to end the culture of handouts

And, Chad rebels ignore peace pact


That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories, visit engineeringnews.co.za, miningweekly.com and polity.org.za