Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 19 September 2018

Wed Sep 19 10:28:38 CAT 2018

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 19 September 2018

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

*  Britain will support interim IMF staff programme for Zimbabwe: ambassador

*  Sibanye-Stillwater, Lonmin still committed to merger after competition watchdog decision

*  eSwatini police, crowd clash during wage, pension fund protests

*  South African utility Eskom delays completion of new strategy

*  Uganda to renew MTN Group's telecoms operating licence

*  South Africa's rand gains as dollar falters, stocks flat

*  British fund Gemcorp extends $250 million loan to Zimbabwe -CEO

*  Japanese automaker Nissan considers setting up assembly plant in Ghana: VP

*  Petra Diamonds' core profit climbs, CEO to step down

*  Gold firms slightly as dollar loses its safe-haven shine

*  'Wild West' Bitcoin 'should be regulated'

*  China won't devalue yuan to boost exports, says Premier Li

*  Qantas eyes non-stop London-Sydney flights

*  Danske Bank boss quits over money-laundering scandal

*  Apple pays disputed Irish tax bill

*  SeaWorld and ex-boss to pay $5m to settle fraud claim

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Britain will support interim IMF staff programme for Zimbabwe: ambassador

HARARE (Reuters) - Britain will support Zimbabwe to get on to an interim IMF staff programme to help the country quickly clear its foreign arrears, Britain’s ambassador in Harare said on Tuesday,

Clearing the $1.8 billion in arrears to the World Bank and African Development Bank is seen as a major step for Zimbabwe to start accessing foreign credit, especially for the private sector as well as foreign direct investment.

Ambassador Catriona Laing said an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme would help Britain’s former colony expedite the clearance of its arrears.

“We are here to give that support to try and encourage a process back to an IMF programme, perhaps through an interim staff monitoring programme as soon as possible,” Laing told reporters.

She said this would enable Zimbabwe “to start a serious dialogue” around the clearance of the arrears.

Zimbabwe’s finance minister Mthuli Ncube said President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government was still deciding whether to follow the Highly Indebted Poor Country route or a commercial deal to clear the arrears.

Only then would it come up with a timeline to pay the arrears, he said, adding that he would launch an economic stabilisation programme next month.

Zimbabwe, which is trying to shake off its international pariah tag, started defaulting on its foreign debt in 1999. The West put sanctions on the country in 2002 as punishment against former President Robert Mugabe’s government, which was accused of vote fraud and rights abuses.

Mugabe, whose near four-decade rule ended after a coup last November, has maintained he was punished for seizing white-owned commercial farms to resettle blacks.

Laing said along with economic measures such as reducing the country’s fiscal deficit, Britain also wanted Harare to carry out political reforms, including aligning the country’s laws to a 2013 constitution.

“We will be tracking both pathways, the economic pathway and political pathway. We want Zimbabwe to succeed,” Laing said.

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Sibanye-Stillwater, Lonmin still committed to merger after competition watchdog decision

LONDON (Reuters) - Precious metals producer Sibanye-Stillwater said on Tuesday it remained fully committed to a takeover of platinum miner Lonmin after South Africa’s competition watchdog imposed conditions on the deal.

On Monday, the competition watchdog gave the green light to the all-share transaction as it did not prevent or lessen competition in platinum markets but placed conditions because it raised “significant public interest concerns”.

Sibanye and Lonmin said in a joint statement they remained fully committed to the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year.

“The positive recommendation by the Commission to the (Competition) Tribunal is pleasing and on terms which we believe are fair, reasonable and in the best interest of all stakeholders,” Sibanye’s chief executive Neal Froneman said in the statement.

The commission said Sibanye should embark on three short-term mining projects to avoid the loss of over 3,000 jobs, subject to platinum prices rising and costs being kept low.

It also had to implement an agricultural initiative subject to its economic viability, keep Lonmin’s existing contracts with black-owned suppliers and maintain Lonmin’s black-ownership supply deal with the Bapo ba Mogale community.

Froneman told Reuters in May that shareholders might not find the Lonmin deal attractive if the Commission imposed tough conditions.

“Given the positive recommendation by the Commission I don’t expect there to be any more problems. It mostly looks like a done deal,” said Shore Capital analyst Yuen Low.

