Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 July 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 July 2018

 


 

 


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*  Nigeria to offer 12.7 bln naira mining contract to eight firms

*  Amplats sells stake in Rasimone mine to RBplat for $135 mln

*  South Africa's rand opens weaker in choppy trade

*  Nigeria woos importers to trade Chinese yuan

*  Glencore launches $1 bln share buyback

*  Liberia central bank governor resigns

*  Services surge points to August rate rise

*  How a US-China trade war could hurt us all

*  Jaguar Land Rover boss: Brexit threatens £80bn UK investment

*  Global economy 'under threat as tariff war bites'

*  Britain's Tullow says Kenyan protesters block oil trucks

*  Kenya private sector activity slows in June -PMI

*  Baidu's self-drive buses enter 'mass production'

*  Chevron set to put Central North Sea assets up for sale

*  World Cup economic boost could be worth billions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Nigeria to offer 12.7 bln naira mining contract to eight firms

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria will offer a 12.7 billion naira ($41.6 million)
mining contract to eight companies in exploration and consultancy, its
junior mining minister said on Wednesday, adding both foreign and local
firms were encouraged to participate.

 

Nigeria’s economy, one of Africa’s largest, has been built largely on its
rich crude oil reserves, leaving other sectors to stagnate. In an attempt to
diversify, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is now seeking to
build up other sectors, including mining, though results have been mixed,
according to economic data.

 

 

“Today the Federal Executive Council (Nigeria’s cabinet) approved the
contract for exploration and consultancy on some of our targeted minerals -
like gold, industrial minerals, earth metals, iron ore - for four companies
in exploration and four companies in consultancy,” Abubakar Bawa Bwari, the
minister of state for solid minerals, told reporters after the cabinet
meeting.

 

Bwari said the exploration and consultancy work would result in data that
would encourage potential mining firms to invest in Nigeria.

 

“Our major challenge is the bankable data, most mining companies will not
want to come into your country when they are not sure of what they are going
to meet,” he said.

 

($1 = 305.2000 naira)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

 

Amplats sells stake in Rasimone mine to RBplat for $135 mln

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Anglo American Platinum (Amplats)
has sold its one-third stake in the Rasimone mine to its joint venture
partner for $135 million, it said on Thursday, the company’s latest disposal
as part of a strategic overhaul.

 

Amplats has been selling off labour intensive mines and joint ventures since
2015 as part of a drive to focus on its mechanised mines.

 

The 33 percent stake in Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine (BRPM) would be sold
to partner Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat), a mid-tier producer of platinum
group metals.

 

“The disposal of interest in the BRPM JV will allow Anglo American Platinum
to focus its capital allocation into its own-managed mines and projects,”
Amplats said in a statement.

 

For RBPlat, the deal hands it full ownership of the mine with roughly
180,000 ounces of platinum output a year.

 

RBPlat is a unit of Royal Bafokeng Holdings, which manages commercial assets
for the Bafokeng tribe, a community of black South Africans that owns 1,200
square km in one of the world’s biggest platinum deposits.

 

The company would fund a portion of the deal with the issue of 9.8 million
shares, it said, adding it intended to pay the rest with three annual cash
instalments.

 

 

($1 = 13.7036 rand)

 

 

 

South Africa's rand opens weaker in choppy trade

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand edged weaker in early trade on
Thursday.

 

At 0630 GMT the rand was 0.13 percent weaker at 13.6950, above the 13.60
resistance mark that has recently drawn in sellers looking to pocket dollars
cheap.

 

“Over the most recent sessions, any sign of rand strength has seen renewed
dollar buyers emerge, this scenario (is) not entirely unsurprising,” Nedbank
analyst Reezwana Sumad said.

 

Trade across emerging market currencies has been volatile in recent weeks
with the trade war brewing between the U.S. and China cooling risk demand,
while the rand has also been restrained by lukewarm economic indicators.

 

Investors to eye release of minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s last
policy meeting.

 

Government bonds inched firmer, with the yield on the benchmark instrument
due in 2026 falling 0.5 basis points to 8.745 percent.

 

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was set to open flat at 0700 GMT, with the
Top 40 futures index down 0.24 percent.

