Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 31 May 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 31 May 2018

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

 

*  Offshore investor interest in South African equities at risk as
"Ramaphoria" wanes

*  South Africa's rand steady ahead of trade, PPI data

*  South Africa's Treasury backs CEO of $160 bln state pension fund

*  Kenya's inflation edges up to 3.95 pct yr/yr in May

*  Miners threaten Congo with legal action over mining code

*  Ghana gold miners say welcome new government export tests

*  Coca-Cola Co's Africa distributor to invest $100 mln in Kenya over next 5
years

*  Uganda's telecoms regulator to probe MTN on mobile money policies

*  Tunisia committed to economic reforms needed for loans -IMF

*  Gold Fields to set aside acquisitions, sees industry costs rising-CEO

*  EU has 'gun held to head' on steel tariffs

*  Brexit: Time is running out, big business warns May

*  Korean Air raided as 'nut rage' family investigated

*  US economy grows at a slower 2.2%

*  New car models drive UK production growth in April

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Offshore investor interest in South African equities at risk as "Ramaphoria"
wanes

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa needs tangible economic growth to
entice more offshore investors to invest in its bourse after a good start to
the year thanks to improved sentiment following the election on a new
president, analysts said.

 

South Africa’s economy has barely grown in the past decade with fiscal
missteps and corruption contributing to weak business and consumer
confidence.

 

Investor sentiment picked up after new President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to
clean up poor governance that critics say beset the administration of his
predecessor Jacob Zuma, who was forced by the ruling party to resign in
February.

 

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) data show that after three years of being
net sellers of equities, foreigners have so far in the year to May 25 bought
more stocks than they have sold, resulting in net purchases of 16 billion
rand ($1 billion) versus net sales of 55 billion rand the same period last
year.

 

Most of the purchases have been in the consumer services and financials
industries, the data showed.

 

But the gains are at risk of being eroded as investors await to see evidence
the economy is growing. JSE data already shows foreigners sold 1.8 billion
rand in stocks last week after offloading nearly 11 billion rand the week
before.

 

“We still haven’t seen any real results of an improving economy. So (when)
we see solid GDP numbers then we could see more international buyers
stepping in,” Nedbank Private Wealth Portfolio Manager Grant Gilbert said.

 

First-quarter GDP numbers are due for release on June 5.

 

Gilbert said contagion from political and economic crises in other emerging
markets could also impact inflows going forward.

 

“Given the Italian crisis and the strengthening of the dollar, emerging
markets will come under significant pressure and we are already seeing that
this week,” he said.

 

Italy’s political crisis and rekindled fears of a trade war between Beijing
and Washington knocked emerging stocks to a 5-1/2 month low on Wednesday.
[nL5N1T11YM]

 

Other analysts said the so-called “Ramaphoria”, in reference to improved
sentiment on Ramaphosa’s election, was not enough on its own to lure more
investors.

 

“One gets the feeling on the ground as a broker that perhaps foreign
investors aren’t as enthusiastic about South Africa,” said Cratos Capital
equities trader Greg Davies.

 

“Ramaphoria - as the media have got - seems to have waned and people are
just reading us as another emerging market which is slightly out of favour.”

 

($1 = 12.5478 rand)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

 

South Africa's rand steady ahead of trade, PPI data

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand held firm against the dollar
early on Thursday, building on its previous-session strength ahead of trade
and producer price inflation figures.

 

At 0646 the rand was trading at 12.5200 to the dollar.

 

The rand rallied on Wednesday as the greenback lost gains after
lower-than-expected U.S. GDP numbers and an ease in worries about Italy’s
political turmoil.

 

Producer Price Inflation figures for April and trade balance data are due at
0930 GMT and 1200 GMT respectively.

 

The yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was down 3.5 basis
points to 8.505 percent.

 

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange opened firmly on the front foot, with the
Top-40 index up 1 percent soon after the bell.

 

 

South Africa's Treasury backs CEO of $160 bln state pension fund

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s National Treasury on Thursday
rallied behind Dan Matjila, the chief executive of the government’s 2
trillion rand ($160 billion) state pension fund, dismissing a media report
that said it was considering his suspension.

 

“Treasury has faith in Mr Dan Matjila’s leadership,” it said in response to
emailed questions. “The Minister is satisfied with the PIC’s overall
performance.”

