The Independent (Kampala)
Indipadmin009
25 November 2009
Kampala — In the latest twist to this saga, Chris Gabriel, the chief executive officer of Zain Africa, has said it is not for sale.
"In terms of Zain and our leadership, we're focused on our objectives to become a top 10 global mobile player by 2011. There is absolutely no loss of focus on investment and no lack of resolve on the part of leadership to develop Africa," he said last week at a press conference in Cape Town.
On Oct. 5, Zain halted plans to sell its operations across 13 African nations at the request of potential buyers of a stake in the company. Kuwait's Kharafi Group and its National Investments Co. in September agreed to sell a 46% stake in Zain valued at about US$13.7 billion to a group led by India's Vavasi Group and Malaysian billionaire Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary.
Google Earth in Kampala finally
GOOGLE Earth, a software application that enables people and organisations to map their surroundings and to beam to the world issues that affect them has been launched in Uganda.
The software application was invented by several engineers at Silicon Valley, the world's top technology hub. The application provides a parallel way of searching the earth instead of typing in text online, you fly virtually into that place.
The application is a high resolution satellite energy that provides map data images like roads and other salient features on earth.
The most realistic application that Uganda can adapt is the use of Google Earth to promote her tourism as it is done in New Zealand and Egypt where the application is used to beam tourist sites.
It has been used to post an atlas on Google earth tours of the social and political pressures on Mabira forest, one of the few surviving natural forests in central Uganda and to expose the pressures exerted by the population growth on water bodies and infrastructure from 1974 to 2008 in Uganda.
Tullow to sell Uganda's oil in early 2010
Oil and gas company Tullow Oil says its business continued to perform strongly in the second half of this year. In a trading update, the company said it had an exploration success rate of 85% in the period.
Tullow said production this year was expected to average the equivalent of 58,000 barrels of oil a day, in line with previous estimates.
The company is aiming to sell up to 50% of its interests in the Lake Albert Rift Basin of Uganda. It wants to retain a stake and work with a partner with expertise in developing the project.
Tullow said there had been 'considerable interest' from oil companies and a decision was expected on a partner early in 2010.
In October, the group opened a data room to promote the sale of up to 50pc of its interests in the Ugandan Lake Albert Rift Basin.
Tullow said it would remain as operator on the project but was looking for a "like-minded partner" who would bring downstream expertise to the project.
Centenary Bank is safe, says BoU
Bank of Uganda last week moved to allay fears over the soundness of Centenary Rural Development Bank. Without divulging details, the Central Bank which by law supervises the activities of all commercial banks in the country, confirmed earlier reports that the policies conducting investigations into some transactions on the accounts of a very small number of customers of Centenary Rural Development Bank.
"The investigations do not affect the financial condition of the bank or its ability to continue carrying on its banking business in the normal manner," a statement from Bank of Uganda said.
It said the bank is strong and solvent and has sufficient liquidity to meet the ongoing funding needs of its customers as and when required.
The bank blamed the fears on a "highly misleading report of the investigations being conducted by the police" in the media.
Nile, Bell won't quit bottle fight
Uganda's leading beer brewers, Nile Breweries and Uganda Breweries Ltd are locked in a fight over rights to the new design 500 ml bottle.
Each refuses to let the other use the slender long necked bottle, which has become a hit since replacing the traditional squat one as the package of choice for its frothy alcoholic beverages.
NBL says "the uniquely designed long neck 500 ml beer bottle is registered by M/s Nile Breweries Limited as its trade mark under No. 32118 - Class 32 of the Trade Marks Act and also as industrial design with ARIPO under NO. AP/D/00176."
But UBL counters that the bottle design is generic and cannot, therefore, be the subject of any exclusive rights as claimed". The case could go to court.
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