Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 01 August 2019

Thu Aug 1 03:54:05 CAT 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 01 August 2019

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

*  Chinese billionaire indicted in U.S. for alleged $1.8 bln aluminum tariff evasion

*  Old Mutual appeals ex-CEO's reinstatement

*  Kenya's Safaricom to focus on expanding M-Pesa, says interim CEO

*  Vedanta Resources launches arbitration in dispute with Zambia

*  AngloGold Ashanti flags higher H1 earnings, says asset sales are proceeding

*  Glencore feels pain of Africa risk, cobalt price fall

*  South Africa's Pick n Pay appoints insider Olivier as new CFO

*  South Africa's trade surplus widens in June

*  Kenya's inflation rises to 6.27% in year to July

*  British Airways pilots set for summer strike

*  US interest rate cut fails to impress Trump

*  No-deal Brexit plans to get £2.1bn boost

*  Ryanair boss warns as many as 900 jobs could be at risk

*  VG Siddhartha: The man who brought coffee culture to India

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Chinese billionaire indicted in U.S. for alleged $1.8 bln aluminum tariff evasion

(Reuters) - A Chinese billionaire has been indicted by a grand jury on charges he schemed with the aluminum company he founded to evade $1.8 billion of tariffs by smuggling huge amounts of the metal into the United States, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Liu Zhongtian, 55, and China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd , where he served as chairman and president, were among several defendants charged in a 24-count indictment by the Los Angeles grand jury.

The May 7 indictment had been kept under seal until late Tuesday. It came as U.S. and Chinese negotiators resumed talks to end trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

China Zhongwan did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.

Liu is believed to be in China, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, and an arrest warrant has been drawn up, according to The Wall Street Journal. It was unclear whether Liu has a U.S.-based lawyer. Liu and his family are worth $3.2 billion, Forbes magazine said.

Prosecutors said the alleged scheme began as early as 2008, and eventually involved efforts to escape duties imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2011 on various types of extruded aluminum imported from China.

The indictment said companies affiliated with Liu went through ports in the Los Angeles area to import aluminum extrusions that were “tack-welded” together, to appear as finished “pallets” that were not subject to duties.

Prosecutors said Liu would then stockpile the aluminum at four southern California warehouses, and with his associates orchestrate bogus sales to companies he controlled to inflate China Zhongwang’s financials and make it appear more valuable.

Liu, also known as “Big Boss” and “Uncle Liu” according to the indictment, was also accused by prosecutors of running a “massive” money laundering operation involving the use of shell companies to transfer funds to China Zhongwang.

U.S. authorities said the scheme gave Liu’s companies an unfair advantage over American rivals and posed other hazards.

Liu and several other defendants face charges of wire fraud, money laundering, passing fraudulent papers through a customhouse and conspiracy.

Most counts carry a maximum 20-year prison term, and if served consecutively carry a maximum 465-year term.

The case is U.S. v Liu et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 19-cr-00282. 

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

Old Mutual appeals ex-CEO's reinstatement

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African insurer Old Mutual said on Wednesday it had filed an application to appeal against the temporary reinstatement of fired CEO Peter Moyo, and reiterated that he was not permitted to return to work as a result.

Moyo did report for work at the insurer’s Johannesburg offices on Wednesday morning, resulting in a lengthy discussion between his and Old Mutual’s legal teams. Moyo’s lawyer said Old Mutual’s appeal was not sufficient to suspend the court order regarding his reinstatement.

“Old Mutual is comfortable with the position it has adopted on the impact of the application,” it said in a statement, adding that there will be no further meeting between the legal teams on Wednesday and interim CEO Iain Williamson would continue to lead the business for now.

Kenya's Safaricom to focus on expanding M-Pesa, says interim CEO

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The interim CEO of Kenya’s top telecoms operator Safaricom said on Wednesday he would focus on expanding the firm’s mobile financial services business M-Pesa beyond Kenya.

Michael Joseph took over the helm of East Africa’s most profitable company, which is part held by South Africa’s Vodacom and Britain’s Vodafone, this month after the death of long-serving boss Bob Collymore.

“I’m particularly keen to work closely with the team to take M-Pesa beyond Kenya,” Joseph said in a statement, adding he would lead the company while the board found a permanent CEO.