It is now up to the Competition Tribunal, which makes the final ruling on deals, to decide whether to accept the Commission’s recommendations.

eSwatini police, crowd clash during wage, pension fund protests

MBABANE (Reuters) - Public sector workers clashed with police in eSwatini on Tuesday, as they marched through the streets of the country’s second biggest town as part of wider protests to demand higher wages and reforms to the way the state pension fund is managed.

Several workers were wounded and police fired stun grenades to disperse the crowd in Manzini, the country’s second biggest town and industrial centre, according to a Reuters witness, as demonstrations which organisers said would continue until Thursday also took place in the capital Mbabane, Siteki and Nhlangano.

There were no reports violence or injuries in those three towns.

Formerly known as Swaziland, the landlocked southern African country of 1.4 million is one of the world’s poorest nations and the continent’s last absolute monarchy.

It has witnessed three sets of protests by public servants seeking better pay, education and healthcare since April, when the pension fund contributed $70,000 to lavish birthday celebrations for King Mswati III.

The king is accused by critics and rights groups of using the public purse to fund his family’s lavish lifestyle, which he denies.

A union leader said they planned to present a petition to the government on Thursday demanding that probe into the circumstances of the birthday payment, which the cabinet ended in June, be reopened.

In Mbabane on Tuesday, a man addressed onlookers through a megaphone from a car that was driven around the city, urging them to join the protest.

National Police Commissioner Isaac Magagula said on Monday that protesters should not provoke police, which Njabulo Dlamini, a union leader, said on Tuesday his members had not done.

Police and the government spokesman were not available for further comment.

South African utility Eskom delays completion of new strategy

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African power firm Eskom said on Tuesday it had delayed the date on which its new long-term strategy would be completed, potentially unsettling investors anxious for clues as to how the struggling state firm plans to bolster its finances.

Cash-strapped Eskom has said the new strategy will assess whether its current business model is sustainable, or whether the firm should be broken up into separate entities overseeing power generation, distribution and transmission.

It will also consider ways of addressing Eskom’s declining electricity sales, shrinking cashflow and ballooning debt.

Eskom now plans for the strategy to be submitted to its board on Nov. 15, as opposed to the end of this month, it said in a statement.

Eskom is South Africa’s most indebted state firm and supplies more than 90 percent of the country’s power, making it critical to the health of Africa’s most industrialised economy.

“Management in consultation with the shareholder have agreed that the development of a well thought-out and stress-tested strategy blueprint of this nature and magnitude merits the slight delay,” Eskom said.

The firm, which employs around 47,000 people, has hired Boston Consulting Group to help with the new strategy.

Eskom has grappled with labour unrest this year which forced it into implementing the first power outages in South Africa since 2015. [nL5N1UU29C]

It reported a 2.3 billion rand loss for the latest financial year, after which it announced plans to shed around 7,000 staff from its bloated workforce over the next five years. [nL5N1UJ1V9] [nL8N1VE2B9]

Ratings agencies regularly cite Eskom as one of the biggest threats to South Africa’s sovereign credit ratings, which are near “junk” status.

Uganda to renew MTN Group's telecoms operating licence

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda will renew the operating licence of the local unit of South African telecom company MTN Group, the state-run Uganda Media Centre said on Tuesday.

The renewal comes with “with new stringent terms,” the agency tweeted, without providing details.

MTN Uganda is the East African country’s biggest telecommunications firm with more than 10 million subscribers and competes with a local unit of India’s Bharti Airtel and other smaller companies.

It launched in Uganda in 1998 after acquiring a 20-year operating license which was due to expire this year.

UCC has been reviewing its application for a ten-year extension of its licence since last year and last month the regulator told Reuters it was asking MTN to agree to list its shares on the local stock exchange as a condition for the renewal.

MTN was not immediately available to comment.

MTN Uganda has faced criticism on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook from some subscribers about data bundles getting used up quickly and the firm not responding to their complaints.

Uganda’s telecoms sector has expanded rapidly over the last decade but analysts say a new tax on social media use could unravel some of those gains by jeopardising prospects for fresh investment in the sector.

South Africa's rand gains as dollar falters, stocks flat

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand gained on Tuesday as broad dollar weakness supported investor appetite for riskier assets after Washington imposed additional tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing retaliated, escalating a trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.

Stocks ended flat, weighed down by market heavyweight Naspers.

At 1520 GMT, the rand traded at 14.8300 per dollar, 0.65 percent stronger than its close on Monday.

