Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 16 February 2018

Fri Feb 16 10:32:41 CAT 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 16 February 2018

 <http://www.mbca.co.zw/> 

*  Zimbabwe inflation quickens to 3.52 pct y/y in January - Zimstats

*  New Tunisian central bank chief promises "extraordinary measures"

*  Egypt's central bank cuts interest rates as inflation eases

*  New-look S.Africa to harness growth, skirt Moody's rating cut

*  Steinhoff appoints chief restructuring officer

*  S.Africa rating outlook not immediately affected by leadership change-S&P

*  South African stocks surge after Zuma steps down

*  S&P sticks with Kenya stance after Moody's downgrade

*  Kenya, marketing new Eurobonds, angered by Moody's downgrade

*  South African rand hovers near 3-yr highs after Zuma quits

*  Bombardier reports 57% rise in profits

*  UK and US blame Russia for 'malicious' NotPetya cyber-attack

*  Standard Life Aberdeen sees £100bn contract axed

*  Renault asks Carlos Ghosn to stay on as chief executive

*  US rejects China-led bid for Chicago Stock Exchange

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Zimbabwe inflation quickens to 3.52 pct y/y in January - Zimstats

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s consumer price inflation quickened to 3.52
percent year-on-year in January from 3.46 percent in December, data from the
national statistics agency showed on Thursday.

On a month-on-month basis, prices rose by 0.3 percent in January after
rising 0.53 percent in the previous month, Zimstats said.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

New Tunisian central bank chief promises "extraordinary measures"

TUNIS (Reuters) - Former World Bank official and economics professor
Marouane el Abassi was confirmed by Tunisia’s parliament as the new central
bank governor on Thursday, promising “extraordinary measures” to lift the
country’s economy.

Abassi takes over at a time when Tunisia faces deep economic challenges
including rising deficits and inflation, a fall in the value of the Tunisian
dinar and persistently high unemployment.

“I do not believe that there is a crisis that cannot be solved,” Abassi told
lawmakers before the vote on his nomination.

“But the current period is an extraordinary period that needs to be dealt
with through extraordinary measures. We must finish with traditional
solutions.”

Out of 157 members of parliament present, 134 voted to approve Abassi. He
replaces Chedli Ayari who had led the central bank since 2012 and resigned
on Wednesday, reluctantly acceding to a request from Prime Minister Youssef
Chahed.

Since the 2011 uprising that toppled autocratic leader Zine El-Abidine Ben
Ali, successive governments have struggled to create jobs and implement
reforms.

Labour unrest and attacks by Islamist militants have hurt foreign
investment, industrial production and the key tourism industry.

Annual inflation rose to 6.9 percent in January, the highest rate in 20
years. Foreign currency reserves have dropped to their lowest level in 15
years and the trade deficit widened in December to a record $6.25 billion.
In 2017, the dinar lost nearly 21 percent of its value against the euro.

Tunisia’s economic indicators were “frightening”, Abassi told parliament.

“The priorities will be the worrying inflation rates that could reach 10
percent if we don’t react, the growing trade deficit and the current account
deficit,” he said.

“Another priority is the fight against the parallel market to support the
Tunisian currency.”

Under pressure from international lenders, Chahed is pushing economic
reforms in an effort to curb public spending and boost investment.

Austerity measures including tax and price hikes that took effect on Jan. 1
triggered protests, some violent, in towns and cities across Tunisia.

Egypt's central bank cuts interest rates as inflation eases

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Egyptian central bank cut its main interest rates by a
percentage point each on Thursday, the first time it has lowered them since
letting the currency float freely in 2016, as inflation sinks to its lowest
levels in at least a year.

The bank cut its overnight deposit rate to 17.75 percent from 18.75 percent
and its overnight lending rate to 18.75 percent from 19.75 percent, it said
in a statement.

Economists welcomed the move and said they expect another cut in March.

Since it allowed the pound to float freely in foreign exchange markets in
November 2016, the bank has raised overnight rates by 700 basis points to
combat soaring inflation.

That has generated huge demand for Egypt’s domestic debt, but it has also
slowed business down by driving up borrowing costs.

“As incoming data continued to confirm the moderation of underlying
inflationary pressures, the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) decided to cut
key policy rates by 100 basis points,” the bank said.

Inflation rates peaked at a record high of around 35 percent in July in the
wake of energy subsidy cuts, but they have gradually eased since, falling to
their lowest levels in more than a year in January.

