Africa in Business: mining and war

STORY: Here are five business stories making headlines in sub-Saharan Africa this week.

1. Miner AngloGold Ashanti said on Friday (May 12) it will move its primary listing from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to New York.

That, it said, was to access a larger pool of capital and reduce risk associated with South Africa and its power crisis.

2. On that subject - South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied that his government has "failed completely" over the country's worst power cuts on record - saying already-announced interventions would reduce pressure on the grid.

"We are not sleeping on the job."

Many households and businesses are without power for more than ten hours a day and experts predict the outages could get worse as South Africa moves deeper into the southern hemisphere winter.

3. Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom's core earnings fell by a fifth in the year to March 31, it said on Thursday (May 11), hit by the cost of starting operations in Ethiopia.

The group launched its Ethiopia network last year. CEO Peter Ndegwa said they've already signed up 2 million active users and that, quote, "the Ethiopia opportunity cannot be understated."

4. The UK Supreme court on Wednesday (May 10) ruled that it was too late for Nigerian claimants to sue two Shell subsidiaries over a 2011 offshore oil spill.

A group of 27,800 individuals and 457 communities had been trying to sue Shell, saying the oil slick from Shell's giant Bonga field devastated the coastal area where they live.

But the court upheld two previous lower court rulings that the action was brought after the expiry of a six-year legal deadline.

5. And finally, Sudan's war has strangled exports of key goods including gold, sesame, peanuts and meat.

That's according to traders in Dubai, which has long served as a hub for Sudanese exporters.

Exports of commodities such as gold, which has reportedly stopped completely, are vital in securing the foreign currency Sudan needs to import fuel, wheat and medicine as it grapples with a humanitarian crisis.