South Sudan circulates $20 mln in new pound currency

(Reuters) - The Bank of Southern Sudan has put 40 million new Sudanese pounds into circulation in south Sudan to try to standardise the currency used in the semi-autonomous region, an official told Reuters.

Teams of fixed-point and mobile currency exchangers in planes, trucks, four wheel drives and canoes plan to circulate an additional 20 million pounds in the south by end-June, the official said.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Uganda scraps plan to cut rainforest for palm oil

(Reuters) - Uganda's government has scrapped plans to convert thousands of hectares of rainforest on an island in Lake Victoria into a palm oil plantation, the environment minister said on Saturday.

President Yoweri Museveni has faced intense opposition, including violent protests, over proposals to give private firms the right to bulldoze protected forests to create farms.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Gold bulls retreat as cental bank sales bite

(Reuters) - Heavy gold sales from European central banks over the past two months have taken a toll on bullion investor sentiment, despite robust jewelry demand and as top miners say production may take a hit this year.

Prices of the precious metal have struggled this year to duplicate the double-digit growth of 2005 and 2006 even though market fundamentals were tight. Larger-than-usual government sales have flooded the market with excess supply.


Read more at Reuters Africa

China's CIMC secures $200 mln syndicated loan

(Reuters) - The loan deal was signed on Friday with a total of 11
financial institutions, it said, without giving more details.




In December, CIMC announced it was taking over Dutch rival
Burg Industries in a 108 million euro deal.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News