Joseph, who is a board member, served as the CEO until 2010, when Collymore took over.

M-Pesa, which allows users to send money, borrow, save and pay bills even on a basic mobile handset, has been the key driver of the company’s profit growth in recent years, helping pick up the slack in data and voice revenue streams.

Collymore had told Reuters in May that Safaricom and Vodacom would buy the intellectual property rights of M-Pesa from Vodafone for $13 million, so they could expand the service in Africa.

M-Pesa, launched more than a decade ago, now serves more than 22.6 million people in Kenya and has been copied abroad.

Joseph also said he would work on the data business to attain a better balance between consumption and revenue growth.

Vedanta Resources launches arbitration in dispute with Zambia

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Vedanta Resources said on Wednesday it has notified its Zambian joint venture partner ZCCM-IH that it has launched arbitration proceedings related to an attempt by the Zambian government to liquidate Vedanta’s majority-owned Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).

Mumbai-listed Vedanta has been locked in a dispute with the Zambian government since May when Lusaka appointed a liquidator to run KCM, which is 20% owned by ZCCM, Zambia’s state mining company, and 80% owned by Vedanta. Zambia accused KCM of breaching the terms of its licence.

AngloGold Ashanti flags higher H1 earnings, says asset sales are proceeding

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti Ltd said on Wednesday its earnings likely rose as much as 29% in the first half, boosted by income from a legal settlement, gains from its Kibali joint venture and a drop in costs.

Headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended June 30 are expected to come in between 27 U.S cents and 31 U.S. cents, compared with 24 U.S cents during the same period a year ago.

HEPS, which strips out certain one-off items, is the main profit measure used in South Africa.

AngloGold, which said in May it would review divestment options for its Mponeng mine and other South African assets to focus on higher returns elsewhere, said it was pushing ahead with the plan.

“The process to streamline the AngloGold Ashanti portfolio continues with sales processes ongoing in South Africa, Mali and Argentina,” the firm said in a statement.

AngloGold will release its results on August, 8.

Glencore feels pain of Africa risk, cobalt price fall

LONDON (Reuters) - Glencore said on Wednesday it faced a $350 million hit after cobalt prices halved and has begun an overhaul of its under-performing Africa business, which it will explain next week with output revisions in Democratic Republic of Congo.

First-half copper production was 5% lower than last year, while cobalt output rose 28%. Zinc and coal output rose 8% and 10% respectively and nickel dropped 11% versus the same time last year because of maintenance.

London-listed Glencore’s exposure to risk in Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia has weighed on the company’s share price, which has fallen while those of its diversified mining peers have risen.

In a statement, CEO Ivan Glasenberg said Glencore was addressing the challenges at its Katanga Mining unit in Congo with management changes and an operational review while in Zambia it was near the end of multi-year improvements.

The Zambian government’s move to seize assets of fellow miner Vedanta have alarmed the industry, while in Democratic Republic of Congo, Glencore has faced a series of problems, including the death of artisanal miners who invaded its concession.

After the commodity price collapse of 2015-16, Glencore rebounded when the market predicted its willingness to operate in difficult jurisdictions gave it prime access to the minerals needed for the shift to an electrified economy.

Investors this year have become focused on avoiding risk following fatal accidents across the industry, as well as concerns about climate change.

AFRICAN POTENTIAL

Glasenberg said Glencore’s African copper retained significant potential and would “play a key role in the transition to a low carbon economy”.

He said he would explain turnaround plans when half-year results are announced next week, along with revised copper and cobalt guidance for Katanga.

Glencore said it would separate its African copper business from copper operations in less risky regions, including the Americas and Australia, during an overhaul of up to two years.

On Wednesday, Glencore’s share price eased 1.3% to just under 270 pence by 1014 GMT. It is around 7% lower since the start of the year.

Analysts said it had been a difficult first-half for Glencore.

BMO Capital Markets, which rates Glencore “market perform” said Glencore would have to improve its second-half output significantly — between 20% and 40% across nearly all of its commodities to achieve its full-year targets.

Glencore’s full-year output guidance for copper, excluding Africa, is just over one million tonnes and roughly 1.45 million tonnes including Africa.

Cobalt output rose following the resumption of exports at the Kamoto Project in Congo in April, which had been suspended because of higher than permitted uranium content.