 

 

Nigeria woos importers to trade Chinese yuan

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria’s central bank is wooing local businesses
importing goods from China to use the yuan instead of the U.S. dollar in its
effort to support its naira currency and boost reserves.

 

Central bank officials on Wednesday held a town hall meeting with businesses
in Lagos to introduce the yuan for imports from China ahead of plans to
start auctioning the Asian currency later this month.

 

The dollar is Nigeria’s main trade currency. The OPEC member suffered severe
dollar shortages after the price of crude oil, its top export and main
source of FX, plunged in late 2014, prompting it to introduce capital
controls in 2015.

 

It now has multiple exchange rates against the U.S. currency and has been
selling the dollar on the interbank market to boost liquidity after floating
the naira for investors.

 

“The central bank will encourage users importing goods from China to use the
yuan and not the dollar,” officials said.

 

“Dollar demand burden arising from trades with China would be lifted from
our FX reserves,” they said, adding that initial yuan trades could be small.

 

 

Nigeria signed a $2.5 billion currency swap arrangement with the People’s
Bank of China (PBOC) in May.

 

Officials said the deal is aimed at reducing reliance on the dollar and “as
such reduce the pressure on the naira-dollar exchange rate.”

 

Under the swap arrangement, Nigeria’s central bank would hold 720 billion
naira in an account in favour of the PBOC while the Chinese central bank
would hold 15 billion yuan, impling an exchange rate of 48 naira to the
yuan.

 

The bank also said the move was aimed at encouraging Chinese firms buying
local raw materials and semi-finished goods to pay in naira. However payment
for crude oil sold to China would be in U.S. dollar, they said.

 

Nigeria has been trying several options to curb pressure on the naira. But
some of its plans may require time to materialise as it needs to develop its
economy in order to cut imports.

 

It currently runs a large trade deficit with China, its biggest trading
partner. Nigeria imported goods worth almost $2 billion per annum from China
last year as against almost $500 million imported by the Chinese, figures
showed.

 

Economists fear that currency swap could worsen the deficit and trade
balance. Some importers told Reuters that a strong naira would erase the
benefit of the swap but added that the naira may weaken especially after
elections next year.

 

Nigeria has around 4.4 percent of its foreign reserves of $47 billion
denominated in yuan while the remaining is held in U.S. dollar. Officials
expect the move to also boost foreign investment from China into Nigeria.

 

 

 

Glencore launches $1 bln share buyback

(Reuters) - Commodities trader and miner Glencore said on Thursday it would
buy back shares worth up to $1 billion in a programme of purchases running
to the end of 2018.

 

The company’s shares were up 2 percent in early London trading.

 

Glencore said the programme would be split into two halves, one of 350
million pounds ($463.44 million) worth of shares to be bought by Aug. 7 and
the remainder at the discretion of the broker Citigroup.

 

Mining companies have recovered from the commodity price crash of 2015-16
allowing them to return cash to shareholders via share buy-backs and higher
dividends.

 

Glencore is facing scrutiny from U.S. authorities who have demanded the
company hand over documents about its business in the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Venezuela and Nigeria as part of a corruption probe.

 

Glencore shares in London are hovering near one-year lows and are down about
18 percent so far this year.

 

($1 = 0.7552 pounds)

 

 

Liberia central bank governor resigns

MONROVIA (Reuters) - Liberia’s central bank governor has resigned midway
through his five-year term, the president’s office said.

 

President George Weah had received and accepted Milton Weeks’ resignation
and a successor would be appointed shortly, it said late on Tuesday in a
statement that gave no further details.

 

Weeks was appointed by former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in April 2016.

 

Former soccer star Weah, who took the helm of the west African nation in
January, has said he inherited a broken economy and government, and a
currency in free fall.

 

 

Services surge points to August rate rise

The UK services sector reported its fastest rise in activity since last
October, increasing expectations of an imminent interest rate rise.

 

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) from IHS Markit/CIPS showed activity
rose to 55.1 in June, up from 54.

 

IHS chief business economist Chris Williamson said the reading added to
signs that the economy rebounded in the second quarter.

 

He said it "opens the door for an August rate hike".

 

Any reading above 50 indicates an expansion rather than a contraction.

