Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 30 October 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 30 October 2018

 


 

 


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*  Zimbabwe's 2018 budget deficit seen at 11.1 percent of GDP

*  Zimbabwe lithium miner sees first production in Q2 next year

*  South Africa's Nedbank becomes latest firm to drop KPMG

*  South Africa's MTN Q3 subscribers rise on upbeat Nigeria market

*  Off-grid firm BBOXX targets two new African markets with EDF-CEO

*  UAE's RAK Gas signs production sharing agreement with Zanzibar

*  Carmakers pledge to invest over $3 billion in South Africa

*  Nigeria aiming to resolve MTN dispute and soothe investor fears -
minister

*  Budget 2018: Austerity finally coming to an end, says Hammond

*  US shares drop on renewed tariff threat against China

*  US targets Chinese firm over national security fears

*  Istanbul opens mega-airport set to be world's busiest

*  Plastic waste elimination pledge by 2025 attracts more big firms

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

                                      

Zimbabwe's 2018 budget deficit seen at 11.1 percent of GDP

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s budget deficit will more than double to 11.1
percent of gross domestic product this year from an initial forecast of 5
percent due to runaway government spending, a senior treasury official said
on Monday.

 

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government cranked up spending by increasing
public sector salaries and purchasing farming inputs for rural farmers ahead
of a disputed July 31 presidential election.

 

The southern African nation is facing an acute shortage of dollars that has
stifled imports and sent prices soaring.

 

George Guvamatanga, the top civil servant at the finance ministry said the
government planned to reduce spending by, among other measures, cutting its
wage bill by $330 million between 2019 and 2020.

 

“A double digit budget deficit Mr Chairman is not sustainable,” Guvamatanga
told a parliamentary committee.

 

Guvamatanga said government revenues were set to rise to $5.7 billion this
year compared with an initial projection of $5 billion. The figure would
rise to $6.4 billion next year, Guvamatanga said, adding this showed the
economy was performing.

 

Zimbabwe’s statistics agency this month rebased some of its economic
statistics, in an unexpected move that increased the nominal size of the
struggling economy by more than 40 percent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Zimbabwe lithium miner sees first production in Q2 next year

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe Lithium Company (ZLC) expects to complete a
pilot plant and start production of lithium concentrates in the second
quarter of 2019 after a legal dispute delayed work on the project, its chief
executive said on Monday.

 

John McTaggart said ZLC was in discussion with several finance groups and
was confident of securing funding for the plant, which it expects to produce
its first concentrates of 4,000 tonnes per month in the second quarter of
next year.

 

The southern African nation is pushing the metal as a major draw for
investors as it looks to attract capital to its mining sector following the
ousting last year of former president Robert Mugabe after almost four
decades in power.

 

Zimbabwe is a top 10 lithium producer but output is currently a fraction of
the worldwide total. Demand for the metal, a component in the batteries used
to power electric cars, is forecast to rise in years to come.

 

ZLC, in which Canadian-listed miner Chimata Gold Corp has a 19 percent
shareholding, is in a joint venture with Zimbabwe’s state mining firm to
extract lithium from a tailings dump in Kamativi, 580 kilometres west of
Harare.

 

McTaggart said the legal dispute over rights to the dump had delayed the
project but had now been resolved.

 

“The company is confident this is an exceptional project,” McTaggart said in
an emailed response to Reuters questions.

 

Mining companies say Zimbabwe’s political risk profile is still high, making
it hard to access funding for big projects, while those operating in the
country have faced delays in importing equipment and consumables due to
acute dollar shortages.

 

Privately-owned Bikita Minerals is the country’s sole producer while three
miners, including Australian-listed Prospect Resources, are working towards
production.

 

ZLC initially planned to start production at its pilot plant in the last
quarter of this year.

