Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 28 June 2018

Thu Jun 28 11:12:11 CAT 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 28 June 2018

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

*  Sibanye's Lonmin takeover cleared by UK antitrust body

*  Steinhoff seeks further debt standstill from creditors

*  Guinea says IMF board approves $24 million credit facility

*  South Africa's rand steadies after slipping to 7-month low

*  AngloGold Ashanti's Guinea mine hit by violent power cuts protests

*  Nigeria eyes $2.8 bln debt from offshore sources -debt office

*  Ghana Q1 GDP growth 6.8 pct -stats office

*  IMF board to consider bailout for Congo Republic on July 6

*  Volkswagen opens Rwanda's first car plant

*  Kenya tries to tackle illicit goods to boost manufacturers

*  Fox-Disney merger cleared, but sports networks must be sold

*  CO2 shortage: Britain's biggest pub chain runs low on beer brands

*  Apple and Samsung end patent fight after seven long years

*  Gambling firms given 'call to action' over consumer welfare

*  Ticketmaster admits personal data stolen in hack attack

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Sibanye's Lonmin takeover cleared by UK antitrust body

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
gave its unconditionally clearance to miner Sibanye-Stillwater’s proposed
takeover of Lonmin on Thursday saying it would not refer the merger for a
second phase investigation.

The South African precious metals miner made an all-share offer for
London-listed Lonmin in December in a 285 million pound ($386 million) deal
to create the world’s No.2 platinum producer.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Steinhoff seeks further debt standstill from creditors

LONDON (LPC) - Troubled retailer Steinhoff said it is seeking a further
three week standstill from creditors on its debt obligations as a financial
restructuring nears agreement.

Earlier this month letters of support were agreed with several creditor
groups, including a group representing 61% of the external financial
indebtedness of Steinhoff Europe AG (SEAG), a majority of the total
convertible bonds issued by Steinhoff Financial Holding Co (Holding) and
creditors to certain group companies to which SEAG and Holding are indebted
through intra-group financing arrangements.

Under the terms of the support letters, the creditors agreed to provide SEAG
and Holding with a number of interim support measures — including a debt
standstill — until June 30 in an attempt to stabilise the financial position
of SEAG and Holding and to provide Steinhoff and its creditors with
sufficient time to agree a restructuring plan.

The company is now seeking a further short extension until and including
July 20, Steinhoff said in a statement on Wednesday, confirming an earlier
report from Thomson Reuters LPC.

“We expect to get 75% of creditors locked into an agreement in due course -
this is just a short extension to get to that point. Everyone is working
hard it is just so complicated,” one source close to the situation.

A second source said: “The extension is just a technical matter. People know
they are running out of time and are discussing in a constructive manner.”

In the statement, Steinhoff said that its final term sheet for the
restructuring has been shared with the creditor groups and that significant
progress has been made, but more time was needed.

Creditors now have until 8AM GMT on Friday June 29 to agree to the extension
of the support letters.

Under the terms of the restructuring plan laid out so far all debt will be
reinstated at par and will be given a common maturity date of three years
from completion of a restructuring agreement.

Steinhoff is fighting for survival after discovering accounting
irregularities last December that triggered an 85% share price slide in the
group and a raft of changes in its boardroom and leadership.

Guinea says IMF board approves $24 million credit facility

CONAKRY (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved $24
million for Guinea to support the economy of the bauxite-producing West
African nation, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

Guinea, whose economy has been hit by low global commodities prices, reached
a deal with the IMF in December giving it access to $650 million in
non-concessional borrowing under a three-year Extended Credit Facility,
running from 2017 to 2020.

The IMF programme aims to help Guinea, Africa’s top producer of the
aluminium ore bauxite, boost spending on infrastructure projects.

Finance Minister Mamadi Camara said in a statement the $24 million would
enable Guinea to secure other budgetary support from partners including $50
million from the World Bank and 20 million euros ($23.16 million) from the
European Union.