The resumption has coincided with a falling cobalt price, which has halved from above $60,000 per tonne in late 2018 to below $30,000.

Glencore said it faced a mark-to-market loss on around 10,000 tonnes of cobalt as its marketing business has not yet sold the cobalt it effectively bought from its mining business.

The $350 million EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) cobalt loss is mostly non-cash as the position was funded in 2018, Glencore said.

South Africa's Pick n Pay appoints insider Olivier as new CFO

LONDON (Reuters) - South African supermarket chain Pick n Pay Stores Ltd has appointed senior executive Lerena Olivier as chief finance officer with effect from Sept. 6, it said on Wednesday.

The country’s third largest grocery store chain by market capitalization announced in April that CFO Aboubakar Jakoet would retire after 34 years with the group once a successor had been appointed.

Lerena, with 18 years of experience with JSE-listed companies in the retail sector, has been a senior executive within Pick n Pay’s finance division for the past eight years, where she has worked closely with Jakoet.

Jakoet will continue to serve in a non-executive capacity on the Pick n Pay board, the retailer, which pitches itself as a more affordable alternative to the likes of Woolworths and Shoprite’s Checkers, said.

South Africa's trade surplus widens in June

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa recorded a 4.42 billion rand ($310.61 million) trade surplus in June after a revised 1.70 billion rand surplus in May, data from the revenue service showed on Wednesday.

Exports fell 3.2% on a month-on-month basis to 108.17 billion rand in June, while imports were down 5.8% to 103.75 billion rand, the South African Revenue Service said.

($1 = 14.2302 rand)

Kenya's inflation rises to 6.27% in year to July

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s year-on-year inflation rose to 6.27% in July from 5.70% in the previous month, the statistics office said on Wednesday.

British Airways pilots set for summer strike

British Airways has lost an appeal aimed at halting planned strike action by its pilots.

The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) voted in favour of industrial action on 22 July, after three days of negotiations failed to resolve the dispute.

BA-owner IAG sought an injunction to prevent the strike in the High Court, but it was overturned.

The airline then appealed and the Court of Appeal ruled on Wednesday.

This opens the way for the pilots to name dates for a potential strike, which would likely fall in August - one of the busiest months for holidays.

However, Balpa has not announced any strike dates today. The union says it is required by law to provide BA with 14 days' notice of any proposed strike action.

British Airways said it was "disappointed" that Balpa had "chosen to threaten the holidays of thousands" of customers.

If you have a flight booked with British Airways in the coming weeks then you will naturally be concerned. But as things stand you don't need to panic because the pilots union Balpa has not set a date for a strike.

By law the union has to give BA at least two weeks' notice and they can call a strike any time between now and January. After this latest court victory for the pilots, logic dictates that the airline will have to offer some kind of compromise in order to avert a strike.

On a single day in the summer BA flies around 145,000 passengers. A strike would cause significant damage to the reputation and finances of British Airways and its parent group IAG. But BA will be preparing for all eventualities.

Balpa teamed up with other unions Unite and GMB to submit a joint pay claim in November.

Then in July, BA offered pilots a pay increase worth 11.5% over three years, which was accepted by Unite and GMB but rejected by Balpa.

BA says the offer is "fair", but Balpa argues its members deserve better as the airline has been making healthy profits.

After the latest court ruling, Balpa general secretary Brian Strutton said: "The Court of Appeal has today rightly dismissed BA's attempt to injunct this industrial action on a technicality.

"BA's attempt to defeat the democratic view of their pilots in court, rather than deal with us across the negotiating table, has sadly wasted huge amounts of time and money that could have been put into finding a peaceful resolution. Now the window for negotiation and compromise is closing fast."

In 2018, BA-owner IAG reported a pre-tax profit of €3bn (£2.8bn), up almost 9.8% on the previous year, and declared a special dividend of €700m.

British Airways contributed £1.96bn to that, up 8.7% from 2017's figures.

Ahead of possible strikes, the airline advised customers to review their contact details on its website or contact their travel agent.

It added it would "pursue every avenue" to find a solution to the dispute.--BBC

US interest rate cut fails to impress Trump

The US central bank has cut interest rates for the first time since 2008 but not won over President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump, who had demanded a big rate cut, was unimpressed with the Federal Reserve's 0.25 percentage point cut that took the federal funds target range to 2-2.25%.