 

 

South Africa's Nedbank becomes latest firm to drop KPMG

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African lender Nedbank said on Monday it
would appoint Ernst & Young as joint external auditors in May 2019, becoming
the latest firm to drop the scandal-hit KPMG’s local unit.

 

The auditor’s South African unit has been under close scrutiny since 2017
over work done for a company owned by the Gupta brothers - who have been
accused of using their links to former president Jacob Zuma to influence
government decisions and the awarding of tenders - and more recently for
small lender VBS Mutual Bank. The Guptas and Zuma have denied any
wrongdoing.

 

KPMG sacked its South African leadership in September last year after it
found work done for the firm owned by the Guptas “fell considerably short”
of its standards.

 

KPMG said in a statement that Nedbank’s decision was part of efforts to
introduce mandatory audit firm rotation.

 

“It is always disappointing to lose a client but we remain very proud of the
work that we have performed for Nedbank over many years,” the firm’s
executive chairman Wiseman Nkhulu said.

 

More than 10 clients across various sectors have severed ties with KPMG
since last year, including South Africa’s auditor general, Barclays Africa
and miner Sibanye Stillwater.

 

In June, KPMG said it would lay off 400 staff and close small regional
offices in response to losing the clients.

 

A central bank investigation published this month said South Africa should
seek damages from global auditor KPMG for the role it played in a corruption
scandal that saw at least 1.9 billion rand($131 million) stolen from local
bank VBS.

 

($1 = 14.5098 rand)

 

 

South Africa's MTN Q3 subscribers rise on upbeat Nigeria market

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - MTN Group, Africa’s biggest mobile operator,
reported a 1.1 percent rise in quarterly user base on Monday, helped partly
by strong performances in Nigeria, its largest but increasingly problematic
market.

 

The company said its user base increased by 2.5 million subscribers to 225.4
million users in the quarter ended September, and mobile money customers
grew by 1.7 million to 25.8 million users.

 

Mobile money customers charge their phones with cash, and send it to friends
or family via the short message service. These counterparties can then make
similar transfers or cash in their credits with pre-approved agents, such as
merchants or banks.

 

MTN is embroiled in a $10.1 billion dispute with the west African country of
Nigeria, which has accused the company of illegally sending money abroad.

 

The telecom firm, which makes about a third of its annual core profit in
Nigeria, said the allegations are without merit.

 

Nigeria’s central bank on Aug. 29 ordered the South African firm and its
lenders to bring $8.1 billion back into Nigeria that it alleges the company
sent abroad in breach of foreign exchange regulations. MTN also faces a $2
billion tax demand from the country’s attorney general.

 

“We continue to engage with relevant authorities on these matters. We remain
resolute that MTN Nigeria has not committed any offences and will continue
to defend this position vigorously,” MTN said while posting the quarterly
results.

 

 

 

Off-grid firm BBOXX targets two new African markets with EDF-CEO

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - UK-based off-grid power company BBOXX is looking to
enter two new African markets in partnership with France’s EDF Group next
year as it capitalises on growing interest in the sector from large energy
companies, its chief executive said on Monday.

 

The two companies announced last week that the French power utility had
taken a 50 percent stake in BBOXX’s operation in Togo, where it won a tender
to bring electricity to 300,000 households without access to the national
grid.

 

“We are actively looking to enter two more countries with EDF under the same
sort of agreement during the course of 2019,” Mansoor Hamayun told Reuters
in an interview. “Togo is the starting point.”

 

He would not name the countries - both of them new markets for BBOXX - but
said one was located in West Africa and the other in Southern Africa.

 

Big European power utilities are increasingly exploring off-grid technology
as a way of expanding their renewables footprint and growing their customer
bases beyond stagnating home markets.

 

Some 1.2 billion people around the world have no access to a power grid,
according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Lighting and phone
charging alone costs them about $27 billion a year.

 

“None of the existing business models and none of the existing technologies
are able to reach the over 1 billion people who don’t have electricity,”
said Hamayun. “That makes off-grid an important priority of organisations
like EDF.”

