New thread started as Epic changed from LAF to LONR - May 07.





Epic : LONR

Web Site : http://www.lonrho.com/


Its something different, and something exciting imo.



Nice recent Telegraph write up to (April 2007) :

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/04/04/cnlonrho04.xml


.

It seems there is buying today as the price goes higher. Gold prices are strong lately.
MMs are bidding middle price at the moment

RNS Number:2397D
Lonrho PLC
04 September 2007

LONRHO PLC
("Lonrho" or the "Company")

LONRHO SAILS ADDS A FURTHER THREE CONTAINER SHIPS TO FLEET

Lonrho (AIM: LONR), the African conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of investments is pleased to announce that its 45% owned subsidiary, SA Independent Liner Services (PTY) Ltd ("SAILS"), has signed contracts with ship suppliers for the addition of three new container vessels, which will increase its fleet to seven vessels with a total combined fleet tonnage of 66,445 tonnes.

Lonrho announced its investment in SAILS in July 2007 and the intention of expanding SAILS' fleet to offer regular, scheduled services from South Africa to West Africa and Europe.

The three new vessels will be added to the fleet are the MV Orinoco River, MV El Lobo and MV Vaal River. Each vessel is 9,966 metric tonnes, equipped with 220 refrigerated container plugs and will be utilised for the South Africa/ West Africa/ Europe service.

All three vessels are new and will be chartered to SAILS for a period of 24 months. As with the Taga Bay, these vessels will carry the new "LONRHO SAILS" branding.

* The MV Orinoco River is scheduled to be delivered in Shanghai around Mid October 2007.

* The MV El Lobo is scheduled to be delivered in Singapore around Mid November 2007.

* The MV Vaal River is scheduled to be delivered in Shanghai at the end of November 2007.

The MV Taga Bay was successfully delivered in Shanghai at the end of August 2007. She is scheduled to depart for South Africa in the next week at 100% capacity. After reaching South Africa, she will take up her assignment on the South Africa/ West Africa/ Europe service.

The MV Heinrick Sibum was also successfully delivered at the end of August 2007, and is chartered on a round voyage basis with an option for an additional round trip voyage, thereby providing interim, additional carrying capacity to Europe.
This vessel is also at 100% capacity on her southbound voyage which is scheduled to depart from Antwerp in the next few days and will call at Dakar, Tema and Tin Can Island or Lagos before arriving in Cape Town.

David Lenigas, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive commented;

"The seven ships to be operated by SAILS will provide for an annual lifting capacity of over 1 million tonnes of African imports and exports. This represents a five fold uplift in container carrying capacity since Lonrho's investment."

"The success of SAILS as a growing shipping business is seen in the exceptional load factors now being achieved on the Europe/Africa service. I see significant scope in the year ahead to add even more container ships to the fleet to service the growing demand for the import and export trade between the two continents."

4 September 2007



LONRHO Plc

('Lonrho' or the 'Company')


NARE DIAMONDS DEVELOPS ANGOLAN DIAMOND PROJECT
WITH PRODUCTION PLANNED FOR 2008

Lonrho (AIM: LONR), the conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of African
investments, is pleased to provide an update on Nare Diamonds Limited ('Nare'),
the Australian listed African diamond mining company in which it holds a 21.94%
stake. Nare is to commence development of its recently acquired highly
prospective 3,000 km(2) diamond concession in Angola ('the Lulo Diamond
Concession').



Highlights



Moblization of mining equipment to mine site and sets up base camp at
Lulo

Approval of the proposed work program which, subject to successful
exploration, provides for commencement of trial mining and diamond production at
the Lulo Diamond Concession within 12 months

Acquisition of data in the region surrounding the Lulo Diamond
Concession



Development Program



The work program which has recently been approved by Endiama (the State owned
diamond mining company of Angola) has been designed to allow for bulk sampling,
followed by trial mining and diamond production at the Lulo Diamond Concession
by the end of 2008.