Annual urban consumer price inflation eased to 17.1 percent in January from
21.9 percent the previous month, while annual core inflation, which strips
out volatile items, fell to 14.35 percent from 19.86 percent.

“The MPC closely monitors all economic developments and will not hesitate to
adjust its stance to achieve its mandate of price stability over the medium
term,” the bank said.

Eight out of 10 economists polled by Reuters said earlier this week the bank
would cut its key rates.

Economists said on Thursday the move would have a positive impact on the
market.

“A one percent cut is a great signal for investors that the tightening of
monetary policy has ended and also a conservative approach which is highly
needed in order to test market activity moving forward,” Noaman Khalid, CI
Capital Asset Management economist, told Reuters after the cut.

He said he expected another cut of 100 basis points at the bank’s next
policy meeting, scheduled for March 29.

Egypt’s economy has been struggling since 2011 when a political uprising
drove tourists and foreign investors away, but economic reforms tied to a
three-year International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal signed in 2016 have led to
positive economic indicators.

New-look S.Africa to harness growth, skirt Moody's rating cut

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s new leadership will need to be
prudent and creative in managing the economy to avoid a credit rating
downgrade, by raising taxes without suffocating a chance for growth, a
Reuters poll found.

Jacob Zuma reluctantly resigned as the country’s president late on Wednesday
on orders from the ruling African National Congress (ANC), bringing to an
end nine scandal-plagued years in office.

Taken between Feb. 9 and 14 in the days before Zuma stepped down, the poll
published on Thursday concluded Pretoria was likely to dodge a downgrade in
a review by ratings agency Moody’s due next month.

“If people believe it’s a Cyril Ramaphosa budget, I think they can just get
away with it,” said Gina Schoeman, economist at Citi.

ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said parliament would elect Ramaphosa as the
country’s new president at 2pm (1200 GMT).

Moody’s said in December that the election that month of Ramaphosa as the
ruling ANC’s new leader opened up tentative prospects of a policy shift and
rise in business confidence.

The poll suggested the treasury will need to weigh its options on raising
tax revenue very carefully before implementing the budget, which is due on
Feb. 21.

Economists were split on how new revenues should be raised - the most
popular being an increase in income taxes, followed by higher value added
tax (VAT), the sale of non-core assets and taxes on specific goods.

Economists said a 2 percent VAT hike could be effective in wiping out the
50.8 billion rand ($4.3 billion) revenue shortfall announced for the
previous financial year in October.

But it ran the risk of adding a heavy financial burden to the daily lives of
the poor, while any rise in income tax, especially at the upper end, needed
to be modest enough to encourage compliance among the super-rich, economists
said.

“If you distribute the pain accordingly across the economy in different
times and different ways, that type of creative thinking to revenue-raising
is something the markets, bondholders and investors will likely take to,”
said Citi’s Schoeman.

Still, economists expect the budget to project a deficit of 3.8 percent of
GDP for the year starting in March, narrowing to 3.5 percent in the
following year and further to 3.3 percent in the 2020/21 financial year.

“(The problem) is that you cannot push taxes too much because it can come
back and bite you in the form of lower tax revenue, tax morality,” Schoeman
added.

Inflation is expected to average 4.8 percent this year and 5.2 percent in
2019, below last month’s medians of 5.1 and 5.4 percent.

An easing of price pressures will give the central bank room to cut the repo
rate by a quarter of a percent to 6.50 percent in May, the poll found.

It pegged economic growth at 1.4 percent this year and 1.7 percent next, a
0.1 percentage point rise from last month’s consensus.

“The bulk of that growth is a cyclical upturn, that comes from a greater
margin of propensity to consume and invest,” said Schoeman, adding it was
still early to accurately gauge business confidence levels.

(For other stories from the Reuters global long-term economic outlook polls
package)

($1 = 11.7355 rand)

Steinhoff appoints chief restructuring officer

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Steinhoff International has appointed Richard Heis
as Chief Restructuring Officer for the group, it said on Thursday, as the
troubled South African retailer wrestles with the fallout from an accounting
scandal.

Steinhoff, whose more than 40 brands include Britain’s Poundland, revealed
accounting irregularities in December, causing an 85 percent fall in its
share price that wiped more than $10 billion off its market value and a raft
of changes in its boardroom and leadership.

It has since been scrambling to sell assets and find short-term funds to
avoid parts of its business pulling down the sprawling empire which became
one of the world’s largest household goods retailers.

