Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 November 2018

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Tue Nov 6 08:16:15 CAT 2018




 

	
 


 

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 November 2018

 


 

 


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*  Zimbabwe to announce winning bidders for mining assets in two weeks

*  Equatorial Guinea's energy sector gets $2.4 bln boost: ministry source

*  Mali on track for GDP growth of 5 pct in 2018: IMF

*  South African private-sector activity shrinks at fastest rate in 4 years in Oct - PMI

*  Kenyan private sector activity rebounds in October: PMI

*  Nigeria's NNPC says Shell, ExxonMobil also looking at crude swaps

*  Kenya's Equity Bank's 9-mth pretax profit up 8 pct

*  AngloGold may sell Mali mine after failing to agree investment

*  South African rand weakens as risk sentiment dims

*  Air Tanzania to receive two Airbus jets in revival push

*  Twitter: Fake Elon Musk scam spreads after accounts hacked

*  Malta's Pilatus Bank shut down over fraud charges

*  Brexit uncertainty hits Brittany Ferries' bookings

*  Make drivers pay for fuel in advance, says police chief

*  Tencent to curb children's online gaming time

*  Heathrow Airport: ‘Urgent’ answers needed over new runway

 

 

 


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Zimbabwe to announce winning bidders for mining assets in two weeks

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will announce in two weeks the successful bidders for assets owned by state-owned mining company ZMDC, including gold mines, the mines minister said on Monday, adding more companies would be put on sale at the end of November.

 

Selling struggling state-owned companies, known locally as parastatals, is part of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s wider reforms to cut government expenditure.

 

Mines Minister Winston Chitando told a parliamentary committee that after announcing winning bidders for its six mines, the Zimbabwe Mining and Development Corporation (ZMDC) would put on sale its remaining 20 assets by the end of this month.

 

ZMDC will either sell outright, or seek joint ventures, for the mines, most of which are either operating below capacity or under care and maintenance, Chitando said.

 

London-listed Caledonia Mining Corp, which already operates Blanket mine in southern Zimbabwe, is among the bidders for the two gold mines.

 

“As government, we would like to see each and every asset owned by ZMDC getting into production,” Chitando said.

 

Gold is Zimbabwe’s single largest mineral export. Bullion output reached a record 994,726 ounces between January and October this year, compared with 952,397 ounces for the whole of 2017, Chitando said.

 

Small scale producers, who are paid in cash for their deliveries to a central bank-owned subsidiary, now account for 61 percent of total gold production in Zimbabwe, according ministry of mines data.

 

Big gold miners, however, say their operations are being hampered by U.S. dollar shortages, which last month forced RioZim to temporarily shut its mines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Equatorial Guinea's energy sector gets $2.4 bln boost: ministry source

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea’s energy industry has secured $2.4 billion of new investment from U.S. firms with 11 wells expected to be drilled from next year, an oil ministry source with direct knowledge told Reuters on Monday.

 

In September, oil minister Gabriel Obiang Lima warned that the government might refuse extensions of existing licences to oil companies unless they collectively invested a minimum of $2 billion in the country.

 

“We have secured $2.4 billion worth of investment that will go into drilling, into the backfill project and increasing production which has been declining,” the source said following three weeks of talks in Frankfurt, Houston and Dallas.

 

Companies expected to invest include ExxonMobil, Kosmos Energy, Marathon Oil Corp and Noble Energy.

 

OPEC member Equatorial Guinea is Sub-Saharan Africa’s third-largest oil producer and relies mainly on oil and gas exports to power its economy.

 

Future production is based on pooling supply from stranded gas fields in Equatorial Guinea and the wider region, raising the prospect of boosting LNG output and state energy revenue.

 

“You are going to see between $300 to $400 million capital investment between Noble, Atlas Petroleum, Marathon and Glencore and all the partners in Block O and I for this backfill project… so you are going to be guaranteed LNG to 2030/35,” the oil ministry source said.

 

Negotiations were also continuing with potential LNG off-takers as Shell’s exclusive arrangement draws to a close in 2020, which Reuters exclusively reported in May.

 

“There are no negotiations with Shell because the test the government had for Shell was whether they would invest and they have declined and shown no interest to invest. You might even see an American company getting the new off-take agreement because they are investing and taking risks,” the source said.

