NEWS - Africa's FMCG Retail Authority

Ghana has been voted the Vice Chairman of the Union of African Shippers Council (UASC) for the first time in the history of the organisation. read more

Construction of commercial space is turning out a lucrative venture for landlords in Nakuru as letting prices appreciate. Prices have doubled from Sh20-30 per square foot a month three years ago to Sh60-70 per square foot, a spot check by the Star reveals. read more

Indigenous liquor giant, Kasapreko Company Limited (KCL) placed sixth in the 2013 Ghana Club 100 ranking. read more

Uchumi supermarkets could grind to a halt next Wednesday if employees make good their threat to down their tools. The Kenya Union of Commercial Food and Allied Workers has issued a strike notice dated October 9 to pressurise the supermarket chain's management to meet workers' demands for higher pay. read more

THE Zambia Cooperative Federation (ZCF) is scouting for US$21 million to set up milling plants in 25 districts. read more

Minneapolis – Target Corp. is making a big online push for the holidays, including expanding its in-store pick-up program for products ordered online to all of its U.S. stores by Nov. 1 (the service is now available in about half of the chain’s locations). And for the first time, Target will promote the concept of Cyber Week, with an ad campaign Dec. 1 through Dec. 3 that focuses on Cyber Week deals including Cyber Monday. read more

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores plans to open as many as 110 stores in China between 2014 and 2016, as well as several new Sam’s Club locations there. The new stores will employ as many as 19,000 people. read more

Mr Price Group Ltd. advanced to a record high after the South African clothing and furniture retailer said earnings climbed 18 to 22 percent even as household budgets tightened. read more

Berlin - Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, has vowed to cut the near 60 000 tonnes of food wasted by its suppliers and shoppers each year, the latest firm volunteering to help tackle a growing environmental problem. read more

Cape Town – The persistent weakness in the perception of SA in international media coverage is the under-representation of SA’s business sector and the difficulty to identify a business leader or leaders “representative" of the country. read more

A Stellenbosch University study shows a rapidly growing black middle class in South Africa, along with a dramatic decline in racial inequality. read more

Johannesburg - South African beauty and pharmaceutical retailer, Clicks, has said trading over the Christmas holiday season is critical to its fiscal 2014 performance as consumer spending remains weak read more

New York - US stocks resumed their upward move on Thursday as economic data underscored views US monetary stimulus will be in place for the foreseeable future and as earnings offered some upbeat news. read more

Microsoft Corp cruised past Wall Street’s quarterly profit and revenue forecasts on Thursday, helped by strong sales of its Office and server software to businesses, sending its shares up more than 5 percent after hours.  read more

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s quarterly operating profit surged 26 percent to a new record, matching estimates and powered by a strong recovery in its memory chip business as smartphone sales growth eases sharply. read more

London - Britain's Marks & Spencer will step-up expansion of its Simply Food store network as it looks to benefit from growing consumer demand for smaller, convenience outlets, it said on Tuesday.  read more

Johannesburg - South Africa’s inflation rate fell from the highest level in four years to 6 percent in September.  read more

Port Elizabeth - The South African wool market ended softer this week, Cape Wools said on Wednesday. read more

Massmart will open the doors to three George pop up stores today, to give South African consumers a taste of the famous British brand of clothing. read more

In an extremely competitive market, customers have responded positively to decisive action by Pick n Pay to improve the shopping trip. In the first six months to 01 September 2013, the company delivered an improved financial performance over the previous period, growing Group till sales (owned and franchise stores) by 8.1%.  read more

HTC Corp’s chief executive has handed some duties to the company’s chairwoman as the smartphone maker struggles to claw back market share from Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the Financial Times reported. read more

The manufacturers’ sentiment index jumped to 36,61 in the third quarter of this year from the -14,89 recorded at the end of the previous quarter, Simonis Storm Securities (SSS) said in a report released earlier this month. read more

Hong Kong - Asian markets mostly rose on Monday, with sentiment buoyed by last week's deal in Washington to avert a default as well as a record close on Wall Street. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa has endorsed a trade deal with Poland, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe has said read more

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Fackson Shamenda, says Shoprite is operating normally and its operating licence is still in force. read more

Washington - The US debt jumped above $17 trillion for the first time in history, the Treasury Department has said.  read more

The construction of a shopping mall to be the property of the University of Zambia (UNZA) Great East Road campus will cost K248 million. read more

