Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 02 December 2019

Mon Dec 2 09:31:04 CAT 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 02 December 2019

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*  AfDB approves $210 mln loan for Nigeria's power transmission project

*  South African Airways shunned by insurers as financial doubts grow

*  Algeria's cereal import bill falls 12% in Jan-Sept

*  Nigeria sees stable FX rate, tight monetary policy in 2020 -cenbank

*  Norwegian bank DNB's shares drop 6% on Namibia investigation

*  Nigerian central bank injects $323 mln, 18 mln yuan into currency market

*  South Africa's Telkom says Cell C has rejected takeover offer

*  Kenya's parliament approves an extra 78 bln shillings in spending

*   South African rand firms but remains range-bound, stocks fall

*  South African trade surplus shrinks in October

*  Cyber Monday expected to rake in 'record US sales'

*  Brexit: Could the UK and EU sort a trade deal in months?

*  Amazon pulls Auschwitz-themed Christmas ornaments

*  Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide

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AfDB approves $210 mln loan for Nigeria's power transmission project

LAGOS (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $210 million loan to help Nigeria upgrade its dilapidated electricity transmission and distribution network.

The loan to Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will support construction of 330KV double circuit quad transmission lines and sub-stations across the country, the bank said in a statement late on Friday.

The AfDB funded project will run across seven states and will improve the capacity of power grid where it is most constrained.  

Nigeria privatised most of its power sector in 2013 but retained control of its monopoly grid, operated by TCN. Most of the country’s power generation is from thermal power stations that use gas.

The creaking power grid has often been blamed for hobbling growth in west Africa’s largest economy.

AfDB’s acting vice president for Power & Energy, Wale Shonibare said implementing the project would increase evacuation from the south towards the north, where power supply is limited.

The project would also improve power export and regional power system integration to the West African Power pool, especially through Niger and Benin interconnections, he said.

The country’s power output stands at around 4,000 MW, the Nigeria Electricity System Operator has said. Total power generation capacity is about 7,000 MW but the transmission network cannot cope if plants operate at full tilt.

Nigeria’s privatized power sector typically does not use meters to provide invoices, bill collections are low and energy tariffs have remained fixed for three years.

The effect, say industry experts, is that electricity distribution companies recover so little revenue from customers that they pay less than a third of what they owe to generating companies - leaving the sector with ballooning debts.

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South African Airways shunned by insurers as financial doubts grow

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Two big travel insurance companies in South Africa have stopped covering tickets issued by South African Airways (SAA) against insolvency as doubts grow about whether the struggling state-owned airline can survive.

While the move is unlikely to push SAA into liquidation by itself, it will hurt ticket sales and exacerbate a cash crunch that left the airline unable to pay salaries on time this month, analysts said.

SAA has not made a profit since 2011 and has been struggling with an unprofitable network, inefficient planes and a bloated workforce, despite bailouts of more than 20 billion rand ($1.4 billion) over the past three years.

Its financial position worsened dramatically after Nov. 15, when two of its largest unions began an eight-day strike over pay that forced SAA to cancel hundreds of flights.

Banks want additional guarantees from the state before they lend SAA more money but Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has refused, leaving the airline’s finances on a knife edge.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan still wants to save SAA, which says it needs to more than 2 billion rand ($136 million) quickly to stay afloat.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has stayed out of the tussle so far but the longer Mboweni refuses to sign off on guarantees, the more likely it is that SAA will shut down - an outcome an SAA board member said last week was a possibility.

Santam’s Travel Insurance Consultants (TIC) said this week it had stopped its travel supplier insolvency benefit for SAA flights then Australian agency Flight Centre Travel Group said it would stop selling SAA tickets.

The company that administers Hollard Travel Insurance told Reuters on Friday it had also excluded SAA from its travel supplier insolvency coverage, citing the airline’s finances.

Bryte Insurance’s head of travel Anrieth Symon said on Friday it had reversed its position on SAA and would cover its flights against insolvency.

SAA spokesman Tlali Tlali declined to comment when called by Reuters on Friday and did not respond to emailed questions.