 

NEXT FRONTIER

EDF’s French rival Engie, oil major Total and power companies Enel of Italy
and Germany’s E.ON have all invested in the sector.

 

“Historically the problem to scale for the entire sector has been capital.
We have way more customer availability than we have capital to go and fund
them,” he said.

 

Founded in 2010, BBOXX has sold 150,000 of its solar home systems, which
allow customers without access to a reliable grid to power lights and small
appliances. It wants to provide electricity to 20 million people by 2020.

 

The need to provide consumer financing for relatively expensive kits,
however, means expansion by companies offering similar solutions requires
significant capital.

 

An influx of money from deep-pocketed corporations will likely make that
less of an issue, Hamayun said, allowing off-grid companies to scale up
their operations in new markets much more quickly.

 

After their initial development in East Africa, that corporate backing has
already helped fuel a rapid push by off-grid startups into West Africa.

 

Hamayun said BBOXX, which made an initial investment in Pakistan last year,
is already looking beyond the West African boom.

 

“I think the next big frontier ... is going to become Asia quite soon,” he
said. “We’re talking hundreds of millions of people who still don’t have
electricity.”

 

 

 

UAE's RAK Gas signs production sharing agreement with Zanzibar

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates’ RAK Gas has signed an oil and
gas production and sharing agreement with Tanzania’s semi-autonomous region
of Zanzibar.

 

A statement issued by the government of Ras Al Khaimah, the owner of RAK
Gas, on Monday said the agreement had been signed by RAK Gas’ Zanzibar
subsidiary and the Zanzibar government.

 

Ras Al Khaimah is one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE.

 

 

 

Carmakers pledge to invest over $3 billion in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s association of carmakers said on
Friday that its members would invest more than 40 billion rand ($3 billion)
in the country over the next five years.

 

The announcement by the association, whose members include Nissan,
Volkswagen and Isuzu, was made at an investment conference.

 

($1 = 14.6385 rand)

 

 

 

Nigeria aiming to resolve MTN dispute and soothe investor fears - minister

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria is confident of resolving a $10.1 billion dispute
with telecoms firm MTN and sending a positive signal to foreign investors
worried about the country’s demand for the money, its trade and investment
minister told Reuters.

 

Nigeria’s central bank on Aug. 29 ordered the South African firm and its
lenders to bring $8.1 billion back into Nigeria that it alleges the company
sent abroad in breach of foreign exchange regulations. MTN also faces a $2
billion tax demand from the country’s attorney general.

 

MTN denies any wrongdoing.

 

Okechukwu Enelamah, a former private equity executive, said the government
was talking to all parties involved and aiming to resolve the disputes soon
to boost investor confidence.

 

“We have had discussions in government and we have engaged MTN. I’m sure
that the issue would be resolved,” he said in an interview in the capital
Abuja.

 

“We want to deal with it ... in a way that would be responsive to
investors.”

 

Enelamah said investors had welcomed the government’s feedback on the
disputes after officials met fund managers on the sidelines of the United
Nations summit in New York last month. He declined to give details.

 

The case involving the central bank is due to be heard in a Lagos court on
Oct. 30, while a hearing on the tax bill is scheduled at the same court on
Nov. 8.

 

MTN’s latest troubles come about two years after it agreed to pay more than
$1 billion to settle a dispute over SIM cards in Nigeria, which has one of
Africa’s largest economies but has struggled with weak growth and volatile
global oil prices.

 

MTN, Africa’s biggest telecoms firm, makes about a third of its annual core
profit in Nigeria.

 

Enelamah ran private equity firm African Capital Alliance (ACA) prior to his
government role. While he was at ACA, the firm held investments in MTN.

 

Central bank officials this month held talks with MTN and its lenders to
discuss the repatriation demand. The bank has said it is looking to resolve
the case and has requested information from MTN, which Enelamah said had
been provided.