Nare intends to set up a base camp at the Lulo Diamond Concession this month.
The immediate focus is to conduct an aero magnetic survey over 1,000 km(2) to
identify and outline the alluvial terraces and the kimberlite pipes. The
location includes 29 identified kimberlite pipes on the concession. On
completion of the survey, Nare will select the biggest pipes for evaluation
including immediate drilling and bulk sampling.



Nare intends to commence trial mining the alluvial gravels immediately upon
commissioning of the plant, which will commence this year.



'First class' location



Nare is securing historical data in relation to this and the adjacent projects
prior to commencing development. As announced on 29 August 2007, Lulo is
adjacent to the Petra Diamonds / BHP Billiton owned Alto Cuilo and Luangue
concessions. These concessions are the subject of bulk sampling on the
kimberlite pipes and alluvial gravels. Aero magnetic surveys on their
concession identified in excess of 70 kimberlite pipes, many of which are very
large (175 hectares). Diamonds recovered from this concession have realized in
excess of US$230 per carat.



The Lulo Project is located on the eastern margin of the Cuango River catchment
within the Lunda Norte Province of northeastern Angola. The Cuango River
alluvial diamond fields are the largest in Angola. The operators of these
concessions are amongst the leading diamond miners in the world, including De
Beers, Trans Hex and Alrosa (see Figure 1). The Cacuilo and Lulo Rivers form
part of the Cuango catchment and the location of the known alluvial gravels is
adjacent to the known kimberlite pipe cluster on the Lulo Diamond Concession
(see Figure 1). Initial geological assessment suggests that some of these
kimberlites are the primary sources of the diamonds in the alluvial gravels on
the concession.



As noted above, Nare has a work program which is designed to bring forward
production of diamonds from its concession as soon as possible.



A map of the Lulo Diamond Concession can be accessed below.



David Lenigas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lonrho Plc and Chairman
of Nare, commented:



'The Lulo Project is in the heart of the largest diamond mining region in Angola
and is surrounded by concessions held by some of the world's leading diamond
mining companies. Developing this potential utilising the highly experienced
Nare management team combined with Lonrho's reputation in Africa, we look
forward to taking the mine into production in 2008.' sp37.75p.

The news were early on the morning but is moving higher this afternoon
37.75 / 38.50p +0.375p
now a BREAKOUT from the last high

From the "UPS" thread ..........

Doing a BREAKOUT of the short term CUP & HANDLE

Further news today and slight movement up on the bid 38.375p +0.125p .....

Lonrho increases equity stake in Norse Air to 51%

Lonrho (AIM : LONR), the conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of African
investments, is pleased to announce that it has acquired a further 8% of Norse
Air Limited. This brings Lonrho's holding in Norse Air to 51% of the company.

This move is in consideration of the Lonrho Board's agreed mandate that Lonrho
should, whenever possible, maintain equity and Board control of all subsidiary
companies.

Lonrho had a convertible loan in place secured with the 8% option and, following
a review of the business, opted to convert the outstanding loan and increase its
equity participation.

David Lenigas, Lonrho Chairman and CEO commented:

"Lonrho's increased equity in Norse Air is another example of the Company's
objective to hold a majority stake in each of its subsidiaries. Lonrho is
developing businesses across Africa within infrastructure, transport and related
sectors that have strong potential for growth. Norse Air, like other Lonrho
subsidiaries benefits from our experience of Africa, Lonrho's ability to
transact larger deals and our ability to provide access to funds for expansion." .......

38.75 - 39.25p +0.875p

now moving much faster that for the last couple days

RNS Number:7216D
Lonrho PLC
12 September 2007

12 September 2007

Lonrho Plc
("Lonrho" or "the Company")

COMPLETION OF ACQUISITION LAUNCHES LONRHO
INTO THE AFRICAN IT INDUSTRY

Further to the announcement on 7 June 2007, Lonrho (AIM : LONR), the
conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of African investments, is pleased to
announce that it has now completed the acquisition of 65% of one of Mozambique's
largest commercial Information Technology Solution Providers, Sociedade
Comercial Bytes & Pieces, Limitada ("Bytes & Pieces"). Bytes & Pieces provides
turnkey network solutions, maintenance and support to Mozambique business, NGO's
and Government organisations.