Meat processing companies, Meatco and Witvlei Meat, have once again bid for the lucrative beef export quota to Norway, which is set at 1600 tonnes per year and pays 72% more than exports to other parts of Europe. Earlier this month, the Meat Board of Namibia requested for bids for the Norway quota from local meat companies.  read more

The Namibian Government is injecting huge stimulus into the Namibian economy in order to accelerate the growth of local enterprises. The recent promulgation of the amended Regulation 28 and 29 of the Pension Funds Act has the potential to unlock capital and channel its flow towards entrepreneurial businesses. read more

Bentonville, Ark. – The Indian central bank is reportedly reviewing findings of an investigation into whether Wal-Mart Stores broke that country’s investment rules in 2010.  read more

Goodlettsville, Tenn. – Dollar General is opening its first fuel station, as part of a test pilot project. The new fuel pumps are located at the Dollar General Market in Hanceville, Ala. read more

Johannesburg - Food manufacturer Pioneer Foods [JSE:PFG] is cutting jobs as part of a restructuring process to reduce costs in the face of constrained consumer spending, its chief executive has said.  read more

hina's consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, climbed to 3.1 percent year-on-year in September, the government has said.  read more

Johannesburg - The softer global economy and weak domestic business and household confidence are expected to keep South African GDP growth at 2.0% this year with a marginal pick-up to 2.8% in 2014. read more

BOS Ice Tea has recently celebrated its third birthday in South Africa, and has taken the first steps into European markets, launching in Belgium and Holland earlier this month. read more

Samsung Electronics has offered to stop taking rivals such as Apple to court in Europe over patent disputes in order to end an antitrust investigation, European Union regulators said on Thursday. read more

Nakumatt is targeting new sales within the hospitality industry by offering select label products like furnishings, decorative accessories, bath towels, bed and table linen. according to the supermarket chain's business development manager Neel Shah. read more

Johannesburg - Markets across the world on Thursday gave a lukewarm reaction towards the US debt deal, due to fears that the scenario will repeat itself early next year. read more

Bentonville, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores detailed a number of moves, including opening smaller stores in the United States, cutting back on overseas growth and increasing its investments in technology and e-commerce, on the occasion of the company’s 20th annual investor meeting. read more

IBM reported a 4 percent drop in third-quarter revenue, worse than expected by Wall Street, amid a decline in hardware and emerging markets even as it beat earnings estimates. read more

Port Washington, N.Y. -- The majority of consumers intend to spend the same as or more than last year, with fewer saying they plan to spend less, according to The NPD Group’s Holiday Spending Survey, the twelfth annual survey of consumers’ holiday spending intentions. read more

East Africa Glassware Mart plans to double its revenue to $34 million (Sh2.9 billion) by opening in 10 new markets within Africa over the next three years. read more

NWK Agri-services, formerly Dunavant Zambia, has diversified its commodity buying opportunities from cotton to soya beans and maize. read more

Shoprite chief executive Whitey Basson has moved beyond blaming the usual suspects of unions and labour legislation for South Africa’s economic woes and has lashed out at the “declining” manufacturing sector for its lack of innovation and competitiveness. read more

Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) has taken in the quest to provide information on alcohol and responsible consumption is through their site, www.talkingalcohol.com read more

London - J Sainsbury, Britain's No. 3 supermarket, plans to open its first distribution centre dedicated to online grocery orders in response to rapidly increasing demand in south-east England. read more

It is slightly less than a month since Graeme Mouton was appointed as the new Financial Director of Namibia Breweries Limited but already he says he is inspired by the O&L Purpose “Creating a future, enhancing life.” read more

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar has elevated Jason Reiser to the position of senior VP/lead merchandising officer at Family Dollar, according to an internal memo from company president and COO Mike Bloom. read more

Despite a year on year decline of 7.6%, the worldwide PC market didn’t do as badly as it was expected to do in Q3 2013. read more

Bringing its unique investor proposition to market, Attacq Limited today listed on the Main Board of the JSE, under the Real Estate - Real Estate Holdings and Development sector, with the short code “ATT”. read more

SABMiller suffered its biggest weekly decline in more than two years last week as a strike at its South African beer operations continued and Unilever said sales growth slowed in emerging markets.  read more