 

Matjila did not respond to calls for comment.

 

Matjila, at helm of the Public Investment Corporation since 2014, has come
under fire in recent weeks after one opposition party, the United Democratic
Movement, asked Treasury to suspend and investigate him for misusing funds.

 

The UDM alleges that Matjila used funds to bankroll a business of someone
close to him.

 

Business Day newspaper said the PIC board was investigating the fund’s
decision to pay 4.3 billion for a 29 percent stake in loss-making start-up
technology firm, Ayo Technology.

 

Ayo Technology, which debuted on the Johannesburg bourse in December last
year, is trading at 35 rand per share, giving a market capitalisation of
around 12 billion rand. That suggests the PIC stake is now worth roughly 3.5
billion rand.

 

($1 = 12.4882 rand)

 

 

 

Kenya's inflation edges up to 3.95 pct yr/yr in May

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s inflation rose to 3.95 percent year-on-year in
May from 3.73 percent the previous month, the statistics office said on
Thursday.

 

Month-on-month, inflation was 0.97 percent compared with 1.35 percent in
April. Inflation has remained close to the middle of the government’s target
range of 2.5-7.5 percent in recent months.

 

 

Miners threaten Congo with legal action over mining code

DAKAR (Reuters) - International mining companies operating in Democratic
Republic of Congo will resort to legal action if their concerns over a new
mining code signed into law in March are not addressed, they said in a
letter to the mines minister seen by Reuters.

 

In the letter dated May 28, the companies, including Glencore and Randgold,
wrote to Mines Minister Martin Kabweulu that they had not received a
response to 13 separate official correspondances to the government about the
code.

 

Kabwelulu could not be immediately reached for comment.

 

 

Ghana gold miners say welcome new government export tests

ACCRA (Reuters) - Gold mining giants in Ghana such as Newmont, Gold Fields
and AngloGold Ashanti welcome new government tests to certify the value of
their exports, the main industry association said on Wednesday.

 

The tests that come in addition to customs checks and internal company tests
are part of an attempt by President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government to tighten
control of the sector and tax it appropriately.

 

Ghana is Africa’s second biggest gold producer after South Africa and the
metal is the country’s top export and its leading earner of foreign
exchange.

 

The government said in February it had begun talks to revive a law mandating
the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC) to certify all exports by
mining firms.

 

Since then the Chamber of Mines has worked with the PMMC to implement the
directive, said chamber president Kwame Addo-Kufuor, who is also chief
financial officer at Newmont Ghana.

 

“This is a directive that we welcome ... We believe it will help improve
trust amongst stakeholders in the industry,” Addo-Kufuor told a meeting of
mining and power businesses in the capital.

 

“PMMC officials now have permanent access to our gold rooms during gold
pours for a first-hand view of the processes, and to take assay samples for
analysis and comparison and participate in pre-shipment sealing and
processes,” he said.

 

Ghana earned $5.78 billion from exports of the metal last year, up 17.6
percent on 2016, central bank data showed.

 

Akufo-Addo, who took office last year, has said about $5 billion worth of
revenues from gold exports to the United Arab Emirates are unaccounted for.

 

Industry watchers say the unreported shipments represent smuggled gold
produced by artisanal miners from Ghana and neighbouring countries.

 

The government has yet to lift a ban on small-scale mining as part of a
general clamp-down on illegal miners last year.

 

 

Coca-Cola Co's Africa distributor to invest $100 mln in Kenya over next 5
years

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), the continent’s
largest soft drinks bottler, said on Wednesday it would invest $100 million
in Kenya over the next five years to improve infrastructure and launch new
products.

 

The company, which sells and distributes Coca-Cola Co products in Africa,
plans to introduce 50 new products in Kenya to add to more than 130 existing
ones in the country, local Managing Director Daryl Wilson said in an
interview.

 

“As the middle class is (growing)... they are wanting more variety,” he
said, adding the new offerings would include various sugar-free and
flavoured water beverages.

 

“Kenyan tastes are growing, the need for new brands is growing,” he said.

 

This month, the company launched a 7 billion Kenyan Shilling ($69 million)
new juice line at its Nairobi plant. It operates four bottling plants in
Kenya.