Trade-war tensions intensified after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed additional 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of Chinese imports on Monday. In retaliation, China said on Tuesday it will levy tariffs on about $60 billion worth of U.S. goods.

“It seems markets are not responding positively to the developments on the trade front and that seems to kind of weigh on the dollar, which has created some scope for emerging markets to gain a little bit,” said Halen Bothma, an analyst at ETM Analytics.

“(Locally) the market is focused on what is happening tomorrow and Thursday in terms of the latest inflation numbers and how that will prepare the market going to the Reserve Bank monetary policy committee decision.”

August consumer price inflation data is due out at 0800 GMT on Wednesday, while the central bank will announce its interest rates decision on Thursday.

All but one of the economists polled by Reuters last week predicted that the central bank would leave its main lending rate at 6.5 percent, as it weighs economic weakness against a pickup in inflation.

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government paper due in 2026 ended 4 basis points lower at 9.21 percent, reflecting firmer bond prices.

On the bourse, the broader all share index was up 0.15 percent at 56,381 points while the blue chip Top-40 index was largely unchanged at 50,220 points.

Shares in Naspers fell 0.83 percent to 1,654 rand ($111.52).

The technology firm unveiled plans on Monday to spin off and list separately its pay-TV unit in a move aimed at narrowing a discount between its market value and the value of its stake in Chinese Tencent.

“The shares did have an initial spike yesterday but the jury is still out about how unbundling MultiChoice is really going to help the discount situation,” said Greg Davies, equities trader at Cratos Capital.

“If this is the first step towards closing that discount then the markets will reward that but at the moment it is not enough.”

British fund Gemcorp extends $250 million loan to Zimbabwe -CEO

HARARE (Reuters) - London-based emerging market fund Gemcorp Group said on Monday it had extended a $250 million loan to Zimbabwe to help the country import essential goods like fuel and medicine, the company’s CEO said.

The southern African nation is facing its worst shortages of cash dollars since it dumped its own currency in 2009 in favour of the U.S. currency. This has made it difficult for companies, including mines, to pay for imports.

Zimbabwe’s backlog for foreign payments is more than $600 million, according to the central bank.

Gemcorp was formed in 2014 by Atanas Bostandjiev, a former executive of Russian investment bank VTB Capital, part of banking group VTB.

“With this facility, we are financing and coordinating the delivery of essential goods to help support the Zimbabwean economy,” Bostandjiev said in a statement.

Zimbabwe’s new Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the loan was a show of confidence in an economy buffeted by a serious liquidity crisis and unemployment above 80 percent.

The former British colony became a pariah under Robert Mugabe’s nearly four-decade authoritarian rule after it began to default on loans from foreign lenders like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

Mugabe was forced to resign after a coup in November, paving the way for Emmerson Mnangagwa, who went on to be elected president in a disputed vote held on July 30.

Without loans from global lenders, Zimbabwe has struggled to attract credit lines and external investment required to reboot its economy.

In May this year, Britain’s development finance institution CDC became the first British company to extend a direct commercial loan to Zimbabwe in more than two decades, making made available a $100 million facility to private firms through Standard Chartered Bank.

“The granting of the facility by Gemcorp is a strong signal by foreign investors of their growing confidence in Zimbabwe. I expect more investors to follow suit,” Ncube said in a statement.

Ncube last week said he would accelerate plans to pay $1.8 billion arrears to the World Bank and the African Development Bank to rebuild investor confidence.

Japanese automaker Nissan considers setting up assembly plant in Ghana: VP

ACCRA (Reuters) - Japanese automaker Nissan is considering setting up an assembly plant in Ghana as part of plans to expand in Africa, the West African nation’s vice president said on Tuesday.

“Nissan is also coming,” Mahamudu Bawumia told a meeting of industrialists in Accra. German carmaker Volkswagen and China’s Sinotruck have signed preliminary agreements to set up plants in the West African country.

Petra Diamonds' core profit climbs, CEO to step down

LONDON (Reuters) - Petra Diamonds on Monday reported a jump in full-year adjusted core earnings due to a rise in production at its continuing mines and said its chief executive would step down.

This pushed Petra’s London-listed shares, which are down 40 percent this year, jumped more than 6 percent to their highest in over a month while the wider index inched slightly lower.