Fountainhead Property Trust last week declared a distribution for the 11 months to 31 August 2013 in line with market guidance and 2% down on its distribution for the comparable 11 months in 2012. The Trust changed its financial year-end from 30 September to 31 August. read more

Washington - Citrus production in Florida, the world's second largest orange juice supplier after Brazil, is being threatened by a bacteria from Asia that has scientists racing for a remedy. read more

Johannesburg - Africa’s CEOs are optimistic about the prospects for growth over the next 12 months, according to the PWC Africa Business Agenda 2013. read more

Hewlett Packard Co Chief Executive Meg Whitman expects revenue to stabilize in 2014 with “pockets of growth” before the business accelerates again in 2015, sending the stock up as much as 9.5 percent on Wednesday. read more

Ghana has been ranked as the fourth country in Africa with the highest public debt in relation the total value of the economy.  read more

Foschini, JSE’s worst-performing clothing retailer this year, said it plans to open 21 new stores on the rest of the continent as consumers in South Africa continue to struggle in debt.  read more

The World’s largest privately held spirits company, Bacardi Limited is set to open its first African sales outlet in Nairobi, Kenya on Tuesday following the growing demand for luxurious goods such as alcoholic beverages by consumers. read more

The construction of the US$40 million Mukuba Shopping Mall in Kitwe has hit a snag after being halted by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA). read more

Zambia’s domestic and external debt for the year 2013 is projected to reach 37 percent of the country’s GDP. read more

East African Breweries Limited (EABL) in August said it posted “good results” in the year to June despite tough operating conditions in markets such as Uganda and Tanzania.  read more

Mall of the North is bringing shoppers more of what they want and improving its shopping experience.  read more

Johannesburg - South African liquor company Distell Group Limited [JSE:DST] has acquired a 60% share in fast-growing liquor distribution company CJ Wines & Spirits‚ expanding its presence in the East. read more

Tokyo - For those who have trouble finding space for a large wine collection, a new apartment block in Japan with an in-house cellar and a visiting sommelier could be the perfect place to live. read more

The Namibian Competition Commission has given its blessings to the deal in which Oryx Properties was seeking permission to acquire the Gustav Voigts Centre from Growthpoint Properties. read more

Brussels - The CEO of Delhaize Group's European division has resigned, effective Oct. 31, the Belgian supermarket operator said. read more

Seattle -- The global retail real estate market rebounded in the first half of the year, with international and luxury brands expanding to new markets and high street properties growing in popularity, according to a new report from Colliers International.  read more

Jozini Mall, the new 18,220 square metre community shopping centre in North-Eastern KwaZulu-Natal, is now fully let and will open on Thursday, 24th October 2013. read more

New York, Shoppers in the United States intend to spend an average of $646 on gifts this holiday season, representing an 11% increase over the $582 they planned to spend, on average, in 2012, according to Accenture’s annual holiday shopping survey. The forecast uptick is more optimistic than other holiday surveys released to date. read more

When Facebook Inc was preparing to go public last year, the telephones at Granite Investment Advisors rang off the hook as clients called about the social media’s company’s highly anticipated debut. 

Heidelberg Mall, set to open in October 2014, is already attracting a powerhouse of leading retailers a full year before it opens, including some of South Africa’s most popular national stores.  read more

Simon Susman, the Woolworths chairman, is the latest big businessman to put the cat among the government pigeons by suggesting that the labour market environment is too constraining.  read more

Paris - Coca-Cola has lost its crown as the world's best brand, a closely watched survey said last month, unseated by the iconic iPhone and iPad maker Apple. read more

The Indian beer market is expected to grow 20 times in next 20 years in view of changing lifestyles, a burgeoning middle class and government policy to promote low alcoholic drinks in the country.  read more

Kenya’s Uchumi's Supermakets Ltd. has been cleared to cross list at Rwanda's Stock Exchange. read more

A shareholder of BlackBerry Ltd sued the company and its executives on Friday, accusing them of inflating the stock price by painting a misleadingly rosy picture of the business prospects of its BlackBerry 10 smartphone line. read more

Rome - Global food prices are not expected to fall much further after their fifth consecutive monthly decline in September, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday, trimming its estimate for 2013/14 world cereals production. read more

On Tesco’s H1 results, David Gray, Retail Analyst at Planet Retail, commented: “As expected, Tesco reported a drop in UK like-for-like sales driven by subdued general merchandise sales, which are continuing to suffer, albeit like-for-like sales showed improvement in the second quarter. Nevertheless, food sales held up fuelled by warm weather in July/August alongside a new food-focused ‘Love Every Mouthful’ marketing campaign which launched during the half. We expect to see further positive news on food sales in the months ahead as improvements to product ranges come through.  read more