“We are delighted that Richard has agreed to join the Group at this critical
time and we are sure that his expertise and experience will bring
significant benefit to the Group as Steinhoff develops a plan to address the
Group’s financial indebtedness,” acting chairwoman Heather Sonn said in a
statement.

Heis was previously Global Head of restructuring at KPMG, based in London,
and has some 25 years’ experience of restructuring complex and international
groups, Steinhoff said after the market close.

It said separately that it would hold its annual shareholders’ meeting on
April 20.

The annual meeting’s agenda would include proposals for the appointment of
the current acting members of the management board, as well as the
appointment and re-election of members of its supervisory board.

The retailer added that the proposed adoption of its financial statements
for the year ended Sept. 30 would not be put to shareholders at the meeting,
citing an ongoing investigation by accounting firm PwC into accounting
issues.

Steinhoff, which has asked PwC to get to the bottom of its accounting
problems, warned in January that it will have to restate its 2015 accounts
and maybe earlier figures, having already warned on its 2016 numbers. PWC’s
review has suggested that accounting irregularities may stretch beyond 2015.

A separate general meeting of shareholders will be convened as soon as
possible once the 2017 consolidated accounts have been finalised, Steinhoff
said on Thursday.

S.Africa rating outlook not immediately affected by leadership change-S&P

LONDON (Reuters) - South Africa’s sovereign credit ratings and outlook will
not be immediately affected by the change of the country’s leadership, the
S&P Global agency said on Thursday.

Cyril Ramaphosa who has taken over as South African president from the
departing Jacob Zuma “will require time to design and implement measures to
improve economic growth and stabilize public finances, given the structural
and institutional challenges that South Africa faces,” S&P said.

The agency rates South Africa’s foreign currency debt at BB with a stable
outlook and its local currency debt at BB+ with a stable outlook. Both
ratings are in the sub-investment grade or ‘junk’ category.

Rival agency Moody’s earlier said it was “monitoring” developments

South African stocks surge after Zuma steps down

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s main stock index jumped more than 3
percent in mid morning deals on Thursday after Jacob Zuma resigned as
president late on Wednesday, bringing an end to his nine scandal-plagued
years in power during which growth stagnated.

By 0845 GMT, the benchmark JSE Top-40 index rose 3.7 percent while the
broader All-share index gained 3.5 percent, as markets in Africa’s most
sophisticated economy gained ground in the wake of Zuma’s departure.

S&P sticks with Kenya stance after Moody's downgrade

LONDON (Reuters) - S&P Global shows little sign that it will match a move by
Moody’s and downgrade Kenya, saying its rating could stay where it is as
long as political uncertainty didn’t disrupt the running of the country.

Kenya, which is also in the process of a international bond roadshow, was
dealt an untimely blow on Tuesday when Moody’s cut its rating by one notch
on worries about rising debt and worsening debt affordability.

That moved the rating one step lower than S&P’s “B+” rating, but the S&P
Kenya analyst, Gardner Rusike, said on Wednesday his firm’s next review of
the country, scheduled for March, may conclude that not enough has changed
there to move the dial.

There will be discussions on the political outlook, Rusike said, and whether
the protests that erupted after Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s
re-election have had any real effects on the day-to-day running of the
country.

“Our view is that the political developments by themselves have no immediate
impact on the rating as long as the government remains functional and
running the country,” he said.

“The challenge is if the tensions were to continue for a prolonged period or
to escalate, then that could have a negative impact on investment and
perhaps to the pace of economic growth.”

S&P also has a “stable” outlook on its Kenya rating, which would normally
make an actual downgrade unlikely.

At the margin, the country’s finances are continuing to deteriorate, Rusike
said. Moody’s cited debt levels rising to 61 percent of annual gross
domestic product as one reason for its downgrade.

“The main credit issue for us in Kenya is the ability for the country to
grow on a much higher pace, which would then help with fiscal consolidation
and debt stabilisation,” Rusike said.

But “given the current environment, it is most likely that the slow pace of
growth will result in a slower pace of fiscal consolidation,” he said,
adding that Nairobi’s forecasts of 5.8 percent growth this year “may be on
the high side”.

Kenya, marketing new Eurobonds, angered by Moody's downgrade

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has questioned a decision by credit ratings agency
Moody’s to downgrade the East African country’s debt at a time when senior
officials are travelling abroad to market new dollar bonds.

