FIRST National Bank and Nedcor’s stable of Nedbank, Permanent Bank and Peoples Bank on Wednesday announced a 0,5% cut in the mortgage rates to 22,75% from 23,25%. The new mortgage rates come into effect on Tuesday, December 15. FNB Properties said the continuing easing of rates in the money market has allowed the cut.
SHELL TERMINAL CLOSED
NIGERIA’S 400000 barrels per day Shell oil terminal at Forcados, in the Niger Delta, remained closed on Wednesday after it was taken over by dozens of protesting youths on Tuesday. The youths left the site on Tuesday but Shell decided not to allow its people to return until the company had received assurances they would not be attacked again, a Shell official said. The youths demanded that the US oil group Mobil pay increased compensation for a major oil spill in January.
VEHICLES ON THE CORRIDOR
MORE than 11000 vehicles passed through Mpumalanga’s first toll gate on the R2-billion Maputo Corridor highway during its first 24 hours this week. The operator, Trans Africa Concessions, said on Wednesday that traffic is expected to pick up next week with the Christmas holidays. Chief executive officer Trevor Jackson said a number of vehicles were turned back from the toll gate because drivers arrived without money for the levy. The Middelburg toll gate opened at mid-morning on Tuesday and is the first of five planned on the 525km highway linking Gauteng and the Mozambican capital, Maputo.
CALL TO REVIVE AIR NAMIBIA
AIR Namibia must be made profitable to benefit the Namibian tourist industry, according to an appeal by the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations (Fenata). The group is asking the government to take action following a review of the tourism industry’s performance in 1998 at the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry Annual Economic Review on Friday. Fenata President Udo Weck said airline is more of a liability than an asset to the country.” Air Namibia sustained a N$48-million loss last year and the Cabinet guaranteed N$20-million in interim support for the firm.
ALGERIA INVESTMENT DRIVE
ALGERIA opened up several projects in its energy and mining sectors to foreign firms at a presentation on Tuesday, inviting companies to invest directly or join the state-run concerns as partners. Already strong as an oil exporter, Algeria wants capital to fuel expansion in other sectors such as petrochemicals, refining and power generation and the extraction of phosphates. Algeria’s privatisation programme is slow although the country has held road shows around the world to attract investment. Low international oil prices added pressures to diversify the country’s industrial base, said Abdelmajid Attar, chairman of state oil and gas company Sonatrach, while speaking to British executives.
VAT ATTACK
THE imposition of South Africa’s 14% VAT across the Southern African Customs Union is being interpreted as a direct attempt to damage Botswana’s economy. Goods leaving South Africa for Botswana are already taxed and three-hour delays caused checking trucks for VAT payment are clogging the Tlokweng border post, 20km from Botswana’s capital, Gaborone. Firms in Botswana argue that their debt has increased by 14%, the amount of South Africa’s VAT, and Finance Minister Ponatsego Kedikilwe expressed disappointment with the ANC government’s policies, stressing a lack of improvement from the previous regime. The situation is likely to deteriorate when VAT charges on goods travelling from Botswana to South Africa begins on January 4, 1999.