Nedbank BettaBeta ETF lists on Botswana Stock Exchange

The Botswana Gazette: "“While Nedbank Capital is justifiably proud of the role it has played in this process, the successful listing of the BettaBeta ETF can undoubtedly be attributed to the perseverance of the Botswana Stock Exchange itself,” Visser says, “because it was the BSE that first identified the need for an affordable and broadly inclusive investment vehicle that would enable more Botswanans (Batswana) to benefit from the country’s economic growth, and it has been their unfailing commitment that has ensured this vision has come to fruition, some four years on.” Visser explains that the Nedbank BettaBeta ETF has been designed to offer investors in the BSE affordable exposure to blue chip companies listed on the JSE/FTSE Top 40 – many of which also operate in Botswana."

Botswana market significant

The Botswana Gazette: "“The Botswana market is quite significant to our business, the thought that since the consumer market is not as large as other parts of Africa is mistaken,” Boulanger said, adding that, “in our approach we are aware that the country’s economy is government driven, as such our product delivery is in line with that fact without leaving the consumer market behind.”"

De Beers Hires Alstom's Mellier in Echo of Anglo's Carroll

"We're looking for Philippe really to shape De Beers to be relevant for the next generation," Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer, 65, said in a phone interview from London today. "There's no doubt that De Beers, when Philippe comes to the end of this tenure, will be a different company to what it is today. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/05/15/bloomberg1376-LLA3QM6K50XU01-2V4SFE3598AJU7AKIUA7D198IV.DTL#ixzz1MbGGEEIb

The Development Conundrum Anagram of Africa

GhanaWeb: "'Are you there... Africa of the millions of royal slaves, deported Africa, drifting continent, are you there? Slowly you vanish, you withdraw into the past, into the tales of castaways, colonial museums, the works of scholars' Jean Genet describes Africa in; The Blacks. I am so fascinated by the writings of Walter Rodney and begin to wonder if our policy makers even know where we came from and the development needs of the continent. It is important for the African policy makers come up with policies that aim at benefiting Africans and not other consideration, just as Botswana did remarkably under former president Sir Quett Ketumile Joni Masire. African countries are unjustifiably referred to as developing, in other words, third world countries. Going by the western definition of the status of these countries, they are underdeveloped and less intelligent. “Underdevelopment makes sense only as a means of comparing levels of development. It is very much tied to the fact that human social development has been uneven and from a strictly economic viewpoint some human group have advanced further by producing more and becoming wealthier.” Walter Rodney"

De Beers names new Group CEO

Moneyweb: "The Chairman of the De Beers Board, Nicky Oppenheimer announces that the De Beers Group has appointed Philippe Mellier as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mellier, currently the President of Alstom Transport and Executive Vice President of Alstom SA, was selected after a wide-ranging search. He will formally join De Beers in July and will chair the company’s Executive Committee and be appointed to the De Beers SA Board."

RBZ urges gold-backed Zim dollar

RBZ urges gold-backed Zim dollar: "Government ditched the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009 after it had been rendered worthless by record inflation levels and adopted multiple foreign currencies with the US dollar, the South African Rand and the Botswana being the most widely used."