Company News in Brief

South Africa's state-owned PIC partners with UK DFI on African infrastructureSouth Africa's state-owned Public Investment Corporation and UK development financier British International Investment have formed a partnership to boost investment in African infrastructure, the organizations said on Monday.Financial terms were not disclosed.The partnership will mobilize private capital in Africa at scale to expand climate funding and boost the rise of private credit as a new asset class, said Leslie Maasdorp, CEO of BII, the UK government's development finance institution.Under the memorandum of understanding, PIC, Africa's biggest fund manager, and BII will create a framework to jointly explore co-investment opportunities across Africa.Priorities include small and medium enterprise financing, financial inclusion, green economy transitions and infrastructure in countries in Southern, Eastern and Western Africa, PIC said.Investment opportunities will be considered on a case-by-case basis, a PIC spokesperson said in an email.Africa faces an annual infrastructure and climate finance gap of more than $100 billion, according to the African Development Bank. Many bilateral donors are pulling back due to domestic fiscal and political pressures.-REUTERS Malian court-appointed administrator meets Barrick Mining staff in capital as office reopensMalian tax officials have reopened Barrick Mining's office in the capital under a court-appointed administrator, after it was shuttered in April over alleged non-payment of taxes, two people close to the matter told Reuters on Monday.It marks the first significant development since a Malian court on June 16 placed the Canadian miner's Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex under state control in a major escalation of a protracted dispute over taxes and ownership.It named former Malian health minister, Soumana Makadji, as provisional administrator in a move that Barrick has said it will appeal.Makadji - who is expected to restart operations at the complex soon - held a meeting with staff at the Bamako office on Monday afternoon. He said he would visit the mining site on Wednesday, according to a meeting attendee.He said the mines should be able to finance themselves going forward once production has restarted and gold sales resume.He was also meeting with subcontractors on Monday, three people familiar with the matter said.Spokespeople for Barrick and for Mali's mines ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.-REUTERS Congo extends cobalt export ban by three monthsThe Democratic Republic of Congo has extended by three months a ban on exports of cobalt intended to curb oversupply of the electric vehicle battery material, a regulatory agency said on Saturday.The world's top cobalt supplier imposed a four-month suspension on exports in February after prices had hit a nine-year low at just $10 a pound. The ban was due to expire on Sunday.The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here."The decision has been taken to extend the temporary suspension due to the continued high level of stock on the market," the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets (ARECOMS) said in a statement.ARECOMS said it expected to announce a subsequent decision to either modify, extend or terminate the suspension before the new three-month window closes in September.Reuters reported on Friday that Congolese authorities were considering extending the ban as they explored how to distribute quotas for shipments of cobalt among mining companies.A proposal to implement quotas has backing from miners including Glencore, the world's second-largest cobalt-producing company. But Glencore's position differs from that of the number one producer, China's CMOC Group, which has lobbied for the ban to be lifted.-REUTERS

Company News in Brief

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-29

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Company News in Brief

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-29

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