Petra was hobbled by a stronger South African rand and operational delays in the first half of the year as well as a confiscation of diamonds in Tanzania that left it strapped for cash and in crippling debt.

But improved performance in its diamond mines in the second half, a cash raise in June and a reversal in rand strength have helped the company cut debt and raise core earnings.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to $195.4 million from $142 million in the previous year.

Petra did not name a successor for its chief executive role and expects to announce two non-executive appointments next month. Outgoing CEO Johan Dippenaar has been at the helm since Petra merged with Crown Diamonds in 2005.

“Its been a hard 13 years... we have made six acquisitions, a substantial rebuild and redesign and that was quite a job,” Dippenaar told Reuters.

“In the June 2017 financial year we experienced a lot of challenges to effect this build up but we fought back well this year and the second half was solid.”

The Tanzanian government has not yet returned a consignment of diamonds that it confiscated from Petra last year after it temporarily blocked the company’s exports. At the same time, the company was hit by a two-week strike in South Africa.

“There have been a lot of uncomfortable conversations with investors over the last two years... they had to do something for shareholders...” an industry source, who declined to be named.

Petra’s chairman Adonis Pouroulis said in a statement that the company was approaching the final stage of its expansion plans and was positioned to reap the benefits.

Production rose 19 percent to 3.8 million carats when excluding the KEM Joint Venture because it was sold.

The company slipped into a net loss due to an impairment and a higher depreciation charge as well as higher financing costs.

In July, Petra forecast lower than estimated production for 2019 after reporting 2018 output at the bottom end of its forecast range.

“These results paint an underlying picture of operational improvements and the development of a corporate structure more in keeping with a miner moving from being capex-intensive to a stable and larger producer and, hopefully, a strong free-cash flow generator,” said Canaccord Genuity Limited analyst Des Kilalea.

Gold firms slightly as dollar loses its safe-haven shine

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices inched higher on Tuesday as the dollar eased following news that China would retaliate against a new round of U.S. tariffs on its goods.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he was imposing 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of imports from China, and threatened duties on about $267 billion more if China retaliated against the U.S. action.

While the greenback has benefited from safe-haven flows as the China-U.S. trade conflict has escalated in recent months, investors are starting to worry about the broader impact of the tariffs on the U.S. economy.

A weaker dollar generally boosts the price of dollar-denominated gold, which has been losing out on safe-haven flows to the greenback.

Spot gold was 0.1 percent higher at $1,201.93 an ounce by 1255 GMT in choppy trade. U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,205.20 an ounce.

“Gold is reflecting the choppiness that we are seeing in the dollar,” said FOREX.com analyst Fawad Razaqzada, adding that the lack of direction in the dollar was reflected in narrow gold trading ranges.

Gold prices were “hovering below massive resistance between $1,205-$1,215 range”, Razaqzada said, pointing out that gold was still in a bearish trend.

Gold prices have declined more than 12 percent from April, hurt by the intensifying trade dispute between the United States and China and as rising U.S. interest rates diminished demand for non-interest-bearing bullion.

Investors are eyeing a meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve next week at which interest rates are widely expected to be raised, said ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa.

“Any comments about the 2019 monetary policy could be a new significant driver for the precious metal,” he said.

Equity and base metals shrugged off signs that the trade war was ratcheting higher. [MKTS/GLOB]

Investors trimmed their net short position in Comex gold and silver in the week to Sept. 11, U.S. data showed.

“One of the big problems that gold is facing is that it is trying to battle a mountain of pessimism,” ETF Securities analyst Nitesh Shah said.

“The speculative positioning in gold is down to its lowest levels since 2001 ... gold is not behaving like the haven that it is supposed to be.”

Spot silver rose 0.4 percent to $14.17 an ounce. Platinum rose 1.8 percent to $810.80, while palladium was up 1.2 percent to its highest since mid-June at $995.80 ounce.

'Wild West' Bitcoin 'should be regulated'

Bitcoin and other digital currencies are a "Wild West industry" and need to be regulated to protect investors, a committee of MPs has urged.

Problems include volatile prices, minimal consumer protection and risks of hacking and money-laundering, says the Treasury Committee.

The committee said there were no well-functioning crypto-currencies and preferred to call them "crypto-assets".

It urged City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority to supervise them.

At present, the FCA has no power to regulate either the issuers of these assets or the exchanges on which they are traded.

