UGANDA

Rwanda has put plans of awarding a fourth mobile phone operator's licence on the ice until subscriber growth and market share distribution stabilises, the industry regulator said on Friday.

Kenyan cement maker Bamburi recorded on Friday a 21 percent drop in annual pretax profit to 7.56 billion shillings as competition increased.

Kenya's Centum Investment Co is poised to tap the booming property market in east Africa to meet the growing demand of the bulging middle class, its chief executive officer said on Tuesday.

Ugandan police said they believe terrorists are targeting Kampala before national elections this month, the latest in a series of threats since twin bombs killed 79 people in the capital last year.

A war of words between Uganda's main presidential candidates escalated on Friday, sparking fears of Egypt-style street violence should the opposition say the poll was rigged.

Kenya's biggest sugar miller, Mumias Sugar Company on Monday forecast it could earn 2 billion shillings from a new ethanol distillation plant once it is in production next year.

Rivals to Central African Republic leader Francois Bozize pulled their representatives off the election body on Saturday, alleging fraud after early partial results from last weekend's poll put Bozize in the lead.

Tanzania's top-grade coffee fetched an all-time high at this week's auction as the harvest of high-quality supply dwindled, traders said on Friday.

A gay rights activist who sued a newspaper last year for “outing” him, has been found murdered in Uganda.

Canada's Africa Oil Corp said on Wednesday it had completed a farmout agreement for three east African exploration blocks to London-listed Tullow Oil Plc, which now holds a 50 percent stake in each of them.

An influential opponent of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo called on Wednesday for a targeted commando strike against the leader who is resisting calls to step down after a disputed election in November.

The Bank of Uganda said on Monday it was intervening in the foreign exchange market by selling hard currency BOUG00, helping to push the shilling up to levels last seen nearly three weeks ago.

Mauritius private equity group Ciel Capital plans to venture into Kenya, east Africa's biggest economy, in the first half and is in talks with key players in various sectors, a senior partner said.

Uganda's central bank said on Wednesday it would adopt a more aggressive stance towards the shilling's exchange rate after the local currency sunk to an all-time low of 2,395/2,400 versus the dollar.

Uganda's 2010 sugar production rose slightly on a year earlier but fell short of forecasts, hit by technical problems at the leading producer and poor rains, an industry association said on Tuesday.

South Sudan appealed for investors to plough $140 million into its war-hit wildlife parks, seeking to kick-start a tourism industry and wean itself off oil months ahead of its expected independence.

The Ugandan shilling strengthened marginally on Friday, supported by central bank intervention after it hit a record low against the dollar, but traders said the currency's reprieve could be short-lived.

Uganda's shilling looks set to plumb new record lows against the dollar over the next week due to soaring foreign exchange demand from the oil sector, while Kenya's unit should strengthen slightly.

China is providing a $350 million concessionary loan to build a multi-lane toll road linking Uganda's capital with the country's Entebbe airport, 54 km (34 miles) away, Ugandan officials said on Thursday.

In a development that may underscore a growing resentment of Asian business acumen on the African continent, authorities in Tanzania recently ordered foreign traders doing business in a key market in the capital city of Dar es Salaam to close up shop and depart the country within thirty days or risk arrest and prosecution.

Two Ugandan journalists have been arrested over a cartoon of President Yoweri Museveni on the cover of their magazine which referred to his 24 years in power and asked Where next?, their lawyer said on Wednesday.