 

CCBA’s distribution system includes 300 official distributors reaching
across the country of 45 million people.

 

 

The company operates in a dozen sub-Saharan African countries including
Ethiopia and South Africa.

 

Kenya is second in terms of profits to Ethiopia, Wilson said, where the
company has plans to open at least four or five factories in the next five
years.

 

While Kenya’s economy offers a conducive business environment, bad rural
roads take a toll on vehicles distributing products, Wilson said.

 

Another challenge is electricity, where inconsistent availability of power
in some of its plants has forced it to deploy generators, which are
expensive.

 

Wilson urged the government to “look at opportunities to reduce (the cost
of) electricity, because it’s a big component of ours.”

 

($1 = 101.3500 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

Uganda's telecoms regulator to probe MTN on mobile money policies

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda’s telecommunications regulator said on Wednesday
it was setting up a committee to investigate the local unit of South
Africa’s MTN Group after uproar on social media about its mobile money
policies.

 

This week dozens of MTN’s subscribers in Uganda took to Twitter to accuse it
of making it nearly impossible to cancel a mobile money transaction made in
error.

 

As in neighbouring Kenya, mobile money use has grown rapidly, fuelled by the
low penetration of banking services and the inability of many people to
access loans or other products from banks.

 

The system enables people to transfer cash and make payments on cellphones
without a bank account.

 

A spokeswoman for MTN Uganda said the company had internal policies for
money sent in error. So long as the money had not been withdrawn at the
other end, cash could be frozen after a subscriber informed them of an
erroneous transaction. Then after some checks it could be returned.

 

If the wrong recipient had already withdrawn the money, then “the customer
would be advised to negotiate with the person [wrong recipient],” said MTN
spokeswoman Justina Ntabgoba.

 

Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) executive director Godfrey Mutabazi
said he was setting up an investigation.

 

 

“MTN is in the process of renewing their license and we want these matters
to be sorted before we do that,” he told Reuters.

 

MTN Uganda’s 20-year licence, secured in 1998, expires in October.

 

According to the regulator, nearly all of Uganda’s 24 million mobile
subscribers also have a mobile money account.

 

The firm is Uganda’s biggest telecom concern, followed by India’s Bharti
Airtel.

 

The Twitter criticism was set off on Sunday by a university lecturer who
tweeted that he had made a mistake while trying to send money to a friend
for funeral expenses.

 

When he called the company and asked for the transaction to be reversed, he
was told he needed a court order to claim the money from the recipient.

 

 

 

Tunisia committed to economic reforms needed for loans -IMF

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia has expressed a firm commitment to making urgent
economic reforms needed for it to qualify for another tranche of
International Monetary Fund loans, the IMF said on Wednesday.

 

The Washington-based IMF reached a deal in 2016 to assist Tunisia with a
four-year loan programme worth about $2.8 billion, tied to economic reforms
aimed at keeping the country’s deficit under control.

 

“The discussions progressed significantly,” the IMF said in a statement
after talks with the Tunisian government about an economic reform plan.

 

“Risks to macroeconomic stability have become more pronounced. Inflation
reached 7.7 percent (year-on-year) in April, the highest level since 1991,”
it added.

 

Tunisia has dropped into a deep economic slump following the overthrow in
2011 of autocratic leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

 

Since then, nine governments have failed to cut the budget deficit. Tunisia
needs $3 billion in foreign loans this year alone.

 

The talks with the IMF came as the ruling coalition has been at loggerheads
over a new economic reforms program and the possibility of a cabinet
reshuffle.

 

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said that the president’s son had
destroyed the ruling Nidaa Tounes party and that the crisis in the party has
affected state institutions.

 

The president’s son, Hafedh Caid Essebsi, who is the leader of Nidaa Tounes,
had called for the prime minister’s dismissal because of his government’s
failure to revive the economy.

 

But the moderate Islamist party Ennahda refused to accept this change and
said the exit of the prime minister would hit stability at a time when the
country needed economic reforms.

 

 

Gold Fields to set aside acquisitions, sees industry costs rising-CEO

LIMA (Reuters) - South Africa’s Gold Fields is setting aside pursuit of new
acquisitions for a year as it focuses on its existing operations and nearby
prospects instead, the bullion producer’s chief executive told Reuters late
on Tuesday.

