Biofuels groups have had their critics, but there was good news for the City’s newest green energy group yesterday as it was ushered on to London’s junior market. BioEnergy Africa, formed to develop ethanol from sugar cane projects in southern Africa, rose 2p to 14½p after listing on AIM. The company, chaired by that serial African investor Phil Edmonds, raised £8.6 million through a placing of about 20.7 per cent of its shares.

BioEnergy will use the money to develop its first project, a 30,000-hectare ethanol project in Mozambique, and to pursue similar ventures. The Massingir Fuel Ethanol project is targeting an initial production of 600,000 litres of ethanol a day, rising to 1,200,000 litres a day at full production.

Mr Edmonds, the former England cricketer, is already chairman of Central African Mining & Exploration Company (Camec) and White Nile.

SkyePharma soared more than 40 per cent, or 1¾p, to 5¾p amid speculation that it would resolve its financial problems soon. After the market closed, it confirmed that it planned to change the terms and conditions of its convertible bonds and raise £18.4 million in a placing of 1.4 billion shares at 1½p each. Without renegotiating its bonds it could have faced bankruptcy.

Geong International, the Chinese software group, rose ½p to 57p after Legal & General bought about 5 per cent of the shares, becoming its first institutional shareholder.

Jarlway, the concrete pump maker, plummeted 2.375p to 1¼p after it admitted that its directors had been forced to pay off the company’s debts in China to prevent it from ceasing trading. The company also said it would scrap its AIM listing to save cash and that Nabarro Wells, its nominated adviser, had resigned.

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