Gleason speaks...a Zambian!

In this week’s Gleason Letter (September 18, 2006)


The Torque column on:


• Sasol has turned in exceptional results ─ but the company and the sector face almost as many problems as they do opportunities. It is worth examining some of these ─ falling oil prices [perhaps down to $50/bbl] are being predicted by knowledgeable international analysts; Sasol has been hit by project cost overruns and delays; the threatened windfall tax matter hasn’t been resolved; Sasol needs to get down to planning another major coal-to-fuel refinery in this country; and there are rumours it may be a takeover target for multinationals. Despite all these, the company is in good nick and should be present in every portfolio.
• Now that its mineral resource base has been so thoroughly depleted, Zambia doesn’t have much going for it. Its survival will depend on realising its agricultural potential (which is considerable) and enhancing its undoubted tourism sector. But it won’t help if a development planned by SA-based Legacy Group, led by Bart Dorrenstein, is allowed to go ahead with its plan to envelop the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park with a golf course, two hotels and a few hundred houses. The warnings are already being sounded ─ if the project proceeds, UNESCO may withdraw World Heritage status from this Park and the adjoining Victoria Falls.

PLUS: Matthew Turner from London on what looks to be a radical change of heart on the part of central bankers to gold. A few years ago they couldn’t sell their holdings fast enough. All of a sudden, they’ve become rather coy.

The Gleason Letter carries David Gleason’s weekly Torque column. It is frequently accompanied by columns written by distinguished journalists and columnists from around the world.
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