Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 June 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 June 2018

 


 

 


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*  Tigo Pesa Masterpass QR Payments Solution Goes Live in Tanzania

*  African Banks to Become More Competitive with SWIFT Gpi

*  OROBO and OpenWay to Power Cross-Border Money Transfers to West Africa

*  Facebook protests NYT's privacy breach claim

*  Theresa May tells Trump US tariffs are not justified

*  Airlines slash profit forecast as costs soar

*  Government to sell 7.7% stake in RBS

*  Microsoft buys Github code-sharing site for $7.5bn

*  Oil at $70-$75 a barrel fair for producers, consumers -Sonatrach CEO

*  Kenya Airways seeks to run main Nairobi airport to boost earnings

*  Commonwealth Bank offers to pay record fine in laundering case

*  Egypt net foreign reserves rise to $44.14 bln at end-May-c.bank

*  Russia says Egypt approves halted wheat cargo after second test

*  Steinhoff International's credit insurers withdraw cover

*  Kenya launches pilot oil export scheme via Mombasa

*  Algeria hires U.S. law firm to help with new energy law

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Tigo Pesa Masterpass QR Payments Solution Goes Live in Tanzania

Mastercard and Tigo have announced that Tanzanian’s can now use their Tigo
Pesa app to make quick, easy and secure payments with Masterpass QR. The
interoperable QR (Quick Response) solution is now live and ready for Tigo
consumers to use it at various stores, restaurants and retail outlets across
the country.

 

Tigo Pesa Masterpass QR removes the need for you to carry cash or physical
bank cards, so even if you forgot your wallet at home, you can make a
payment using Masterpass QR. You are guaranteed the security of being able
to pay for in-store purchases by scanning the QR code displayed at checkout
on your smartphones, or by entering an 8-digit merchant code into a feature
phone.

 

“We are extremely proud to be the first and only mobile operator in Tanzania
to offer this service to our consumers. This innovation has come at the
right time as we are broadening our Tigo Pesa ecosystem. We envisage Tigo
Pesa becoming a fully-fledged financial service provider where customers are
able to perform a variety of transactions. With millions of Tanzanian’s
preferring to use their mobile devices to pay for goods and services
Masterpass QR will provide them with a fast, easy to use and secure way to
pay for goods and services,” says Simon Karikari, Managing Director, Tigo
Tanzania.

 

Raghav Prasad, Division President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard said,
“Our focus is to help Tanzania become a strong digital economic hub in
Africa, and through the introduction of relevant technology innovation we
will help displace the use of cash and create a more convenient and secure
payment sector. The partnership between Mastercard, Tigo and Selcom is a
game changer for the country, and will help shape a new digital age of
commerce in Tanzania.”

 

In just a matter of seconds your purchase is complete. Masterpass QR is a
fast and convenient digital payment solution that is now accepted at various
stores and other acceptance locations across the country including: Puma
Fuel Stations, KFC and Pizza Hut outlets, Choppies and Shoppers
supermarkets, JD Pharmacies, multiple shops at the GSM Mall and many more.

 

By downloading the latest version of the Tigo Pesa app, Tanzanian’s will be
able to pay with Masterpass QR by following these four simple steps:

1. Open your Tigo Pesa App and select Pay Merchant Masterpass.

2. Scan the QR code displayed at the checkout through your Tigo Pesa App
(you can also enter the 8-digit merchant number).

3. Enter the amount of the transaction.

4. Enter your PIN to authorise payment.

 

For those who do not have a smartphone or want to use USSD menu, they can
pay by following these six simple steps:

1. Dial *150*01#

2. Select option 5 – Pay Merchant

3. Select option 2 – Pay Masterpass QR merchant

4. Enter the 8 – digit merchant number

5. Enter the amount of the transaction

6. Enter your PIN to authorise payment

 

In celebration of the launch of Tigo Pesa Masterpass QR in Tanzania,
Mastercard has introduced renowned football player – Messi, as the face of
the local launch campaign, helping to drive awareness and interest with
consumers and merchants alike. The legendary professional Argentinean
footballer is the global sports ambassador for Mastercard.--paymemtsafrica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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African Banks to Become More Competitive with SWIFT Gpi

15 African banks have signed up to SWIFT’s global payments innovation (gpi)
service, the new standard for cross-border payments. Of these, four are
already live – Standard Bank of South Africa, FirstRand Bank, ABSA Bank and
Nedbank – and many others are preparing to go live on the service in 2018.

 

SWIFT gpi is the largest change in cross-border payments over the last 30
years. More than 100 billion USD in SWIFT gpi messages are being sent every
day, enabling payments to be credited to end beneficiaries within minutes –
many within seconds. The service has already been adopted by more than 160
financial institutions around the world, with 55 banks already live on the
service sending hundreds of thousands of payments daily across 350
international payment corridors.