($1 = 0.8636 euros)

South Africa's rand steadies after slipping to 7-month low

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand steadied early on Thursday
after slipping to a seven-month low the previous day amid broad-based dollar
gains.

At 0625 GMT, the rand traded at 13.8625 per dollar, not far off its New York
close of 13.8550 on Wednesday.

The randy slipped to 13.9375 on Wednesday, its weakest since Nov. 27.

The dollar was steady against its peers on Thursday, amid conflicting
signals from Washington on a proposal to restrict Chinese investment as the
bitter U.S.-China trade row kept financial markets on edge.

“Trade war fears and uncertainty around migration in Germany / Europe
continue to be the main drivers of geopolitical tensions,” Nedbank analysts
said in a note.

They added: “From here look for a possible pull back towards 13.74/76 but
14.00 seems to be well in the sights now and break through their targets
14.15/20.”

In fixed income, the yield for the benchmark paper due in 2026 was up 3.5
basis points to 8.935 percent.

AngloGold Ashanti's Guinea mine hit by violent power cuts protests

PARIS (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti’s gold mining operations in Guinea have
been hit by two days of violent protests over power cuts in the northeastern
mining town of Siguiri, a resident and an official said on Wednesday.

Over a thousand protesters were surrounding the mine late on Wednesday. “We
are negotiating with them to calm the situation,” Siguiri government
administrator Ibrahima Kalil Keita told Reuters by phone.

AngloGold Ashanti could be reached for comment.

Minerals-rich Guinea suffers from chronic power shortages and citizens take
to the streets from time to time to protest against prolonged outages.

The demonstration in Siguiri, which began on Sunday, turned violent after
residents said they had gone for over a month without electricity, with
soccer fans in the region missing soccer World Cup games.

“Some young people barricaded the road between Bouré and Siguiri demanding
electricity. They clashed with the police...,” resident Moussa Conde told
Reuters by phone.

“The police opened fire after some protesters tried to break the gates of
the (AngloGold’s) mine and attack the facilities. I saw at least 10 people
who were wounded by gunshot at the Siguiri hospital,” Conde said.

A gendarme source in Siguiri confirmed that security forces have clashed
with residents over the past two days but gave no further details.

The Siguiri mine produced 324,000 ounces of gold in 2017, a 25 percent rise
compared with the previous year thanks to improved productivity and access
to higher grade, according to the company.

Nigeria eyes $2.8 bln debt from offshore sources -debt office

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria plans to raise $2.8 billion of debt offshore as
part of its 2018 budget and will explore all options to lower costs, the
head of the Debt Management Office (DMO) told Reuters.

The government has laid out plans to borrow abroad even though interest
rates are rising in the United States which could see the west African
country pay a higher premium on this occasion compared with its most recent
debt sale in February.

Nigeria, which left recession last year, approved a three-year plan in 2016
to borrow more from abroad so that 40 percent of its loans would come from
offshore in an attempt to lower borrowing costs. It now has around 23
percent of its debt from abroad, up from 16 percent when it approved the
plan.

The debt office has sent a request for a proposal to banks for an
international bond offering, IFR reported, citing sources.

“We will explore all options keeping in mind our twin objectives of
extending the tenor of the debt stock and lowering costs,” Patience Oniha
told Reuters, without giving details.

Nigeria’s parliament needs to approve the new borrowing.

Oniha in January said the DMO could tap capital markets or concessionary
loans from the World Bank and would consider funding options after the 2018
budget had been approved.

President Muhammadu Buhari last week signed a record 9.12 trillion naira
budget for 2018 into law, aimed at fostering growth in Nigeria before
elections next February, in which he will seek a second term.

Growth rates in Nigeria have bounced back since the third quarter of 2016,
when a recession, its first in 25 years, hit bottom. It exited that
contraction last year, largely due to higher oil prices, with the country
relying on crude sales for much of its revenue.

However, growth slowed in the first quarter of 2018 for the first time since
pulling out of recession as its non-oil sector struggled.