Last week’s Nairobi’s Westgate Mall attacks had hammered Kenya’s general retailer, Nakumatt, one of Africa’s most home-based business triumphs, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).  read more

Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL), has appointed Mr Eric Otoo as the 'Route to Consumer' (RtC) Director in line with the company's vision of dominating the beverage industry in the country.  read more

Johannesburg - South African clothing retail outlets have scored a customer satisfaction rating of 82 out of 100 according to the South African Customer Satisfaction Index (SAcsi). read more

London - Tesco led European shares lower early on Wednesday after the world's third largest retailer's quarterly revenues flatlined as its turnaround plan failed to bear fruit, prompting earnings downgrades. read more

Massmart has confirmed it is interested in buying a major stake in Kenyan retailer Naivas. read more

Local retail chain, Sefalana, has withdrawn a lawsuit it filed at the Lobatse High Court against the Competition Authority (CA), Choppies, SupaSave and MegaSave. Citing market share concerns, Sefalana went to court after it lost the bid to acquire SupaSave and its distribution wing, MegaSave to rival supermarket chain, Choppies. read more

Craft beers may be giving big brewers a run for their money, but the top-rated beers worldwide in terms of taste come from all over the map, according to one product research site.  read more

Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) said earlier in September that it expects basic earnings per share to be materially lower than the prior year by between 66% and 68% in the year ended 30 June. The company said in a trading statement published by the Namibia Stock Exchange that the decline is attributed to the impairment of a deferred tax asset related to DHN Drinks.  read more

Windhoek is fast becoming a hub for dedicated shoppers with the marked increase in the construction and extension of shopping centres. Residents of Pioneers Park Extension 1 can now look forward to closer access to groceries, fast food and medicine at the Westlane Shopping Centre which is currently under construction.  read more

Johannesburg - The purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to an eight-month low in September as a strike in the auto sector hurt new sales orders, suggesting a slowdown in the manufacturing sector, survey showed on Tuesday.  read more

Cape Town - Climate change poses a major threat to South Africa's maize production and food security, says the Agricultural Research Council. read more

Lusaka - Blackstar Group SE, an investment company, said it will join other shareholders in fighting Shoprite Holdings Ltd.’s attempts to reverse trades in the retailer’s stock in Zambia. read more

Commodity prices at retail level are, on the average, trading at more than 16 per cent of wholesale prices, the Esoko-GNA Commodity Index (EGCI) has revealed. read more

The dominance of retail property developments over other types of commercial property development is continuing unabated. read more

London - Britain's biggest drug maker GlaxoSmithKline agreed the £700m sale of its thrombosis drug brands and a related factory to Aspen Pharmacare, as part of its strategy to focus on growth products. read more

Plano, Texas – Shares of J.C. Penney Company took a beating on Friday after the retailer priced its $932 million share sale at a 7.4% discount and detailed its shrinking cash position.  read more

Johannesburg - China's decision to place a 6% VAT charge on freight and related costs is going to have an impact on the importing price from China, warned Asgar Mahomed, managing director of ICT distributor, Esquire Technologies. read more

On Friday, struggling mobile handset maker BlackBerry reported a loss of $965 million, or $1.84 per share diluted, for the three months ended August 2013, compared with a prior loss of $235 million. read more

South Africa’s GDP per capita is anticipated to grow by US$241 a year between 2010 and 2020, due to an increase in mobile phone subscriptions.  read more

Chase Bank (K) Limited, Naivas Supermarket and Visa have announced a partnership to launch a secure prepaid card for shopping convenience in Kenya, featuring the latest chip-based technology to cut the risk of fraud. read more

Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed household and appliance retailer, Pelhams Limited, is forecasting a loss in the first half to September due to subdued consumer spending on the back of an underperforming economy, a company official has said. read more

Edgars Stores Limited after-tax profit for the 26 weeks ended July 6 was up 17% to $1,1 million, buoyed by growth in revenue.  read more

Cape Town - With consumers buckling under rising food, fuel and electricity prices, the gloves have come off as supermarkets go to war for their share of an already tough market.  read more

The business community has welcomed the release of the census results earlier this month saying they will help them plan their business operations.  read more