Lonrho acquired Bytes & Pieces for $2.34 million (in cash) and will take up two
of the four Board positions. The two founders of Bytes & Pieces, Vijay Thadani
and Veronica Miller, will together retain 35% and remain on the Board. Bytes &
Pieces is an authorised distributor of Dell equipment in Mozambique, providing
Enterprise Solutions on a Dell hardware platform. It is also a Microsoft
Certified Partner and an authorised distributor for CISCO Systems, MGE UPS
Systems and Legrand networking products.

Bytes & Pieces plans to expand outside Mozambique under the name of Complete
Enterprise Solutions ("CES") by setting up a distribution division for high
quality networking products and an Enterprise solutions implementation division
based upon the Dell hardware platform.

David Lenigas, Lonrho Chairman and CEO commented:

"We are delighted to have completed on the acquisition of Bytes & Pieces.
Lonrho intends to build on the success of Bytes & Pieces and replicate the
business model built up in Mozambique through other countries in Africa,
starting with the company's first office in Johannesburg. We believe the
business expansion of CES will assist the growth of the African economy to meet
the IT demands across the continent."

holding up well in these markets at 40p after some recent profit taking.

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Lonrho PLC said it won partial approval from the Kenyan government to begin service between Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Lonhro said its 49-pct owned Fly540 Aviation will begin flights between Juba in Sudan and Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo from Oct 13.

The company said it won the approval for the Sudan-DRC service after it became Kenya's second-largest airline with August passenger loads touching 16,000 and load factor touching 84 pct.

Fly540 has agreed for another ATR42-320 passenger aircraft to service the new routes, the release added.

sp 40.25p----- as an additional comment, I notice that Gordon Brown has suddenly decided that it would be a good time to join the get Megabe front. His days must be numbered since Brown probably thinks this is a safe bet and earn him some browny points. He does like to get his timing right and may help him divert interest away from things domestic.

Lonrho PLC 25 September 2007

Lonrho Plc
('Lonrho' or 'the Company')

Nare Diamonds Completes New Final Recovery Plant and Recovers 32 carat Gem Diamond

Lonrho (AIM : LONR), the conglomerate with a structured portfolio of African investments, is pleased to announce that Nare Diamonds Limited ('Nare'), the Australian listed African diamond mining company in which it holds a 21.94% stake and which recently announced its intention to change its name to Lonrho Mining and pursue a dual listing on AIM, has completed and commissioned a new final recovery processing plant at its Schmidtsdrift mine in South Africa which should significantly increase the recovery of diamonds.

The new final recovery plant will treat all diamondiferous concentrates produced by the mining operations at the Schmidtsdrift mine. The plant contains six proprietary Flowsort X-ray diamond recovery machines, each calibrated to recover specific diamond size fractions. The recovery process is expected to attain recovery levels over 95%. The hands free process is undertaken in a closed circuit, with no human interaction.

Nare is pleased to announce that, after the commissioning of the plant, it has recovered a gem quality 32 carat diamond from the Schmidtsdrift mine. The diamond has been valued with an average value per carat of US$2,000.

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/4073e_-2007-9-24.pdf

David Lenigas, Chairman and CEO of Lonrho Plc and Chairman of Nare Diamonds commented:

'I am confident that the new technology that has been commissioned at the Schmidtdrift mine will add significant value to the operations in terms of the quality and volume of diamonds recovered. The X-ray based recovery is regarded by the industry as the optimal recovery process and the most secure.

'Additionally the recovery of the 32 carat diamond last week emphasises the strong potential of the Schmidtsdrift resource and operations'

Good performance last few days, and now nearing a breakout.