Nigeria raised $2.5 billion through a dual-tranche Eurobond offering in
February, selling a 12-year note at 7.1 percent to raise $1.25 billion and a
20-year tranche at 7.7 percent.

The February deal was the second international bond sale in less than three
months, after the debt office raised $3 billion through an offering of 10-
and 30- year bonds in November.

Ghana Q1 GDP growth 6.8 pct -stats office

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana’s economy grew 6.8 percent year-on-year in the first
three months of 2018 compared to 6.7 percent in the same period last year,
the statistics office said on Wednesday.

The quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted growth rate was 1.5 percent, down
from 2.1 percent in the last three months of 2017, acting government
statistician Baah Wadieh told reporters in Accra.

Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer and Africa’s second biggest
gold exporter, currently produces around 180,000 barrels of oil per day from
three offshore fields, including its flagship Jubilee block.

Non-oil growth for the first three months stood at 5.4 percent year-on-year
compared to 4 percent last year.

Services expanded most at 60.6 percent, followed by industry at 27.5 percent
and agriculture at 11.9 percent, Wadieh said.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said in March that the economy would grow 8.3
percent in 2018, higher than the 6.8 percent estimated in the government’s
budget.

IMF board to consider bailout for Congo Republic on July 6

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The Executive Board of the International Monetary
Fund will examine debt-crippled OPEC member Congo Republic’s request for a
bailout on July 6, according to an IMF calendar seen by Reuters on
Wednesday.

International Monetary Fund logo is seen outside the headquarters building
during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, U.S., April 20,
2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

Like other central African oil producers, Congo has been hit hard by low
crude prices and is struggling under the weight of over $9 billion in debt,
equivalent to around 110 percent of its gross domestic product.

Following a mission to Congo in April, an IMF delegation said it had
“reached broad understandings on policies” it could support within the
framework of an arrangement under the Fund’s Extended Credit Facility.
[nL8N1RX3FM]

However, before it could submit a deal to the board, the delegation said
Congo would need to fulfill conditions including making progress towards
restructuring debt the Fund considered unsustainable.

Congolese authorities are currently in talks with creditors, including
trading houses Trafigura and Glencore, from which it has borrowed around $2
billion. [nL8N1OL1E9]

Congo joined the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
last week as it moves ahead with new projects that could see it become
sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest oil producer with a target of 350,000
barrels per day this year. [nL8N1TO3R2]

Volkswagen opens Rwanda's first car plant

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda’s first domestically built car rolled off the
assembly line at Volkswagen’s new factory in Kigali on Wednesday as Europe’s
biggest carmaker taps into demand for ride-sharing to expand in the region.

Despite low levels of car ownership in Rwanda, Volkswagen hopes to both sell
vehicles and use them in an Uber-like car-sharing system that will allow
people to book rides using their smartphones. Some will also be sold into
neighbouring nations.

VW has started a community car-sharing service mainly aimed at companies in
Kigali and plans to launch a ride-hailing offering later this year.

The Polo is the first model being made at the site and the German automaker
plans to reach annual production of 5,000 cars in the first phase, by also
building its Passat, Tiguan, Amarok and Teramont models.

“Deliveries come in and we put them into production as materials come in and
as the demand comes in,” Volkswagen’s South Africa boss Thomas Schaefer told
Reuters on Wednesday at the launch event in Kigali.

“So if there is a customer who wants a few hundred Passats we will put them
in and build them,” he said.

The assembly plant uses components shipped from South Africa to Rwanda via
Kenya, Schaefer said.

The $20 million investment, which will create up to 1,000 jobs, is as an
example of much needed spending by overseas firms in the nation, which
receives $1 billion in foreign aid and development assistance but is making
business-friendly reforms.

President Paul Kagame, who attended the event, said it was an important step
for the country.

“The facility undoubtedly represents a new chapter in Rwanda’s journey of
economic transformation,” he said.

“I know some might have found it hard to believe that ‘Germany cars’, as we
are used to call them, could really be built in Rwanda.”

