Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 09 March 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 09 March 2018

 


 

 


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*  Germany's SAP admits misconduct in South Africa Gupta deals

*  S.Africa's Eskom to ink 27 renewable energy projects with private
producers

*  Kenya asks IMF for a 6-month extension of $1.5 bln standby credit

*  French firms to invest $10 billion in Kenya: minister

*  Standard Bank FY profit up 14 pct, offshore businesses robust

*  MTN cuts 2018 dividend to rein in debt, shares rise

*  Anglogold backs Randgold's negotiations with Congo govt

*  Trump and N Korea talks: Asia markets rally on peace hopes

*  Asia-Pacific trade deal signed by 11 nations

*  Amazon promises fix for creepy Alexa laugh

*  China dominates self-made woman rich list

*  KFC in partial return to ex-supplier Bidvest

*  Deloitte gender pay gap jumps to 43% as partners included

*  Brexit: Don't put bankers first in talks, says Labour

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

Germany's SAP admits misconduct in South Africa Gupta deals

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - German software maker SAP found compliance breaches
and “indications of misconduct” in $50 million of public sector deals in
South Africa involving the Guptas, friends of former president Jacob Zuma
accused of corruption, it said on Thursday.

 

Outlining the findings of an external legal review of five software deals
with state-run electricity firm Eskom and rail-freight company Transnet, SAP
said three executives suspended last year had resigned without severance
pay.

 

Eskom said on Thursday it would launch its own probe into the SAP contract.

 

SAP admitted it paid more than $9 million to intermediary companies
controlled by the Guptas. One of the Gupta brothers, Atul, was declared a
fugitive from justice and fled South Africa after Zuma was forced out of
office by his party last month.

 

However, the company said there was no evidence of direct payments to South
African government officials.

 

As a result of the investigation, SAP said it had tightened up its
compliance and anti-corruption procedures, including banning sales
commissions on public sector contracts in countries with poor graft ratings,
including South Africa.

 

“The investigation has confirmed that even strong compliance systems are
vulnerable and therefore require eternal vigilance,” SAP board member Adaire
Fox-Martin said in a statement. “While we cannot turn back the clock, we can
promise to do better.”

 

SAP shares were little-changed at 86.91 euros, up 0.2 percent at 1319 GMT.

 

A spokesman for the Guptas was not immediately available for comment.

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

S.Africa's Eskom to ink 27 renewable energy projects with private producers

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa’s state power utility Eskom will sign
purchase agreements with independent producers for 27 renewable energy
projects on March 13 that will generate 56 billion rand ($4.7 billion) in
investments, the energy minister said on Thursday.

 

There have been numerous delays in getting such projects, which are seen as
crucial to reducing South Africa’s heavy reliance on coal, off the ground.

 

($1 = 11.8927 rand)

 

 

Kenya asks IMF for a 6-month extension of $1.5 bln standby credit

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to
extend its $1.5 billion standby credit facility that expires in March for a
further six months, the IMF said.

 

The IMF said last month that Kenya had already lost access to the funds
meant to cushion it against unforeseen external shocks last June because of
a failure to complete a review of the programme.

 

In a statement issued on Wednesday at the end of an assessment mission to
Nairobi, the IMF said the request for an extension would be put to the board
before the facility expires on March 13.

 

The Washington-based IMF said the government had committed to reduce the
fiscal deficit and substantially modify interest controls, imposed on banks
in 2016, which have been partly blamed for choking private sector credit
growth.

 

“Discussions on the details of these policies will continue in the coming
weeks,” the IMF said in a statement, adding a full review of the two-year
programme was expected to be completed in September.

 

The restoration of access to an extended facility would still be subject to
the completion of the full review, the fund said on Thursday.

 

Both sides had agreed the fiscal deficit would be reduced to 7.2 percent of
GDP in the 2017/18 (July-June) fiscal year, from 8.8 percent in the prior
further, and to 5.7 percent in 2018/19, the IMF said, broadly in line with
the plan published by the finance ministry before the talks started.

 

“This will be achieved by a combination of revenue measures and contained
spending,” the IMF said.

 

It said Kenya’s economic growth was expected to rise to 5.5 percent this
year, after elections and drought depressed output to an estimated 4.8
percent last year.

 

“Annual growth could rise further to 6.5 percent within a couple of years,
provided that the authorities continue economic reforms, including reducing
the fiscal deficit and amending interest rate controls,” the IMF said.