 

Equatorial Guinea will officially launch a new oil and gas exploration round in April, not January as previously announced, the source said, and expects to announce the results later in 2019.

 

 

 

Mali on track for GDP growth of 5 pct in 2018: IMF

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali’s economy is forecast to grow by 5 percent this year, down from 5.3 percent in 2017, the International Monetary Fund said.

 

The country, a gold producer, expects agricultural production of grain and cotton to lead economic growth. The IMF forecast inflation at 1.9 percent.

 

 

 

South African private-sector activity shrinks at fastest rate in 4 years in Oct - PMI

(Reuters) - South African private sector activity shrank at the fastest rate in over four years in October as sharp declines in output, new orders and export demand saw firms cut back purchasing amid a recession, a survey showed on Monday.

 

The Standard Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by IHS Markit, fell to 46.9 in October from 48.0 in September, its lowest reading since July 2014, with the survey data showing businesses were hit by weak demand across the sector.

 

Participants in the survey cited the economic downturn as a key factor, while new export orders were impacted by the volatile currency. Firms also raised prices at the fastest rate in over two years, the survey found.

 

Africa’s most industrialised economy fell into recession in the second quarter, while the weak outlook for the rest of 2018 was underlined by a bleak midterm budget and a warning last week by S&P Global Ratings about worsening fiscal conditions.[nL8N1XA1MF]

 

The PMI recorded its fourth consecutive month below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

 

IHS Markit’s economist David Owen said the steep reduction in purchasing activity raised the risk of a contraction in gross domestic product in the second half of 2018. He said the slight increase in confidence was negligible compared with previous years.

 

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s turnaround plan to reprioritise 50 billion rand in expenditure to high impact projects and lure $100 billion in foreign investment has so far received mixed reactions from investors, and is yet to make a solid impact on consumer and business confidence.[nL8N1W71RC][nL8N1X61GL]

 

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

 

 

 

Kenyan private sector activity rebounds in October: PMI

(Reuters) - Growth in the Kenyan private sector rebounded in October, after cost pressures held it back the previous month, a survey showed on Monday.

 

The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index(PMI) for manufacturing and services rose to 54.0 from 52.7 the previous month. A reading above 50.0 denotes growth.

 

“The onset of the short rain season, which so far seems quite positive for the agrarian sector, could help GDP growth recover in the fourth quarter of 2018,” said Jibran Qureishi, the economist for East Africa at Stanbic Bank.

 

Sentiment had turned decidedly negative in September after the government imposed a new tax on fuel, but it reduced the proposed rate by half after a public outcry.

 

“Following September’s 10-month low, the latest figure suggested a return to the buoyant health seen earlier in the year,” Markit said.

 

The survey found that firms had registered increased new business during the month, driven by higher export orders.

 

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

 

 

 

Nigeria's NNPC says Shell, ExxonMobil also looking at crude swaps

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Nigeria’s state oil firm NNPC could sign crude-for-product deals with Shell and ExxonMobil, similar to one signed with BP last week, a senior NNPC official said on Monday.

 

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced last Wednesday that it had signed such a deal with BP and would provide more details later.

 

“Unfortunately, Shell and ExxonMobil exited the downstream sector in Nigeria a couple of years ago but they are coming back for this particular arrangement, because it’s an opportunity for them to get crude and sell their products to the refineries,” NNPC’s chief operating officer for upstream, Bello Rabiu, told Reuters on the sidelines of an African oil and gas conference in Cape Town.

 

NNPC imports about 70 percent of Nigeria’s fuel needs, mainly gasoline, via swap contracts. NNPC has contracts, known as direct sale direct purchase agreements, with 10 consortiums that include trading houses Vitol, Trafigura, Mercuria and Total.

 

It extended the existing contracts to June 2019 but several trading sources in the consortiums said they had requested new price terms.

 

Rabiu said NNPC hoped in 2019 to emulate savings of around $1 billion seen in 2016 with its crude-for-product swaps, which he said would likely end once Africa’s top crude producer revamps its refineries.

 

“If our refineries are back, which we want in the next 18 months, this thing will stop. So, all these things are just stop-gap measures, but the key issue is that we wanted to import at the least cost before our refineries come back onstream,” he said.

