Yahoo Finance Africa in Business: steel, spills and Sasol
STORY: Here's what's been making the business headlines in sub-Saharan Africa this week.
1. South African logistics utility Transnet has said it will appeal a court decision to award Sasol and TotalEnergies around 6.2 billion rand, or $344 million, in damages and interest to settle a tariff dispute.
Sasol said on Thursday (June 20) it had won the award in a High Court ruling against Transnet, which it accused of overcharging for transporting crude oil for several years.
2. Ghana has reached an agreement in principle with its bondholders for the restructuring of $13 billion worth of international debt, three sources have said.
The West African gold and cocoa producer defaulted on most of its $30 billion in external debt in 2022, under the strain of factors including the global health crisis and the war in Ukraine.
3. China's nickel giant Tsingshan Holding Group has started production at its $1 billion steel plant in central Zimbabwe, a company official said on Thursday.
Dinson Iron and Steel Company will produce 600,000 metric tons of carbon steel annually during the first phase of its operations, project director Wilfred Motsi told reporters during a tour of the plant.
4. Nigerian energy firm Aiteo said on Wednesday (June 19) that it had shut down all oil production at its Nembe Creek facility, nearly 50,000 barrels per day of output, after detecting a leak.
:: Bayelsa, Nigeria
:: November 25, 2021
Oil spills in the Niger Delta have had a catastrophic impact on communities where people have no other water supply than creeks, and rely on farming and fishing.
5. And finally, Africa's hopes of meeting United Nations sustainable development goals by 2030 are "all but dead", a report by Sudanese-British billionaire businessman Mo Ibrahim's foundation has said.
That's amid an annual funding shortfall of around $1.3 trillion.
The study highlights the need for radical changes in financing and how African leaders can band together to represent the continent's needs to other world leaders, with Ibrahim saying "Africa has no voice in the global arena".