 

Finance ministry officials have told local media they want to introduce a
consumer protection law to parliament this year to modify the rate caps,
while a senior lawmaker told Reuters last month the most likely modification
was the removal of a floor on deposit rates.

 

The caps compelled lenders not to charge their customers more than 400 basis
points above the central bank rate, which stands at 10 percent now, and to
offer a minimum deposit rate of 70 percent of the central bank rate.

 

 

French firms to invest $10 billion in Kenya: minister

NAIROBI (Reuters) - French companies will invest $10 billion in Kenya in
roads, energy, manufacturing and other sectors, a Kenyan official said on
Wednesday without giving a timeframe, after a visit by more than 60 French
executives.

 

The two countries have been trying to boost business links in recent years,
and French companies like Total SA and Peugeot SA already have investments
in the East African nation.

 

“The identified (investment) projects will attract more than $10 billion in
investments and create thousands of new direct jobs,” Adan Mohamed, the
minister for industrialisation, said in a statement sent from the
presidency.

 

Apart from executives at Total and Peugeot, other firms that sent
representatives on the Kenyan visit included Schneider Electric, SSE Air
Liquide and Bollore, the Kenyan presidency said.

 

 

 

Standard Bank FY profit up 14 pct, offshore businesses robust

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African lender Standard Bank on Thursday
reported a 14 percent rise in full-year profit as relatively higher
commodity prices boosted its operations elsewhere in the continent.

 

Diluted headline EPS, the main profit measure in South Africa that strips
out one-off items, came in at 1,620 cents in the year ended December,
compared with 1,421 cents a year earlier.

 

Net interest income, a key measure of lending profitability, grew 6 percent
to 60 billion rand ($5.06 billion).

 

Standard Bank said its operations elsewhere in Africa, including in oil-rich
Angola and Nigeria, delivered a robust performance while its home market
suffered as a weak economy hit both consumption and investment spending.

 

Companies in South Africa are banking on President Cyril Ramaphosa to follow
through on promises to kick-start the economy, fight corruption and bring
policy certainty.

 

Lenders like Standard Bank have largely borne the brunt of a stagnant
economy and political uncertainty relating to corruption allegations
surrounding former president Jacob Zuma, who denies any wrongdoing.

 

“We are also optimistic about the prospects in our home market of South
Africa,” Standard Bank said in a statement.

 

“We believe that the positive steps taken already by the ruling party
subsequent to its leadership conference will improve business and consumer
confidence.”

 

($1 = 11.8604 rand)

 

 

 

MTN cuts 2018 dividend to rein in debt, shares rise

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African telecoms firm MTN Group cut its 2018
dividend on Thursday to cut debt but outlined increases in the next three to
five years, lifting sentiment in the firm which some investors had expected
to scrap this year’s payout.

 

Shares in Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator jumped as much as 13
percent before easing to trade up 10.4 percent at 135.40 rand, on track for
its biggest daily gain in almost two years.

 

MTN said it was cutting its 2018 dividend to 500 cents from 700 cents in
2017 but would use this year’s figure as a base to increase payouts by 10 to
20 percent in the next three to five years, describing this as a
“progressive” dividend policy.

 

“When MTN said last year it was reviewing its dividend policy, investors
assumed that they were going to suspend dividends altogether, so this is
good news,” said Bright Khumalo, an fund manager at Vestact, a shareholder
in MTN.

 

MTN, which operates in more than 20 countries in Africa and the Middle East,
wants to expand from telecoms services into financial services, music
streaming and e-commerce.

 

Chief Executive Officer Rob Shuter launched the expansion strategy last year
after a series of disputes with regulators in Nigeria, Cameroon and Uganda
that stoked investor frustration in a firm that has been a post-apartheid
South African success story.

 

Shuter, a former Vodafone executive who also had a career in banking, said
the new dividend policy would help cut MTN’s net debt, which stands at 57
billion rand, more than double the pile of its nearest rival Vodacom.

 

“MTN as a group has consistently borrowed money over the last five to six
years to fund our investment programme and dividends,” Shuter said after the
firm announced 2017 results.

 

“This policy would allow for the stabilisation of our gearing ratio,” he
said.

 

Founded with the help of Pretoria at the end of white rule in 1994, MTN
reported a 3.3 billion rand profit for 2017, excluding one-off charges
related to a $1.1 billion Nigerian fine. It had reported a 1.4 billion rand
loss a year earlier.

 

Group service revenue rose 7.2 percent to 124 billion rand, due to strong
performance in Nigeria, the company’s most lucrative where it has also been
embroiled in a dispute over repatriating funds and unregistered SIM cards.