 

Overall, nearly 50% of SWIFT gpi payments are credited to end beneficiaries
within 30 minutes, and almost 100% of payments within 24 hours. Those that
take longer typically involve more complex foreign exchange conversions,
compliance checks or regulatory authorisations. For Africa, these numbers
are even better. 70% of gpi payments leaving Africa are credited to the end
beneficiary within 30 minutes.

 

SWIFT gpi also enables the banks to leverage new technologies such as API.
African banks are embracing these opportunities and have implemented this
new technology to better serve their customers. The SWIFT gpi API solution
allows them to easily integrate the gpi tracker in their internet banking
channels and provide better services to their customers.

 

Denis Kruger, head of Sub-Sahara Africa, SWIFT, said: “We are delighted that
Africa’s leading banks are committed to SWIFT gpi – the new standard for
cross-border payments. The performance of African banks on gpi to date
clearly demonstrates the competitiveness of the African banking sector as it
continues to evolve its customer offering and support African economic
development.”

 

In addition to the 160 financial institutions that have adopted gpi, more
than 50 payment market infrastructures are already exchanging gpi payments,
enabling domestic exchange and tracking. Payment market infrastructures have
a critical role to play in facilitating the end-to-end tracking of
cross-border payments because as soon as international payments hit the
destination country, they are typically cleared through local payment
infrastructures. By being able to continue to track the payments in
real-time, banks and their corporate clients can optimise their funds.

 

“Thanks to SWIFT gpi, banks are able to credit payments within minutes and
even seconds, while their customers are facing shorter supply cycles and
able to ship goods faster. This is a very significant step forward for banks
and for their customers” says Harry Newman, Head of Banking, SWIFT. “In
addition, banks receive fewer queries and have told us their enquiry-related
costs are reduced by as much as 50% when they use SWIFT gpi. This is a major
service improvement to end-users and a considerable cost saving for the
industry.”

 

“We have seen a surge in both gpi adoption rates and number of transactions,
and we expect adoption of SWIFT gpi to now grow very significantly. Instead
of focussing on a limited number of bilateral routes which has limited value
both for banks and their customers, gpi already offers very extensive
coverage across banks, markets and geographies. By adding new banks and
corridors every day, SWIFT gpi ensures banks and their customers get a truly
global, fast, secure, and transparent cross-border payments service.”

 

Larize Nel, Payments Portfolio Manager, ABSA Bank, said: “By using SWIFT
gpi, we are able to increase our competitiveness in the cross-border
payments space and deliver on our customers’ requirements for faster, more
transparent and traceable payments.”

 

Indrees Kolabhai, Head of Cash Management Standard Bank South Africa, said:
“As a SWIFT gpi bank we are able to offer our clients a cross-border
payments service that is second to none. Some of our gpi payments have been
finalised in as little as 10 seconds. As SWIFT gpi continues to establish
itself as the new standard for cross-border payments, we anticipate that
corporate customers will choose to have cross-border payments processed only
by gpi banks.”

 

Dewald Smit, Corporate Shared Services GM of Nedbank CIB, said: “We are
proud to be one of the first African banks live on SWIFT gpi. The service
gives us the opportunity to significantly increase the quality of our
cross-border payments offering and be a part of the future of correspondent
banking.”

 

Anthony Grant, CEO Foreign Exchange, FirstRand Bank, said: “Having gone live
on SWIFTgpi in March 2018, we are impressed at the efficiency of the service
and the transparency that gpi payments have produced. We look forward to
passing the benefits of gpi on to our customers.”--paymentafrica

 

 

 

 

OROBO and OpenWay to Power Cross-Border Money Transfers to West Africa

OROBO, the newly-launched money transfer platform from Saana Holdings, is
opening up cross-border remittance and bill-payments into Nigeria, Ghana,
Kenya, Serria-Leone and supporting financial inclusion in West Africa. The
WAY4 digital payments platform provided by OpenWay, a top-ranked digital
payments software solution provider, will become the technological backbone
of this innovative remittance service.

 

OROBO facilitates money transfers from the United States to Nigeria as well
as bill payments for services within Nigeria via a simple app. With OROBO,
Nigerians who work abroad can transfer funds to their families back home,
more easily and cost-effectively than using traditional card-based bank
transfers. Thanks to the direct connection with domestic payment schemes in
Africa implemented on the WAY4 software platform, OROBO provides a last-mile
service for remittance recipients, enabling them to access funds via Bank,
ATMs and mobile agents locally.

