An exciting new competition for small business owners has been launched under the title of “Punk Your SME!”. The competition will invite South African small  business owners to motivate why their business deserves to be “punked” and receive a shot in the arm to raise their profile.

Webber Wentzel has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with leading West African law firm Bile-Aka, Brizoua-Bi & Associés, based in Côte d’Ivoire.
The deal is designed to offer a more complete solution to their respective clients’ needs in the OHADA region and further develop their regional law practices. 
OHADA – the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business [...]

Jan du Plessis the chairman of metals group Rio Tinto has distributed the following letter to shareholders as Australia contemplates its “super tax” on mining firms in the region:

Broad international investor participation in the Imara Group’s second annual Zimbabwe investment conference confirms the growing pull of Africa’s ‘frontier markets’, say the upbeat organisers.
Leading international fund managers have confirmed their attendance at the event in Harare on June 7 and 8, says Sean Gammon, MD of Harare-based Imara Capital Zimbabwe.

Directors and officers, charged with making difficult management decisions in the course of their work, may face heightened litigation once the new Companies Act comes into effect in later this year. Increased litigation may also cost directors millions in their personal capacity.

JSE Main Board-listed construction materials supplier, Afrimat, today continued its positive growth trend when it announced the R35 million acquisition of the Glen Douglas dolomite mine from Exxaro Resources Limited.  The acquisition marks the first step in the group’s diversification into complementary industries in order to expand revenue streams, boost profitability and sustain growth in [...]

On current trends, South Africa is headed for a crisis of water security and quality that will hamper the country’s social and economic development.
Sooner than many policy-makers anticipate, emerging water supply problems will impact on the whole spectrum of South Africa’s development challenges.

Diversified resources group Xstrata has slammed the introduction of a proposed resources tax in Australia. Below is the press statement issued by the group:

Given the uncertainties facing the mining sector, mining companies will have to adopt sufficiently flexible planning strategies to accommodate a range of potential scenarios – a single vision cannot encompass the almost endless variation of challenges they may face in 2010. Deloitte’s global mining team put together the following ten trends that mining companies will [...]

The establishment of an Integrated Project Management Control Office (IPMCO) is the fastest growing concept in project management today and is very important for the effective implementation of projects across mining and engineering. To keep pace with increased competition and tougher economic conditions in a fast-paced global economy, mines must do more using fewer resources. [...]