 

Gold Fields’ finances might be “a little bit negative” this year before
likely improving in 2019, when the company should begin to reap the rewards
from two years of heavy investing, Nick Holland said.

 

In March, Gold Fields announced it was spending $202.6 million on a
partnership with Canadian miner Asanko Gold Inc, part of a strategy of
buying cash generative, operative mines.

 

But Gold Fields plans to hold off on additional acquisitions through at
least early next year. “We don’t want to really stretch ourselves,” Holland
said in an interview at the International Gold & Silver Symposium in Lima,
Peru.

 

“The strategy of the company now is more focused on organic brownfields,
near-mine growth, in and around where we are,” Holland said.

 

Gold Fields operates producing mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia and
Peru. It recently submitted an environmental impact assessment for its
proposed Salares Norte mine in Chile, though construction would not likely
begin until 2020, Holland said.

 

The company might seek out a junior partner to help finance Salares Norte,
which is estimated to cost $850 million.

 

“That’s a big check to pay,” Holland said. “We want to build it, for
sure...we’re just trying to figure out if we should do it on our own.”

 

 

AUTONOMOUS MINING

Holland warned that costs for the global gold mining industry will likely
start rising on higher fuel prices, wages and inflation more broadly, while
ore grades continue to fall and remaining reserves become harder to reach.

 

Holland said he expects annual global gold production going forward to
plateau at current levels of around 100 million ounces.

 

“The way we’ve mined over the past 50 years is not the way we’re going to
mine in the future,” Holland said. “We are going to have to look at
autonomous mining, we are going to have to look at different ways of
extracting the ore.”

 

Gold Fields has already deployed remotely operated or semi-autonomous
equipment in Australia, Ghana and South Africa, and plans to use more going
forward, Holland said, noting deep cost savings for the iron ore industry
thanks to automation.

 

Technological advances are also helping Gold Fields extend the life of its
Cerro Corona mine in northern Peru, through 2030 or maybe longer, Holland
said.

 

“We’re looking at all of our mines in terms of life extension,” Holland
said. “Most have potential that we haven’t fully unlocked. And that’s the
more cost-effective way for us to grow.”

 

Holland added that the company’s South Deep mine in South Africa appears to
be stabilizing. “I think things are improving slowly,” Holland said.

 

South Deep, the company’s last South African asset, has faced numerous
operational obstacles in a tough geological setting 3 km (2 miles) below the
surface and made a loss of 337.6 million rand ($27 million) in 2017.

 

 

EU has 'gun held to head' on steel tariffs

EU leaders have a "gun held to their head" over the threat of US tariffs on
steel imports, the head of trade body UK Steel has warned.

 

Gareth Stace said the EU needed to impose safeguards to curb Chinese steel
once destined for the US that will now be heading to Europe.

 

The EU has already said it will respond by imposing tariffs on US products
such as motorcycles and jeans.

 

The 25% US tariffs are due to come into effect on Friday morning UK time.

 

Steel producers across the EU were granted a temporary exemption from the
tariffs while the US tried to persuade the EU to cut steel production or
make other concessions.

 

However, reports have suggested that last-minute talks in Paris had failed
with Wilbur Ross, the US Commerce Secretary, indicating that he was poised
to impose the tariffs.

 

French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said US tariffs on European metals
would be unjustified and dangerous.

 

"It's entirely up to US authorities whether they want to enter into a trade
conflict with their biggest partner, Europe," he said after meeting Mr Ross
in Paris.

 

The EU would take "all necessary measures" to respond if the US did impose
tariffs, Mr Le Maire warned.

 

Mr Stace said US tariffs would be "purely protectionist".

 

"What President Trump is proposing to do here is not free trade and it's
against WTO rules," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

 

"Since he announced that he was going to impose these blanket, arbitrary
tariffs on steel imports almost three months ago we have hoped for the best
but we've feared for the worst - and that's what we might see at midnight
tonight, US time."

 

'Over-capacity'

Mr Stace admitted that there was a problem of global over-capacity in the
steel industry, but said most of that was in China.

 

About 20 million tonnes of Chinese steel would need to "find a new home to
go to and, because we are a free and open market here in the UK/the EU,
it'll come here, we believe, and therefore further damage our sector - not
only from the direct impact of tariffs in the US but the surge of steel
coming here", he said.

