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RAPAPORT... The Beny Steinmetz Group (BSG) is planning to float its Sierra Leone diamond mine on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Financial Times reported. The group’s Octea subsidiary, which owns the Koidu mine, is looking to raise between $400 million and $600 million through the initial public offering, which will give the mine a value of $2 billion to $3 billion. The funds will be used to develop a new diamond mine in Sierra Leone, to expand group production and achieve annual output of 2.5 million carats.

The Koidu diamond mine in Sierra Leone will be set for an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, according to published reports.

The Beny Steinmetz Group, a privately held natural resources company, will issue its float in the later half of 2012 through a spinoff company called Octea, which serves as the holding company for the mine, according to the Financial Times. It will attempt to raise $400 million to $600 million and achieve a valuation of $2 billion to $3 billion.

The Bank of Sierra Leone and the Commercial Banks have a policy of ZERO TOLERANCE ON FRAUD MATTER and apply the strictest levels of internal discipline on incidences of fraud across the board,” Crispin Bishop Deigh, the Managing-Director of the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank told Journalists at his office over the weekend.
Mr. Deigh speaking as the newly elected president of the Sierra Leone Association of Commercial Banks said; “unfortunately, fraud within the financial services sector, locally and internationally, is a fact of life, as was seen with the recent events at various levels in the global banking and financial industry in spite of the deployment of appropriate internal controls to mitigate such.”

So 2012 has begun and the fight to lose that Christmas excess is on. What better way to do this then on a beautiful hike on the peninsular.

A beautiful trail through forest on the peninsular has recently been opened to walkers.

A group of Chinese companies have expressed interest in boosting the rice and rubber production in Sierra Leone's agricultural sector, says the minister of agriculture forestry and food security at the ministry's conference hall in Freetown yesterday.

The Committee of Governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone WAMZ yesterday held its 26th meeting at the Miatta Conference Hall in Freetown against what the Committee described as the challenging global economic situation. Such a slowdown in growth it said “would affect both developed and emerging countries”.
Despite the downward pull in global economic growth, from 5% in 2010 to 4% in 2011 and what it also described as the “exceptional crises” experienced by some ECOWAS countries like Cote d’Ivoire, the region it went on is “expected to record a growth rate that is above the African average of 6.4%”. It is also worth mentioning that the sub region as stated by WAMZ experienced in 2011 “slight decline” in inflation, “moderate” rise in commodity prices and a decline in deficit from 4.4% in 2010 to 3.4% in 2011.

FREETOWN – The European Union has donated €3 million as support to Smallholder Production and youth employment related to Ministry of Agriculture priorities and projects in Sierra Leone. 

“The overall objective of the intervention is to reduce the effects of the protracted crisis on the poorest and most vulnerable part of the population of Sierra Leone,” said the Head of Delegation of the European Union to Sierra Leone, H.E Jean-Pierre Reymondet-Commoy. 

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, January 18, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Justice Richard Brunt Lussick of Samoahas been elected Presiding Judge of Trial Chamber II. He succeeds Justice Teresa Doherty, whose one-year term ended on 17 January 2012.

Pursuant to Rule 27 of the Special Court's Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the Presiding Judge of the Trial Chamber is elected for a renewable term of one year. It has, however, been the practice of the Trial Chambers to rotate the position of Presiding Judge at the end of each one-year term.

London Mining is working on expanding the iron ore project it operates in Sierra Leone. The company hopes to load its first shipment from the Marampa mine this month.

The ship, booked by its sales partner Glencore International, is expected to arrive in Freetown on January 23, 2012 with the first shipment destined for Europe. The company hopes to bring up the production capacity of the mine by 25% after it finishes the expansion.