 

NNPC is in the final stages of talks with consortiums including top traders, energy majors and oil services companies to revamp its long-neglected oil refineries in an effort to reduce its reliance on imported fuel.

 

“It is on track and I believe if we don’t sign a final deal (on the project to upgrade refineries) this month of November we will surely sign in December,” Rabiu said.

 

 

 

Kenya's Equity Bank's 9-mth pretax profit up 8 pct

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s Equity Bank reported an 8 percent rise in 9-month pretax profit on Monday driven by higher interest income.

 

The profit rose to 22.4 billion shillings ($221 million) from 20.7 billion a year earlier, while interest income rose 9 percent to 38.5 billion shillings, CEO James Mwangi told an investor briefing.

 

The lender also operates in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

Mwangi said the bank had maintained an “agile and liquid” balance sheet which it had used to “take advantage of emerging opportunities at lower operational costs”.

 

He said interest rate capping continues to hinder credit flows and frustrate the private sector.

 

Kenya started capping commercial banks’ lending rates in September 2016, with authorities saying they wanted to help small traders access capital at affordable rates.

 

But the move has had the opposite effect, with banks saying they cannot properly price risk to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) while the cap is in place.

 

($1 = 101.3500 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

AngloGold may sell Mali mine after failing to agree investment

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti Ltd and its joint venture partner are looking at selling a mine in Mali after failing to reach an agreement with the west African country about an investment project, the company said on Monday.

 

The news came as AngloGold, Africa’s biggest gold miner by output, said it expected full-year production to reach the upper end of its guidance range, helping to push its shares as much as 9 percent higher.

 

Mali, Africa’s third biggest producer of gold after South Africa and Ghana, has struggled to attract investment since Islamist militants seized the desert north in 2012.

 

AngloGold said it had started the process of selling the Sadiola mine, a joint venture with IAMGOLD, after failing to agree the terms of an investment project with the Malian government.

 

The South African company and IAMGOLD had been in talks with Mali about a project to add sulphide-ore processing capability to a plant.

 

“While this agreement has not yet been reached, AngloGold Ashanti and IAMGOLD, who collectively own an 82 percent interest in Sadiola, have initiated a process to identify third parties that may be interested in acquiring their collective interests in Sadiola,” AngloGold said.

 

The company reported a 15 percent fall in production to 851,000 ounces in the quarter ended Sept. 30 from the same period a year earlier, after it sold some South African assets.

 

Output from retained operations was broadly flat at 851,000 ounces, as a rise from its Mponeng mine in South Africa and a fully-ramped up Kibali mine in Democratic Republic of Congo offset falls at Siguiri in Guinea and AGA Mineração in Brazil.

 

AngloGold said it expected full-year production to reach the upper end of its guidance of 3,325,000 to 3,450,000 ounces.

 

All-in sustaining costs for the retained South African operations fell 11 percent to $920 per ounce, while net debt was down 15 percent to $1.75 billion.

 

 

“The net debt was lower, they managed to bring down all-in costs so generally I think it is looking quite positive,” said Vasili Girasis, market trader at BP Bernstein.

 

AngloGold shares were up 6.7 percent to 150.42 rand at 1015 GMT.

 

 

 

South African rand weakens as risk sentiment dims

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand traded weaker against a softer dollar early on Monday, giving up its recent gains following fears of faster rate hikes in the United States.

 

 

 

Air Tanzania to receive two Airbus jets in revival push

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania’s state-owned airline will take delivery of two Airbus 220-300 jets next month, the government said on Monday, continuing expansion to support tourism.

 

President John Magufuli prioritised investment in Air Tanzania when he took office in 2015, aiming to revive the loss-making carrier because of the potential to boost the vital tourism sector, a top foreign exchange earner.

 

The airline will take delivery of two Airbus 220-300 planes in December, each with capacity to carry more than 130 passengers, government spokesman Hassan Abbas told a news conference.

 

He did not say how much the aircraft will cost.

 

Air Tanzania has received four planes since 2016, including a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and Abbas said that monthly passenger numbers had increased to 30,000 from 4,000 before the fleet expansion.

 

A second Dreamliner is due to be delivered in October next year, he added.

 

The airline had only one plane before Magufuli embarked on the investment drive in 2016.