LETS HOPE.

A little bit more on the Microfinance Bank that LONR have taken a controlling 51% stake in, ref this RNS http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200709210701512384E :



"Socremo Banco de Microfinans, Mozambique

Socremo Banco de Microfinans (Socremo MFB) is one of the largest MFIs in Mozambique. Its history goes back as far as 1992, when Deutsche Gesellschaft f Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) initiated an integrated training and credit program for start-up businesses owned mainly by Mozambican contract workers returning from the former German Democratic Republic. Due to disastrous initial lending results, an alternative concept involving transformation into a microfinance institution was developed.

In 1998, Socremo was authorized to become a non-bank financial intermediary, and in May 2004, Socremo obtained a license to operate as a Microfinance Bank (MFB). Socremo MFB is advised by LFS Financial Systems (LFS) through a technical assistance agreement funded by DFID, GTZ among other donors.

During the past few years, Socremo MFB has achieved a remarkable turnaround, with a rapid portfolio expansion and profits every year since 2000."

********************

Some more info from a World Bank presentation, link below :

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/FSLP/Resources/CDiehl_Socremo.ppt#256,1,Slide 1

Market likes the news on the funding.........means more expansion of course :)

you get the feeling that Lonr is going up a gear. I am sure the Company will be highlighted in the media again. Probably some more African Funds trying to get on board.

Lonrho PLC 01 October 2007

Lonrho Plc
('Lonrho' or 'the Company')

Lonrho signs Heads of Agreement to lease and manage a 5 star,
256 room hotel in Democratic Republic of Congo

Lonrho (AIM : LONR), the conglomerate with a structured portfolio of African
investments, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Heads of Agreement with Luano Grand to lease and manage a 256 room, 5 star hotel at the proposed Luano Grand development in Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Luano Grand ( http://www.luanogrand.com ) is a proposed mix-use retail, residential, office and hotel complex that was officially launched at the South African Consulate in Lubumbashi on Friday 28th September 2007. The launch was presided over by His Excellency Moise Katumbi, the Governor of Katanga Province and a number of Ministers of State and Government officials from South Africa and Belgium. Construction of the complex is scheduled to begin in 2008.

Amongst the 300 guests attending the launch of the project were representatives
of the IDC (Industrial Development Corporation) and DBSA (Development Bank of
South Africa).

The hotel will have 256 rooms and 50 long stay apartments and is designed to be
connected to a retail mall, which in turn will have access to offices and
residential units. Lonrho Hotels, a division of Lonrho Plc, will lease and
manage the hotel and long stay apartments in the project.

David Lenigas, the Chairman and CEO of Lonrho Plc, commented :

'The development of Katanga Province in the DRC is being fuelled by the
significant foreign direct investment into the mining of the copper and cobalt
natural resources in the region. Companies such as Phelps Dodge and Nikanor are
investing an estimated US$ 4 billion in mining projects in Katanga over the next five years and, with this, the demand for quality accommodation and support services will be significant. Lonrho is delighted to be involved with this major, forward-looking project that will generate jobs and prosperity.'

Lonrho PLC said it has signed an agreement with Luano Grand to lease and manage a 256 room, 5-star hotel at the proposed Luano Grand development in Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Luano Grand is a proposed mix-use retail, residential, office and hotel complex and its construction is scheduled to begin in 2008.

The hotel will be leased and managed by Lonrho Hotels, a division of Lonrho PLC.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/money/article2557110.ece

From The Sunday Times

September 30, 2007

Merryn on Money: Time to adopt Africa by Merryn Somerset Webb

Im looking for a safe haven for my money. It isnt easy. Things seem to be getting worse and worse in America.

The International Council of Shopping Centres reported that retail sales fell 1% overall last week. Target, the second-biggest US discount chain, cut its forecasts for September sales to 1.5%-2.5% from 4%-6%.

There was worse news for property. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index reported that prices fell by an average of 3.9% year-on-year. The index fell on an annual basis in January for the first time, and has fallen every month since. Fifteen of the 20 cities saw declines, with the largest in Detroit, down 9.7%.