 

IHS Markit estimated that UK gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.4% in
the three months to June, compared with a 0.2% rise in the first three
months of the year.

 

Mr Williamson said: "The sharp rise in business costs, linked to surging oil
prices and the need to offer higher wages, suggests inflation will also pick
up again from its current rate of 2.4%."

 

Activity in the UK services sector makes up nearly 80% of the UK's GDP.

 

The survey of purchasing managers found that new work increased strongly in
June, in particular for business and financial services.

 

Overall, activity grew at the strongest pace since October 2017.

 

It follows better than expected growth in the UK construction sector for
June, according to IHS Markit/CIPS, and also a modest increase for
manufacturing during the same month.

 

"Nonetheless, there were again reports that Brexit-related uncertainty had
held back business investment, particularly in relation to spending by large
corporate clients."

 

Howard Archer, an economist with the EY Item Club, said: "The improved
services survey completes an overall stronger set of purchasing managers'
surveys pointing to the economy warming up in June."--BBC

 

 

 

How a US-China trade war could hurt us all

What happens when the world's two biggest economies go to war?

 

Ok, so it's not a real war - but the US and China are at the beginning of a
trade war - and no-one knows just how bad it could get.

 

So here's how a US-China trade war could hurt us.

 

Tit-for-tat

A list of Chinese products will be hit with a 25% tariff from Friday -
effectively making them 25% more expensive for US consumers.

 

Technology goods like Chinese-made semiconductor chips. They're found in
consumer products used in everyday life such as televisions, personal
computers, smartphones, and cars

A wide variety of products ranging from plastics, nuclear reactors and
dairy-making equipment

According to the Petersen Institute of International Economics more than 90%
of the products on the US tariffs list are made up of intermediate inputs or
capital equipment. That means stuff that you need as raw material to make
other products - so it could have a knock-on effect on many other goods too.

What the US really wants to target though are things produced under China's
Made in China 2025 policy.

 

In retaliation to the US moves, China has hit these sectors:

 

*         American agriculture - hitting at American farmers and ranchers, a
political vote bank that US President Trump relies on. Some 91% of the 545
products China is placing a tariff on are from the agriculture sector

*         The car sector - companies such as Tesla and Chrysler manufacture
in the US and their products going into China would be affected

*         Medical products; coal; petroleum (but only marginally).

'Getting scary'

And while Beijing is really good at the chest-thumping, fist-wagging
rhetoric, the reality on the ground is much more serious.

 

"Our industry contacts in China have said things like 'seems pretty
serious,' or 'this is getting scary', even 'I think there's a chance of
things getting worse'," says Vinesh Motwani of Silk Road Research.

 

He's recently returned from a trip to the mainland, and as part of his
research routinely talks to China-based firms to gauge business sentiment
there.

 

These worries, he says, can translate into "increased caution and lower
confidence" for businesses as they try to navigate the uncertainty ahead.

 

Which means: expansion plans could be put on ice. And if Chinese expansion
is on hold that has a direct impact on the rest of us in Asia.

 

Shift manufacturing?

Obviously the US and China's economies are most at risk, although they're
not the only ones.

 

According to DBS's chief economist Taimur Baig, an all-out trade war could
shave 0.25% off the GDP of both economies this year. It gets much worse next
year - with both countries seeing a reduction in growth of about 0.5% or
more.

 

Mr Baig adds that "considering China grows at 6-7% and the US at 2-3%, we
believe the damage would be greater to the US than on China".

 

But countries like South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan could all be affected
too because of disruption to supply chains.

 

China sources a lot of components that go into its finished goods from these
other countries. As Nick Marro of the Economist Intelligence Unit points
out, "any dent in China's export flows will inevitably affect" these other
countries.

 

The case could be made for manufacturing to shift to these other countries -
and for them to take advantage of selling to the US - but that shift would
take time, and it's hard to see who could match China's scale.

 

Ultimately, the US consumer will end up paying more for these products.

 

China backlash

US firms operating in China could also face a "China backlash".

 

Elon Musk's electric car firm Tesla, for instance, has already highlighted
just how important the Chinese market is to it.

 

But it imports all of its products to China and so would see a 25% tariff
placed on its cars sold in China - on top of the 15% tax imported vehicles
already face there.

