World Economy | A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

Category Archives: World Economy

Tanzania-Zambia Railway to be extended to Burundi

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

LUSAKA, March 7 (Xinhua) — The governments of Zambia and Burundi have begun talks on the possibility of extending a railway line, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA), in order to enhance trade between the two countries, the Times of Zambia reported on Friday.

The 1,992 km railway line, owned by the governments of Zambia and Tanzania, runs from the Zambian town of Kapiri Mposhi to Port Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and was constructed in the 1970s with the assistance of the Chinese government.

Decisions about LNG exports up to Energy Dept -White House

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) – The White House on Thursday, responding to a question about whether the United States would ease restrictions on exports of liquefied natural gas to supply Ukraine, said the Department of Energy would be responsible for decisions about liquefied natural gas exports.

“The Department of Energy has regulatory authority over liquefied natural gas exports,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said at a briefing.

“DOE will continue to make public interest determinations on a case-by-case basis considering economic, energy security, environmental and geopolitical impacts among other factors,” Carney said. (Reporting By Mark Felsenthal, Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Source: http://www.trust.org/item/20140306181332-ookgx

Burundi Launches First Phase of National Fibre Optic Backbone Project

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Burudian authorities have marked the completion of the first phase of a national fibre optic network project launched in 2012.

According to a report by the East African Business Week, President Pierre Nkurunziza commissioned the milestone last month at a ceremony in Bujumbura.

The Burundi Backbone System (BBS) Company, which is behind the construction of the network, is made up of five top telecommunication companies in Burundi, including state-owned Onatel.

World Economy

Brazil’s Vale Sees Chinese Economic Growth Gradually Slowing to 6%

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

RIO DE JANEIRO–Brazilian mining company Vale SA said Wednesday that China’s huge steel industry “may become less buoyant” in coming years as the country’s economic growth gradually slows to 6% and reform measures put the brakes on infrastructure development.

On the upside, growing concerns about pollution should force Chinese steelmakers to shut down inefficient mills and seek better raw materials, raising premiums for the high-grade iron ore Vale extracts from its mines in Brazil.

Vale has a large finger on the pulse of China’s economy as the world’s largest producer of iron ore, a key component in steelmaking. The Asian country produces around half the world’s steel and is Vale’s biggest customer, accounting for 38.6% of the Brazilian company’s $49 billion in revenue last year.

World Economy

New Indonesia Trade Law Allows Export Limits to Protect Industry

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Indonesia’s parliament passed into law the nation’s first trade bill that enables the government to restrict exports and imports to protect local industries.

The law was approved at a plenary session today, Pramono Anung, the parliament’s deputy speaker, said in Jakarta. The government may limit exports or imports of staple commodities to ensure local demand is met, according to the final bill distributed to reporters at parliament yesterday.

World Economy

Foreign workers in Indonesia decline

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

The number of foreign workers in the country has been declining in the last three years mostly because of economic slowdown that affects investment values.

The government’s new regulation on employment of foreign workers also contributed to decreasing the number of foreign employees.

“The government’s efforts in controlling the number of foreign workers has concerned, among other things, human resources development in Indonesia. The presence of foreign workers must bring positive developments to the quality of human resources in Indonesia by transfer of skill and technology,” Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said on Sunday as quoted by Antara.

World Economy

Japanese PM on three-nation African tour

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is making a three-nation visit to Africa this month in an effort to build commercial ties, particularly in the area of natural resources, while giving impetus to aid commitments made at the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD V, which was held in Yokohama in June last year.

Abe is the first Japanese Prime Minister to tour Africa since Junichiro Koizumi in 2006 and will visit Côte d’ Ivoire, Mozambique and Ethiopia between January 10 and 14.

Indonesia’s president to weigh into mineral export confusion

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

“The president will decide it,” Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan told reporters on Wednesday, noting that Yudhoyono would make an announcement after consultations with the chief economic minister, the energy and mineral resources minister, the trade minister, the industry minister and parliament.

Lawmakers last week told the government they would not dilute the law, adopted five years ago, and it must go ahead as scheduled. Officials have been pressing for a reprieve, at least for miners that can show they have been trying to meet demands to process their ore before it is loaded on ships for export.

Indonesia trying to skirt its own ban on mineral ore exports

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Dec 9 (Reuters) – Indonesia’s government is still trying to find a way around a mineral ore export ban that the country’s parliament is refusing to allow it to sidestep, chief economic minister Hatta Rajasa said on Monday.

The ban, which comes into effect next month, is designed to increase the value of the country’s mineral exports. Indonesia has for decades and with limited success tried to create more value from its vast array of natural resources.

Indonesia Firm on Ore Export Ban, Local Industry Issues Doomsday Warning

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Indonesia’s mining industry will be killed off by a planned ban on unprocessed mineral exports, a domestic miners’ association said, accusing the government of favoring international firms that can more easily adapt to the new rules.

The ban by Indonesia, the world’s top exporter of nickel ore, coal and refined tin and a major supplier of bauxite, would force miners to build smelters or sell ore to companies with smelters, reducing profit margins for smaller operators.