Anyone who thinks global property or US shares are always a good long-term bet should hotfoot it over the Atlantic now. I wont be joining them.

Then there is Europe. Ireland and Spain have been responsible for about a quarter of Europes growth in the past four to five years, but now the main drivers - building and buying houses are in mid-collapse.

At the same time there is little real evidence to back up the optimistic view that the European economies and markets have somehow decoupled from Americas. They havent: 15% of EU exports still end up there.

Decoupling is a buzzword in Asia too. Here there is evidence that domestic economies can thrive independently, and it is certainly true that given the choice between an American fund and an Asian fund, Id take the latter in a heartbeat. But I still dont think there is any way Asia can escape a US recession unscathed. America may no longer be the only engine of global growth but it is still the main one.

So where can you find a market that is genuinely uncorrelated with the rest of the world? The answer, counter-intuitively, is Africa. Since I last wrote about investing there in February, the headline news on the continent has been as unremittingly miserable as usual. But behind the scenes the economic fundamentals have just kept getting better.

GDP growth across the region has been rising fast (well above 5% in 2005 and 2006 and a forecast 6.8% this year) and is expected to keep doing so. This is partly down to the commodities boom and to the continents new best friend, commodity hungry China. Sino-African trade hit $55.5 billion (27.4 billion) last year, up 40% from the year before, and China has now directly invested more than 3 billion into Africa. This is not just upping average incomes but rebuilding roads, railways, ports and schools across the continent.

But the boom in Africa isnt just about China; its about increasing political and financial stability (which makes the region investable). Note that two African countries Libya and Algeria actually make it onto the World Economic Forums list of stable economies.

Its also about soft commodities. There has been much hand wringing about how urban Africans will suffer from rising food prices and they probably will. But lets not forget that the majority of poor Africans are still farmers.

So rising prices will surely bring them rising incomes, perhaps even some surplus income.

And as a welcome side-effect this might encourage them to stick with trying to make money from the land rather than migrating to cities that arent yet ready for them. Its just a horrible shame that Zimbabwe, once one of the biggest exporters of grain on the continent, is missing out.

Africas renaissance is also about other noncommodity industries. The tourism, telecoms and financial sectors are expanding fast, as are the many companies providing things such as soap, chocolate and beer to people with a tiny bit more spare cash than a decade ago. Its also worth noting that the fastest-growing economies are very often those that have little or no commodity exposure Kenya, for example.

And the best thing of all? History shows that African markets move with very little reference to global markets. They are, says Mark Foster-Brown of Altima Partners, utterly uncorrelated to other financial markets, a characteristic not to be sniffed at in the current environment of total correlation of everything else.

So how can you get in? It isnt easy. In February, I suggested buying shares in AIM-listed Lonrho, which has investments across the continent in everything from water plants to airlines and which seems to make a new deal every week. The shares are up 40% since then and I still like them (they are in my pension) but, given the speed of the companys expansion, they dont necessarily make a safe haven.

The good news is that in the past few months a few funds that give the retail investor access to Africa have appeared on the market. Most interesting of the lot is Charlemagne Capitals Magna Africa fund. This has raised well over 40m since its launch only three months ago, and probably for good reason it is one of the few Africa funds that doesnt come with an absurdly high minimum investment, while Charlemagne has an excellent record in local emerging markets.

Otherwise, coming soon is the New Star Heart of Africa fund to be run by Jamie Allsopp. Those who cant wait for that launch might look at Allsopps UK Hidden Value fund, which already has large Africa-related holdings, including shares in Lonrho.

Merryn Somerset Webb is a former stockbroker and now editor of Money Week. Her views are personal and investors should always seek professional advice.

Write up on the LonZim Offering.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article2578198.ece


October 3, 2007

Lonrho aims high with plan for LonZim offering

David Robertson

In what must be one of the...........................................