 

The WAY4 system, comprising account and card management, merchant acquiring,
financial switching and mobile wallet, will not only support OROBO’s
day-to-day operations today. It also underpins its ambitious plans to expand
into other African markets and grow from a remittance startup into a full-
fledged transaction processing company. OROBO plans to scale its business as
well as transaction volumes on WAY4, plus offer innovative services such as
mobile wallets and mobile commerce in the future.

 

OROBO opted for OpenWay because of its expertise and reputation for
technical excellence and uninterrupted 24/7 digital processing for
multi-country, multi-currency payments. WAY4 solutions implemented
on-premises or in the cloud provide online reconciliation, quick
connectivity, data-rich reporting and enable new digital services such as
tokenization, cash-by-code and online wallets.

 

“OROBO mission has always been using technology to solve the day-to-day
challenges faced by the Africans and the Diasporas living outside the
African continent, which they encounter when it comes to remittance and
cross-border bill payments, both at the personal and business levels. Our
Partnership with OpenWay is a way forward to achieve the last miles of our
vision as a leading African fin-tech innovation services provider in
promoting efficiency and improving quality of life. This means Africa is
moving forward in terms of payments technology,” said Chiedu Okeke, CEO,
OROBO Inc.

 

“We are pleased that our technology will help people in West Africa receive
transfers in a convenient way, and contribute to financial inclusion,
economic growth and the development of fintech innovations in the region. I
am convinced that the power and flexibility of the WAY4 solution along with
its ability to support both traditional and innovative business models is
what OROBO requires to move forward with their ambitious strategy,”  says
Wilfred Waiganjo, Regional Sales Manager – Africa, OpenWay.--paymentsafrika

 

 

 

Facebook protests NYT's privacy breach claim

Facebook has rejected claims by the New York Times that its sharing of
personal data with smartphone firms represented a breach of privacy pledges
that it had made to its members and a US regulator.

 

The newspaper reported the social network had given at least 60
device-makers access to users' friends' data without obtaining explicit
consent.

 

It added that in some cases the details were stored on the firms' own
servers.

 

But Facebook said that this was only done to help offer a mobile service.

 

And it has said the circumstances were "very different" from those involved
in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which user data was used for
different purposes.

 

Even so, the NYT raised concern that people's information - including users'
relationship status, religion, political leaning and planned events - had
been shared with other businesses.

 

It suggested the practice meant the Silicon Valley firm might have breached
an agreement it struck with the Federal Trade Commission in 2011 to get
consumers' "express consent" before sharing personal data with third parties
in new ways.

 

Furthermore, it quoted an ex-FTC official saying that Facebook's behaviour
was at odds with privacy commitments it had made to the public in 2014.

 

Signed agreements

The NYT carried out its own test with an old Blackberry phone to illustrate
the issue.

 

The handset ran an app called Hub, which was designed to collate information
from a variety of social media platforms into one place.

 

The newspaper said the information collected by the software included the
IDs, birthday dates, work details and educational histories of many of the
journalists' friends, as well as identifying information about many more
friends-of-friends.

 

It said Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and Amazon were among others to have
struck data-sharing agreements.

 

Who's policing Facebook?

Zuckerberg's European Parliament testimony criticised

Cambridge Analytica files for bankruptcy in US

Facebook has responded with a blog headlined "Why we disagree with the New
York Times".

 

It defended its use of software tools called application programming
interfaces (APIs), which it said had been developed to create "Facebook-like
experiences" on smartphones at a time before use of its own mobile apps
became commonplace.

 

"Given that these APIs enabled other companies to recreate the Facebook
experience, we controlled them tightly from the get-go," it states.

 

"These partners signed agreements that prevented people's Facebook
information from being used for any other purpose than to recreate
Facebook-like experiences.

 

"Partners could not integrate the user's Facebook features with their
devices without the user's permission. And our partnership and engineering
teams approved the Facebook experiences these companies built.

 

"Contrary to claims by the New York Times, friends' information, like
photos, was only accessible on devices when people made a decision to share
their information with those friends."

 

The social network added that it was not aware of there being any abuse of
the shared data.

 

Facebook began shutting down use of the APIs in April as part of its
response to the Cambridge Analytica row. It said 22 of the partnerships had
since ended.

 

Apple has confirmed it is among those to have stopped using the APIs, and
said that it had mainly employed them to let users post pictures and other
information without first having to open the Facebook app.

 

Microsoft told the NYT that all shared data involved was held locally on
users' phones and not copied to its servers.

 

Blackberry said it did not "collect or mine" Facebook data for its own use.
It added that newer Blackberry-branded Android handsets do not use the APIs.

 

Amazon and Samsung have yet to comment.

 

'Unworthy of trust'

Despite Facebook's defence of its behaviour, one British digital rights
campaign group has expressed concern.

 

"This is yet another concerning example of companies collecting, sharing,
and exploiting users' data in completely unexpected ways," commented Privacy
International's legal officer Ailidh Callander.