 

This would inevitably push up prices for Tesla in China, making its vehicles
less competitive than they already are, relative to others.

 

Sino-US tensions could also end up "delaying or preventing" Tesla's ability
to release its full potential in China, according to Silk Road Research.

 

How bad can it get?

It's the question I ask every business person I meet, and the answer is
typically always the same: nobody knows.

 

If history is any guide, then past trade wars have led to deep economic
malaise. In particular the US Smoot-Hawley tariffs enacted in 1930 are
thought to have inspired a trade war, and led to a massive decline in global
trade.

 

As one study points out, world trade fell by 66% from 1929 to 1934, while US
exports and imports to and from Europe each also fell by about two-thirds.

 

While no one is saying we're there yet, businesses are getting more
concerned than they have been in the past, especially because of all the
uncertainty.

 

The tit-for-tat mentality between Beijing and Washington could just end up
antagonising both sides to a point where they cannot climb down from their
hostile positions for fear of losing face.

 

"You start with protectionism and isolationism," says Victor Mills, chief
executive of Singapore's International Chamber of Commerce. "And then you
don't just beggar your neighbour, you beggar yourself."

 

What many business people are hoping of course, is that this sound and fury
is just the start of another series of negotiations.

 

But the worry is that if it's not - it will escalate, and everybody will be
the poorer. And that includes you and me.--BBC

 

 

Jaguar Land Rover boss: Brexit threatens £80bn UK investment

Jaguar Land Rover has warned that a "bad" Brexit deal would hit its profits
and threaten £80bn worth of investment plans for the UK.

 

The UK's biggest carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, said its "heart and
soul is in the UK".

 

But it said that without frictionless trade its UK investment plans would be
in "jeopardy".

 

The warning came as Downing Street set out details of a possible post-Brexit
customs arrangement.

 

*         No 10 sets out new Brexit customs plan

*         BMW joins Airbus in Brexit warning

*         Government looks for business Brexit support

Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth said: "A bad Brexit deal would
cost Jaguar Land Rover more than £1.2bn profit each year.

 

"As a result, we would have to drastically adjust our spending profile; we
have spent around £50bn in the UK in the past five years - with plans for a
further £80bn more in the next five.

 

"This would be in jeopardy should we be faced with the wrong outcome."

 

Mr Speth said the firm "urgently need[s] greater certainty to continue to
invest heavily in the UK".

 

JLR employs around 40,000 people across the UK.

 

Uncertainty over Brexit, as well as the future of diesel cars, has already
led the carmaker to announce a series of changes to its UK business.

 

At the beginning of the year, JLR said it would cut production at its plant
in Halewood, Merseyside where it builds three of its Range Rover models.

 

It then said in April that it would not renew the contracts for 1,000
temporary workers at its operation in Solihull.

 

Last month, JLR said it would shift production of its Land Rover Discovery
SUV to a new plant in Slovakia, potentially leading to some job losses in
the UK.

 

However, the carmaker also said that it was investing in its Solihull site
to allow it to build its new Range Rover models, some of which will be
electric-powered, from 2020.

 

As well as Halewood and Solihull, JLR also has a manufacturing plant in
Castle Bromwich, Birmingham.

 

Once the site where Spitfire fighter planes were build during World War Two,
the plant now produces Jaguar cars.

 

JLR may be Indian-owned, but its brand and - as the company puts it - its
heart and soul is in the UK.

 

It employs 40,000 people directly and 260,000 work in its supply chain.
JLR's warning follows those of Airbus, BMW and Nissan who have all said
further investment in the UK is "under review" and could be cancelled if the
country leaves the EU without a deal that ensures frictionless trade.

 

JLR insiders say £80bn worth of future investment in the UK over the next
five years "could be lost".

 

The intervention of such a major employer - which in many ways is rightly
perceived as more British than the likes of BMW, Airbus and Nissan - will
heap more pressure on the government ahead of a crunch meeting of government
ministers on Friday. At this meeting, business hopes the government will
finally settle on its own preferred version of the UK's future economic
relationship with its largest market.

 

Business Secretary Greg Clark said the government was "determined" to make
sure JLR could "continue to prosper and invest in Britain".