In a tweet, the president scorned Fed chair Jerome Powell, saying: "As usual, Powell let us down."

The main stock market indexes on Wall Street all closed more than 1% lower.

Analysts cited uncertainty over how many rate cuts the market should expect.

"What the market wanted to hear from Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve was that this was the beginning of a lengthy and aggressive rate-cutting cycle which would keep pace with China," tweeted Mr Trump.

At a news conference following the announcement, Mr Powell said the rate cut had been "well telegraphed", but he was not committing to "just one" cut.

Cutting rates makes borrowing money cheaper for businesses and consumers alike. But support for the measure was not unanimous.

The cut was opposed by two members of the Fed's Open Markets Committee, the body responsible for setting rates. There were eight votes in favour, including Mr Powell and vice-chair John Williams.

Trade tensions

Mr Powell said the US economy had grown "at a healthy pace" over the first six months of the year.

However, there had been "both positive and negative developments".

"Manufacturing output has declined for two consecutive quarters," he said.

Mr Powell said weak global growth had also played a part in the Fed's decision.

He said it was not the Fed's job to criticise US trade policy, which has been dominated by a trade battle with China as the two nations have imposed tit-for-tat tariff increases on each other's products.

He added that trade policy tensions had "nearly boiled over" during May and June, "but now they appear to have returned to a simmer".

Mr Powell denied that the Fed was giving in to pressure from President Trump for a rate cut, saying that there was "no place" in the central bank's discussions for political concerns.

Low inflation

The Fed statement said the labour market remained strong and economic activity had been rising at a moderate rate.

"Job gains have been solid, on average, in recent months, and the unemployment rate has remained low," it added.

"Although growth of household spending has picked up from earlier in the year, growth of business fixed investment has been soft.

"On a 12-month basis, overall inflation and inflation for items other than food and energy are running below 2%."

Inflation is lower than US policymakers would like, which was one of the reasons for the rate cut.

At present, the US economy is creating plenty of jobs. Unemployment hit a 49-year low in May and was at 3.7% last month.

But many of those jobs are in the service sector and are low-paying with low hours, economists say.--BBC

No-deal Brexit plans to get £2.1bn boost

The government has announced an extra £2.1bn worth of funding to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

The plans include more border force officers and upgrades to transport infrastructure at ports.

There will also be more money to ease traffic congestion in Kent and tackle queues created by delays at the border.

Other measures include money for stockpiling medicines to ensure continued supplies, as well as a national programme to help businesses.

"With 92 days until the UK leaves the European Union it's vital that we intensify our planning to ensure we are ready," said Chancellor Sajid Javid, announcing the move.

"We want to get a good deal that abolishes the anti-democratic backstop. But if we can't get a good deal, we'll have to leave without one.

"This additional £2.1bn will ensure we are ready to leave on 31 October - deal or no-deal."

Brexit: What is the Irish border backstop?

No-deal Brexit: Are we ready?

No-deal Brexit: 10 ways it could affect you

But shadow chancellor John McDonnell described the plans as "an appalling waste of taxpayers' cash, all for the sake of Boris Johnson's drive towards a totally avoidable no-deal".

He added: "This government could have ruled out no-deal and spent these billions on our schools, hospitals, and people.

"Labour is a party for the whole of the UK, so we'll do all we can to block a no-deal, crash-out Brexit."

"Turbo-charging" no-deal preparation is the energetic promise of the new Treasury, which under previous management had been accused by the now prime minister and his Brexiteer allies of dragging its feet on funding for such measures.

But there will be hundreds of new border force officers required for new checks, as well as improvements to port infrastructure.

Some of this boost, however, is a repeat prescription for vital medicine supply - spending tens of millions again on reserving cross-Channel ferry capacity and for specialist warehousing and stockpiling that was not, in the end, required after the last Brexit deadline.

All this is designed to mitigate the anticipated freight gridlock around Dover and Calais.

But that is not entirely in the government's hands. Much depends on whether the French authorities choose to enforce full customs and health checks on freight from the UK.

The flow across the Channel also depends on the preparedness of many smaller traders, more than half of whom have not signed up to the most basic customs registration that will become mandatory for European trade under no-deal.