 

"Over and over Facebook has proven itself unworthy of user's trust.

 

"Companies must protect users' data by default. This includes limiting the
way in which people's data is shared and respecting legal
requirements."--bbc

 

 

 

Theresa May tells Trump US tariffs are not justified

The prime minister has told President Trump that new US steel and aluminium
tariffs are "unjustified and deeply disappointing".

 

Theresa May was speaking in a 30-minute phone call with Mr Trump that UK
officials described as "constructive".

 

Downing Street said Mrs May underlined the need to safeguard jobs and they
agreed to discuss it further at the G7.

 

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said the response to the US tariffs
must be "measured and proportionate".

 

He told MPs: "It is right to seek to defend our domestic industries from
both the direct and indirect impacts of these US tariffs ... it's important
that the United Kingdom and the EU work within the boundaries of the
rules-based international trading system."

 

The US tariffs of 10% on aluminium and 25% on steel from the EU, Canada and
Mexico have been widely condemned.

 

French President Emmanuel Macron has called Mr Trump to tell him the tariffs
were "illegal", while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the US
move is "totally unacceptable".

 

The EU, Mexico and Canada have all set out plans for retaliatory tariffs on
US goods.

 

At the weekend, China - which is not directly impacted by last week's
announcement - warned that all trade talks between Beijing and Washington
would be void if the US sets up trade sanctions.

 

Despite the chorus of criticism, Mr Trump appeared in no mood for
compromise. On Saturday, the president tweeted that the US had been "ripped
off by other countries for years on trade".

 

He says steel tariffs will protect US steelmakers, which he says are vital
to national security.

 

Mr Trump has also complained about barriers US firms face in Europe and
elsewhere. "Time to get smart!" he added.

 

Is the US-China trade war back on?

US tariffs: The unusual ways nations have retaliated

G7 ministers criticise US tariffs

Trade sanctions: The basics

What is a trade war? It's when countries attack each other's trade with
taxes and quotas. One will raise tariffs, a type of tax, causing the other
to respond, in a tit-for-tat escalation. This can hurt economies and lead to
rising political tensions.

What are tariffs? Taxes on products made abroad. In theory, taxing items
coming into the country (imports) makes people less likely to buy them as
they become more expensive. They're likely to buy cheaper local products
instead, boosting your country's economy.

What's a trade deficit? The difference between how much your country buys
from another country, compared with how much you sell to that country. The
US has a massive trade deficit with China. Last year, it stood at about
$375bn.

Canada, Mexico and the EU combined exported $23bn worth of steel and
aluminium to the US in 2017 - nearly half of the $48bn of total steel and
aluminium imports last year.

 

The EU has responded to the US announcement with a 10-page list of tariffs
on US goods ranging from Harley-Davidson motorcycles to bourbon.

 

Canada plans to impose tariffs of up to 25% on about $13bn worth of US
exports from 1 July. Goods affected will include some American steel, as
well as consumer products such as yoghurt, whiskey and coffee.--bbc

 

 

 

Airlines slash profit forecast as costs soar

Profits at the world's major airlines will be hit this year by rising fuel
and labour costs, the industry's trade body has said.

 

The International Air Transport Association has cut its profit forecast for
2018 by 12% to $33.8bn (£25.3bn).

 

IATA, which is holding its annual meeting, said rising interest rates and
trade tensions would also hit profits.

 

Airlines earned a record $38bn in 2017, although this was distorted by
several one-off changes, such as tax credits.

 

Despite the reduced profit forecast, IATA's director general, Alexandre de
Juniac, said: "Solid profitability is holding up in 2018, despite rising
costs. The industry's financial foundations are strong with a nine-year run
in the black that began in 2010."

 

Airlines' fuel costs this year are forecast to rise by nearly 30%, with the
oil price expected to average $70 a barrel, up from $54.90 a barrel in 2017.

 

IATA, which represents 280 airlines that make up about 83% of global
traffic, had previously forecast an average price of $60 a barrel.

 

Mr de Juniac warned that airlines could be hit by the effects of "political
forces pushing a protectionist agenda", although he did not mention any
countries.

 

"We haven't faced any significant decline in numbers of passengers or cargo
related to trade wars or protectionist barriers up to now, but if it
continues it will happen," he told a news conference at the meeting, which
is being held in Sydney.

 

The US and China have threatened tit-for-tat tariffs on goods worth up to
$150bn each, while some European countries have expressed anger over new US
tariffs on steel and aluminium.

 

"Generally, we think ... that all these barriers to trade are bad news from
an industry standpoint," Mr de Juniac said.