 

The Nigerian Senate approved in November a report largely exonerating MTN of
illegally repatriating $14 billion. The report followed MTN’s agreement to
pay a $1.1 billion fine to settle a row over unregistered SIM cards.

 

($1 = 11.8992 rand)

 

 

 

Anglogold backs Randgold's negotiations with Congo govt

(Reuters) - South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti said it was fully supporting
its JV partner Randgold Resources, as several miners operating in the
Democratic Republic of Congo negotiate with the government terms of the
country’s new mining code.

 

Congo President Joseph Kabila will soon sign into law a new mining code, the
government and the country’s mining companies said on Wednesday. The code
has been vigorously opposed by the miners.

 

The announcement followed a nearly six-hour meeting between Kabila and
mining executives in Kinshasa about the new code, which will raise taxes and
remove a stability clause in the current law protecting miners from changes
to the fiscal and customs regime for 10 years.

 

Anglogold said mining industry executives met Kabila on Wednesday and raised
questions pertaining to their operations once the code is signed into a law.

 

“President gave assurances that the questions raised will be resolved
through discussions with the Government, in the mining regulation to be
adopted by the Government” Ashanti said on Thursday.

 

Randgold Resources - which operates Kibali joint venture with Anglogold -
will continue talks with DRC Government representatives next week.

 

 

 

Trump and N Korea talks: Asia markets rally on peace hopes/

Asian markets rallied on Friday, on hopes that North Korean nuclear tensions
might be easing.

 

Investors responded to US President Donald Trump accepting an invitation for
face-to-face talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

 

There was already some optimism on the markets after Mr Trump earlier left
the door open for possible exemptions to US tariffs on steel and aluminium.

 

South Korea and Japan's main markets began well but later shed some gains.

 

By late afternoon trading Seoul's Kospi index was about 1% ahead.

 

Meanwhile Japan's Nikkei 225 index - which initially rose by 2.5% - closed
only 0.5% higher.

 

South Korea statement on Kim-Trump meeting in full

A sigh of relief is no surprise

Analysis by Karishma Vaswani, Asia Business Correspondent

 

Investors in the region have been watching the potential conflict between
the US and North Korea for months now.

 

And news that the two could meet by May of this year is being greeted with a
sigh of relief by many. And that shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

Nobody wants a conflict on the Korean peninsula to break out, especially
between arguably two of the world's most volatile leaders.

 

East Asian economies would be almost certainly be hit, because of integrated
supply chains in the region. It's a region central to global shipping and
manufacturing, so any escalation of the current tensions could disrupt trade
and economic activity.

 

But perhaps what's more interesting, is what a potential meeting between
"Rocket Man" and the "Dotard" says about just how badly the North Korean
economy may be doing as sanctions bite.

 

Read more from Karishma: Did sanctions push N Korea into US talks?

 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.9% higher, while China's mainland indexes also
made small gains.

 

The South Korean won climbed slightly, while the Japanese yen slipped
against the US dollar.

 

That is not unexpected given the yen is a safe haven currency, with
investors tending to seek out riskier assets with better returns when things
appear more stable--BBC

 

 

 

Asia-Pacific trade deal signed by 11 nations

Eleven Asia-Pacific countries have just signed the trade pact formerly known
as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

 

Although the US pulled out last year, the deal was salvaged by the remaining
members, who signed it at a ceremony in the Chilean city of Santiago.

 

Chilean foreign minister Heraldo Munoz said the agreement was a strong
signal "against protectionist pressures, in favour of a world open to
trade".

 

The deal covers a market of nearly 500 million people, despite the US
pullout.

 

In the absence of the US, it has been renamed the Comprehensive and
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

 

Extraneous adjectives aside, its supporters say it's hugely significant, and
could be a model for future trade deals.

 

What does it do?

Its main purpose is to slash trade tariffs between member countries.

 

But it also seeks to reduce so-called non-tariff measures, which create
obstacles to trade through regulations.

 

There are chapters which aim to harmonise these regulations, or at least
make them transparent and fair.

 

There are also commitments to enforce minimum labour and environmental
standards.

 

It also includes a controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement
mechanism, which allows companies to sue governments when they believe a
change in law has affected their profits.

 

Who's in it?

In alphabetical order: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

 

The US is conspicuously absent.

 

President Donald Trump fulfilled an election promise by pulling out in
January last year, labelling the deal a disaster for American workers.