Neither Mboweni’s spokeswoman nor Gordhan’s spokesman answered their phones when called by Reuters.

‘ALL OPTIONS’

SAA said in a memo to staff on Friday seen by Reuters that its board and executives were in intense discussions with the government and that the airline’s leaders were exploring “all options regarding SAA’s future”.

Guy Leitch, an aviation analyst who edits the SA Flyer magazine, said the decisions by the insurers and Flight Centre to drop the airline were hugely significant.

“No one managing SAA, from Minister Gordhan downwards, anticipated the flight of confidence that the strike would have,” Leitch said.

In a letter to clients dated Nov. 28, Flight Centre said its preferred travel insurance provider was no longer willing to cover SAA due to doubts about its long-term viability.

TIC said its reinsurers had instructed it to exclude SAA from its insolvency coverage. It did not disclose the names of its reinsurers.

Ramaphosa’s government has taken a harder line on SAA recently, saying repeated bailouts must come to an end. He is trying to preserve the country’s last investment-grade credit rating and revive growth in Africa’s second-biggest economy.

South Africa’s sovereign debt is rated “junk” by S&P Global and Fitch Ratings but Moody’s still ranks it as investment grade, helping to prevent a spike in borrowing costs typically sparked by a downgrade from all three agencies.

Leitch said SAA’s liabilities exceeded its assets by a huge amount and the recent loss of confidence in the airline would force the government to decide whether to rescue it.

“This is a high-stakes game.”

($1 = 14.7075 rand)

Algeria's cereal import bill falls 12% in Jan-Sept

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria’s spending on imports of cereals dropped 12% in the first nine months of 2019 compared with the same period last year, official data showed on Saturday.

Algeria, one of the world’s biggest grain importers, has been trying to cut expenditure on purchases of cereals and other goods after a fall in energy earnings.

The government this month decided to reduce its soft wheat imports to 4 million tonnes a year, from the current 6.2 million tonnes.

The value of imports of cereals reached $2.1 billion in the nine months to September 30, down from $2.4 billion in the year-earlier period, according to customs figures.

Nigeria sees stable FX rate, tight monetary policy in 2020 -cenbank

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria’s central bank expects to maintain its stable exchange rate policy in the medium term and keep monetary policy tight in 2020 to combat inflation and support the naira amidst slow growth in Africa’s largest economy, its governor said.

“The CBN will continue to ensure that the policy interest rate is delicately set to balance the objectives of price stability with output stabilization,” Godwin Emefiele said in a speech in the commercial capital of Lagos late on Friday.

He said the priorities on exchange rate hinged on the relatively high level of reserves.

The central bank has been trying to boost economic growth by encouraging commercial banks to lend, after a 2016 recession slashed income and triggered a currency crisis. The country has since emerged from that contraction but growth is fragile.

Emefiele kept rates high and liquidity tight in 2019 to support the currency and has forecasted the economy to expand by 2.2% this year after growth picked up in the third quarter, lifted by a rise in crude production.

Inflation soared to a 17-month high in October, worsened by the government’s decision to close its land borders with neighbouring countries.

The central bank this week said the impact of the border closures on prices was “reactionary and temporary” and that the medium-term benefits of the government’s decision outweighed the short-term costs.

Emefiele said he would advise the government to maintain the closures in the interests of boosting economic output, which has been recovering relatively slowly in the non-oil sector.

He urged the government to diversify its exports so as not to over-rely on oil, adding that growth has been positive but that the country still needs to improve infrastructure in order to boost the economy.

“We should encourage Nigerians to consume goods that can be produced in Nigeria, knowing fully well that a time will come when we may not have the foreign exchange to aid such activities, if we continue to rely on earnings from the export of crude oil,” he told bankers.

Emefiele said the country would need to build buffers to insulate it from pressures in the global market.

Nigeria has maintained multiple exchange rates to manage pressure on the naira after currency controls were introduced in 2015 to counter the impact of low prices for crude oil, which provides 90% of the country’s foreign-exchange earnings.