 

In its forecast of profitability by region, IATA said that North American
airlines were expected to record a net profit of $15bn, while European and
Asia-Pacific carriers were tipped to report profits of $8.6bn and $10.1bn
representatively.-bbc

 

 

Government to sell 7.7% stake in RBS

The government has announced plans to sell a 7.7% stake in Royal Bank of
Scotland.

 

The latest sale of 925 million shares, expected to raise £2.6bn, will reduce
its holding in RBS from 70.1% to 62.4%.

 

The bank has been majority owned by the government since it was bailed out
to the tune of £45bn at the height of the financial crisis in November 2008.

 

The government owns 8.4 billion shares in RBS, which closed on Monday at
281.1p, valuing the bank at £33.8bn.

 

The disposal will take place this week in a process managed by investment
banks Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, according to UK
Government Investments, which manages taxpayers' RBS stake.

 

The government has said it intends to sell £15bn worth of RBS shares by
2023.

 

Labour's shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, criticised the government's sale
plans, saying there was "no economic justification" for selling the shares.

 

"There should be no sales of RBS shares, full stop. But particularly with
such a large loss to the taxpayers who bailed out the bank," he said.

 

'Normal bank'

Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The RBS share
price has bounced back from its slump after the EU referendum, but the
taxpayer's still going to be significantly out of pocket as the government
sells down its stake.

 

"The RBS bailout was necessary to maintain financial stability, but the cost
of that intervention is now starting to emerge."

 

He added: "RBS has cleared several obstacles which have now unblocked the
road to re-privatisation, in particular settling claims for mis-selling
mortgage-backed securities in the US.

 

"Today's share sale is good news for private investors in RBS, because it is
a step towards becoming a normal bank again, though government sales may put
downward pressure on the share price in the near term."

 

In February, the bank posted an annual profit of £752m - its first for a
decade and a dramatic turnaround following a £6.95bn loss the previous year.

 

Last month, RBS announced it was closing 162 branches across England and
Wales.

 

The closures follow existing plans to shut 52 bank branches in Scotland that
serve rural communities and 197 NatWest branches.--BBC

 

 

Microsoft buys Github code-sharing site for $7.5bn

Microsoft has announced it is to acquire the code-sharing site Github.

 

Github, based in San Francisco, is an online platform that allows coders to
collaborate with each other on their work.

 

It is used by employees at many big companies, including Microsoft.

 

Microsoft said it was paying $7.5bn (£5.6bn) in stock to achieve the deal,
which is due to be completed before the end of the year. It said Github
would continue to operate independently.

 

"We recognise the community responsibility we take on with this agreement
and will do our best work to empower every developer to build, innovate and
solve the world's most pressing challenge," said Microsoft's chief executive
Satya Nadella in a statement.

 

It added that Github is currently used by more than 28 million developers,
who in turn represent more than 1.5 million organisations across a range of
industries.

 

The business will be led by Nat Friedman, the founder of Xamarin - a mobile
software development service acquired by Microsoft in 2016.

 

Microsoft described Mr Friedman as being an "open source" veteran.

 

The term refers to the principle that code is made publicly accessible so
that others can inspect, modify and share it.

 

Microsoft added that Github's current chief executive, Chris Wanstrath, will
move elsewhere in its corporation to work on strategic software initiatives.

 

Github's basic service is free, but it charges a monthly fee of up to $21
per user for extra services including round-the-clock support and the
ability to give team members different levels of access.

 

Takeover worries

"Github offers transparency - it's a very effective, no-fuss tool to run
projects globally while allowing many developers to contribute," commented
Malcolm Barclay, a UK-based app developer.

 

"Some are nervous because of what Microsoft has done with past purchases -
Skype for example - and the worry is that Github could be destroyed.

 

"Many of Microsoft's takeovers are driven by user numbers, and Github has a
lot of users.

 

"Presumably it wants something from them, but we don't know what that is."

 

The BBC is among those to use Github to share some of its open source code.

 

Microsoft used to run a rival service called Codeplex, but shut it down last
year saying that Github had become the "de facto place for open source
sharing".

 

Bloomberg, which had earlier reported a deal would be announced, had noted
that Github was last valued in 2015 at $2bn.

 

Satya's takeovers:

The following are some of the biggest acquisitions made by Microsoft since
Mr Nadella took charge in 2014:

 

1.   Mojang (2014) $2.5bn - Swedish developer of the video game Minecraft

2.   N-trig (2015) $200m - Israeli digital pen company, whose technology is
used in Microsoft's Surface Pen

3.   Adallom (2015) $320m - Israeli cloud security start-up

4.   Touchtype (2016) $250m - UK-based artificial intelligence firm behind
the Swiftkey predictive keyboard

5.   LinkedIn (2016) $26bn - California-based social network for
professionals

6.   AltSpaceVR (2017) undisclosed sum - California-based virtual reality
social network

7.   Semantic Machines (2018) undisclosed sum - California-based
"conversational AI" developer

8.   Github (2018) $7.5bn - San Francisco-based code-sharing site

9.   One of the beneficiaries of the deal is the venture capital firm
Andreessen Horowitz.

 

It took a $100m stake in the business six years ago - its biggest single
investment at that time.