 

In short, the biggest winners are expected to be in Asia, while the
wealthier countries, on balance, are not expected to receive as much of a
boost.

 

The Peterson Institute for International Economics says Malaysia, Singapore,
Brunei and Vietnam will each receive a bump of more than 2% to their economy
by 2030.

 

New Zealand, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Australia will all grow by an
additional 1% or less.

 

The same study says the US could be a big loser, foregoing a boost to its
Gross Domestic Product of 0.5% (worth $131bn).

 

What's more, it could lose an additional $2bn because firms in member
countries have an incentive to trade with each other instead of with
American companies.

 

Donald Trump isn't the only one who has failed to be convinced of its value,
though.

 

Unions (particularly in wealthier member countries such as Australia and
Canada) say the deal could be a job killer or push down wages.

 

Some economists have also suggested that free trade agreements are rigged by
special interests, which makes their economic value far more dubious.

 

Is there any point without the US?

Yes, but there's no question the deal is diminished without the involvement
of the world's largest economy.

 

The remaining nations' economies account for more than 13% of the global
economy - a total of $10 trillion dollars.

 

Trump executive order pulls out of TPP trade deal

TPP: What is it and why does it matter?

With the US, the deal would have represented 40%.

 

Australia's Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, says the deal has been set up
to allow it to admit new members, possibly including the US.

 

 

However, the revised agreement dropped about 20 of the original provisions
(mostly those insisted on by the US), suggesting a US re-entry would require
some intense negotiation.

 

And although Donald Trump is on record saying he'd be open to a
substantially better deal, his broader hostility toward trade pacts would
suggest it's a remote possibility.

 

Could the UK join?

Sure, why not? There's nothing banning it, even if most of the members are
on the other side of the world.

 

Australia, at least, has indicated that it's open to the idea, and the UK's
International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, has signalled some interest in
joining after the UK completes its departure from the EU.

 

But it's unlikely that membership would provide an immediate replacement for
its EU trading partners after Brexit.

 

That's because the region isn't a major destination for UK exports.

 

TPP: Could UK really join Pacific trade group?

Brexit: UK could join Pacific free trade zone, says Liam Fox

And while growing new markets would arguably be the whole point, it's
unlikely to happen overnight.

 

The signatories accounted for less than 8% of UK exports last year,
according to research by the Observatory of Economic Complexity at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.--BBC

 

 

 

Amazon promises fix for creepy Alexa laugh

Amazon’s Alexa has been letting out an unprompted, creepy cackle - startling
users of the best-selling voice assistant.

 

The laugh, described by some as “witch like” was reported to sometimes
happen without the device being “woken” up.

 

Others reported the laugh occurring when they asked Alexa to perform a
different task, such as playing music.

 

"We’re aware of this and working to fix it,” Amazon said.

 

"In rare circumstances, Alexa can mistakenly hear the phrase 'Alexa, laugh'.

 

"We are changing that phrase to be 'Alexa, can you laugh?' which is less
likely to have false positives, and we are disabling the short utterance
'Alexa, laugh'.

 

"We are also changing Alexa's response from simply laughter to 'sure, I can
laugh' followed by laughter."

 

Voice assistants like Alexa are designed to respond or act only when
prompted with a wake word, which in this case is “Alexa” or “Amazon”.

 

But some people have suggested the glitch happened without any prior
interaction, spooking Alexa owners.

 

"WHY DID MY ALEXA JUST LAUGH OUT OF THE BLUE?!?!?!?” wrote one user on
Twitter.

 

Another wrote: "Lying in bed about to fall asleep when Alexa on my Amazon
Echo Dot lets out a very loud and creepy laugh... there’s a good chance I
get murdered tonight.”

 

The use of voice assistants in the home is often met with caution due to
their nature - voice commands are recorded and sent to the cloud for
processing, a system that stokes a fear of eavesdropping, unintended or
otherwise.

 

Incidents like this, where an assistant seems to rebel against its owner,
naturally further this concern. That said, most users on social media have
reacted with humour, drawing parallels with HAL 9000 from the 1968 film
2001: A Space Odyssey.

 

“I’m sorry, Dave,” the machine famously said. “I’m afraid I can’t do
that."--BBC

 

 

 

China dominates self-made woman rich list

China has once again dominated a list of global self-made woman
billionaires.

 

The top four women in the report by publisher Hurun - and five of the top 10
- come from the Asian superpower.

 

Zhou Qunfei, who founded a firm that makes glass used to cover laptops and
smartphones, was the world's richest self-made woman, with $9.8bn (£7.1bn).