 

Enelamah said Nigeria attracted between $6 billion and $7 billion from
foreign investors last year, up from less than $3 billion in 2016. He added
the country was on track to ratify agreements to join the African free trade
area this year.

 

 

 

Budget 2018: Austerity finally coming to an end, says Hammond

Philip Hammond has said the "era of austerity is finally coming to an end",
in his last Budget before Brexit.

 

He spent a windfall from better public finances on more money for universal
credit and bringing forward planned income tax cuts by a year.

 

The personal allowance will rise to £12,500 and the higher rate threshold to
£50,000 in April 2019, worth £130 a year for a typical base rate taxpayer.

 

Jeremy Corbyn said whatever Mr Hammond had claimed, "austerity is not over".

 

In a speech lasting more than 70 minutes, Mr Hammond said "we have reached a
defining moment on this long, hard journey" after repairing the damage to
the public finances.

 

He described it as a Budget for "the strivers, the grafters and the carers,"
promising them a "brighter future" after years of constraint.

 

He announced a slight increase in growth forecasts, from 1.3% to 1.6% for
2019, and better-than-expected borrowing figures.

 

What were the main announcements?

*         A freeze on beer, cider and spirits duty, saving 2p on a pint of
beer, 1p on a pint of cider, and 30p on a bottle of Scotch or gin

*         A packet of 20 cigarettes goes up by 33p

*         Wine duty will not be frozen and a bottle will go up by 8p from 1
February next year

*         Another freeze in fuel duty

*         An end to the the use of Private Finance Initiative schemes for
future infrastructure projects

*         A £30bn package for England's roads, including repairs to
motorways and potholes

*         £900m in business rates relief for small businesses and £650m to
rejuvenate high streets

*         Stamp Duty abolished for all first-time buyers of shared ownership
properties valued up to £500,000, applied retrospectively to the date of the
last Budget

*         An extra £500m for no-deal Brexit preparations

*         A tax on plastic packaging which does not contain enough recycled
materials - but no disposable plastic cup tax

*         An extra £1bn for the Ministry of Defence to boost cyber
capabilities and anti-submarine warfare capacity

*         A further £650m of grant funding for English local authorities
struggling to cope with rising care bills, for 2019/20

*         New mandatory business rates relief for all public lavatories made
available for public use, whether publicly or privately owned

*         Mr Hammond also announced a planned new tax - subject to
consultation - on the profits generated in the UK by global online "giants",
such as Facebook, which he said would come into effect in April 2020 and
raise £400m a year.

 

Tech giants face digital services tax

The chancellor announced an extra £2bn for mental health services in
England, as part of the £20bn boost to the NHS announced by the government
in June.

 

He also unveiled an additional £400m to allow schools to "buy the little
extras they need".

 

Labour's reaction

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "What we've heard today are half measures
and quick fixes while austerity grinds on.

 

"And far from people's hard work and sacrifices having paid off, as the
chancellor claims, this government has frittered it away in ideological tax
cuts to the richest in our society."

 

Corbyn - Budget is full of broken promises

Labour said the extra money for mental health would "do little to relieve
the severe pressures" on services caused by the government's "relentless
underfunding of the NHS," and the extra £20bn for the health service in
England was not enough.

 

Labour MPs also reacted angrily to Mr Hammond's promise of a "little extra"
for schools.

 

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner tweeted:

 

What's changed with universal credit?

The chancellor had been under pressure from Labour and some Tory MPs to put
more money into universal credit, amid warnings it could push people into
destitution.

 

He announced an extra £1bn over five years to help those moving to the new
payments, which will replace six in-work benefits, and a £1,000 increase in
the amount people can earn before losing benefits, at a cost of up to £1.7bn
a year.

 

He claimed the changes - reversing cuts made in previous Budgets - would
make 2.4 million working people and people with disabilities £630 a year
better off.