 

EU leaders have said they will not negotiate with the US on trade while the
tariff issue is unresolved or, as France's President Macron has put it,
while they have a gun pointing at their head.

 

"Ultimately they do have a gun held to their head - they're being ... pushed
into a corner," said Mr Stace.

 

"What we might see is damage not only to the UK economy but to the US
economy if we don't get a further extension ... or indeed President Trump
actually sees sense and understands that there will be no winners here."

 

European trade commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, said she doubted that Europe
could avoid some kind of restriction, whether they be tariffs or export
limits.

 

During a discussion panel at an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development in Paris on Wednesday, Mr Ross said negotiations could continue,
even with tariffs in place.

 

If the tariffs go into effect, the US would levy a 25% tax on European steel
and 10% tax on the bloc's aluminium.

 

The EU is the world's second-largest steel producer after China. An
estimated 320,00 people work in the steel industry across the region.

 

How did this begin?

The Trump administration announced the tariffs in March citing the need to
protect US steel and aluminium producers for national security reasons.

 

Certain countries, including the EU, were granted exemptions, pending
discussions of trade terms.

 

The US has granted more permanent exemptions from the tariffs to some
countries, such as South Korea, in exchange for limits on the exports.

 

When the White House announced the measures, the EU threatened to retaliate
with tariffs on American imports such as orange juice, cranberries and
bourbon.

 

China has already levied new taxes on $3bn worth of US goods, including
wine, as retaliation for the steel and aluminium tariffs.--BBC

 

 

Brexit: Time is running out, big business warns May

A group of major European companies has warned the Prime Minister they may
cut investment without more clarity over the terms of Britain's EU exit.

 

Business leaders, including from BP, BMW, Nestle, and Vodafone, told Theresa
May that "time is running out".

 

In a statement after the Downing Street meeting, they said that a trade deal
with the EU must be "frictionless as with a customs union".

 

Downing Street said that the meeting had been "open and productive".

 

The industry leaders warned that "uncertainty causes less investment."

 

The group, known as the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT),
includes BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and his Nestle counterpart Paul
Bulcke.

 

Others at the meeting were the chief executives of Vodafone, Vittorio Colao,
and Royal Mail, Moya Greene.

 

Senior figures from firms including BMW, Phillips, E.On and Ferrovial also
attended the meeting with Mrs May and Brexit secretary David Davis.

 

The ERT represents Europe's 50 largest companies, with combined revenues of
2.25 trillion euros (£2tn) and millions of employees.

 

Why is the customs union so important?

Brexit: Jargon-busting guide to the key terms

Reality Check: How did HMRC get to a £20bn customs cost?

In its statement, the ERT said: "The uninterrupted flow of goods is
essential to both the EU and UK economies. This must be frictionless as with
a customs union.

 

"We need clarity and certainty, because time is running out. Uncertainty
causes less investment."

 

A Downing Street spokeswoman said that the PM told the business leaders that
work was under way on two customs models, "and underlined the importance of
ensuring that our future trading arrangements with the EU are as
frictionless as possible".

 

She restated a commitment to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland
and Ireland, and allowing the UK to pursue an independent trade policy.

 

"The PM recognised the necessity of providing certainty for businesses,
pointing to the agreement of an implementation period at the European
Council in March to provide time to allow businesses to prepare for the new
arrangements," the spokeswoman said.--BBC

 

 

Korean Air raided as 'nut rage' family investigated

South Korean prosecutors have raided Korean Air's offices over suspected tax
evasion and breach of trust by members of its founding family.

 

The investigation is the latest involving the Cho family.

 

They came under renewed scrutiny last month after the chairman's daughter,
Cho Hyun-min, allegedly threw water at an attendee of a business meeting.

 

She is the younger sister of Heather Cho, who was jailed in 2014 for a "nut
rage" incident.

 

Heather Cho had demanded a Korean Air plane return to its gate at JFK
airport in New York after losing her temper about the way she was served
nuts in a first class cabin.

 

'Nut rage' mother facing abuse claims

'Nut rage' sister apologises for outburst

South Korea's Yonhap News agency said prosecutors were looking into
accusations of tax evasion and suspicions of embezzlement.