 

 

 

Twitter: Fake Elon Musk scam spreads after accounts hacked

Several popular verified Twitter accounts have been hacked by scammers to promote an ad using Tesla boss Elon Musk's name and likeness.

 

British fashion retailer Matalan, film distributor Pathe UK and US publisher Pantheon Books were among those whose accounts were taken over by scam artists.

 

The scam used promoted tweets - where Twitter is paid by advertisers to make a tweet appear to a wider audience.

 

The tweets have since been deleted with many accounts recovered, though some were left blank while waiting for their owners to re-enter their name and profile picture.

 

The Matalan page looked empty after the hackers' posts were deleted - though retweeted posts from Musk's SpaceX company remained

Scammers targeted several "verified" accounts (denoted with a blue tick) and changed the name and image to that of Mr Musk.

 

The tweet then urged users to part with a small amount of Bitcoin - a digital currency - to supposedly receive more.

 

Several other verified accounts, which were also taken under the scam artists' control, appear in the tweet's comments to claim that they have received Bitcoin from Mr Musk.

 

A Twitter spokesperson told the BBC it "doesn't comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons".

 

This is how the scam appeared in Twitter feeds before it was removed - the scam details have been blurred

Verified

By using accounts with Twitter's own verification mark (a blue tick), it makes the account appear legitimate at first glance and thus may fool the reader into thinking it is official.

 

But many of the posts still bear the hallmarks of classic scams - including frequent spelling errors (see "Bitcoic" and "suppoot" in the above tweet) and a request for money.

 

The account handle itself is also incorrect - a legitimate tweet from Elon Musk would read @elonmusk beside the blue tick. In this case, it reads @patheuk - as the account originally belonged to film distributor Pathe UK.

 

Clicking on any of the links in the scam sends users to a page where they are urged to send anywhere from 0.1-one Bitcoin (£491-£4,491) to the scammers - with the promise that they would receive one-10 Bitcoin as a reward.

 

Victims do not receive any Bitcoin after sending money to the scam artists.

 

The scam is made to seem more trustworthy as various other compromised accounts reply to the tweet claiming that it works.

 

For example, the above tweet would appear to have been praised by verified accounts like boxer Rayton Okwiri, blogger Sarah Scoop, and Swansea City AFC Ladies.

 

The blue tick of verification makes the accounts seem legitimate, even though they are under the scammers' control

Promotion

The scam tweet has been posted by several verified accounts on Twitter.

 

British fashion retailer Matalan, film distributor Pathe UK and US publisher Pantheon Books were among those whose accounts were reset after the hack.

 

Pathe UK have since issued a statement to confirm that their account was "hacked by an unknown third party".

 

An early form of the scam was first spotted in March when accounts appeared simply using Mr Musk's name and likeness to ask for Bitcoin.

 

It became so frequent on the social network that the Tesla chief was briefly blocked from his own Twitter account after he parodied the scam by sending a tweet asking: "Wanna buy some Bitcoin?".

 

Now the scam has become more nuanced as it uses Twitter's own verification to make it more convincing.

 

A Twitter spokesperson told the BBC that the company has "substantially improved how we tackle crypto-currency scams on the platform".

 

"In recent weeks, user impressions have fallen by a multiple of 10 as we continue to invest in more proactive tools to detect spammy and malicious activity."--BBC

 

 

 

Malta's Pilatus Bank shut down over fraud charges

The European Central Bank has revoked the licence of Malta's Pilatus Bank after its chairman was arrested in the US on money-laundering charges.

 

Malta's Financial Services Authority announced the move, saying it had called on the ECB to take action.

 

Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed by a car-bomb a year ago, accused the bank of processing corrupt payments.

 

The EU has been investigating the bank ever since her murder.

 

However, it was not until March that the Maltese authorities froze the bank's assets, following the arrest of its chairman, Ali Sadr Hashemi Nejad.

 

According to an indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan, he is accused of involvement in a scheme to evade US economic sanctions against Iran.

 

The Maltese FSA recommended withdrawing the bank's licence in June, but the process took longer than expected because of legal obstacles, the ECB has said.

 

Caruana Galizia reported on Malta for the Panama Papers investigation into offshore accounts which conceal secret payments to politicians and other powerful figures.

 

She accused Pilatus Bank of various crimes, including dubious payments to senior Maltese and Azerbaijani figures.