Car ownership remains low in the nation of 12 million people with just over
200,000 private cars registered since 1997, according to the country’s tax
collection body.

But VW, which already builds in nearby Kenya, is expanding in Sub-Saharan
Africa where it hopes it can tap into worldwide growth in demand for using
apps to make journeys rather than buying vehicles.

Global ride-sharing companies such as Uber have not yet moved into Rwanda
meaning that Volkswagen will get ahead of the game by launching its service
there ahead of major rivals.

Most of the cars currently on the road are second-hand imports from
countries such as Japan.

Kenya tries to tackle illicit goods to boost manufacturers

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has started a campaign against what the government
calls illicit goods to help local manufacturers, the minister for
industrialisation said on Wednesday.

The goods involved range from sugar to cigarettes, and they account for 40
percent of all traded goods in Kenya, said Carol Kariuki, the chief
executive of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), an umbrella body for
local companies.

Some of those are imports supposedly intended for transit to a neighbouring
country, then diverted to the local market with no import fees paid, Kariuki
said. Others are disguised as imports of lower value, thereby evading taxes.
Still others are local counterfeits.

All of them compete with goods produced by Kenyan manufacturers, whose
promotion President Uhuru Kenyatta has made one of his four priority areas.
He wants to double their share of annual economic output to 15 percent by
2022, helping to create much-needed jobs.

The crackdown started this month, Adan Mohamed, the industrialisation
minister, told Reuters. So far, investigators have discovered mercury-laced
imported sugar held in warehouses and dozens of shipping containers full of
illegally imported cigarettes.

The head of the state-run standards body, seven other officials at the
agency and two businessmen were charged with attempted murder on Monday for
allowing imports of substandard fertiliser containing mercury, part of the
campaign [nL8N1TR4W3].

KEPSA’s Kariuki said the fight against illicit goods was necessary to
protect local manufacturers and their investments from unfair competition.

“It’s something that has grown as the economy has grown. It will take us
long,” she said.

Ayub Savula, an opposition lawmaker whose sugar-growing constituents in
western Kenya have borne the brunt of the illegal sugar imports, dismissed
the government’s efforts.

“We don’t have faith in this crackdown. This is just cosmetic,” he told
Reuters, saying some illegal importers had been facilitated by government
officials.

Fox-Disney merger cleared, but sports networks must be sold

US regulators have cleared Walt Disney Co's plan to buy most of 21st Century
Fox, removing a final barrier to the $71.3bn (£54.2bn) deal.

The approval requires the sale of Fox's regional sports networks in the US,
due to competition concerns, the Justice Department's antitrust division
said.

Disney, which had signalled willingness to sell the sports networks, said it
was "pleased" with the decision.

The deal still needs approval in other countries to go forward.

Disney is planning to buy Fox's entertainment assets in the hope of beefing
up the range of content it can offer, as it plans services to compete with
streaming companies such as Netflix.

Fox, which is led by Rupert Murdoch and his family, plans to retain its news
and sports divisions, creating a new company for those holdings, which
include the flagship Fox News Channel.

Five reasons why the Murdochs are selling Fox to Disney

The Justice Department said without the sale of the 22 regional sports
networks, the deal may have led to higher prices for cable sports watchers
in local markets, where Fox and Disney currently compete.

Currently, Fox's regional sports networks have more than 60 million
subscribers and local rights to a majority of baseball and basketball teams.

Disney is the owner of ESPN and other local channels.

The approval makes the transaction, first announced in December,
significantly more likely to proceed.

However, shareholders must still sign off on the plan, which has been
complicated by a rival interest from Comcast in buying the Fox assets.
Earlier this month, Comcast outbid Disney's original $52.4bn bid, offering
$65bn.

But Fox said it planned to proceed with Disney, after the firm raised its
own offer to $71bn.

Fox said the amended agreement was superior to Comcast's proposal, but
shareholders still need to vote on the matter and Comcast could still return
with a higher offer.--BBC

CO2 shortage: Britain's biggest pub chain runs low on beer brands

Britain's biggest pub group says some outlets are running out of certain
beer brands as CO2 gas shortages continue to hit the food and drink sectors.