 

The Jaguar Land Rover warning follows similar statements from BMW and
Airbus. However, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called these warnings are
"completely inappropriate".

 

Meanwhile, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned in a letter to
Prime Minister Theresa May and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier that
failure to reach an agreement to ensure frictionless trade will result in
customs delays for perishable goods.

 

The BRC says that a third of the food consumed in the UK is imported from
the EU.

 

"Failure to reach a deal - the cliff-edge scenario - will mean new border
controls and multiple 'non-tariff barriers', through regulatory checks, that
will create delays, waste and failed deliveries," it said.

 

"This could lead to dramatic consequences, with food rotting at ports,
reducing choice and quality for UK consumers. It could also lead to higher
prices as the cost of importing goods from the EU increases.

 

"And in the EU, £21bn of exports to the UK are at stake."--BBC

 

 

Global economy 'under threat as tariff war bites'

Global economic growth is under threat as the world's economic super powers
trade tit-for-tat trade sanctions, according to the World Trade
Organization.

 

In its most sober assessment of the growing tariff war between the US,
European Union and China, the WTO said the global system of agreed trade
rules was at "potentially large risk".

 

It said world economic growth was "in jeopardy" and pleaded for a
"de-escalation".

 

The threat of a tariff war was sparked after US President Donald Trump
ordered tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU and China.

 

The President said he was acting to protect American jobs and that global
free trade deals had been "very, very bad" for the US.

 

Both China and the EU responded with the threat of import tariffs on US cars
and agricultural goods totalling hundreds of billions of pounds.

 

Economists have warned that previous trade wars - such as during the 1930s
recession - have exacerbated economic problems and that they lead to higher
prices and lost jobs.

 

"The worrying trend is the increase in trade restrictive measures which has
come at a time of increasing trade tensions and associated rhetoric," the
WTO said in its report on trade between the 20 largest economies in the
world - including the UK, the US, China and India, a group of countries also
known as the G20.

 

"This should be of real concern to the international community."

 

The report on the seven months between October 2017 and May 2018 said that
G20 countries imposed 39 new "trade restrictive" measures including taxes on
imports.

 

That was double the number of the previous report.

 

It said the new sanctions affected $74.1bn (£56.2bn) of trade - one and half
times higher than over the same period a year earlier.

 

The number of "trade facilitation" measures - which lower barriers between
countries - totalled 47, affecting $82.7bn of trade.

 

That was half the value of the same period a year earlier.

 

The WTO said: "At a juncture where the global economy is finally beginning
to generate sustained economic momentum following the financial crisis, the
uncertainty created by a proliferation of trade restrictive practices could
place the economic recovery in jeopardy."

 

"Further escalation could carry potentially large risks for the system
itself.

 

"The G20 economies must use all means at their disposal to de-escalate the
situation and promote further trade recovery."

 

The warning from the WTO is likely to increase tensions with the US
president who has said the present trade rules discriminate against the US,
and has attacked the Geneva-based organisation which was launched in 1995 to
encourage and police trade liberalisation.

 

The WTO does not agree with the US president's analysis, saying that fewer
trade barriers support growth and jobs - not just for emerging market
economies like China and India but for countries like the US as well.

 

Economic models show that lower import taxes tend to mean cheaper goods for
consumers.

 

If China and the EU do follow through on their retaliatory threats, millions
of American jobs linked to exports of food and cars, for example, could be
put at risk, economists argue.

 

Recent threats

The think tank, Oxford Economics, said that recent threats of further
sanctions by the US, the EU and China, could mean the extension of tariffs
to a further 4% of world imports.

 

"We estimate tariffs have been imposed on on $60bn, 0.3%, of world trade so
far, but this would rise to over $800bn of trade," it said.

 

"The current trade dispute risks worsening the 'creeping protectionism'
trend visible since the 1990s.

 

"Lack of trade liberalisation has been especially notable among the advanced
economies, where tariff levels remain stuck at early 2000s levels and both
the US and EU impose significant non-tariff barriers."

 

Oxford Economics said that if the trade war escalates global growth could be
cut by 0.4%, wiping hundreds of billions of pounds off the value of the
world economy.--BBC

 

 

 

Britain's Tullow says Kenyan protesters block oil trucks

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyans protesters demanding more security in the north
of Kenya have blocked trucks carrying oil from Tullow’s fields, the British
energy company said on Wednesday.