Norwegian bank DNB's shares drop 6% on Namibia investigation

OSLO (Reuters) - Shares in Norwegian bank DNB plunged more than 6% on Friday after the country’s white-collar crime unit launched an investigation into its handling of payments to Namibia from Iceland’s biggest fishing company.

The fishing firm, Samherji, and DNB, Norway’s biggest bank, have both denied wrongdoing.

The investigation follows a report by Iceland’s public broadcaster this month that said the fishing company had made illicit payments worth millions of dollars to secure fishing quotas in Namibia.

Namibia’s biggest corruption scandal has led to the arrest of its former justice and fisheries ministers and cast a shadow over the country’s ruling party ahead of this week’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

On Friday, a Namibian magistrate ruled that former justice minister Sakeus Shanghala and former fisheries minister Bernardt Esau, who were arrested along with four others, would stay in jail over the weekend ahead of their bail application on Monday.

The six are charged with money laundering, fraud and corruptly using state office to obtain gratifications.

The two South African lawyers representing the six were also arrested on Friday for entering Namibia illegally. They pled guilty, paid a N$10,000 ($680) fine and were released.

“They testified under oath that they were not threatened or forced to plead guilty,” said advocate Esi Schimming-Chase.

The lawyers, Mike Hellens and Dawie Joubert, have previously represented former South African President Jacob Zuma in various cases linked to government mismanagement.

NORDIC LINK

Long regarded as only a minor risk issue for Nordic banks, economic crime has become a major concern over the past two years after money laundering scandals at Danske Bank and Swedbank.

While shares in Danske and Swedbank have plunged since 2017, falling by 65% and 47% respectively, DNB has traded near its record high in recent months and is still only 11% off its 2019 peak hit on Oct. 28.

The investigation is still in an early phase, Norwegian police said.

Separately, Sweden’s central bank said on Thursday that the International Monetary Fund would examine efforts by Nordic banks and regulators to stop money laundering in Baltic countries.

($1 = 14.7080 Namibian dollars)

Nigerian central bank injects $323 mln, 18 mln yuan into currency market

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria’s central bank injected $323.5 million and 17.9 million Chinese yuan ($2.5 million) into the currency market on Friday in an effort to keep it stable and prevent shortages.

A central bank spokesman said the dollar intervention was for agricultural machinery and industrial raw materials, while the yuan was for yuan-denominated letters of credit.

He added that the bank would continue to ensure adequate liquidity in the market.

Traders have said importers are not willing to buy the dollar above the current range, which is partly helping to keep the naira stable as liquidity dries up from foreign inflows due to a fall in debt yields.

In the over-the-counter market the naira was quoted at between 362 and 362.50 this week, holding within this month’s range. The currency is quoted at 307 on the official market, supported by the central bank.

South Africa's Telkom says Cell C has rejected takeover offer

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African telecoms company Telkom SA said on Friday its takeover bid for Cell C had been rejected, a move that comes after its larger but troubled rival expanded a roaming agreement with African giant MTN Group.

Seeking to become a mobile-focused business, Telkom has tried to buy Cell C in the past. This month South Africa’s No. 4 carrier made another approach as Cell C’s debt woes raised questions over how it would survive.

“Telkom has received written notice from the Cell C board of directors rejecting its non-binding proposal,” Telkom, which is 40% owned by the state, said in a statement.

“The Telkom Board continues to believe the offer is a compelling proposition that would have created significant value for all stakeholders including Telkom’s shareholders.”

Cell C, the nation’s No. 3 carrier and majority owned by Blue Label Telecoms, confirmed it had declined the offer.

“Cell C will consider all offers which take the full value of Cell C into consideration,” the company said in a statement.

Blue Label declined to comment.

The deal with MTN will see an existing agreement, which gives Cell C access to MTN’s network in some areas of the country, expanded nationwide.

Telkom has also been grappling with its own debt problems after hefty investments to gear its operation towards newer technologies like mobile and fibre.

The mobile unit is now the star performer of its business, whereas customer numbers in previously big profit drivers like fixed line are falling.