Upmarket property manager, JHI Properties said the property market is performing well with very few vacancies available. read more

New York -- Consumer Confidence decreased in September amid resurfacing concerns about the short-term outlook for both jobs and earnings, according to The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index. The index, which had increased slightly in August, now stands at 79.7, down from 81.8 in August. Analysts had expected the index to fall to 79.9 this month. read more

Today, around 85% of all retail payment transactions are done with cash, which equates to 60% of retail transaction value, while 34% of all consumer payments ($63 trillion in total spend) are done with cash. read more

The consolidation of the global beer industry, which took SA Breweries from a dominant South African player to a dominant global player in just 10 years, had not come to an end, Alan Clark, SABMiller’s recently appointed chief executive, said this week. read more

New York -- Holiday sales are expected to climb to between $963 and $967 billion, representing a 4% to 4.5% increase in November through January holiday sales (excluding motor vehicles and gasoline) this year from last year’s season, according to the new Deloitte holiday sales forecast. The growth rate is on par with last year's 4.5% gain. read more

London - Adidas AG, the world’s second-largest maker of sporting goods, fell the most in more than a year after cutting its 2013 profit forecast late on Thursday.  read more

Johannesburg - The North West province on Wednesday declared there was a drought across its whole territory, an important maize growing region. read more

The latest second quarter GDP report released by the Namibia Statistics Agency shows that the economy recorded a slow growth of 2,3% in the second quarter of this year compared to an increase of 12,3% in the same period last year.  read more

Namibians have continued to love the beer bottle with Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) announcing that overall beer sales volumes on the local market grew at double digits, delivering a 12% growth in the year ended 30 June compared to the previous year.  read more

Consumer spending on Internet access in South Africa will reach approximately R59.6 billion by 2017, up from R19.8 billion in 2012 – a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.7%. read more

The approval granted for the development of Langa Junction at the Langa train station in Cape Town aligns with plans by the City of Cape Town to invest in pedestrianising the area by paving and landscaping the station forecourt and access roads. read more

Abuja - Nigeria's year-on-year consumer inflation fell to 8.2% in August, lower than July's 8.7% figure, the statistics bureau said on Tuesday, and touching a new 5-year low. read more

Johannesburg - South Africa's retail sales grew 2.8 percent year-on-year in July, far below forecasts, but higher than the revised 1.4 percent recorded in June, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday.  read more

New York – Saks Inc. plans to open seven new Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th stores in 2014: The Outlets at Bloomfield in Pearl, Miss.; Potomac Mills in Woodbridge, Va.; Palm Beach Outlets in West Palm Beach, Fla; Outlet Shoppes at Louisville/Lexington, Ky.; Twin Cities of Eagan in Minneapolis, Minn.; The Mayfair Collection in Mayfair, Wis.; and Easton Gateway in Columbus, Ohio.  read more

Johannesburg - Truworths International Ltd., South Africa’s largest listed clothing retailer, fell the most in three weeks on concern that lending growth is slowing and as monthly retail sales in the continent’s biggest economy shrank. read more

Cape Town - South Africans spend almost four times more on alcohol and cigarettes than on medical expenses and over one and a half times more on clothes than on education, a new study has revealed. read more

Microsoft Corp will follow its Steven Spielberg collaboration with more television projects aimed at positioning its new Xbox games console as a home entertainment hub. read more

Milan - Prada is seeing green shoots in Europe and feels confident about China, its biggest market, even though sales slowed in the first half, the luxury Italian fashion house said on Tuesday. read more

The average change in prices of goods and services in the country, measured by inflation, dropped to 11.5 per cent in August after registering a consistent rise since January, this year. read more

A new report highlights the intensified use of social media by South African corporations, with Facebook winning out amongst the big players in the sector. read more

South African consumer confidence has improved for the second half of 2013 according to the results of the latest MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence, released on Monday (16 September).  read more

Johannesburg - Massmart Holdings Inc., the South African supermarket chain owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is leading the country’s index of retailers as it heads for the longest winning streak in nine months. read more

JD Group, South Africa’s largest publicly traded furniture retailer and a provider of unsecured loans, is backtracking on plans to sell more bonds this year as lending growth stalls amid flagging sales. read more

Paris - European retailers have gone back to bricks and mortar in the hope of turning their online food businesses profitable - racing to build pick-up points to capitalise on shoppers' increasing demand for "click and collect" grocery options. read more