 

The truck scheme aims to transport about 2,000 barrels per day (bpd) of
crude from northern oil fields to the coast to test oil flow rates and other
technical issues before the start of full production and exports via a
pipeline to be built by 2022. The pilot truck scheme was launched in June.

 

“Tullow confirms that there have been interruptions to the trucking of crude
oil in Turkana County. Tullow is working with the respective national
government agencies, the county government, local leadership and the
communities to ensure that the matter is resolved amicably,” the firm told
Reuters.

 

“Tullow has provisionally reduced the number of personnel in the field while
operations are paused,” it said.

 

Government officials were not immediately available to comment.

 

Kenyan media said the protests that began last week were to demand the
deployment of more security forces in the area, which has long been plagued
by banditry and cattle rustling. Turkana also lies near South Sudan, a
nation torn by years of conflict.--BBC

 

 

Kenya private sector activity slows in June -PMI

(Reuters) - Kenya’s private sector activity grew at a slower pace in June,
hit by slower expansion in output and new businesses, with higher food and
fuel prices posing a challenge to consumers, a survey showed on Wednesday.

 

The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index(PMI) for
manufacturing and services fell to 55.0 in June from 55.4 in May. A reading
above 50 denotes growth.

 

Economic activity has picked up this year after political unrest and drought
cut growth last year to its lowest level in more than five years, and the
Kenyan economy is forecast to expand by 5.8 percent this year from 4.9
percent in 2017.

 

Uncertainty has subsided after President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition
leader Raila Odinga reconciled in March and pledged to unite the country
after last year’s hotly contested elections.

 

Survey compiler Markit said food and fuel prices had risen during the month,
leading to the higher prices being passed to consumers.

 

- Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from Markit and
customers need to apply to Markit for a licence.

 

 

Baidu's self-drive buses enter 'mass production'

One of China's biggest technology companies has declared it has begun mass
production of a self-driving bus.

 

Baidu made the announcement after building its 100th Apolong vehicle at its
factory in the country's south-eastern Fujian province.

 

It said the vehicles would initially be put to commercial use within Chinese
cities but added it was also targeting foreign markets.

 

The company is one of several competing to sell "level-4 autonomy" buses.

 

The classification - set by the transport engineering body SAE International
- refers to highly automated driving systems that can cope with most driving
conditions, even if a human fails to respond appropriately to a request to
intervene.

 

It is one step below the maximum level-5 tier, which extends to all driving
scenarios, including dirt roads and unusual weather conditions.

 

Baidu's chief executive, Robin Li, detailed its plans at the company's
annual artificial intelligence developer conference in Beijing.

 

He said: "2018 marks the first year of commercialisation for autonomous
driving.

 

"In the past, China exported cheap commodities to the world. In the future,
China will export AI technology to the world."

 

Softbank deal

The Apolong bus can seat up to 14 people, and has been developed with a
local vehicle manufacturer.

 

It has no driver's seat, steering wheel or pedals.

 

It runs on electric power and can travel up to 100km (62 miles) after a
two-hour charge, at up to 70km/h.

 

Baidu envisages it being used for "last-mile" drop-offs within enclosed
areas, such as airports and tourist sites.

 

The company said partners would soon put it to use in Beijing, Shenzhen,
Wuhan and other Chinese cities.

 

It added that a deal with Japan's Softbank Group could also bring the
vehicle to Tokyo's roads.

 

In a separate Japanese-language press release, Softbank said it intended to
start using 10 Apolongs for "demonstration tests" within Japan by early
2019.

 

Softbank's self-drive subsidiary, SB Drive, had previously bought several
self-drive shuttle buses from a rival operation - the French start-up Navya.

 

It demonstrated their use in level-3 mode - where a human is expected to
take control if required - at Tokyo's Haneda Airport in February.

 

Navya's self-drive buses have also been put to use by others at Paris's
Charles de Gaulle airport, London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and the
streets of Las Vegas.

 

Other companies, including France's Easymile, Australia's Intellibus and
South Korea's KT, have developed autonomous buses of their own.