The mobile unit grew revenues by almost 57% in the six months to Sept. 30.

Kenya's parliament approves an extra 78 bln shillings in spending

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s parliament has approved 78.14 billion shillings ($769.85 million) in extra spending requested by the Treasury in its revised budget for the 2019/20 financial year.

The finance ministry had asked for an additional 86.60 billion shillings, or a 3% rise in spending for roads, health, and projects to support the manufacturing sector, but parliament reduced the additional funds.

“This house ... approves an overall increase in the total budget,” parliament speaker Justin Muturi said on Thursday, before the house voted by acclamation to approve the request.

The budget deficit for this July-June financial year is set at 6.3% of GDP, slightly higher than the original target of 5.9%, reflecting growing expenditure requirements for the government and weaker revenue collection.

Lawmakers said they would start preparing a bill for the establishment of an independent debt management office to address concerns about rising debt levels.

With increased public borrowing, especially from China, in recent years for projects such as a new railway line linking the port of Mombasa with the hinterland, the country’s growing debt stock has raised concerns among the public.

Total public debt stood at 62.3% of GDP as of June, the World Bank said in late October.

When President Uhuru Kenyatta came to power in 2013, total public debt stood at about 42% of GDP. The government has justified the higher borrowing, saying it is required for infrastructure improvements. ($1 = 101.5000 Kenyan shillings)

South African rand firms but remains range-bound, stocks fall

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand firmed against the dollar on Friday, but the currency was stuck in a range as investors sought clarity on whether a new U.S. law backing Hong Kong protesters could derail trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing.

At 1520 GMT the rand was 0.34% firmer at 14.6550 per dollar. Traders had expected the rand to trade in a range of 14.60-14.80 a dollar.

The focus was on U.S.-China trade developments after the United States backed anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, as well as domestic third-quarter gross domestic product numbers due on Tuesday.

“Rand awaits GDP data and global developments,” said Bianca Botes, treasury partner at Peregrine Treasury Solutions.

“China’s response to the U.S.’s two new laws supporting Hong Kong protesters remains unknown and potentially harmful for the U.S. and the trade deal.”

Investors were uncertain about the fate of a ‘phase-one’ trade deal between the two economies, after Beijing warned the United States on Thursday it would take “firm counter measures” in response to the U.S. legislation.

On the bourse, the benchmark JSE Top-40 Index was down 0.76% to 49,093 points while the broader All-Share Index fell 0.63% to 55,349 points.

Anglo-South African financial services group Investec closed 1.8% lower after the firm said it would sell about 10% of its asset management business, to be renamed Ninety One, when it is spun off as part of a demerger expected in March.

Bonds edged firmer, with the yield on the benchmark 2026 paper down 2 basis points to 8.455%.

South African trade surplus shrinks in October

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s trade surplus narrowed to 3.09 billion rand ($210 million) in October from a revised 4.53 billion rand surplus in September , data from the revenue service showed on Friday.

Exports were up 11.9% on a month-on-month basis to 123.4 billion rand while imports jumped 13.7% to 120.3 billion, the South African Revenue Service said.

($1 = 14.7075 rand)

Cyber Monday expected to rake in 'record US sales'

Retailers were poised for record-breaking Cyber Monday sales following blockbuster spending in this year's Black Friday events, a forecast showed.

Consumers in the US were expected to spend $9.4bn (£7.3bn) online on Monday, according to Adobe Analytics.

The report found Black Friday, a global shopping event held last week, raked in a record $7.4bn in the US.

The bumper sales come amid criticism from activists over the environmental impacts of the annual shopping sprees.

The Abode report, which measures transactions from 80 of the top 100 US online retailers, found the biggest selling items on Black Friday included Frozen 2 toys, FIFA 20 video games and L.O.L Surprise Dolls.

It found this year's event also set records for mobile shopping, with $2.9bn in sales coming from smartphones.

Last year Cyber Monday delivered $7.9bn in US sales, Adobe said.