Moody’s downgraded Kenya’s rating to “B2” from “B1” on Tuesday and assigned
a “Stable” outlook. It cited concerns about a gaping fiscal deficit for the
downgrade.

Its action came as the finance minister, Henry Rotich, leads a roadshow
abroad for new Eurobonds to raise a minimum of $1.5 billion.

Moody’s said it expected Kenya’s government debt to increase as officials
raise spending, while struggling to boost revenue and trying to cope with
higher interest rate payments.

Kenya’s total debt has risen to about 50 percent of GDP since 2013, as it
borrowed locally and abroad to build new infrastructure projects like a
modern rail line from Nairobi to the port of Mombasa.

Geoffrey Mwau, director general for budget, economic and fiscal affairs at
the Treasury, said Moody’s had not taken account of Kenya’s positive
economic fundamentals, with growth expected to rebound to 5.8 percent this
year.

He said the fiscal deficit, which peaked at 8.9 percent of GDP in the
2016/17 (July-June) year, was set to fall to 7 percent at the end of this
fiscal year, and to less than 5 percent in three years.

“This shows you how serious we are,” he said.

Investors have however expressed scepticism at the plan and said the
government will likely have to pay a premium for the new issues.

Kenya’s 2019 issue is trading with a yield of 3.717 percent and the 2024
bond has a yield of 6.651 percent.

“Compared to their secondary market curve ... I would think they need to
offer at least 40 to 50 basis points,” said Sergey Dergachev, senior
portfolio manager at Union Investment in Frankfurt.

Memories of last year’s bitter presidential election contest, which ended
with President Uhuru Kenyatta securing a second term, could also affect
pricing of the issue.

Kenyatta’s rival, opposition leader Raila Odinga, has accused the government
of failing to account for $2 billion raised in the country’s debut issues in
2014.

“I would price a decent room for risk,” said Regis Chatellier, director,
emerging markets sovereign credit strategy at Societe Generale in London.

South African rand hovers near 3-yr highs after Zuma quits

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was little changed in early
deals on Thursday, largely holding on to gains notched up overnight after
President Jacob Zuma resigned.

* At 0608 GMT, the rand was at 11.7300 against the dollar, barely changed
from its overnight close 11.7200 in New York and not far from levels last
seen in March 2015.

* The rand has been rising since December last year on signs that Zuma -
under whose tenure Africa’s most advanced economy has hardly expanded -
could be ousted even before his second term as president ends in 2019.

* The 75-year old leader resigned on Wednesday, reluctantly heeding orders
by the ruling African National Congress to bring an end to his nine
scandal-plagued years in power.

* “The removal of President Zuma is the end of the beginning, not the
beginning of the end. Financial markets, investors and business owners are
not going to be distracted by the early removal of yet another sitting
president for much longer and the attention will turn to what the new order
intends to do and when it will do it,” NKC African Economics said.

Bombardier reports 57% rise in profits

Bombardier, the train and plane manufacturer at the centre of a trade row
between the US, the UK and Canada, has seen a 57% rise in profits.

The US Commercial department had threatened to impose 292% tariffs on its
C-Series aircraft which employs some 4,000 workers in Belfast.

But the US International Trade Commission (ITC) rejected the complaint which
had been made by Boeing.

Now, Bombardier says it is moving "into a strong growth cycle".

Bombardier's earnings before interest and tax for the whole of last year
rose from $427m (£304m) to $672m, driven by rising sales and profits in its
rail division.

Loses at its commercial aircraft division fell from $417m to $377m and
profits at its business aircraft division rose 13%.

Bombardier calls itself "the world's leading manufacturer of both planes and
trains", but this statement is only true because of its dominance of the
world of train systems. It remains a minnow besides Airbus and Boeing in
terms of plane sales.

Its Transportation division is by far the largest of the group's operations,
turning over $8.5bn last year. That makes it twice the size by revenue of
its Business Aircraft division and almost four times the size of its
Commercial Aircraft business, which includes the C-Series planes.

Its high-profile contracts include:

US planemaker Boeing had originally complained that the C-Series had been
sold to US airline Delta at "absurdly low prices", made possible by unfair
subsidies to Bombardier from the British and Canadian governments.

The company is Northern Ireland's biggest employer. Heavy investment in the
C-Series had already pushed Bombardier to the brink of bankruptcy in 2015
and the threat of tariffs looked likely to push it over the edge.

Following the original complaint, European planemaker Airbus bought a 51%
stake in the C-Series project for just $1 and Bombardier agreed to set up a
final assembly line in Mobile, Alabama.

