Sierra Leone: after the polls, Koroma faces investment challenges

Nov 27, 2012 12:58pm by Kimberly S. Johnson

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Sierra Leone’s president Ernest Bai Koroma (left) may have avoided a run-off in this month’s presidential election, but he still a faces a dilemma – how to attract and retain investors while swelling government coffers to put citizens on the road to prosperity.

Koroma won a second term in elections held in mid-November. He received 58.7 per cent of the vote, narrowly surpassing the 55 per cent threshold needed to avoid a run-off with his main opponent, Julius Maada Bio, who received 37.4 per cent of votes. Continue reading »

Tags: Ernest Bai Koroma, privatisation, Sierra Leone politics, west Africa Posted in Africa, Sierra Leone | Permalink

Sierra Leone: polls could be followed by tax increases for mining companies

Nov 16, 2012 4:46pm by Kimberly S. Johnson

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Photo: Tamika D. Payne

Investors typically take a wait-and-see approach to elections in Africa. And things are no different in Sierre Leone, which holds a presidential poll on Saturday, in its third election since its civil war.

There’s a lot at stake for the small West African nation looking to move beyond its bloody past – and for the energy and mining companies eyeing its natural resources. Continue reading »

Tags: African Minerals, Andarko, Cape Lambert, London Mining, natural resources, politics, Socfin Posted in Africa, Sierra Leone | Permalink

Sierra Leone 2012 economic growth: high, but not that high

Oct 9, 2012 1:26pm by Kimberly S. Johnson

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Sierra Leone made news earlier this year as officials boasted of a 32 per cent jump in GDP growth, buoyed by iron ore exports. But don’t break out the local ginger beer just yet.

IMF officials are bracing for see lower-than-expected GDP growth in 2012, as production estimates from African Minerals have been revised downward, according to the Fund’s representative Francis Kumah. Continue reading »

Tags: African Minerals, GDP, IMF, mining Posted in Africa, Sierra Leone | Permalink

Sierra Leone marries up oil block bidders

Aug 17, 2012 1:52pm by Kimberly S. Johnson

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When Sierra Leone’s Petroleum Resources Unit (PRU) named provisional winners of eight offshore oil blocks last month, it teamed various bidders together for four of the blocks, telling them to move forward as partners in negotiations. The companies had no say in the matter.

“It is like a forced marriage,” said Adekunle King, legal officer for the PRU. Continue reading »

Tags: exploration, oil & gas Posted in Africa, Sierra Leone | Permalink

Sierra Leone: one big GDP leap

Jul 18, 2012 7:30pm by Kimberly S. Johnson

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It’s rainy season in Sierra Leone, but officials here aren’t at all gloomy when it comes to economic forecasts.

The country’s GDP is expected to grow by a sky-high 32.5 per cent in 2012. That’s revised down a few notches from the 35.9 per cent reported by the IMF earlier this year. However, growth might be a bit more down-to-earth in 2013. Continue reading »

Tags: African Minerals, GDP, London Mining, sub-Saharan Africa Posted in Africa, Sierra Leone | Permalink

Broadband in W Africa: the challenges

Jun 12, 2012 5:42pm by Kimberly S. Johnson

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West Africa’s mobile phone and data markets are often seen as bright spots in otherwise turbulent economies. But a top regulator in the region says there are still many issues to address before declaring victory in modernising the sector.

Governments, operators and investors need to move beyond the “euphoria” of high penetration rates and realise that ICT (information and communications technology) is about more than having a mobile phone, says Nnamdi Nwokike, executive secretary of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (Watra). Continue reading »

Posted in Africa, Global, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone | Permalink

Sierra Leone: a one-stock shop

Apr 24, 2012 12:05pm by Katrina Manson

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A random assortment of dark wood desks and chairs crowd the room. The tatty carpet is no longer glamorous but it is still just about red. A big-handled bell sits on a centre table.

Welcome to the Sierra Leone Stock Exchange. Number of stocks traded: one. Continue reading »

Tags: frontier markets, stock exchanges, west Africa Posted in Africa, Sierra Leone | Permalink

Video: Sierra Leone’s new chapter

Apr 23, 2012 9:23am by beyondbrics

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Sierra Leone has come a long way since its civil war ended in 2001. The resumption of iron ore exports, more than 30 years after the industry collapsed, an increase in diamond production and a budding tourism sector are all contibuting to a new-found stability. Katrina Manson reports.

Tags: mining, tourism Posted in Africa, Sierra Leone | Permalink

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