Ei Group, which has 4,500 properties, said it was working with publicans to
source alternative beers where needed.

Some Wetherspoon pubs are temporarily without draught John Smith's and
Strongbow cider.

Many pub landlords are unable to pick and choose which brands they can sell
because of restrictions.

It comes ahead of England's World Cup group match with Belgium on Thursday,
and predictions that the current UK heatwave could continue into the
weekend.

Factory closures

Carbon dioxide has multiple uses in the food and drink industries, from
putting the gas in beer and cider, stunning farm animals before slaughter,
and as a preservative to increase the shelf-life of packaged products.

But the temporary closure of some UK and mainland European factories
involved in producing the gas has created a shortage.

*         Why the CO2 shortage really matters

*         Beer sales rationed amid CO2 shortage

*         Pig welfare at risk as CO2 shortage bites

Ei Group, the former Enterprise Inns, would not disclose which brands are
out of stock or running low. However, it is thought to include some Heineken
products.

An Ei spokesman said: "We are aware of the issue relating to a shortage in
the supply of CO2 and are working with our suppliers to minimise any
disruption to our customers and our publicans."

A Wetherspoon spokesman said some of its pubs would be without John Smith's
and Strongbow cider, which are both are made by Heineken.

He added: "Wetherspoon has the advantage that it sources its wide range of
drinks from a number of suppliers, so has not been too badly affected.

"Heineken has been the company with the biggest issues and they have told us
that all is getting back to normal."

'Full capacity'

Heineken said last week that the CO2 scarcity had caused production
problems.

A spokeswoman said on Wednesday: "We'd like to reassure beer drinkers that
all our breweries are operating at full capacity, and we're working 24/7 to
get beers to our customers as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, meat processors say changes to "sell by" dates may be needed
because of delivery problems.

Many producers are having to use lower levels of CO2 in their packaged meat
and need to shorten their sell by deadline.

Nick Allen, spokesman for the British Meat Processors' Association, said
that if the practice became widespread it could cause big logistical
headaches.

"If you shorten the sell-by date everyone has to move stuff more quickly.
The supply chain is very complicated," he said.

Science event cancelled

On Tuesday, Scotland's biggest abattoir shut until further notice because it
ran out of C02 used to stun pigs before they are processed.

The facility, at Brechin, which processed 6,000 animals a week, is sending
pigs to England for slaughter. But these abattoirs are also running low on
carbon dioxide.

Also on Tuesday, the wholesale retailer Booker, which sells to bars and
restaurants, started rationing beer, cider and soft drinks sales to
customers.

Coca-Cola temporarily paused some production lines, and retailers Morrisons
and Ocado has shortages of some frozen product lines. CO2 makes dry ice,
used to keep products cool in transit.

The carbon dioxide shortage has also had a knock-on outside the food and
drink sectors.

The Glasgow Science Centre (GSC) visitor attraction has cancelled a summer
programme due to the shortage because it was unable to get the dry ice it
needed for its new show.

Resident scientist Sam Langford said: "Here at GSC we use carbon dioxide in
its solid form in our science shows to demonstrate a number of scientific
phenomena, including sublimation, ocean acidification and the three states
of matter.

"Our plans for our brand new summer show have been put on hold," he said.
"Whilst this is a small problem for GSC, dry ice and other forms of CO2
being in short supply is a major problem for a number of industries for whom
it is an essential product."

BBC Reality Check asks: Do all beers need CO2?

There are lots of uses for CO2 in the process of getting beer to your glass,
but not all beers need it.

As a general rule, lagers are more likely to use CO2 than ales.

Wondering whether your ale uses CO2?

If you're in the pub and your pint is being poured just by flicking a switch
on a tap then it will be coming from a pressurised keg and will be propelled
to your glass either by CO2 or by a mix of CO2 and nitrogen.

If there's a pump that the bar staff need to pull, then the beer will be
coming from a cask and will be mostly propelled by the pump.

