This seems to be latest on the UAE Dubai/BCL situation per WeekendPost Monday 24/4/2017, published same date, by Rearabilwe Ramaphane.
BREAKING NEWS
Monday, 24 April 2017
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Dubai billionaires to ‘buy’ Selibe Phikwe
Publishing Date : 24 April, 2017
Author : REARABILWE RAMAPHANE
This long article indicates that things are moving in the right direction, but without total certainty. It seems the UAE investors will involve themselves as a group -assuming they proceed at all - into many aspects in Botswana, including BCL, but it will be interesting to see how things actually pan out , as to me there is no absolute certainty yet. No details or mechanisms, just a broad brush indication of progress and intent.
"Emirate Investment House, a consortium of United Arab Emirates rich businessmen from Dubai are in the process of investing billions of Pula into the entire Selibe Phikwe and SPEDU region and turn them into an empire of value chain businesses and cash spinning enterprises – highly placed sources revealed to WeekendPost this week.
Sources close to developments have disclosed to this publication that investors who recently arrived in the country and were interested in re-opening the mine now want more than the mine and want to turn the whole area into their own economic hub, in line with what the Revitalisation Strategy seeks to achieve.
Suggestions are that Linah Mohohlo who was tasked with coordinating the efforts of resuscitating the once vibrant copper mining town through the Phikwe Revitalisation Strategy played her cards right and convinced the investors to not only pump money into saving BCL alone but to invest in other activities autonomous from mining in the region.
“This is a delegation encompassing highly connected and loaded business magnates, they run and own multinational corporate entities with multibillion dollar revenues, they are looking into tens of billions pula investments locally,” said a source who preferred anonymity. WeekendPost investigations reveal that SPEDU executives along with Mohohlo are scouting for investors from the Emirate Investment House to resource and realize their mandates.
Mohohlo has used her investment wooing expertise to convince and solicit interest from the Abu Dhabi Arabs, and sources reveal she is succeeding as the investors expressed interest and wish to turn the region into their base for agriculture, transport and logistics, international trade as well as manufacturing, exactly what SPEDU seeks to achieve as well."
The following para (quoted below) emphasises that the related projects will be implimented only after the BCL dealing is done........"Sources close to SPEDU and Mohohlo offices have revealed that a chunk of land would be readily available for the Arabs to branch into high value large scale agriculture as well as manufacturing. “The entire SPEDU tourism master plan, agricultural potential unearthing blueprint would be handed over to these investors
as soon as they are done with BCL take over,” he said. Minister Kebonang has confirmed that the Dubai investors were not only eyeing BCL but will venture into other business sectors." (the emphasis is mine.)
Another interesting point Min Kebonang told to WeekendPost is that "it might not necessarily be in Phikwe".
Liquidator Nigel Dixon-Warren is reported to have indicated the prospective buyers are expected to make an offer and if agreed upon, purchase of shares would follow. "The intention is to put liquidation at hold as soon as possible and hand over the assets to the investors" he said.
"Kebonang revealed last week that government as the largest BCL creditor because of shareholding is willing to forgo its stake from BCL sale returns so that other creditors can be fully paid. “We are looking at about 300 million USD these investors are willing to pay as an offer to take over the assets; and looking at that money, almost all of it will go to creditors such as BPC, Altlas Corp, Air lique just to name but a few and the government will only in return be looking at having its people going back to work,” he explained last week in an interview with one of the local private radio stations.
Kebonang also added that the new BCL owners would further pump over 2 billion pula into the mine to prepare it for operation “well over 2 billion will be required to refurbish the mine, remodel and restructure the mining shafts, and re-arrange the smelting operations to re-craft the entire mining setup to a modern profit making operation,” he stipulated." .......(My words on this is that as usual no mention of Maibele North yet.)
http://www.weekendpost.co.bw/wp-news-details.php?nid=3748
To conclude: where BML and Maibele North and the whole BCL/BML JV fit in will have to be a wait and see for BML holders. I would trust that as soon as things clarify PV will release details of how BML sits. (??) Regards to all.
(20min delay)