 

Labour said the entire Budget should be voted down unless the government
agreed to halt the roll-out of universal credit.

 

The dust hasn't quite settled but we're a good few hours on from when the
chancellor squeezed himself back down onto the government front bench, in
between a pleased-looking prime minister and his ever-enthusiastic colleague
Liz Truss, his number two at the Treasury.

 

A few hours when certainly not everything has become clear, no doubt a few
nasties will crawl out from under the rocks through the course of tomorrow
according to Budget tradition, but the broad shape of the Budget and its
impact are becoming clear.

 

Read Laura's blog

 

What about Brexit?

Mr Hammond warned at the weekend that an emergency Budget would be needed if
Britain leaves the EU in March without a deal.

 

However, Downing Street has said all spending plans in this Budget will go
ahead "irrespective" of Brexit.

 

The big long-term spending decisions will be made next year, after Britain's
scheduled departure from the EU.

 

Mr Hammond said overall spending would go up by 1.2% over the next five
years.

 

But Treasury officials said this was not a guide to next year's spending
review because more money could be available if the UK gets a deal with the
EU.

 

And, they added, there was £4.2bn in reserve for a no-deal scenario so it
was likely spending would go up whatever happened, although the 1.2% figure
included the extra money for the NHS.

 

Mr Hammond has said his Budget was based on the assumption of an
"average-type free trade deal" being agreed between the UK and the EU.

 

He said he was holding back some "fiscal" headroom in case he needed to
alter his economic plan if Britain leaves the EU without a deal - but that a
Brexit agreement with Brussels would result in a "deal dividend" for the
economy.

 

Paul Johnson, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told the BBC: "Arguably
he's just about got to the absolute minimal definition of ending austerity
but it's certainly nothing like a bonanza for the rest of the public
services". He added that "most of the planned welfare cuts are still on the
books".

 

The Office for Budget Responsibility said the chancellor had decided to
spend a "windfall" from better employment and tax receipts on a "near-term
tax and spending giveaway", in addition to the extra £20bn promised for the
NHS by Theresa May.

 

"This leaves the medium-term outlook for government borrowing little changed
since March", with the government still committed to balancing the nation's
books by 2025.

 

Kamal Ahmed: Big spender Hammond?

Hammond hails better borrowing figures

What have business and the unions said?

CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn said: "This was a rock-solid budget,
bringing more treats than tricks for business."

 

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Working people cannot be fobbed
off again with promises of a better tomorrow that never comes."

 

More political reaction

The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford said austerity would remain under
the Conservatives, and claimed the Budget leaves Britain "wholly unprepared"
for Brexit.

 

He said Scotland's budget "will have been slashed by £1.9bn since the Tories
came to power".

 

Lib Dem leader and former business secretary Sir Vince Cable said: "With
growth remaining stubbornly low and Brexit weighing down our economy, it is
clear the big problems are still to be tackled.

 

"It was a sticking plaster Budget, when major surgery lies ahead."

 

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said it was "unforgivable that Philip Hammond
failed to even mention climate change".

 

Plaid Cymru said it was a "fantasy pre-Brexit Budget based on imaginary
numbers", saying Wales remained "an afterthought for Westminster".--BBC

 

 

 

US shares drop on renewed tariff threat against China

US stock markets tumbled in the final hours of trading amid signs that
US-China tensions are reigniting.

 

The technology-heavy Nasdaq led the falls, down 1.6% to end at 7,050.29.

 

The Dow Jones slid 1% to 24,442.9, while the S&P 500 fell about 0.7% to
7,050.29.

 

The losses accelerated following a report by Bloomberg that the US is
preparing tariffs on additional Chinese goods, pending a potential meeting
between leaders of the two countries.

 

The US has already imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese
goods. China has responded by implementing tariffs on US imports.

 

If the US moves ahead with more, it would mean higher import taxes for
effectively all of the goods the US imports from China - more than $500bn in
trade last year.