"Crypto-asset investors are currently afforded very little protection from the litany of risks. Namely, there are no formal mechanisms for consumer redress, nor compensation," said the committee.

There are now more than 1,500 varieties of crypto-asset being traded on about 190 exchanges around the world.

Prices have soared and crashed alarmingly. In 2017, the price of a Bitcoin rocketed to nearly £15,000 before losing two-thirds of its value in just a few months.

Crypto-fundraising schemes, known as Initial Coin Offerings, have posed challenges for regulators around the world.

"As the government and regulators decide whether the current Wild West situation is allowed to continue, or whether they are going to introduce regulation, consumers remain unprotected," said the Treasury Committee.

Nicky Morgan, who chairs the committee, said: "It's unsustainable for the government and regulators to bumble along issuing feeble warnings to potential investors, yet refrain from acting.

"At a minimum, regulation should address consumer protection and anti-money-laundering."

CryptoUK, which was set up in February as a self-regulatory body for the crypto-currency industry, said it welcomed the Treasury Committee's recommendations.

Iqbal Gandham, who chairs it, said: "Self-regulation by the industry was always intended to be a starting point - this must now be matched by government action.

"Regulatory oversight is essential to ensuring consumer safety, guarding against malpractice and providing much needed clarity to an industry that is fast maturing.

"It is therefore pleasing that the committee has endorsed our suggestion on how this can be delivered, by bringing responsibility within the FCA's perimeter of oversight."--BBC

China won't devalue yuan to boost exports, says Premier Li

China has hit back at accusations that it is using its currency as a tool in the trade war with the US.

At a forum in Tianjin, China's Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing will not actively weaken the yuan to boost exports.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency to combat US tariffs.

Mr Li's comments come amid an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies.

The Chinese premier also said at the World Economic Forum it was essential that the basic principles of "multilateralism and free trade" were upheld.

China hits back at Trump with new tariffs

US trade: A tale of two Chinas

The US has engaged in a protectionist agenda since Mr Trump took office in 2016, challenging the global system of free trade which has prevailed for decades.

His accusation that China has manipulated the yuan raised concerns that the currency market could become the next front in the economic battle between the two countries.

"The recent fluctuations in the [yuan] exchange rate have been seen by some as an intentional measure on the part of China. This is simply not true," Premier Li said.

"Persistent depreciation of the [yuan] will only do more harm than good to our country. China will never go down the path of stimulating exports by devaluating its currency," he added.

This week, Washington raised the stakes by saying it would impose new tariffs on $200bn (£152.1bn) worth of Chinese goods from Monday. Beijing will hit back with new duties on $60bn of American imports.

During his campaign for president, Mr Trump also called China a currency manipulator, but retracted those comments early last year.---BBC

Qantas eyes non-stop London-Sydney flights

Australian airline Qantas will place an order next year for planes capable of making the 20-hour flight between London and Sydney.

Chief executive Alan Joyce told the BBC he was in advanced discussions with planemakers Airbus and Boeing.

Flights could start around 2022 if they produced the right aircraft, he said.

Qantas also plans to fly non-stop from Australia to North America - slightly shorter than the London-Sydney non-stop flight.

Mr Joyce told the BBC's Today Programme he was confident there would be demand for the flight.

"Business traffic and general leisure customers would rather have the certainty of getting there direct, not having to stop, not having connections gone wrong, the extra speed that that entails is really important," he said.

Jet makes history on flight from Australia

How UK-Australia travel evolved to one flight

It's the world's longest non-stop flight... for now

In March, the airline launched non-stop flights between London and Perth, a flight lasting just over 17 hours.

Mr Joyce said since their launch the flights had on average been 92% full, with business class even higher at 94%.

He said, however, that there was no plane yet that could handle the longer London and Sydney flight.

Qantas is considering the Airbus A350-1000 for the flight but said the plane would need "modification" because it "needs a little bit more range to get there".

Boeing's 777-8, the new version of its 777 plane, which is expected to be ready in 2022. is also under onsideration.

If the non-stop flights - dubbed Project Sunrise - go ahead, Mr Joyce said the airline would also start offering non-stop flights to New York as well.

"Qantas is unique because we can probably justify a large number of these long haul aircraft, given how far Australia is from the rest of the world," he said.

And Qantas is not the only airline targeting long non-stop flights.