 

Her company Lens Technology has contracts with some of the biggest
technology firms, and counts Apple and Samsung as its main customers.

 

Ms Zhou, who came from a poor rural background, also featured on the Forbes
Billionaires list released earlier this week.

 

Forbes ranked her as the world's 16th richest woman overall, with all of
those above her appearing to have inherited or married into their wealth.

 

Trump slumps on Forbes billionaires list

Who are the world's richest women?

 

In total, 28 of the top 50 on the Hurun self-made list are from China.

 

Ms Zhou took the top spot from Beijing-based real estate developer Chen
Lihua ($8.1bn). Ms Chen, who runs Fu Wah International, slipped to third
after her wealth barely changed since 2017.

 

Another property developer, Wu Yajun from the western city of Chongqing,
moved into second place. She is worth $9.3bn after a staggering 83% leap in
her fortune in just 12 months.

 

The richest self-made woman from outside China is American Diane Hendricks,
the co-founder of Wisconsin-based ABC Supply, one of the US's largest
distributors of roofing and windows.

 

Chief executive of Vietnamese airline VietJet, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, is
the highest new entrant on the list, with Hurun putting her wealth at
$2.8bn.

 

India, which has a similar sized population, has only one woman on the list
- Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw who runs pharmaceutical giant Biocon

 

Also noticeable from the list is the huge growth in the fortunes of the
billionaires in just the past year.

 

Ms Zhou, for example, is worth 45% more than she was in 2017, with another
woman on the list, Hong Kong pharmaceuticals executive Zheng Xiangling more
than doubling her wealth.--BBC

 

 

 

KFC in partial return to ex-supplier Bidvest

Fast-food chain KFC has returned to its old supplier after suffering chicken
shortages that forced the temporary closure of hundreds of outlets.

 

Last month, the chain experienced widespread distribution problems after it
decided to switch its logistics contract from Bidvest to DHL.

 

But now Bidvest has signed a new agreement with KFC UK & Ireland to supply
up to 350 of its 900 restaurants.

 

Bidvest pledged "a seamless return".

 

Until 13 February, all KFC's chicken was delivered by Bidvest.

 

But after the contract switched to DHL, which uses software developed by the
firm Quick Service Logistics (QSL), many of the food giant's outlets began
running out of chicken products.

 

At the time, DHL blamed "operational issues" at a warehouse near Rugby it
was using for deliveries nationwide.

 

'Limited' menus

"Our focus remains on ensuring our customers can enjoy our chicken without
further disruption," said a KFC spokesperson.

 

"With that in mind, the decision has been taken in conjunction with QSL and
DHL to revert the distribution contract for up to 350 of our restaurants in
the north of the UK back to Bidvest Logistics.

 

"We've been working hard to resolve the present situation with QSL and DHL.
This decision will ease pressure at DHL's Rugby depot, to help get our
restaurants back to normal as quickly as possible."

 

KFC said more than 97% of its restaurants were now open for business, but
there would be "some limited menus" before full service was resumed.

 

Paul Whyte of Bidvest said the firm was "delighted" to resume its
partnership with KFC.

 

He added: "KFC are a valued customer and we will provide them with a
seamless return to our network."-BBC

 

 

Deloitte gender pay gap jumps to 43% as partners included

Women earn 43% less than men on average at accountancy firm Deloitte,
updated figures have shown.

 

The figure takes into account the earnings of those at the top of the
business - the partners - who are predominantly male.

 

The accountancy giant said that it paid men and women in the same roles
equally.

 

All firms with more than 250 employees are required to report gender pay gap
figures by 4 April.

 

But government guidelines say that partners in firms, which include
accountancy and law firms, do not have to be included in this data.

 

This is because partners take a share of the profits rather than being
directly paid by the companies.

 

Deloitte is the second of the big four accountancy firms to report updated
figures. EY was the first of the big four to publish figures which took the
earnings of its partners into account.

 

'Loophole' objection

Deloitte said that its mean average pay gap was 43.2%, up from 18.2% figure
it reported in July. But its median pay gap figure was 15.2%, down from
15.3% in October.

 

The jump in the mean figure is due to the addition of a relatively small
number of very highly paid partners, which does not affect the median
measure.

 

At Deloitte, 19% of the partners are women. The firm is trying to push this
figure up to 25% by 2020.

 

Most firms pay men more than women

Women earn up to 43% less at Barclays

Big accountancy and law firms have been under political pressure to publish
updated figures.

