Castel

Madagascar
Private sector calls out Rajoelina over VAT refunds

Companies in the Antananarivo free zone are calling on the president to immediately reimburse more than €40m in unpaid VAT refunds, dating as far back as 2022.

Madagascar
Taxman steps up pressure on local businesses

At least a dozen large local companies have had their bank accounts debited directly by the tax authority following tax reassessments, which they dispute. Many more companies stand to suffer the same fate.

Cameroon
CEMAC court to rule on Castel acquisition of Guinness Cameroon

Despite CEMAC's green light last year, Cameroonian brewers are continuing to contest the purchase, believing it would give Castel too dominant a position in the country's beer market.

Ivory Coast
Castel loses out to Cody's Drinks ahead of Africa Cup of Nations

SOLIBRA, the Ivory Coast drinks subsidiary of France's Castel Group, has been lobbying the Ivorian Football Federation in an attempt to become its exclusive partner for competitions.

Morocco
Morocco national utility firm ONEE blacklists Portugal's Prospectiva

Portuguese engineering firm Prospectiva has been accused of fraud and has been blacklisted by Morocco's national water and power company ONEE for the next five years.

Spotlight | Morocco
French giants shiver as Rabat-Paris relations remain icy

French companies such as Veolia, Alstom and BNP Paris are struggling in Morocco against a backdrop of diplomatic tensions and have been forced to cut back their activities.

Ivory Coast
Ezzedine family suspends mineral water production at ex-Castel plant

The Ivorian family conglomerate Carré d'or has suspended the production of mineral water at the Abidjan plant, which it acquired from France's Castel and which produces bottled mineral water for the well-established brands Awa and Cristaline.

Algeria
US fast-food chain KFC ready at last to launch in Algeria

The US group's plans to launch in Algeria have had to be postponed on several occasions, but the kick-off is now set for January 2023. The American giant hopes to partner with local producers.

Ivory Coast
Ezzedine family buys Castel's water business in Abidjan for €16.7m

A subsidiary of the Ivorian company Carré d'Or, controlled by the influential Ezzedine family, is buying the mineral water business of the Société de Limonaderies et de Brasseries d'Afrique, a subsidiary of French group Castel.

The New Guard
Cameroon, Morocco, Mauritania and CAR

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence reveals the next generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

CameroonJoel Sikam, an entrepreneur working to boost Younde-Paris trade

MoroccoRachid Ennassiri, an energetic energy transition ministry adviser.

MauritaniaSidi-Mohamed Dhaker, the Central Bank's youth asset.

Central African RepublicMartine Kessy Ekomo-Soignet, the voice of young people in CAR.

Central African Republic, France
Lawyers prepare for long battle in Castel affair

A week after the French national prosecutor's department for counter-terrorism, war crimes and crimes against humanity announced it would launch a preliminary investigation, Castel is preparing its defence.

Madagascar
Habibo poised to take over Star Madagascar's Coca-Cola licence

Brasseries Star Madagascar, an offshoot of the French group Castel, will no longer be bottling or distributing Coca-Cola drinks in the country. The US giant is in talks with two potential replacements.

Cameroon
New MD of Castel's SABC has his work cut out for him

Stéphane Descazeaud, the new MD of Cameroon's brewery, Société Anonyme des Brasseries du Cameroun, a subsidiary of French giant Castel, has to make peace with the government.

West Africa
After Abidjan, Castel loses Coca-Cola distribution rights in Ouagadougou

The Atlanta-based soft drinks giant has already severed its ties with Castel in Ivory Coast and a number of other African countries, and is now about to do the same in Burkina Faso.