Singapore Airlines will launch a non-stop flight in October from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey - a journey that will take nearly 19 hours.

Meanwhile, Qatar currently offers the longest non-stop flight available: its Auckland to Doha route which takes 17.5 hours.--BBC

Danske Bank boss quits over money-laundering scandal

The chief executive of Danske Bank, Thomas Borgen, has resigned.

He stepped down after the bank found "indications" that its Estonian branch was used for money-laundering purposes.

Mr Borgen said it was clear that Danske Bank had failed to live up to its responsibility and he regretted this.

"Even though the investigation conducted by the external law firm concludes that I have lived up to my legal obligations, I believe that it is best for all parties that I resign."

The Danish bank said it was unable to determine how much money was believed to have been laundered through its Estonian branch between 2007 and 2015.

The branch's handling of Russian and ex-Soviet money has also been the focus of an inquiry in Estonia itself.

Shares in Danske fell more than 4% in Copenhagen following Mr Borgen's resignation and a lowering of its outlook for the full year.--BBC

Apple pays disputed Irish tax bill

Apple has paid the Irish government €14.3bn (£12.7bn), money that the European Commission ruled the tech giant owed due to illegal tax breaks.

Ireland's Finance Ministry said the payment was a "significant milestone", although Dublin insists Apple was not given any special tax treatment.

In 2016 the Commission ruled the below 1% effective tax rate the firm paid in Ireland amounted to illegal state aid.

Apple has appealed against the decision.

Dublin also disputes the Commission's finding. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said the government "fundamentally disagree[d] with the Commission's analysis".

However, he said, "as committed members of the European Union, we have always confirmed that we would recover the alleged state aid."

Should tech companies be paying more tax?

Facebook to overhaul Irish tax scheme

Amazon tax bill falls despite profits leap

The European Commission initiated a lawsuit against Ireland last year over its delay in recovering the money. The Commission said that the court action would now be withdrawn.

The process of recovering the funds began in May and has now amounted to €13.1bn in disputed taxes plus interest of €1.2bn, an amount roughly equivalent to Ireland's health budget for the year. The money will be held in an escrow fund while Apple's appeal takes place.

Apple is one of several American tech giants which located their European operations in Ireland, due to its relatively low tax rate. Facebook, Twitter and Google all have a significant presence in Dublin.

Ireland's finance ministry said it expects it to take several years for European courts to resolve the issue.--BBC

SeaWorld and ex-boss to pay $5m to settle fraud claim

SeaWorld and its former boss have agreed to pay more than $5m to settle claims they misled investors over the impact of documentary film Blackfish.

The firm and James Atchison downplayed the effect on the firm's reputation and business, the US regulator said.

The 2013 US film was about a performing killer whale at the marine park called Tilikum, and depicted keeping orcas in captivity as cruel and dangerous.

The negative publicity led to a drop in visitor numbers at SeaWorld.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, SeaWorld and Mr Atchison made "untrue and misleading statements or omissions" in regulatory filings, earnings releases and calls from December 2013 before acknowledging the effect on attendance on 13 August 2014.

The revelation led to a sharp drop in SeaWorld's share price - almost a third in one day.

"This case underscores the need for a company to provide investors with timely and accurate information that has an adverse impact on its business," said Steven Peikin, co-director of the SEC enforcement division.

SeaWorld and Mr Atchison have agreed to pay $4m (£3m) and $1m respectively to settle the claims, but have not admitted or denied the SEC's findings.

Mr Atchison resigned as chief executive in early 2015.

In a statement on behalf of itself and Mr Atchison, SeaWorld said it was pleased to settle, and to continue focusing on customers, rescuing animals and providing "world-class animal care".

SeaWorld has struggled to reverse the impact from Blackfish, with falling sales and visitor numbers leading it to report a $20m loss for its 2017 financial year.

SeaWorld, which has 12 parks across the US, ended its controversial orca breeding programme in 2016 and has also said it would phase out its live orca shows.--BC

INVESTORS DIARY 2018

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Hippo

AGM

Meikles

26/09/2018 12PM

Bindura

AGM

Chapman Golf Club, Eastlea

27/09/2018 9AM

CBZH

interim dividend of 0.5c per share record date

28/09/2018

Hippo

final dividend of 2c per share record date

28/09/2018

Star Africa

AGM

45 Douglas Road, Workington

28/09/2018 11AM

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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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