The total Namibian debt (comprising domestic and foreign government, corporate and household debt) grew by 0,43% during July to N$80,98 billion, representing an annual growth rate of 9,93%, slightly lower than the growth recorded in June of 10,15%.  read more

Johannesburg - Johannesburg-listed shares of Richemont slide nearly 3 percent after the Swiss luxury goods groups says sales in the five months through August rose 9 percent, just shy of forecasts, hit by weak demand for its watches in China. read more

London/New York - Consumers are sticking to frugal shopping habits developed in the recession even as developed economies show signs of recovery, suggesting some behaviour changes could be permanent, industry executives say. read more

Cape Town - The publication of rules governing the use of the name Rooibos is a first step in preventing its misuse and achieving international protection for the iconic South African plant, said the South African Rooibos Council.  read more

Johannesburg - Manufacturing output increased by 5.4% year-on-year in volume terms in July from a revised 0.5% in June, Statistics South Africa said on Wednesday. read more

Johannesburg, 10 September 2013 - Edcon has recently confirmed its acquisition of a controlling stake in the companies which hold the local franchise rights to Accessorize, La Senza and Inglot. The group’s acquisition is in line with Edcon’s current strategy to increase its branded content and introduce new international brands to its offering to the benefit of its customers. read more

New research has revealed the tremendous growth in active users on social networks in South Africa over the past year.  read more

Los Angeles -- Grocery chain Fresh & Easy confirmed reports that its British parent Tesco LLC has sold the brand to private equity firm The Yucaipa Cos., following months of uncertainty about the 200+-unit chain’s future. read more

Government has secured a loan of 7.3 million euros for investment in the banana industry to ensure the production of quality bananas for export, said Dr Hawkins Asiedu, a Director at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.  read more

The environment for doing business in Ghana in 2012 was far better than this year; that is according to the Executive Opinion and Global Competitiveness Report.  read more

Cape Town, Monday 9 September: According to the results of an economic impact study conducted by economists Economics Information Services (EiS) led by Barry Standish, the V&A Waterfront should be viewed as an economic hub which has contributed some R198-billion to the South African economy over the last ten years alone.  read more

The United Kingdom intends to double the value of trade with Kenya in the next five years, High Commissioner, Christian Turner has said.  read more

Copenhagen - Danish toy company Lego on Thursday reported a 13% rise in net sales for the first half of 2013, citing strong sales in Asia. read more

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked Zambia as one of the top 10 most competitive economies in Africa for 2013. read more

The acquisition of Supasave by Choppies is set to improve the latter's revenue by at least P200 million in the next financial year.  read more

Agra has started constructing a new retail branch in Windhoek’s Lafrenz industrial area at a cost of N$100 million, the company said.  read more

Oryx Properties, the Namibia Stock Exchange listed property investment company, declared a distribution of 72, 25 cents per linked unit for the six months to 30 June 2013, the company said on Friday. This is a 9,1% improvement over the 66,25 cents per unit declared for the comparative period. The total distribution to unit holders for the year amounts to 139,50 cents per unit, a nine percent increase over the 2012 financial year.  read more

The African mobile telecom market is forecast to grow from a combined value of over US$60 billion in 2013, to a value in 2020 of almost US$234 billion – with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.27%. read more

Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest maker of televisions, expects a recovery in the TV market in the second half of this year, helped by an improving US economy and the launch of new high-end sets. read more

Listed retailer Uchumi Supermarkets has reported a 30.3 per cent rise in full year profit to Sh373.01 million from Sh273.98 million last year. read more

The International Monetery Fund(IMF) has weighed into the long-running debate on high household debt, warning that commercial bank's level of exposure to this was a "significant source of vulnerability".  read more

The Bank of Namibia has released its selected monthly statistics for June. The statistics show that total Namibian debt (comprising domestic and foreign government, corporate and household debt) grew by 1.19% during June to N$80.64 billion. This represents an annual growth rate of 10.15%, slightly lower than the growth recorded in May of 10,2%.  read more

Engen Sherwoods Humansdorp Convenience Centre in the Eastern Cape has re-opened its doors to the public following a significant revamp that concluded this week. read more

Helsinki - Beleaguered Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia will sell its mobile phone unit to the US group Microsoft for 5.44-billion euros ($7.17-billion), it has said. read more