An advertising campaign will target this vital group. It will have to persuade them that no-deal is highly likely, even as the prime minister himself suggests the chances are vanishingly small.

The new money consists of £1.1bn which will be provided to departments and devolved administrations immediately, while a further £1bn will be made available if needed.

This comes on top of £4.2bn already allocated for Brexit preparations by the previous chancellor, Philip Hammond.

The measures announced by Mr Javid include £344m to be spent on new border and customs operations.

This includes recruiting an extra 500 border force officers, in addition to 500 already announced, while there will also be more money for training customs agents and processing UK passport applications.

Another £434m will be spent on ensuring continuity of vital medicines and medical products, including freight transport, warehousing and stockpiling.

Of the rest, £108m will go on promoting and supporting businesses "to ensure they are ready for Brexit", including a national programme of business readiness and "helping exporters to prepare for, and capitalise on, new opportunities".

There will also be a public information campaign and an increase in consular support for Britons living abroad, at a cost of £138m.--BBC

Ryanair boss warns as many as 900 jobs could be at risk

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has warned staff to prepare for job cuts in the coming weeks, saying the airline has 900 too many pilots and cabin crew.

In a video message to workers, he said redundancies would be announced by the end of August, although he did not put an exact number on the losses.

He blamed planned cuts to flights next summer due to the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max fleet.

He also cited falling profits, higher oil prices and Brexit uncertainty.

Air fare wars and Brexit hit Ryanair

Ryanair to cut flights after 737 Max delays

"It's been a challenging summer, we're facing into a very difficult winter," he said in the video, seen by the BBC.

"I'm sorry to advise you that this means we need to cut our aircraft numbers and our staffing, not just for summer 2020 but also in winter 2019.

"This will result in some base cuts, some base closures, and I'm very sorry to say, some job losses this winter for pilots and cabin crew, at the end of our summer schedule in September and October, and also some immediately after Christmas."

'Damaging effect'

The 737 Max is grounded worldwide over concerns with its software following two deadly crashes.

Mr O'Leary said it been a big factor in the cuts, having delayed the delivery of some 28 planes and having forced the airline to cut flights and close bases.

Mr O'Leary also blamed the "increasing likelihood of a no-deal Brexit in just 12 weeks' time".

"We're worried this could have quite a damaging effect, particularly on our UK bases and on some of our Irish bases, which are heavily dependent on people travelling between Ireland and the UK."

Overall, he said Ryanair now had an excess of more than 500 pilots and 400 flight attendants, and that it would need 600 fewer cabin crew by summer 2020.

'Minimise losses'

Mr O'Leary sent his message after the carrier reported a 21% fall on profits on Monday for the three months to the end of June.

It said the average price of a ticket had fallen 6% as the company struggled with higher fuel prices and a fare war.

Mr O'Leary said the airline would do all it could to minimise the job losses and was in talks with unions - adding that a final decision on the number of cuts would not be made until the end of August.

Fórsa, the union representing Ryanair cabin crew in Ireland, said the news was "obviously of concern" to staff.

"Fórsa is watching the situation closely, and has told the airline's management that it expects to be consulted on any measures that could impact on the jobs, incomes or working conditions of union members."--BBC

VG Siddhartha: The man who brought coffee culture to India

The death of VG Siddhartha, the founder and owner of Café Coffee Day, has sent shockwaves across the business community in India.

His body was found in the early hours of Wednesday morning near a river on the outskirts of the southern Indian city of Mangalore.

Despite running India's largest coffee chain, Mr Siddhartha was a media-shy and aloof entrepreneur who kept away from the spotlight.

Even though he maintained a very low profile, the brand he created went on to symbolise the rise of India's economic stature on the global map.

Indian coffee tycoon's body found

Mr Siddhartha was born to a family of coffee plantation owners in Chikmagalur, a lush hill station located in the southern state of Karnataka.

He started his career as an investment banker in the 1980s, but soon started to invest in the stock markets himself.

His first big break came post-1991, when the Indian economy was liberalised, lifting restrictions on the coffee trade.

This paved the way for him to start a coffee beans business in 1993. Within two years, his company became one of the largest exporters of coffee from India.

