Business round up

Beer prices increaseThe country`s leading beer maker, Bralirwa, increased prices of Mutzing and Primus big bottle by Rwf100.The company says this is to cater for the increasing transport costs of imported raw materials. Bralirwa Commercial Director, Alexander Koch, said the price increase was implemented to cover increased input and business costs for the brewer. He explained that there has been price increase in malt which is a raw material used in brewing. Koch noted that most raw materials are imported from Europe yet prices have increased due to the unstable global economy. Mutzig 65cl (big bottle) costs Rwf900 up from Rwf800 while Primus 72 cl (big bottle) is at Rwf 700 up from Rwf600. The two products form a 50 per cent of the company’s output. RURA puts number portability on hold The telecommunications regulator, RURA, put on hold a process that allows subscribers to freely move from one network to another. The process allows subscribers to change their networks with out losing their original number. Dubbed as Mobile Number Portability (MNP), it implementation is expected after the country reaches 60 percent of mobile penetration rate. The Director General of RURA, Regis Gatarayiha, said that currently, the 36 percent rate which is even below the African average, the process defeats all incentives for more subscribers. RURA says that the need to reach 60 percent penetration rate will ensure that all operators achieve comparable market share before porting is allowed. The regulator said initial projections were by the end of 2012 but it may be attained before or after. Law on gaming activities in the offing Players in the gaming business said the imminent law on gaming will promote transparency and modernise the industry. Recently, Cabinet endorsed a bill on gaming activities and if passed by parliament, it will also increase government’s tax revenue collections. Government intends to slap a 13 percent specific tax as well as a withholding tax of 15 percent on gaming activities. The CEO of Rwanda Gaming Corporation (RGC), Phillip Brizoua, said that government`s expectation from the industry seven years ago did not happen due to lack of appropriate legal framework. He noted that the law was one of the biggest achievements in the industry. He explained that last year, the gaming regulatory framework was adopted to regulate the industry under international best practices as well as protecting stakeholders and players. Singaporean firm to takeover Magerwa The National Bonded Warehouse, Magerwa, was officially handed over to Portek International. This was after the Singaporean firm acquired 66.25 percent shares in the parastatal. The firm promised to invest US$10m to expand the warehouse`s supply chain to a regional level.An extra ordinary general assembly convened to dissolve the old board and management. Magerwa’s Managing Director Lambert Nyoni, said there will be no loss of jobs due to change in ownership. He said that there might be re-positioning but not cleaning-up. He however added that there might be slight changes PSF’s exhibition centre to boost investments Through the construction of a trade and exhibition centre, the Private Sector Federation is set to boost businesses. A senior- executive and Chief Strategy Officer of Messe Munchen international, Dr. Wolf-Dietrich Muller, said the centre that will be of international standard will be the first of its kind in the Great Lakes region. He said that the centre will indicate the development of the country and regional economy. He also said that companies from abroad will use it to sell their products hence contributing to taxes. Muller noted that the exhibition centre is a ‘special big market’ that will expose Rwanda’s companies and businesses to wider markets. Senators encouraged to invest in BKMembers of the upper chamber of Parliament were advised to buy shares in Bank of Kigali (BK) in the bank’s ongoing Initial Public Offer (IPO). The IPO process gives the investor an opportunity to apply for shares early on the primary market at possibly lower prices. The bank’s Chief Operations Officer (COO), Lawson Naibo, while briefing the Senate said about capital markets and IPO that BK`s assets last year hit Rwf197 billion and netted Rwf6.1 billion profits.The bank`s market share presently stands at 27 per cent. Rwanda set to implement IMF recommendations Rwanda is set to implement the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations contained in the memorandum on economic and financial policies report. The IMF report highlights the country`s recent economic development and implementation of the economic program under the three-year Policy Support Instrument (PSI). One of the recommendations from the first review carried out in December 2010 is to expedite Revenue Authority’s (RRA) mandate to collect contributions on behalf of the Rwanda Social Security Board. RRA is also mandated to audit the Social Security Fund of Rwanda and RAMA, which were recently merged to form the Rwanda Social Security Board. Ends