 

A Korean Air spokesperson told the BBC that prosecutors went into the firm's
head office in Seoul but did not give a reason why.

 

The raid follows reports that police were seeking an arrest warrant for the
wife of Korean Air chairman, Cho Yang-ho. The Korean Air spokesperson
declined to comment.

 

Police had banned Lee Myung-hee from leaving South Korea as they
investigated claims she verbally and physically abused staff.

 

Tax authorities have accused the Cho family of not paying taxes on some
inheritance of overseas assets, while prosecutors are also investigating
suspicions the family may have embezzled company money, Yonhap News
reported.

 

The "nut rage" incident sparked a national debate about the Korean business
system, which is dominated by family-controlled firms known as
chaebols.--BBC

 

 

 

US economy grows at a slower 2.2%

The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.2% in the first three months of
the year, slightly more slowly than the original estimate of 2.3%.

 

The Commerce Department published the revision on Wednesday in its second
estimate of GDP.

 

It said exports, inventory investments and consumer spending were weaker
than first reported.

 

The declines exacerbated the slowdown from the fourth quarter of 2017, when
US GDP increased by 2.9%.

 

The first quarter is typically the weakest of the year and many economists
expect economic growth to accelerate in coming months, as some activity
shifts later in the year.

 

Compared with the first quarter of 2017, GDP - the measure of goods and
services produced in the US, adjusted for inflation - increased by 2.8%, the
fastest rate since 2015.

 

However, some metrics continue to lag behind expectations.

 

Wednesday's report showed inflation rose 1.6% from the first quarter of
2017. That measure of inflation - personal consumption expenditure excluding
food and energy - is the Federal Reserve's preferred indicator,

 

The Fed has said it is aiming for an inflation rate of about 2%.

 

US adds 164,000 jobs in mixed April report

Federal Reserve eyes more US interest rate rises

Wednesday's report showed consumer spending increased just 1% in the first
quarter, instead of 1.1% as originally reported. That marked the weakest
growth in almost five years.

 

Spending on homebuilding, another major economic driver, declined 2%.

 

However, business investment was higher than previously reported, driven by
a more than 10% increase in spending on intellectual property.

 

The Commerce Department also said the new US tax cut, which reduced the
corporate rate from 35% to 21%, was having an effect.

 

Taxes on corporate profits fell $117.4bn in the first quarter, while
after-tax corporate profits climbed 5.9%.--BBC

 

 

 

New car models drive UK production growth in April

The number of cars built in the UK in April rose 5.2% on the same month last
year, the industry's trade body says.

 

Some 127,950 cars rolled off production lines, driven by investment in new
models, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.

 

However, last month's increase came off the back of a double-digit fall in
production in April 2017.

 

SMMT boss Mike Hawes said the rise was not a surprise, and he again warned
about Brexit's impact on the industry.

 

In April last year the timing of the Easter bank holiday hit output. For
that reason, the SMMT chief executive said, last month's "growth isn't
altogether surprising".

 

Manufacturing for both home and overseas markets rose by 7.3% and 4.7%
respectively, with 103,662 cars built for export in April and accounting for
81.0% of production.

 

Despite April's rise, the picture so far this year is more gloomy.

 

Overall output is down 3.9%, with a total of 568,378 cars manufactured in
the first four months. Four-fifths of these were exported, as domestic
demand fell 10.3% against only a 2.2% decline in vehicles destined for
export.

 

In March, the number of cars built fell 13.3% year-on-year.

 

The SMMT has warned that the industry is increasingly concerned about the
progress of Brexit trade talks, and Mr Hawes returned to the theme on
Thursday.

 

In a statement accompanying the production figures, he said April's rise was
due to planned new model investment that "was made on the basis of the free
and frictionless trade afforded by our EU membership".

 

Future growth of the UK car industry "depends upon maintaining these
competitive conditions after Brexit", he added. "That's why it is critical
that government acts to safeguard our participation in the EU customs union
and single market."--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


FMP

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

29/05/2018 2.30pm

 


Unifreight

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

30/05/2018 10am

 


Barclays

AGM

Stewart Rooms, Meikles

30/05/2018 3pm

 


Masimba

AGM

Head Office , 44 Tilbury Road, Willowvale

31/05/2018 13.30pm

 


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
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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