Rapid growth

Inspired by the cafe culture in the West, he started toying with the idea of starting a coffee chain in India. Initially he was discouraged by his colleagues, who thought cappuccino would not find many takers in what was primarily a tea-drinking nation.

But Mr Siddhartha didn't abandon the plan. Then a chat with the owners of Tchibo, a German coffee chain, encouraged him to put the plan into action.

In 1996, he opened the first Café Coffee Day outlet at an upscale locality in Bangalore with the slogan: "A lot can happen over a cup of coffee."

The cafe became an instant hit among young people, with students and corporate executives under the age of 30 spending hours there sipping coffee.

The popularity fuelled rapid growth for the company in the late 1990s and 2000s. Café Coffee Day opened its first international outlet in Vienna in 2005. By 2011, it had opened more than 1,000 stores.

Bangalore-based brand consultant Harish Bijoor describes Mr Siddhartha as the Howard Schultz of India. Mr Schultz, the former long-serving chief executive of Starbucks, was instrumental in transforming the US-based coffee company into an iconic international brand.

"Siddhartha revolutionised the coffee culture in India. He was the undisputed coffee king," Mr Bijoor told the BBC.

Different formats

The business model of Café Coffee Day was based on three principles: affordable coffee, good ambience and quality service.

Throughout this period, Mr Siddhartha kept evolving the business by coming up with different store formats to meet the demands of multiple customer groups.

While Café Coffee Day was targeted towards young people who wouldn't want to pay more than $1 to $1.50 for a coffee, he also opened a few lounge-style outlets focused on premium customers, who didn't mind spending more money for added services.

These cafes had more food options on the menu, while wi-fi was often provided for nothing, a rarity in those days.

"Coffee along with internet was a deadly combination at that time," adds Mr Bijoor.

Today the company has more than 1,700 stores in more than 200 cities, including Prague, Vienna and Kuala Lumpur.

New rivals

After sailing through for more than a decade without any serious competition, Café Coffee Day started to feel the heat in 2012, with the arrival of international chains in India including Starbucks and Costa Coffee. The company had to slow its expansion because of cut-throat competition.

In 2015, to raise more money, Mr Siddhartha took the company public by listing it on the Indian stock exchange. But it got a tepid response from investors, with the company's share price falling 18% on the first day of trading.

Shubhranshu Pani of JLL, a real estate firm that advises Café Coffee Day, says that after that, the company started to shut down non-profitable stores to trim its losses.

"They realised that they had to change their strategy to fight competition," Mr Pani told the BBC.

The move worked. Café Coffee Day has made profits consecutively for the last three financial years.

But one major obstacle, rising debt, has continued to hurt growth. The company's overall debt was just under $1bn for the financial year ending in March 2019.

Potent brand

To reduce the firm's borrowings, Mr Siddhartha sold 20.41% of his investment in Mindtree, an Indian IT firm, for more than $450m earlier this year.

There were also reports that Mr Siddhartha was in talks with investors including Coca-Cola to sell part of his stake in Café Coffee Day to bring down the debt. However, the company and Coca-Cola have never confirmed those reports.

But the rising debt issue has also dented the company's market valuation.

In January 2018, Café Coffee Day's share price touched an all-time high, taking the market capitalisation of the company to more than $1bn, but since then, the shares have fallen sharply in value.

In fact, since Tuesday, when the news of Mr Siddhartha's disappearance first emerged, the share price has fallen by more than 35%.

Despite the challenges, analysts believe that Cafe Coffee Day is a potent brand that has a bright future if managed properly - which is all the more reason why Mr Siddhartha's sudden demise has left many in the Indian business world in shock.

A recent letter, sent by the tycoon to the Cafe Coffee Day board, may contain clues as to what happened.

In it, Mr Siddhartha lamented that he had "failed to create the right profitable business model despite my best efforts".

He also said he was in debt, "solely responsible for all mistakes" and had "failed as an entrepreneur."

And he accused a former director general of the income tax department of harassing him, which he says led to a "serious liquidity crunch".

His family has vouched for the authenticity of the letter, which has been widely shared, but others have questioned it.

And as a political storm gathers around the affair, the company has appealed for "the support and strength" of all its stakeholders, while promising to ensure the "continuity" of business.--BBC

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Companies under Cautionary

Bindura Nickel Corporation

Padenga Holdings

Delta Corporation

Meikles Limited

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