THE Ramatex textile company and its main subsidiary in Namibia were declared bankrupt by the High Court yesterday.

Safaricom has so far attracted KSh191 billion from both local and foreign investors, surpassing the Treasury's target of Sh50 billion by nearly four times and making it Sub-Saharan Africa's biggest initial public offering.

AFRICA First ReNaissance Corporation Limited (Afre) is seeking shareholder approval for the creation of a capital redemption reserve fund, to be appropriated out of revenue reserves.

TURNALL Holdings, a fibre cement manufacturing concern, has hiked prices for its products by more than 700 percent, a move likely to deepen the cost crisis faced by the construction industry.

The House of Representatives yesterday overruled the decision of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Housing and Urban Development to transfer the ownership of Transit Village Victoria-Island, Lagos, to the Bank of Industry.

Soft drink maker Coca-Cola Africa says it is enhancing its distribution network to create more employment on the continent.

Two states, Lagos and Kaduna, will be the next beneficiaries of what the Nigerian Breweries Plc has termed 'a strategic plan of action', as the company has disclosed an intention to build two new factories (one in each of the two states) in the country.

Recent stories on the pages of some Newspapers suggesting that Government and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) may have differed over NITEL Crisis has once again started to elicit reactions among critically-minded Nigerians who themselves are stakeholders in the TRANSCORP project of transforming and turning around for good, the fortunes of the nation's premier telecom gateway.

OLD Mutual, which owns SA's biggest life company, warned yesterday it could miss its financial targets for this year after sales at its European operations fell almost 7% as unit trust sales succumbed to volatile markets.

TELECOMS equipment and electronics group Jasco's strategy to grow organically and through acquisitions continues to bear fruit, with the company reporting strong results yesterday .

The load- shedding crisis and other threats have made local business much more receptive to the idea of organisational resilience, Deloitte's Financial Directors Forum heard yesterday.

PERHAPS some readers of this column may think I didn't notice the April 29 report by Anglo American for the first quarter of the year ended March . I noticed it, printed it and also read several media comments on it. I also read the news that Anglo American's conversion to new-order mining rights had been officially granted.

TIGER Brands' Albany bakeries have launched SA's first biodegradable bread bags.

INTUITIVELY, you know agricultural services group Afgri should be doing well: India, China and their cattle are chomping their way through the world's grain supplies and Afgri is in the grain storage and handling business. You can't go wrong with that, or can you?

HARMONY Gold Mining was considering ways of extending the lives of its high-cost mines around Virginia in Free State, because they contained substantial reserves that could be profitable at current gold prices, CEO Graham Briggs said yesterday.

LONMIN, the world's third-biggest platinum producer, is proceeding with its growth projects at full speed as if it will get all the power it needs, CEO Brad Mills said yesterday.

OCEANA, which is involved in catching, processing and procuring marine species, grew margins in the first half of the year off the back of rising prices and a weaker rand.

SABMILLER has bought Ukrainian brewer CJSC Sarmat for an undisclosed amount, as part of group strategy to expand into emerging markets.

INCREASED production and sales and the containment of operating costs saw building materials supplier Infrasors record strong results for the year to February as it benefited from growth in the construction sector.

VOLKSWAGEN SA will grow its export volumes to new records this year after it was awarded a contract for 10260 fifth-generation Jettas, the company said yesterday.

DIRECTORS of software supplier AdaptIT Holdings believe a merger between Adapt IT and listed company Infowave late last year is paying off as its earnings have begun to rise.

SUN International yesterday reported a 7% rise in revenue in the third quarter period to March but warned shareholders of difficult trading conditions in its casino business, reflecting the downturn in spending by hard-pressed consumers facing soaring food prices.

LISTED technology company Mustek has been accused of contempt of court by its black empowerment partner Puno, which is challenging the legality of Mustek's move to repossess Puno's shares in its business.

Soft drinks transnational, Coca Cola, on Thursday announced a Sh3.1 billion expansion of its Kenyan franchise.

AccessKenya shareholders on Thursday gave the firm a go-ahead to acquire more companies in the information and communication technology sector to consolidate its position in the market.