 

A quick guide to the US-China trade war

Will the US stock market boom continue?

The moves, which the US says are a response to alleged intellectual property
theft by China, have prompted widespread concerns in the business community.

 

The aerospace industry, which has seen growing business in China, is among
the sectors rattled by the trade talk, due in part to concerns about
retaliation.

 

Boeing led the Dow lower on Monday, falling about 6.6%. Lockheed Martin also
fell about 6%.

 

Manufacturers, retailers, and technology firms - many of whom rely on
Chinese suppliers - are also exposed.

 

US President Donald Trump has been threatening the additional tariffs for
months, but the renewed talk follows several weeks of market declines.

 

Stocks have been hit by investor concerns that US company profits are at or
near their peak, as firms face slowing global growth, trade tensions, and
rising costs - including higher interest rates - in the months ahead.

 

Technology companies - which helped power a rally earlier in the year - are
also facing increasing calls for regulation, including a new digital
services tax proposal in the UK.

 

On Monday, shares in Netflix fell about 5%, while Google-owner Alphabet fell
about 4.5%, bringing both firms farther from their July peaks.

 

Amazon closed more than 6% lower, extending losses that started last week,
when the firm's Christmas season forecast disappointed investors.

 

Amazon shares are now down more than 15% since Thursday, when the firm
provided the outlook to investors as part of its earnings update.—BBC

 

 

 

US targets Chinese firm over national security fears

The US has restricted American firms from selling parts to a Chinese company
over national security concerns.

 

The US Commerce Department said there was a "significant risk" that Fujian
Jinhua could get involved in activities that may hurt US national security.

 

The move is the latest escalation in the Trump administration's efforts to
stop alleged intellectual property theft.

 

Other countries have also put limits on Chinese firms on security grounds.

 

The US Commerce Department said it would restrict the export of software and
technology goods from American firms to Chinese chipmaker Fujian Jinhua.

 

"When a foreign company engages in activity contrary to our national
security interests, we will take strong action to protect our national
security," US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

 

He said that the restrictions on Fujian Jinhua - which makes memory chips
and devices - would "limit its ability to threaten the supply chain for
essential components in our military systems".

 

US firms now require a licence to export to Fujian Jinhua.

 

The decision comes amid allegations that the state-backed company has stolen
intellectual property from US chipmaker Micron Technology, according to
reports.

 

The move is likely to inflame tensions between the US and China, as the pair
battle a trade war and Beijing seeks to build its dominance in
high-technology industries.

 

The quick guide to the US-China trade war

How the world is grappling with China's rising power

What is Beijing's 'Made in China 2025' plan?

It is also the latest in a series of actions restricting the trade of
Chinese tech firms.

 

Earlier this year, the US blocked China's ZTE from doing business with US
companies after it found it had violated US sanctions against Iran and North
Korea.

 

The ban, which forced the firm to halt major operations, was lifted in July.

 

US lifts ban on ZTE

National security worries have also led to curbs on Chinese companies in
other countries.

 

In August, the Australian government banned telecoms giants Huawei and ZTE
from providing 5G technology for the country's wireless networks.

 

The UK's cyber-defence watchdog also warned that the use of ZTE's equipment
and services could pose a national security risk.--BBC

 

 

Istanbul opens mega-airport set to be world's busiest

Turkey's newest airport, planned to be the world's largest, has been
officially opened in Istanbul.

 

Istanbul Airport will be capable of handling up to 90 million passengers by
2021, with further expansion leading to a total capacity of up to 200
million.

 

That would be almost double the capacity of the world's busiest airport last
year, Atlanta.

 

But the airport has not been without controversy - at least 30 workers have
died during its construction.

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially opened the airport on Monday to
coincide with the 95th anniversary of modern Turkey's foundation, and the
associated public holiday, Republic Day.