 

"Where [others] saw us 'overpaying', we saw a once-in-a-decade company,"
blogged its partner Peter Levine.

 

"Modern programming is about assembling code... as well as writing it, and
code tends to belong in one place where it's easy to access and that place
was, is, and will be Github.

 

"The combination of Microsoft and GitHub is a powerful one and I know that
Satya and team understand the incredible opportunity."--BBC

 

 

 

Oil at $70-$75 a barrel fair for producers, consumers -Sonatrach CEO

ALGIERS (Reuters) - An oil price between $70 and $75 a barrel is “fair” for
producers and consumers but geopolitics will leave the market volatile, the
CEO of Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach said on Monday.

 

“Geopolitics is not predicable,” Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour told reporters.
“So tomorrow we can have a barrel at $100 or at $60, it is so volatile, so
unstable, that anything can hit the stability of the market.”

 

 

Kenya Airways seeks to run main Nairobi airport to boost earnings

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya Airways is close to winning approval to run the
country’s main airport in Nairobi, looking to copy a model that has enabled
rivals to overtake it, its chairman said on Monday.

 

Michael Joseph said the loss-making airline had proposed forming a special
purpose vehicle with state-run Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) allowing the
airline to run Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for a minimum of 30
years.

 

Kenya Airways, which is owned 48.9 percent by the government and 7.8 percent
by Air France/KLM, had $2 billion of debt restructured by the government and
shareholders last year and it is planning new routes as it tries to recover
from years of losses.

 

The plan to run Jomo Kenyatta airport is vital for the national flag
carrier’s survival as it has faced limited choices after last year’s
financial restructuring, Joseph said.

 

“All our competitors are state-owned, state-controlled, state subsidised and
managed for the benefit of the airline. We are the odd one out,” he told
Reuters.

 

The carrier also faces stiff competition from state-backed carriers,
including Gulf-based Qatar and Emirates.

 

Joseph said the cabinet discussed the proposal and gave the “go-ahead” last
week. Transport Minister James Macharia declined to comment when asked by
Reuters if the proposal had been approved by the cabinet.

 

The plan to change Kenya Airways’ model, which will require parliamentary
approval, will be finalised some time this year, Joseph said.

 

The Jomo Kenyatta airport is owned by the KAA, which has run it until now.

 

Kenya Airways proposes to pay the airport authority concession fees and to
run other profitable services at the airport including catering, fuel
distribution, cargo and ground services facilities and maintenance. The
concession fees have not yet been agreed upon.

 

As the airport operator, Kenya Airways would have a say on takeoff and
landing slots, though Joseph denied that is the aim.

 

Joseph cited Ethiopian Airlines , which uses a similar model to the proposed
one at its hub in Addis Ababa.

 

Kenya Airways said the proposal would enable the carrier to grow its fleet
from 32 to 55 and start flying to 20 new international destinations by 2022.
That will allow it to carry nearly 7 million passengers, up from about 4
million now.

 

The company will invest in parallel in the airport facilities to enable it
to handle more than 11 million passengers annually by 2022, up from 7.4
million now.

 

Aviation analysts said Nairobi’s international airport is a cash cow for KAA
and it offered potential to grow.

 

KAA said it gets revenue of 13.5 billion shillings ($133.93 million) from
the Jomo Kenyatta airport per year, including 3 billion from non-aviation
services like leasing of space to restaurants, without commenting further.

 

Kenya Airways sunk into losses in 2013 after costly purchases of aircraft
coincided with a slump in tourism and business travel to Kenya after a spate
of attacks by Somalia-based Islamist militants.

 

In March, Kenya Airways reported a nine-month pre-tax loss of 5.97 billion
shillings ($59 million) and an after-tax loss of 6.1 billion shillings, hurt
by a prolonged election period and rising fuel prices.

 

In a document presented to the cabinet and seen by Reuters, Kenya Airways
argued that Ethiopia and Rwanda had responded faster and better to changes
in the aviation sector.

 

Ethiopian Airlines was half the size of Kenya Airways in 2010 and it had
grown by three times, due to the model of coalescing aviation assets like
airports around the national carrier, the proposal read.

 

Joseph also said that Kenya handed competing carriers an advantage as other
African governments did not open up their airspace by adopting a free skies
policy in 2015.

 

Ethiopian operates a minimum of three direct flights every day to Nairobi,
while Kenya Airways operates a single daily flight to Addis Ababa.