The ITC ruling, announced in January, was published on Thursday. It said
that Bombardier's C- Series jets ordered by Delta did not compete with any
of Boeing's planes and the sale did not come at Delta's expense.

"Boeing lost no sales or revenues," the ITC said in its 194-page ruling.

Bombardier is also in the middle of a five-year turnaround plan. Chief
executive Alain Bellemare said: "2018 will be a pivotal year for Bombardier.
We are moving out of our investment cycle and into a strong growth cycle."

"Because of this solid performance, we begin 2018 with great momentum. Our
operational transformation is in full motion."--bbc

UK and US blame Russia for 'malicious' NotPetya cyber-attack

The Russian military was directly behind a "malicious" cyber-attack on
Ukraine that spread globally last year, the US and Britain have said.

The White House said June's NotPetya ransomware attack caused billions of
dollars in damage across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said Russia was "ripping up the rule
book" and the UK would respond.

Moscow denies being behind the attack, calling such claims "Russophobic".

Ransomware, which threatens to delete the target's files unless they pay a
ransom, is regarded as the fastest growing form of computer virus.

Experts believe about 2,000 NotPetya attacks were launched, mainly aimed at
Ukraine. The country Ukraine has been locked in a simmering conflict with
Russian-backed separatists since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

In the NotPetya attack, businesses with strong trade links with Ukraine,
such as the UK's Reckitt Benckister, Dutch delivery firm TNT and Danish
shipping giant Maersk were affected. The attack is estimated to have cost
companies more than $1.2bn (£850m).

Reckitt Benckiser - maker of Dettol, Durex and Strepsils - said the attack
disrupted its manufacturing output and shipping capacity for up to two
months.

On Thursday the UK government took the unusual step of publicly accusing the
Russia military of being behind the attack.

"The UK and its allies will not tolerate malicious cyber activity," the
foreign office said in a statement. Later, the White House also pointed the
finger at Russia.

"In June 2017, the Russian military launched the most destructive and costly
cyber attack in history," a statement said.

"This was also a reckless and indiscriminate cyber attack that will be met
with international consequences."

Russia, however, said the claims were "groundless" and that Russian
businesses were among those whose systems were affected.

"It's not more than a continuation of the Russophobic campaign," Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon said: "The UK government
judges that the Russian government, specifically the Russian military, was
responsible for the destructive NotPetya cyber attack."

"Its reckless release disrupted organisations across Europe costing hundreds
of millions of pounds.

"We call upon Russia to be the responsible member of the international
community it claims to be rather then secretly trying to undermine it."

Mr Williamson warned that the West had "entered a new era of warfare,
witnessing a destructive and deadly mix of conventional military might and
malicious cyber attacks".

Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russian President Vladimir Putin in
November of attempting to "sow discord" in the West by meddling in
elections, spreading misinformation and engaging in cyber warfare.--bbc

Standard Life Aberdeen sees £100bn contract axed

Lloyds Banking Group and Scottish Widows have ended a £100bn asset
management contract with recently-merged Standard Life Aberdeen.

They said last year's merger between Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset
Management created competition issues.

Keith Skeoch and Martin Gilbert, chief executives of Standard Life Aberdeen
(SLA), said they were "disappointed".

But SLA said, despite the size of the contract, it represented less than 5%
of its 2017 revenues.

Shares in Standard Life Aberdeen dropped as much as 10% for a time after the
announcement, before settling about 5% lower.

The deal to manage the £109bn of assets was first taken on by Aberdeen Asset
Management in 2014 when it bought Scottish Widows Investment Partnership
(SWIP) from Lloyds.

But there was a clause allowing Lloyds to end the mandate if Aberdeen merged
with a competitor.

This was triggered by last summer's £11bn tie-up between Standard Life and
Aberdeen Asset Management, creating Europe's second-biggest fund manager.

It's reckoned that more than a trillion pounds of investment funds are now
managed out of Edinburgh, which is quite a vote of confidence from those who
trust asset managers with their moola.

Roughly two-thirds of that has been at the newly-merged Standard Life
Aberdeen, last September managing £648m.

For those who see Scotland's financial world as a wee bit too cosy, this
Scottish Widows announcement proves that relationships within this asset
management community can get quite rocky.

The decision to end the deal means SLA will take a one-off impairment charge
of £40m.

Antonio Lorenzo, chief executive of Scottish Widows and group director of
insurance and wealth at Lloyds, said the merger meant its assets were being
"managed by a material competitor".