 

Media caption'The airport resembles an open-air prison'

But the opening of what may one day be the world's busiest airport was
largely symbolic, as only a handful of flights will begin to operate in its
first week.

 

The $12bn (£9.4bn) project has been spearheaded under Mr Erdogan's
government, which envisions Istanbul becoming a global transit hub between
Asia, Africa and Europe.

 

Is Turkey heading for an economic crisis?

The West's Turkish headache

Istanbul's existing Ataturk Airport will continue to operate as normal until
the end of the year, when it will transfer its international code - IST - as
its replacement begins to ramp up its capacity.

 

The new airport is expected to reach its 90-million capacity by 2021; be
upgraded to 150 million by 2023; and reach its goal of a 200-million
passenger capacity by 2028.

 

Turkish authorities plan to move all operations from one city airport to
another in the space of a day - currently scheduled for the end of December.

 

After that point, Ataturk airport would be closed to passenger traffic, and
continue as a private airfield until its current lease expires in 2021.

 

Istanbul's other, smaller airport, Sabiha Gokcen, is expected to remain
operational into the foreseeable future.--BBC

 

 

Plastic waste elimination pledge by 2025 attracts more big firms

Some 250 big organisations have now pledged to eradicate plastic waste by
2025, including Coca Cola, H&M and L'Oreal, up from 40 in April.

 

All promised that 100% of their plastic packaging would be reused, recycled
or composted within seven years.

 

The aim is to combat plastic waste pollution, which is harming the seas.

 

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which is behind the campaign, said if
current trends continue, there could be more plastic than fish in the seas
by 2050.

 

Guide: Why is plastic a problem?

WHO launches plastics health review

The foundation was launched in 2010 by the record-breaking yachtswoman to
improve environmental standards, particularly on plastic use, after she was
shocked by the level of plastic pollution she observed on her round the
world sailings.

 

An estimated 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic had been produced since the early
1950s, with 60% of it ending up in landfills or the natural environment.

 

And while packaging, such as bottles, yoghurt pots and wrappers, is not the
sole source of plastic pollution, it represents the biggest use of plastic.

 

The move was welcomed by environmental campaigners, Friends of the Earth.

 

Friends of the Earth plastics campaigner Julian Kirby said: "It's
encouraging that more firms and governments are listening to public demands
to curb plastic waste and are pledging to act. A global movement on this
issue is urgently needed."

 

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, signatories to the pledge -
which include big firms like Burberry and Mars, as well as governments and
NGOs - have made commitments to:

 

*         Eliminate "problematic or unnecessary" plastic packaging and move
from single-use to reusable packaging by 2025

*         Ensure all plastic packaging can be "easily and safely" recycled
or composted

*         Increase the amounts of plastics reused or recycled into new
packaging or products.

*         Image caption

*         Pyramid-shaped PG Tips teabags are now made from biodegradable
material

*         One signatory, Marmite-maker Unilever, told the BBC it recycles
about two thirds of the plastic it produces but has been cutting plastic
waste for some time.

 

In February, stopped sealing its pyramid-shaped PG Tips teabags with
polypropylene, using corn starch instead.

 

'Circular approach'

It is also looking at ways of reusing black Tresemme shampoo bottles and
getting recycled plastic into Hellmann's mayonnaise bottles.

 

Currently Hellmann's bottles can be recycled but contain no recycled
plastic.

 

"The aim is to move towards a circular approach, where you are only using
recycled content and you work toward eliminating single-use packaging," Mr
Blanchard told the BBC.

 

"We are seeing consumers wanting fully recyclable solutions. In the next few
years people who use our products will be looking for packs that are
recyclable or use recycled content, and we will be telling them on the
packaging when that's the case."

 

Dame Ellen MacArthur, founder of the MacArthur Foundation, said the pledge
offered a "clear vision for what we need to create a circular economy for
plastic".

 

Signatories have agreed to publish annual data on their progress, with
targets become "increasingly ambitious" over the coming years.--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


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