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Indian fertiliser giant takes control of Senegal's chemical firm
AFP
DAKAR
Petroleumworld.com 07 17 07Indian fertiliser giant Iffco has assumed a major stake in Senegal's key chemical firm after injecting 80 million dollars into the cash-strapped company, Senegal's mines minister announced Monday.
One of the world's largest fertiliser producers Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (Iffco) inked the deal allowing it to invest 80 million dollars to re-capitalise Industries Chimiques du Senegal (ICS).
"This agreement allows us to pass on the control (of ICS) to Iffco," Minister of Mines Madicke Niang told a new conference.
The Senegalese government which previously held a 46.38 percent stake in ICS will see its interests reduced to a minority shareholder with just about 10 percent.
Iffco's new stake in ICS was not immediately specified, but it would be the majority shareholder while the remainder of shares will possibly be split among the former partners of the company, especially India, Nigeria and Cameroon.
Ridden by years of debt, ICS had stopped producing over the past eight months, costing the country between 1.0 and 1.5 percent in overall growth rate.
The new investment is expected to help bolster the west African country's growth which slumped to 2.1 percent last year from 5.5 percent in 2005.
With 2,500 permanent staff and some 12,000 casual workers, ICS is Senegal's top single private sector employer.
AFP 16 2124 GMT 07 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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