 

This week, the chair of the Treasury Committee, Nicky Morgan, objected to
firms using the "loophole" of not reporting the earnings of partners.

 

However, big accountancy firms say they have started including partner
earnings voluntarily in gender pay reporting.

 

David Sproul, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte UK, said: "Our
role in society means we have a responsibility to lead on critical issues
such as inclusion and diversity.

 

"Going forward, we commit not only to publishing the data required by the
gender pay legislation, but also to publishing our gender earnings gap on an
annual basis."

 

'Action, not audits'

When EY included partners in its calculations, its mean pay gap rose to
38.1%, and its median to 19.5%. That was up from the mean of 19.7% and
median of 14.8% when it published figures in October.

 

A spokeswoman for PwC said that it would be publishing its pay gap figures
to include partners "within the next few days".

 

KPMG said it would also update its data to include partner earnings.

 

"We take this issue very seriously and are in the process of finalising our
pay gap data. We will publish that information shortly," the KPMG
spokesperson said.

 

Labour said it would force firms to take action to close gender pay gaps.

 

Dawn Butler, Labour's shadow minister for women and equalities, said: "It's
time to close the gender pay gap once and for all. But to address these deep
rooted inequalities, we need action, not just audits.

 

"The next Labour government will require all large employers to prove how
they plan to tackle their gender pay gaps and prove they are equal pay
employers."

 

In February, Barclays said its investment bank had a mean gender pay gap of
48% and a median gap of 43.5%, while its retail bank had a mean gap of 26%
and a median gap of 14.2%.--BBC

 

 

 

Brexit: Don't put bankers first in talks, says Labour

Labour has accused the government of prioritising financial services over
manufacturing in Brexit trade talks.

 

Discussions over the UK's post-Brexit trading framework with the EU are
expected to begin later this year.

 

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said it was clear the government aimed to
"win a deal for financial services first and then worry about the rest of
the economy later".

 

The chancellor has argued for a post-Brexit deal to include banking.

 

On Wednesday, Philip Hammond said: "A trade deal will only happen if it is
fair and balances the interests of both sides.

 

"Given the shape of the British economy, and our trade balance with the
EU27, it is hard to see how any deal that did not include services could
look like a fair and balanced settlement."

 

EU deal 'must include financial services'

Simon Jack: Hammond ends 'negotiating with ourselves'

John McDonnell said that showed the government was favouring financial
services, such as banking and trading, over other parts of the economy.

 

Speaking to the British Chambers of Commerce's (BCC) annual conference in
London, Mr McDonnell said: "There is no other reason to raise a specific
deal for financial services, even if it is as bad and fantastical as
proposed, while just last week refusing to negotiate a new customs union
that would protect our manufacturing trade."

 

Goods v services

A spokesperson for the Chancellor said, "It's plainly ridiculous to suggest
the Chancellor has anything other than the best interests of the whole
economy at heart."

 

"As he made clear in his speech yesterday, the UK financial services hub is
an engine that powers the real economy not just in London, but across the
UK."

 

Labour has said the inclusion of financial services in a trade deal is a
"red line" for Labour, so the criticism appears to be one of emphasis.

 

Financial services are important to the UK - the sector employs more than
two million people and paid £70bn in tax last year, according to lobby group
The City UK and accountancy giant PwC.

 

But when it comes to trade with the EU, the picture is less clear cut.

 

The UK sells more financial services to the rest of the EU than it buys.
Exports were worth £27bn in 2016, according to the Office for National
Statistics.

 

So it's big, but it's not as large as goods sales to the EU. They were worth
much more, at £145bn. However, we buy more products from the EU than we sell
there.

 

Britain's exports of services to the EU have grown in recent years, whereas
sales of products have fallen.

 

At the moment, this discussion is moot.

 

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has resisted the inclusion
of banking in a post-Brexit arrangement, saying a trade deal including
financial services "does not exist".

 

The International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, told the BCC's conference the
UK should not be penalised for leaving the EU.

 

"The idea of punishing Britain to me is not the language of a club, it is
the language of a gang," he said.--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Proplastics

final dividend of 0.26c record date

 

02 Mar 2018

 


Simbisa Brands Limited

EGM

SAZ Building Northend Close, Northridge Park, Borrowdale

09 Mar 2018 8:15am

 


CFI

AGM

Farm & City Boardroom, 1st Floor, Farm & City Complex, 1 Wayne Street

 

12 Mar 2018 11am

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <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
report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent
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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