 

Three men suspected of killing her - brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio and their friend Vince Muscat - were arrested during a police operation in December 2017.

 

They were charged with murder and pleaded not guilty at a court hearing. They remain in custody.--BBC

 

 

 

Brexit uncertainty hits Brittany Ferries' bookings

UK holidaymakers are delaying booking Channel crossings for next summer amid concerns about the consequences of Brexit, Brittany Ferries has said.

 

Forward bookings were down between 4% and 5% from some of its regular customers, the company said.

 

Nigel Wonnacott from Brittany Ferries said people were worried about the impact on areas such as pet travel, health insurance and driving licences.

 

The decline was "raising the red flag", he told BBC 5 live's Wake Up to Money.

 

Falls in forward bookings was affecting Brittany Ferries' cashflow, Mr Wonnacott said, and raised concerns about whether it would be able to fill its 10 ferries.

 

It will take delivery next year of a new vessel for the Portsmouth to Caen route, which accounts for about 30% of its traffic, that has capacity for up to 1,700 passengers.

 

Christophe Mathieu, the company's chief executive, said: "Two more ships will follow as part of our €450m investment in the future. But we need to make sure we have passengers and freight to fill these new ships."

 

"We know that uncertainty and instability in the UK will have consequences on both sides of the channel," he said. "A poor [Brexit] deal, or perhaps no deal at all, could impact Brittany, Normandy and the Loire."

 

Research from Abta, the trade body for tour operators and travel agents, found that 43% of people are confused about how Brexit will affect travel arrangements, up from 36% last year, while almost half (48%) fear it will make it harder to travel to the continent.

 

"As we head towards the peak holiday booking period, there is still a lack of certainty about what will happen when we leave the EU ... we encourage both sides to take a pragmatic approach to getting a deal done," an Abta spokesperson said.

 

Despite the concerns about Brexit, package holiday bookings for European destinations next summer were 14% higher than at the same point last year, the association added.

 

A spokesperson for Eurotunnel, which operates Le Shuttle services between Folkestone and Calais, said "bookings are strong going forward".

 

Some holidaymakers have told the BBC that concerns over Brexit are affecting their plans.

 

Graeme Murphy said: "We normally have the following year's travel and accommodation booked by now as we are independent travellers, but are waiting to see what visas, travel permits etc we will need as we are afraid that we may not have the necessary documentation in time to travel. Seems that our annual holiday to Lindos, Rhodes is not going to happen in 2019."

 

Mervyn Hill said: "We're not booking a holiday until the situation becomes absolutely clear... we need specific insurance cover for existing health issues, but we suspect the risk of a no-deal Brexit will have a significant detrimental effect on insurance premiums."

 

Brittany Ferries was founded by Breton farmers in 1972. It operates services between the UK and Ireland to France and Spain, with Britons visiting France and northern Spain accounting for 85% of passengers.

 

The company reported a 2% rise in passengers to almost 1.1 million for the three months to September compared with the same period last summer.--BBC

 

 

 

Make drivers pay for fuel in advance, says police chief

Service stations should make drivers pay for fuel in advance to prevent theft, a top police officer says.

 

Petrol firms had made it too easy to drive off without paying because they wanted to entice motorists into their shops, said Simon Cole of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC).

 

But the Petrol Retailers' Association said switching to payment at the pump would be "prohibitively expensive".

 

About 25,000 people every year "bilk" the system by avoiding payment.

 

Mr Cole, who is chief constable for Leicestershire, said 12% of crimes faced by his force were retail-related.

 

"The petroleum industry could design out bilking in 30 seconds by making people pay up front, which is what they do in other countries," he said, in an interview with the Telegraph newspaper.

 

"They don't, because the walk in their shops is part of their business offer."

 

However, Gordon Balmer, commercial manager of the Petrol Retailers' Association, said it was "not quite as simple" as Mr Cole seemed to think it was.

 

Asda suspends £99 petrol station scheme

Motorway petrol prices 'exploitative'

Fuel price calculator: How much do you pay?

Mr Balmer said it would cost at least £20,000 to retrofit petrol pumps at an average filling station to take card payments, while some estimates put the cost much higher.

 

He added that 50% of the average forecourt's profits now came from non-fuel sales, especially in rural communities, which had lost amenities such as banks and post offices.

