LAST WEEKS'S TOP STORIES ON FTW ONLINE

Trans-Kalahari railway deal signed A railway line connecting Botswana to the Namibian Atlantic coast is finally about to be developed following the signing of an agreement between the two countries last week at Bird Island near Walvis Bay, reports New Era. $100 million loan to ease Zim’s credit crunch The African Export-Import Bank will loan Zimbabwe’s banking sector $100 million to ease a credit crunch that has deepened the country’s economic woes. Rules of origin established for African free trade zone Several experts from member states of the African Union (AU) concluded the 6th workshop of the African Union Technical working group (GTT) in Dakar, Senegal last week looking at the establishment of the rules of origin for the continental free trade zone (ZCLE) towards the creation of an African common market by 2017. Which country has become SA’s secondbiggest source of imports? Trade between South Africa and Saudi Arabia nearly trebled from R29.7 billion in 2009 to R80.1 billion in 2013, said trade and industry minister, Rob Davies. ‘Significant improvement’ in manufacturers’ export performance Manufacturers have seen a “significant improvement” in export performance for the first quarter of 2014, with both the indicators for export sales and order volumes reaching record highs.