ETHIOPIA
Growth likely to slow to 7%
Ethiopia’s economy was likely to grow 7 percent a year over the next three to five years, below its average of the past decade, and to push that rate higher, the government needed to change policy to encourage private investment, the World Bank said yesterday. While 7 percent gross domestic product growth would be the envy of finance ministers in Western economies, it would fall short of an average rate of 10.6 percent that Ethiopia said it achieved in the past 10 years with its state-interventionist policies. It would also be insufficient to meet Ethiopia’s target of reaching middle-income status by 2025. The bank said that goal was still within reach, however, if the government shifted the balance from public to more private investment. – Reuters
ZAMBIA
Kalahari to tap Earth’s steam
Kalahari GeoEnergy planned to produce power from steam resources in Zambia to help end a shortfall of electricity in Africa’s biggest copper producer, chief executive Peter Vivian-Neal said yesterday. The basin where Kalahari is drilling its first exploration well might have enough resources to produce as much as 1 000 megawatts of power, or about half of the nation’s current generation capacity, Vivian-Neal said. “We are looking at the sedimentary basin, which in the US context might have the capacity of 100MW to 1 000MW.” The Geothermal Energy Association says the US produces 3 187MW of electricity from this source. – Bloomberg
MOZAMBIQUE
ONGC to buy $2.6bn gas field
ONGC Videsh, a unit of India’s biggest energy explorer, will probably raise debt overseas to fund its entire $2.64 billion (R27bn) purchase of a 10 percent stake in a Mozambique gas field from Anadarko Petroleum. “It’s a project where earnings will be in dollars, spending in dollars and hence we want the liabilities to be in dollars as well,” ONGC Videsh managing director DK Sarraf said yesterday. “The impact of the dollar funding could help avoid the impact of a fluctuating rupee.” ONGC is leading India’s push to get access to oil and natural gas reserves around the world with $6.14bn of deals this year, as the country’s growing population and industrialisation drives up energy demand. Funding the acquisition with overseas debt will help skirt the effect of a sinking rupee. – Bloomberg