A keg will use CO2 to keep it under pressure, while a cask will not.

Similarly, brewers use CO2 to move beer around their plants and to keep
oxygen out of the tanks and pipes being used.

CO2 is produced by yeast in the brewing process and may be either recovered
or lost, so some brewers will buy in the gas to pump into the beer and make
it fizzy.--BBC

Apple and Samsung end patent fight after seven long years

Apple and Samsung have finally settled a seven-year-long patent dispute,
bringing to an end the long-running battle over the design of their rival
smartphones.

The terms were not disclosed.

But it comes weeks after a US jury ordered Samsung to pay Apple $539m
(£403m) in damages for copying features of the original iPhone.

The fight started in 2011, when Apple sued its South Korean competitor,
seeking more than $2bn in damages.

The suit was the first of many that saw the two companies square off in
courts around the world.

In 2012, a US jury awarded California-based Apple $1.05bn in damages for the
copied features, which included design elements like the screen that
displays icons in a grid.

Samsung appealed part of that award, taking its case all the way to the
Supreme Court, arguing that damages should be limited since patent
infringement involved only certain features.

In 2016, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court agreed, handing a
victory to Samsung.

But the justices did not rule on the patents themselves, leaving that
decision to a lower court.

That battle went to trial in May, ending in defeat for Samsung, which had
argued that it owed only $28m. Instead the jury set the award at $539m -
about $140m more than the figure it had appealed.--BBC

Gambling firms given 'call to action' over consumer welfare

Gambling firms have been given a "call to action" over their attitude to
consumer welfare in a new report published by the Gambling Commission.

The report highlights the ways in which companies must protect gamblers and
also stop money laundering.

The regulator's boss Neil McArthur said not enough was being done.

He told the BBC: "Overall the companies can do a lot more to demonstrate
they care about consumers and want to treat them right and keep them safe."

Mr McArthur, who was appointed chief executive of the Commission earlier
this year, added that he wanted change to start at the very top of
companies.

"We want to use our powers to hopefully drive a culture where operators'
compliance is set right from the start and which innovates to protect
consumers, plus drive profits," he said.

"Our hope is that the report will be received as a call to action for the
leaders of the industry. We want them to set the tone from the top in terms
of leading a culture of compliance and really try to do the right thing for
the consumer and work to raise standards for them."

Gambling addict: New fixed-odds rules 'takes away the thrill of betting'

Why the gambling industry faces an uncertain future

Firms which do not comply with the rules can be subject to a wide range of
sanctions, including fines or even the removal of their licence for a fixed
period or indefinitely.

For example, last week, online gambling operator 32Red was fined £2m for
failing to protect a problem gambler, while in February, betting firm
William Hill was given a £6.2m penalty package for breaching anti-money
laundering and social responsibility regulations.

That was the second biggest financial punishment imposed by the Commission
following the record £7.8m fine given to betting firm 888 last year for
failing to protect vulnerable customers.

*         Britain's gambling in numbers

*         £13.9bn made by the industry (April 2016 to March 2017)

*         106,366 employees in the industry (Sep 2017)

*         8,532 betting shops around the country (Sep 2017)

*         35% market share for the remote betting, bingo and casino sector
(Oct 2016 to Sep 2017)

*         £1.5bn contributed to good causes from the National Lottery (Oct
2016 to Sep 2017)

*         45% of people gambled in the previous four weeks (December 2017)

*         97% of online gamblers gamble at home (year to December 2017)

Source: The Gambling Commission

One issue the Commission is keen to tackle is firms being able to spot
unusual betting patterns, which could be because of money laundering or
people getting into financial difficulties through their gambling.

"Firms need to know their customers and from where they get their money and
how they can afford it. If the VIP team is involved then that's what their
relationship is all about," said Mr McArthur.

"We want operators to put consumer welfare first, use all the data they have
about people to get an overall view of individual customers at the earliest
possible stage.

