South Africa has entered the BRIC group of countries which is a...

South Africa has entered the BRIC group of countries which is a positive for companies with SA assets (text below thanks to thedoors on CCC thread).

There is no doubt some people are nervous about SA and currently attracts a large discount. The question is how significant this should be and it will ultimately determined by market.

UNV has had a great start and still looks very cheap given low IPO price. Has a good chance of running very strong in 2011. I have liked that management has lots of experience and contacts in SA that should bring additional assets on board in 2011. The good points are:
- low market cap so early entry opportunity,
- possibility for operational efficiencies with Total on Kangala deposit that will improve margins,
- two other thermal coal deposits with high proportion of export coal that can be self funded from Kangala
- large coking coal deposits with significant upgrades

The negatives are some uncertainty on Somerville coking coal deposit given proximity to Coal of Africa mine. I assume this is why Somerville has been prioritised until clarity provided around issue. The other is the SA discount which progression as outlined below will help over time.

Happy new year and looking forward to a big 2011!!

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South Africa's accession to BRIC good for emerging economies: China
English.news.cn 2010-12-28 17:13:20 FeedbackPrintRSS
BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday said South Africa's accession to the BRIC, which currently includes Brazil, Russia, India and China, will boost cooperation between emerging economies.

"We believe that South Africa's accession will promote the development of the BRIC and enhance cooperation between emerging economies," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu told a regular briefing on Tuesday.

Jiang's comments came as the BRIC countries accepted South Africa as a full member of the group last week. China now holds the rotating chairmanship of the group.

Chinese President Hu Jintao had issued an invitation letter to South African President Jacob Zuma, inviting him to attend the third BRIC leaders' meeting to be held in Beijing next year, Jiang said.

She said cooperation among BRIC countries was stable, mutually beneficial, open and transparent.