He said it was "now appropriate to review our long-term asset management
arrangements".

The investment management deal will end after a 12-month notice period.

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said it was a "blow"
for Standard Life Aberdeen.

He added: "Losing this book of business would strike a sour note for the
Standard Life Aberdeen merger, and undermines some of the rationale for
joining forces, which was built on scale.

"However, while almost a fifth of Standard Life Aberdeen's assets look like
they might be walking out the door, this only equates to 5% of revenues, as
these investment services are relatively low margin."--bbc

Renault asks Carlos Ghosn to stay on as chief executive

French car giant Renault has asked Carlos Ghosn to stay on as chief
executive for a further four years.

There had been some speculation that he would relinquish his role as head of
the firm - a position he has held since 2005.

Shareholders will vote on Mr Ghosn's re-appointment at a meeting in June.

If approved, he would also remain on as head of the Japanese-French alliance
between Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

The newly-formed tie up claimed it was the world's biggest automotive group,
after it sold 10.61 million cars in 2017.

Renault's board said it wanted Mr Ghosn to "take decisive steps to make the
alliance irreversible", as well as drive Renault's 2022 growth plans, and
shore up its succession plans.

On Wednesday, the firm also said Thierry Bolloré had been appointed as
Renault's chief operating officer - a position he will take up next week.

Mr Bolloré was already a senior Renault executive, and is now expected to
eventually succeed Mr Ghosn.

Who's the world's biggest carmaker?

VW overtakes Toyota as biggest carmaker

Carlos Ghosn refocuses Nissan role

Renault, which has been making cars for over a century, created an alliance
with Nissan in 1999.

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance adopted its current name in September
2017, about a year after Nissan took a controlling interest in
Mitsubishi.--bbc

US rejects China-led bid for Chicago Stock Exchange

The US has rejected a proposed merger between the Chicago Stock Exchange and
a Chinese-linked investor group.

The decision comes after more than two years of reviews by officials.

The tie-up was initially approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in
the United States, pending further approval by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC).

But US politicians, including President Trump, have said letting a Chinese
firm invest in a US exchange was a bad idea.

Under the proposal, the Chinese-led North America Casin Holdings group would
have bought a minority share of the privately owned Chicago Stock Exchange.

The exchange, which handles just 0.5% of US stock trades, had said the deal
would have provided the exchange with "vital capital".

That funding would have been used "to boost numerous initiatives designed to
benefit the city of Chicago, the US economy and market structure as a
whole".

Questions raised

While the investment got an initial vote of approval by SEC staff in August
2017, the commission ultimately ruled that the deal did not meet the rules
that govern US stock exchanges.

"The review process has also raised questions about whether the proposed
ownership structure will allow the commission to exercise sufficient
oversight of the exchange" the SEC said on Thursday.

The SEC's decision follows several other moves by US officials to deter
Chinese firms doing business in the US, or partnering up with US firms to
sell their goods in the country.

In January, China's telecommunications giant Huawei said it had been unable
to strike a deal to sell its new smartphones via a US carrier, widely
reported to be AT&T.

Also earlier this year, the US also blocked a $1.2bn (£880m) sale of money
transfer firm Moneygram to China's Ant Financial, the digital payments arm
of Alibaba.

It was the highest profile Chinese deal to be rejected by Washington since
Donald Trump came to power.

US politicians who had opposed the stock exchange deal said they applauded
the decision.

"This has been a long fight, and I'm grateful we now have a president who
recognises the national security threats of allowing a Chinese
government-affiliated company to own the Chicago Stock Exchange," Republican
congressman Robert Pittenger said in a statement.--bbc

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

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Bulls n Bears 

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Cellphone:      <tel:%2B263%2077%20344%201674> +263 77 344 1674

Alt. Email:       <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> info at bulls.co.zw  

Website:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AF
QjCNH8LYgdY55h-XKseuM8Kpr-JKdfhQ> www.bulls.co.zw 

Blog:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bulls.co.zw%2Fblog&sa=D&sntz=1
&usg=AFQjCNFoIy6F9IXAiYnSoPSgWDYsr8Sqtw> www.bulls.co.zw/blog

Twitter:         @bullsbears2010

LinkedIn:       Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe

Facebook:
<http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBullsBearsZimba
bwe&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhb_A5rp4biV1dGHbgiAhUxQqBXA>
www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe

Skype:         Bulls.Bears 

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