COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

BioNTech wins up to $145 mln in CEPI support for African mRNA vaccine plants



COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech won up to US$145 million in funding from a global coalition against infectious diseases to build a production network in African countries for messenger-RNA based shots.

BioNTech and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the financial support is part of an expanded partnership as the German biotech firm builds an mRNA vaccine factory site in Rwanda's capital of Kigali.



A future African network could produce affordable vaccines to fight malaria, mpox, tuberculosis, or other health threats, they added.



-REUTERS-



Nigeria's Dangote refinery plans London and Lagos listings



Nigeria's Dangote refinery is aiming for a dual listing on the London and Lagos bourses, a senior executive said on Tuesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, local media quoted Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, who built the refinery, as saying he could try to list the company in Nigeria by the end of the year.

Asked to comment on Dangote's statement to local media, Devakumar Edwin, Dangote refinery executive, told Reuters: "We have listed all our businesses. The NSE (Nigerian Stock Exchange) will not have adequate depth to handle exclusively the petroleum refinery. We would have to take it to LSE (London Stock Exchange) but also list in NSE."



The refinery, Africa's largest, built on a peninsula on the outskirts of the commercial capital Lagos at a cost of US$20 billion, was completed after several years of delay.

It can refine up to 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) and will be the largest in Africa and Europe when it reaches full capacity this year or next.



-REUTERS-



Bond yields jump and stocks wilt as rate cut doubts resurface



U.S. government bond yields pushed to a near four-week peak on Wednesday, lifting their global counterparts and pressuring stocks, as data sowed new doubts about the timing and extent of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Meanwhile, crude oil rose for a fourth day to reach a one-month high amid speculation OPEC+ will maintain production cuts at a meeting this Sunday and renewed geopolitical tensions.

U.S. yields climbed after consumer confidence data came in stronger than expected on Tuesday, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said further rate hikes were still a possibility, and two Treasury auctions were poorly received by investors.



The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose as high as 4.578%, a level not seen since May 3. Yields move inversely to prices.

"These expectations of Fed rate cuts have been pared back," said Aneeka Gupta, director of macroeconomic research at WisdomTree. "Overnight we had (Minneapolis Fed president) Neel Kashkari mention that we still can't take the possibility of a rate hike in 2024 off the table."



-REUTERS-



Libya oil and gas minister resumes work after two-month suspension



Libya's oil and gas minister resumed work on Tuesday after a suspension for two months pending a legal investigation, the ministry said in a brief statement.

Mohamed Oun, oil and gas minister in the Government of National Unity in Tripoli, was temporarily suspended in March by the Administrative Control Agency amid an investigation it said was about "the presence of legal violations."

The ministry said that ACA lifted the suspension on May 12 as the investigation had ended.





The ACA couldn't immediately be reached for details on the suspension.

The oil ministry posted a picture of Oun at his desk checking a dossier, saying the minister "has resumed his duties this morning."

The ACA oversees government performance, and its powers include challenging appointments to public positions and enhancing public accountabili