 

In January nearly two dozen African countries including Ethiopia launched a
single aviation market. [L8N1PO57E]

 

($1 = 100.8000 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

Commonwealth Bank offers to pay record fine in laundering case

Australia's Commonwealth Bank has said it will pay a $700m (£400m; $530m)
fine for breaching anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing laws.

 

The scandal relates to 53,000 suspect transactions that the bank did not
immediately report to authorities.

 

Last year, Australia's financial intelligence agency accused the lender of
"serious and systemic" law breaches.

 

If a court approves the fine, it will be the largest civil penalty in
Australian corporate history.

 

The bank, Australia's largest lender, said it would also cover A$2.5m in
legal fees accrued by investigators.

 

"While not deliberate, we fully appreciate the seriousness of the mistakes
we made," chief executive Matt Comyn said on Monday.

 

Australia's scandal-plagued financial sector is at the centre of a national
inquiry into misconduct.

 

Undeclared deposits

Commonwealth Bank and intelligence agency Australian Transaction Reports and
Analysis Centre (Austrac) agreed to the fine following court-ordered
mediation.

 

Most of the breaches related to the bank's deposit machines, which could
accept up to A$20,000 in cash at a time, anonymously if the person
depositing was not a Commonwealth customer.

 

The bank failed to meet deadlines for reporting transactions over the legal
threshold of A$10,000, according to Austrac.

 

Commonwealth Bank said the breaches were due to a coding error, which meant
the machines failed to automatically report the transactions.

 

Why is Australia investigating its banks?

Commonwealth Bank charged fees to dead clients

Banking giants in 'criminal cartel'

On Monday, Austrac said the settlement agreement showed that such breaches
would not be tolerated.

 

"This [corporate behaviour] has real impacts on the everyday lives of
Australians and puts the community at risk by increasing opportunities for
terrorists to support attacks here and overseas, and enabling organised
crime groups to peddle drugs to our families and friends," said chief
executive Nicole Rose.

 

Both parties will now return to the Federal Court of Australia to seek
formal approval.

 

Scandal-hit sector

Australia's banking and financial services sector has been rocked by a
series of scandals over the last decade.

 

In December, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull established a royal commission
inquiry to investigate the scale of wrongdoing.

 

Among allegations to hit Commonwealth Bank, the inquiry heard that the
lender had collected fees from customers it knew had died.

 

In May, the bank also admitted to losing the bank records of almost 20
million people.

 

The lender has also been investigated over whether it adequately informed
shareholders about all potential liabilities related to the anti-money
laundering case.

 

Former chief executive Ian Narev brought forward his retirement last year as
the bank faced pressure over the scandal.

 

 

Egypt net foreign reserves rise to $44.14 bln at end-May-c.bank

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s net foreign reserves rose to $44.14 billion at the
end of May from $44.030 billion at the end of April, the central bank said
on Monday.

 

Egypt’s foreign reserves have been climbing since it secured a $12 billion,
three-year International Monetary Fund loan programme in 2016 as part of
efforts to woo foreign investors and revive its ailing economy.

 

 

Russia says Egypt approves halted wheat cargo after second test

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Egypt has approved a Russian wheat cargo, which was
halted by Cairo last week, after a second test showed it did not contain
high levels of the grain fungus ergot, Russia’s state Grain Quality Service
said on Monday.

 

The second test showed the cargo contained 0.01 percent levels of ergot —
below the 0.05 percent limit enforced by Egypt — compared with 0.06 percent
in an initial test, it said in a statement.

 

Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, halted the entry of a
63,000-tonne Russian wheat cargo last Thursday, but port officials told
Reuters on Sunday that the results of a second test indicated ergot levels
fell within acceptable limits.

 

 

Steinhoff International's credit insurers withdraw cover

VIENNA (Reuters) - Credit insurers have decided to withdraw insurance cover
for South African retailer Steinhoff International’s loans, Steinhoff’s
Austrian subsidiary Kika/Leiner said on Monday.

 

“The loss of the credit insurance is a result of the Steinhoff crisis,”
Kika/Leiner said in a statement.

 

Steinhoff, whose retail chains include Britain’s Poundland, Mattress Firm in
the U.S. and Conforama in France, has been fighting to recover from the
fallout from accounting irregularities discovered in December.

 

Steinhoff’s Austrian furniture retailer Kika/Leiner had faced one of the
biggest problems within the group, but said in January it secured enough
cash to see it through this year.

 

But international credit insurers decided on Friday to withdraw insurance
cover for Steinhoff’s loans against the risk of default from Monday onwards,
according to several Austrian media outlets.