 

One academic suggested that in the near-term, such vehicles had a greater
chance of public acceptance than self-drive cars.

 

"Any vehicle that can be deployed in a well-organised and controlled
environment and that can be controlled and regulated by authorities... is
more likely to be the starter for this sort of technology, than ones which
will be provided to [a single] member of the general public, who would not
necessarily be closely monitored," said Prof Natasha Merat, from the
University of Leeds' Institute for Transport Studies.--BBC

 

 

 

Chevron set to put Central North Sea assets up for sale

Oil firm Chevron is set to put its assets in the Central North Sea up for
sale.

 

The Alba, Alder, Britannia, Captain, Elgin-Franklin, Erskine and Jade
platforms are included in the plans.

 

The operations employ 610 staff and 220 contractors.

 

Chevron said it was confirming an intent to market its assets in the Central
North Sea, and that those assets may or may not be sold.

 

The company, the second largest US oil producer after Exxon, was among the
first oil companies to drill in the North Sea in 1964.

 

Chevron has been turning its attention more towards shale extraction, in
particular in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico and the giant Tengiz
field in Kazakhstan.

 

BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips have all sold assets in the North
Sea in recent years.--BBC

 

 

World Cup economic boost could be worth billions

The economy could receive a boost worth billions if England make it to the
World Cup final, research suggests.

 

Work done by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) estimates that the economy
has benefitted from extra spending of more than £1bn this year.

 

The centre estimates that spending will rise to £2.7bn if England makes it
to the finals.

 

It says much of the spending will be at shops with fans stocking up on food
and drink before watching matches at home.

 

Professor Joshua Bamfield, CRR director, said the amount spent so far was
about £800m more than during the 2014 World Cup when England crashed out of
the tournament before reaching the knockout stages.

 

In its report on the last World Cup the CRR says: "Every goal scored by an
England footballer - right the way to the final - would be worth £165.3m to
England's retailers and an extra £33.2m to pubs, hotels and restaurants."

 

However England goals in 2014 proved to be thin on the ground.

 

Prof Bamfield said: "At the last World Cup we didn't get past the group
stage and from a retail point of view sales fell off a cliff.

 

"This time no one expected much - they were so used to being kicked in the
teeth - but once they started playing it all changed.

 

"The spending patterns also fit in with the current retail theme of
'experience'. People want to spend their money going to the pub or having a
barbecue with their friend and watching the match."

 

Last week pub owner Greene King, after reporting a disappointing set of
profits for last year, said things were looking up thanks to the hot weather
and the World Cup.

 

The chain sold half a million extra pints during the Panama match.

 

Chief executive Rooney Anand said: " It remains true that when the sun
shines, or sport is on, people do want to go to the pub."

 

Feelgood factor

Prof Bamfield said the World Cup also provided a reason for consumers to
splash out on electronics such as a new bigscreen television.

 

"People may have been meaning to get a new TV or computer for some time and
the World Cup gives them the opportunity to make the decision," he said.

 

"Also, people are buying souvenirs, parents and grandparents are using the
competition as a reason to buy kit for children."

 

Economists are also seeing the competition add some optimism to the strong
numbers reported on Wednesday for the UK's services sector.

 

Howard Archer, chief economist at the EY Item Club, said: "A significantly
improved survey for the dominant services sector adds to the feel good
factor, after England actually winning a penalty shoot out to reach the
quarter finals of the World Cup."

 

However, if sporting success leads to stronger economic growth it may also
lead to higher interest rates.

 

Andy Haldane, the Bank of England's chief economist and a member of its
Monetary Policy Committee, said World Cup success was adding to the general
recovery of the economy.

 

"The underlying picture now appears to be one of gently rising household
spending," he said.

 

"And then, of course, there is the World Cup. Without wishing to tempt fate,
England's recent sporting success on the football field... has probably
added to that feelgood factor among England-supporting consumers."--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


NicozDiamond

shares delist from the ZSE

 

06/07/2018

 


Zimbabwe

Heroes’ Day

Zimbabwe

13/08/2018

 


Zimbabwe

Defence Forces Day

Zimbabwe

14/08/2018

 


The Harare Agricultural Show

The Harare Agricultural Show

The Harare Agricultural Show

August 27- September 1

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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