 

"Many of those services have migrated into the store of a petrol station," he said.

 

Mr Balmer said that although many people had the impression that petrol stations were run by big oil companies, 70% of the UK's filling stations were actually independently owned.

 

'Refocus'

In the US, virtually all filling stations require customers to pay for fuel at the pump by inserting a credit or debit card.

 

However, this system has been blamed for lower profits, as fewer people bother to visit the convenience stores that are usually found on the forecourts.

 

Mr Cole's call comes as concerns grow that UK police forces are too stretched to be able to deal effectively with the most serious crimes.

 

Last week, the head of the NPCC, Sara Thornton, said there needed to be a "refocus on core policing", such as burglary and violence, because there were "too many desirable and deserving issues" that officers simply could not respond to.--BBC

 

 

 

 

Tencent to curb children's online gaming time

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings is tightening checks on the age of people playing online games, as China tries to tackle gaming addition.

 

Earlier this year, Tencent introduced a registration system for its hugely popular game Honour of Kings.

 

The system, which checks players' identities and ages against a police database, will apply to all Tencent games by 2019, media reports said.

 

It will mean children under 12 will only be able to play for an hour a day.

 

Older children can play for up to two hours, but not during a night time curfew.

 

'Poison': China's most vilified online game

Gaming becomes the latest addiction

Real-name registration

China is the world's largest gaming market, but the authorities are increasingly concerned about addiction and the impact gaming is having on children's eyesight.

 

Under pressure from local regulators, Tencent introduced restrictions in July 2017 to limit the amount of time children spend playing Honour of Kings.

 

Earlier this year, the company added a real-name registration system to encourage players to keep to the rules and carried out trials of facial-recognition software.

 

Tencent, which also operates the Chinese social network WeChat, posted its first profit decline since 2005 this summer.

 

The drop was blamed on tighter regulation, specifically around the approval of licences that allow companies to make money from new mobile games.--BBC

 

 

 

Heathrow Airport: ‘Urgent’ answers needed over new runway

The UK's aviation regulator says concerns over the cost and schedule of a new Heathrow Airport runway must be answered "urgently and decisively".

 

In a letter to the Department for Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority says it has concerns over Heathrow Airport Limited's "information flow".

 

Airlines have tried and failed to get answers to their concerns, CAA chief executive Richard Moriarty writes.

 

Answers are needed to retain confidence in the third runway project, he says.

 

Plans to build more airport capacity in the south east of England have been beset by rows, delays, protests and competing plans.

 

But in June the Cabinet finally approved a new runway plan for Heathrow, a move described by ministers as a "historic moment" for the UK.

 

Lack of information

The Department for Transport (DfT) asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to monitor "how well Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) is engaging" with interested parties over the £14bn-plus expansion.

 

In his interim update to the DfT, Mr Moriarty acknowledges the complexity of the project, but says there are two important areas of concern - "high quality information" about costs and a revised timetable.

 

Airlines, worried about increased charges to use Britain's biggest airport, have been complaining for at least 18 months about a lack of information, he says.

 

"These concerns have not yet been adequately addressed despite repeated requests from the airline community and the CAA," the letter says.

 

Specifically, Mr Moriarty wants more information about how HAL can keep a promise to hold airport charges close to current levels while ensuring a third runway is commercially viable.

 

He points out that unless more details are disclosed, the CAA has legal powers to force the airport's owners to reveal information.

 

'Outrageous'

But Heathrow insisted everything was on track for the runway to be in use in 2026.

 

A spokesperson said: "We continue to engage with all of our stakeholders on our expansion plans and look forward to presenting a detailed preferred masterplan for further public consultation next year.

 

"We remain on track to submit a planning application in 2020 and for the new runway to open in 2026."

 

Airlines said it was only right that the CAA press Heathrow for detailed clarity about the massive infrastructure project.

 

IAG, parent company of the airport's biggest airline, British Airways, said in a statement: "Heathrow is the most expensive hub airport in the world. It's outrageous that it has yet to provide a detailed breakdown of the £14bn expansion costs.

 

"The CAA is right to demand this as the regulator needs to ensure that passenger charges don't rise from current levels and the UK benefits from cost effective infrastructure so that it can compete on a global scale post Brexit."--BBC

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


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