LONDON (Reuters) – A U.N. committee has completed the draft design of a fund to help developing countries tackle climate change, paving the way for its launch in 2013, the U.N.’s climate chief said on Friday.

Last year, countries agreed to create the ‘Green Climate Fund’ to channel up to $100 billion a year by 2020 to developing countries to help fight climate change.

LONDON (Reuters) – A U.N. committee has completed the draft design of a fund to help developing countries tackle climate change, paving the way for its launch in 2013, the U.N.’s climate chief said on Friday.

Last year, countries agreed to create the ‘Green Climate Fund’ to channel up to $100 billion a year by 2020 to developing countries to help fight climate change.

LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) – A U.N. committee has completed
the draft design of a fund to help developing countries tackle
climate change, paving the way for its launch in 2013, the
U.N.’s climate chief said on Friday.

Last year, countries agreed to create the ‘Green Climate
Fund’ to channel up to $100 billion a year by 2020 to developing
countries to help fight climate change.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 19 (Reuters) – South Africa’s energy
ministry said on Wednesday that Africa’s biggest economy has
been hit by shortages of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and
bitumen due to problems at four of the country’s six refineries.

South Africa has a total refining capacity of 708,000
barrels per day (bpd).

“The industry confirmed that four of the refineries are not
in a position to produce LPG during this week,” the ministry
said in a statement.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s carbon tax plan is running headlong into a clash with its job creation plans, putting the government in a bind ahead of hosting of a global climate summit at the end of the year as it seeks to rein in emissions without hurting growth.

Africa’s biggest economy wants to cut CO2 emissions by 34 percent over the next decade but has little flexibility to make fast changes with major employers among the top polluters and its cash-strapped power sector almost fully reliant on coal.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Shares of South Africa’s
Telkom tumbled to their lowest in 2-1/2 years on
Thursday after the struggling fixed-line operator warned of a
steep drop in profit, hit by a $57 million write-down of its
Africa IT business.

Telkom has been plagued by problems at its units beyond
South Africa. In June it agreed to sell its troubled Nigerian
unit for $10 million, a fraction of what it originally paid.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 26 (Reuters) – South African diversified
miner Exxaro said on Monday it would sell its mineral
sands businesses to U.S.-based pigment producer Tronox
in return for a 38.5 percent stake in a new company to be formed
after the acquisition.

Exxaro’s mineral sands businesses include the KZN Sands and
Namakwa Sands operations in South Africa and its 50 percent
stake in the Tiwest joint venture it already runs together with
Tronox in Australia.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 (Reuters) – South African energy
minister Dipuo Peters said on Thursday she had signed off on a
proposal for new nuclear power plants, likely worth tens of
billions of dollars, and said it would be presented to cabinet
soon.

Over 90 percent of South Africa’s power is produced by
coal-fired power plants and supplies are tight as state-run
utility Eskom battles to meet fast-rising demand in
the world’s top producer of platinum and a major gold miner.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 12 (Reuters) – South African
petrochemicals group Sasol Ltd posted a 27 percent rise
in full-year earnings as cost cuts and higher oil and product
prices helped offset the impact of a strong rand. Sasol, the world's top maker of motor fuel from oil, said it expects a better operational performance in the 2012 financial year, although the strong currency remains a challenge. "The strengthening of the rand/US dollar exchange rate remains the single biggest external factor exerting pressure on our profitability," it said in a statement. A strong rand is a negative for South African exporters as it eats into profits when overseas earnings are brought home. The company said it expects volumes from its synthetic fuels operations in South Africa to increase to between 7.2 and 7.3 million tonnes in the current financial year and forecast improved volumes from its operations in Mozambique and Canada. The petrochemicals group is investing heavily in growth, especially by expanding its shale gas portfolio. It recently bought two shale gas interests in Canada to boost its gas portfolio and secure feedstock. Sasol and Canada's Talisman Energy are working on a feasibility study into a 48,000 barrels per day gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant that would eventually use the gas produced from their Farrell Creek assets. Sasol said it had completed a feasibility study for a GTL plant in Uzbekistan and will decide in the near term whether to proceed to an engineering study on the project, depending on "certain commercial conditions". HEALTHY MARGINS The company said due to a delay in China's approval for a proposed coal-to-liquids (CTL) plant the company had relocated staff and planned funding to other projects. Sasol said headline earnings per share for the year to the end of June rose 27 percent to 33.85 rand ($4.6) from the previous year. Headline EPS are the main profit gauge in South Africa and exclude certain one-time items. "Higher global commodity prices have supported the healthy margins delivered, particularly in our chemicals businesses, negating the impact of the strong rand," Chief Financial Officer Christine Ramon said in a statement. Earnings were in the middle of Sasol's own forecast of a jump between 22 and 32 percent, given in late July. "The results were pleasing and it's good to see that they are broadening their base to not remain too reliant on only one significant contributor ... they seek to increase their profile in North America and that's where the growth will be," said Sasha Naryshkine, an analyst at Vestact. "The stock remains a South African favourite, even though they are fairly leveraged to oil prices and exchange rate fluctuations." Full-year turnover rose to 142.4 billion rand from 122.3 billion the previous year. Sasol said it would pay a final dividend of 9.90 rand per share, up from 7.70 rand a year ago. Sasol shares are down 6.4 percent so far this year, compared with a 5.3 percent fall in the JSE Top-40 blue-chip index . ($1 = 7.285 South African Rand) (Editing by David Holmes)

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 5 (Reuters) – South African miner Metorex
, the takeover target of Chinese metals group Jinchuan,
reported a 155 percent rise in first-half profit on Monday,
boosted by strong copper prices and higher output, and forecast
production at current levels.

Chief Executive Terence Goodlace said he expected demand and
prices for the industrial metal to remain strong on the back of
stressed supply.