Africa

Great Basin Gold Ltd said its South African unit Southgold Exploration filed for creditor protection a week after it suspended operations at its Burnstone mine, Reuters reported. Great Basin suspended production at the mine in the Witwatersrand Goldfields last week due to its inability to continue funding operations at the mine. The mine, which started production in February last year, was producing about 5,000-6,000 tons of ore per day. The company is trying to negotiate a debtor-in-possession working capital loan with certain lenders to pursue an orderly shutdown of the mine.

Three international banks that backed out of $10 billion debt restructuring talks with an investment company controlled by Dubai's ruler said Thursday they are now pursuing legal action against the firm, dashing hopes of a consensual deal, The Seattle Times reported on an Associated Press story. The move by Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland, Commerzbank of Germany and South African lender Standard Bank will likely further complicate Dubai Group's efforts to move beyond its debt troubles after more than a year and a half of negotiations with creditors.

Platinum Australia (PLA), the ASX-listed platinum miner with all its operations in SA, has now sought refuge from its creditors in voluntary administration. That means there could be some assets up for grabs for mining companies still in the ring, the Financial Mail reported. One of those is African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), Patrice Motsepe's diversified mining company, which is PLA's partner in the advanced Kalplats exploration project, 330km west of Johannesburg.

Rwanda's Ministry of Trade is struggling to popularize the Law of Insolvency among the business community here but success continues to elude its efforts. Since its enactment in May 2009, the Insolvency Law still struggles to be accepted in the business community and is yet to serve its purpose, that of helping insolvent firms sort out their affairs. The law hands down procedures through which indebted businesses that can't pay creditors can declare themselves insolvent or bankrupt.

China intends to extend renminbi loans to other Brics nations, in another step towards the internationalisation of its currency, the Financial Times reported. The China Development Bank will sign a memorandum of understanding in New Delhi with its Brazilian, Russian, Indian and South African counterparts on March 29, say people familiar with their talks. Under the agreement CDB, which lends mainly in dollars overseas, will make renminbi loans available, while the other Brics nations’ development banks will also extend loans denominated in their respective currencies.

Commercial banks that borrow from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK’s) emergency lending window more than twice in a week will be investigated, Business Daily Africa reported. In a circular elaborating on the new market-based operations, CBK said banks using the overnight window will also be charged a high penalty above the Central Bank Rate (CBR) that currently stands at 16.5 per cent. “Those banks utilising the CBK Overnight Window will be charged the CBR plus a high penalty.

Uchumi Supermarkets Ltd., which resumed trading in May after a five-year suspension, advanced for the first day in as sell-offs by long-time shareholders slowed down, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. “We have seen the tail-end of the selling pressure of the people who are selling after holding the stock for so long,” Aly-Khan Satchu, chief executive officer of Rich Management, a Nairobi-based investment adviser to high-net-worth individuals, said in a phone interview today.

Kenyans who were attracted to bank loans by last year’s low interest rates are headed for tough times as the lenders raise the cost of money to protect their margins against inflation and exchange rate turbulence, Business Daily Africa reported. The reality of the high cost of debt has been emerging in the past couple of weeks in which successive lenders have raised interest rates citing increased costs of funds from depositors. The rise in interest rates started last week when I&M Bank increased its base lending rate by 2.25 percentage points to 15.75 per cent.

Troubled insurer Blue Shield was on Friday placed under statutory management by the Insurance Regulatory Authority for inability to honour claims. IRA commissioner Sammy Makove further barred the insurer from conducting any new business and advised existing policy holders to use other underwriters, allAfrica.com reported. IRA attributed the firms woes to its involvement in the public service vehicles (PSV) insurance business which has been beset by soaring claims, fraud and litigation.

Nigeria's state asset management company (AMCON) said it expects five of the nine banks that were bailed out for $4 billion to call extraordinary general meetings by Sept. 30, so shareholders can vote on recapitalisation deals signed with investors. AMCON Chief Executive, Mustapha Chike-Obi, told Reuters on Tuesday he expected shareholders to accept the deals. If they did not, regulators would need to explore all options to protect depositors, employees and the financial markets.