 

“Steinhoff International’s global situation has still not improved,”
Kika/Leiner’s Chief Executive Gunnar George told radio station ORF when
asked about the reasons for the cancellation of the insurance.

 

“A large amount of debt still has to be rescheduled,” George said. “This
complex situation makes credit insurers very nervous.”

 

George said the credit insurers’ decision caught him by surprise and that
major Kika/Leiner’s suppliers have given him until the end of the week to
find a solution.

 

About 90 percent of Kika/Leiner’s loans had been covered by one insurer, he
said, adding he was in negotiations with suppliers and has started talks to
find new credit insurers.

 

This has prompted renewed speculation about a potential sale of Kika/Leiner.

 

“There is a future for Kika/Leiner in Austria, whether with Steinhoff or
without,” George told ORF.

 

He also said there were currently no negotiations on a sale because he did
not have a mandate from Steinhoff’s senior management to do this.

 

“As a 100 percent subsidiary you can hardly sell yourself,” he said.

 

Steinhoff said on May 10 it hoped to have a restructuring plan in place soon
to put to creditors that would include measures such as fixing the maturity
for all loans at three years from the restructuring date.

 

 

Kenya launches pilot oil export scheme via Mombasa

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has launched a pilot scheme to export crude oil
via Mombasa as part of efforts to capitalise on the country’s oil reserves.

 

The East African country discovered commercial oil reserves in its Lokichar
basin in 2012 and a 800-km (500-mile) pipeline is due to be built before
production starts up in 2021/22.

 

The national government and the regional administration of the northwestern
Turkana region agreed last month on revenue sharing that will come into
force when production reaches full capacity by 2022.

 

That agreement paved the way for the passage of a law on petroleum
production, which will enable Tullow Oil - which operates the Kenyan fields
- to start shipping oil that has been held in storage tanks for a year.

 

“The benefits of the project will be shared and no one will be left behind,”
Deputy President William Ruto said at the launch of the export initiative
under which 2,000 barrels will be transported to Mombasa by road for
shipment each day.

 

Tullow has hired Wood Group to design the pipeline needed to bring crude
from Lokichar’s onshore fields to a port in Lamu along the Indian Ocean
coast.

 

The cost of the pipeline is estimated at $1.1 billion, with a further $2.9
billion needed for upstream operations, the company says.

 

Tullow has said the Amosing and Ngamia fields in the basin have estimated
contingent resources of about 560 million barrels, with plateau production
potentially reaching 100,000 barrels per day.

 

 

Algeria hires U.S. law firm to help with new energy law

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria has hired U.S. law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost,
Colt & Mosle LLP and other consultancies to help with a new energy law aimed
at attracting much-needed investment, the CEO of state energy firm Sonatrach
said on Monday.

 

The OPEC producer, which is also a major gas supplier to Europe, has been
trying to attract more foreign investors, but firms have been reluctant,
complaining about bureaucracy and tough terms.

 

The North African country has been working on a new law but it is unclear
when it will be ready as many players are involved, Sonatrach CEO
Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour told reporters.

 

Debate over reforms is often slowed by competing ideas inside a government
with a history of state planning and where the ruling old guard remains wary
of opening up the country.

 

“I have been told that we have in Algeria 40 million experts in football,
but now I found out that we also have 40 million Algerians expert in oil and
gas,” Kaddour said.

 

“But the sooner we have an attractive law, the better,” he said, without
giving a date. “Foreign firms want to know how much they will get when they
will invest.”

 

Kaddour, a U.S. trained engineer, has been trying to attract foreign firms
by fixing legal disputes, as Algeria wants to boost oil and gas revenues
that halved between 2014 and 2017.

 

Algeria has struggled in the past to increase oil and gas output without
major foreign investment.

 

Kaddour also said Sonatrach had signed a deal worth 85 million euros ($100
million) with Italian firm Bonatti to lift oil production at the Menzel
Lejmat Nord field to 30,000 barrels a day (bpd) from the current 17.000 bpd.

 

The field is run with Indonesia’s state energy firm Pertamina and Talisman,
part of Repsol.

 

Algeria’s oil production stands at more than 1 million bpd day and its gas
output is around 135 billion cubic metre per year.

 

($1 = 0.8535 euros)

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


Edgars

AGM

Edgars Training Auditorium, 1st Floor, LAPF House, 8th Ave/Jason Moyo St,
Bulawayo

07/06/2018 9am

 


Turnall

AGM

Jacaranda Room, Rainbow Towers

07/06/2018 9am

 


FMHL

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

11/06/2018 2:30pm

 


 

 

 

 

 


RioZim

AGM

Head Office, 1 Kenilworth Road, Highlands

21/06/2018 10:30am

 


 

 

 

 

 


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> 

 


 

 


DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
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been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
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opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
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any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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