"When customers are playing online, the firms can see the deposits that are
being put in and if the firms have questions about that then they can impose
a deposit limit on players."

Fears have been expressed about the dangers of a recent upsurge in betting
during the World Cup, especially as a result of TV adverts shown during the
half-time breaks in matches.

But Mr McArthur said: "Providing you know your customers are safe and [you]
are not encouraging risky behaviour by making sure people can afford to
play, then that advertising is acceptable.

"If you push beyond the boundaries of that, then that is when a problem
arises for us as the gambling regulator."

He added that before people could take part in online betting, they had to
sign up to a company and provide lots of personal data, which provided
protection for gamblers.

While the Commission cannot regulate adverts - that is the responsibility of
the Advertising Standards Authority - it is currently considering whether to
give itself the power to fine operators who breach rules on the targeting of
vulnerable customers.

The Commission is also involved indirectly in assisting addicts and has
encouraged gambling firms to contribute £9-£10m towards the charity Gamble
Aware.

The charity, in turn, passes the money on to treatment providers, for
research into gambling problems and to educate people.

The report "should contain no surprises for operators", Mr McArthur said and
in its introduction, he wrote: "We want operators to pay attention to the
lessons and to focus on ways to make gambling fairer and safer for consumers
in Great Britain."--BBC

Ticketmaster admits personal data stolen in hack attack

Ticketmaster has admitted that it has suffered a security breach, which the
BBC understands has affected up to 40,000 UK customers.

Malicious software on third-party customer support product Inbenta
Technologies caused the hack, the firm said on Twitter.

"Some personal or payment information may have been accessed by an unknown
third party", it added.

All affected customers have been contacted.

In the email to those customers, Ticketmaster said it had set up a website
to answer any questions and advised them to reset their passwords. It also
offered them a free 12-month identity monitoring service.

It said the breach was likely to have only affected UK customers who
purchased or attempted to purchase tickets between February and 23 June
2018.

But, as a precaution, it said it had also informed international customers
who had purchased or attempted to purchase tickets between September 2017
and 23 June 2018.

The company added that North American customers were not affected.

Information that may have been compromised includes names, addresses, email
addresses, telephone numbers, payment details and Ticketmaster log-in
details.

It said that "forensic teams and security experts are working around the
clock" to understand how data was compromised.

Ticketmaster is confident it has complied with General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) rules - acting very quickly and informing all relevant
authorities, including the Information Commissioner's office.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre - a division of GCHQ - said it was
monitoring the situation.

"The NCSC is working with our partners to better understand the incident,"
added a spokesman.

Ticketmaster's parent, Live Nation, declared it had 86 million customers in
its most recent annual report.

However, a spokeswoman was unable to break out a figure for Ticketmaster's
total number of UK clients.

One expert said members of the public should now be on the lookout for
follow-up phishing scams.

"After an incident like this, criminals from around the world will jump at
the chance to try and catch a few unsuspecting people out," said Brooks
Wallace from the cyber-security specialist Trusted Knight.

"If you receive any emails purporting to be from Ticketmaster asking for any
personal information, discard them. If you need to contact Ticketmaster,
type the website address into your browser and log-in that way."--BBC

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Dawn Properties

AGM

Ophir Room, Monomotapa Hotel

28/06/2018 10am

NicozDiamond

Scheme meeting

7th Floor, 30 Samora Machel Ave

28/06/2018 10am

ZBFH

AGM

Boardroom, Ground Floor, 21 Natal Road, Avondale

28/06/2018 10:30am

African Sun

AGM

Kariba Room, Holiday Inn Harare

28/06/2018 12pm

FBC

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

28/06/2018 3pm

Hwange

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

29/06/2018 10:30am

Fidelity Life

AGM

Great Indaba Room, Monomotapa Hotel

29/06/2018 11am

Barclays

EGM to consider the change of registered statutory name to First Capital
Bank Limited

Meikles Hotel

03/07/2018 3pm

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> 

DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not
constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or
subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has
been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability
whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its
contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this
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investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of
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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