Katheryn Russ, economics professor at University of California, told the BBC the strength of Black Friday spending was "not altogether surprising" given the "hot [US] job market right now".

The US labour market has remained resilient even as recent data showed the world's largest economy grew at its slowest rate this year.

Black Friday: I feel guilty about how much I return

Loan sharks cash in on Black Friday spending spree

'We'll sit in Black Friday queue for you'

Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda, said the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales figures will provide important insight about the strength of the US economy.

"With so much riding on the US consumer as the consumer of last resort, the combined data from Friday and [Monday's] shopping days will be monitored closely," Mr Halley said.

Climate concerns

Black Friday started in the US but has caught on around the world.

The record spending has come despite a backlash from campaigners concerned that the event encourages wasteful impulse buying.

Last week activists across France staged protests against e-commerce giant Amazon, including attempts to blockade shopping and logistics centres in the country.

"Certainly climate change seems to be foremost in the mind of an increasing percentage of the population. Also, we have seen more concern about plastics and waste," Prof Russ said.

Looking ahead, she said these concerns could start to influence buying habits.

"Definitely trends like this could have a big impact over time on consumer spending decisions."--BBC

Brexit: Could the UK and EU sort a trade deal in months?

The central element in the Conservatives' election pitch is a commitment to "get Brexit done".

Boris Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement with the EU would indeed end the UK's membership.

But it would leave some very important Brexit-related challenges still to do, including the UK's future trade relationship with the bloc, and with the rest of the world.

Some people are worried that we might face a new "cliff-edge" at the end of 2020.

What might happen next year?

Under Mr Johnson's Withdrawal Agreement, the existing arrangements between the EU and UK would temporarily continue, with goods and services being allowed to flow freely across the various borders with the continent.

That arrangement is due to end on 31 December 2020.

If Boris Johnson wins a majority he says he would negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU ready to go into operation at the end of 2020.

An FTA is an agreement between two countries which eliminates trade taxes, known as tariffs, with the aim of making business and commerce run more smoothly. FTAs often also include measures to reduce other types of regulatory barriers that make trade more difficult.

What is the Withdrawal Agreement Bill?

What is in Boris Johnson's new Brexit deal?

Is there enough time to negotiate a trade deal?

The aim is to have a deal done in time for the end of 2020. That is a very challenging timetable.

Trade negotiations tend to take several years to complete. They are technically challenging and politically contentious. Both those features can make them drag on.

To take one example, the EU's deal with Canada took more than five years for negotiators to complete and another three before it came into force, on a provisional basis.

The UK-EU negotiation will be unusual in that it is intended to establish a trade relationship that is less integrated than what the two sides have now.

Usually, trade negotiations make for closer commercial relations, so past experience isn't necessarily a good guide to the likely timetable.

Some people say that because we are already fully aligned with the EU the negotiation will be easy and quick.

But for many Brexit supporters the freedom to depart from EU rules is one of the main prizes. How much we depart - on food standards for example - will be important for the EU in judging what restrictions to impose on British goods. That could be a time consuming process.

Yes. There is a provision in the Withdrawal Agreement to extend the transition period by one or two years, but that decision must be taken by 1 July.

So there would only be a few months of negotiating time before an extension would need to be agreed. Will there have been enough progress by then to allow us to be confident that it can all be done in another six months?

After that date an extension could not be done with the arrangements in the Withdrawal Agreement. The Agreement itself would have to be amended. Legally that is possible, but it would require the agreement of the UK and all 27 EU countries.

What happens if there is no FTA by the end of the transition period?

If there is no agreement the trade relationship would default to what is known as World Trade Organization (WTO) terms - which is what trade relations would be if we left the EU now with no deal.

WTO terms mean British exporters would have the same access to the EU as do other countries with no trade agreement.

That means the EU would apply to UK goods the same tariffs it applies to goods from the US or China for example.

For cars that would be 10%. EU tariffs are particularly high for some agricultural products. British exporters would also face regulatory barriers they currently don't.

If we do get a trade agreement, what would it mean in practice?

UK exports would not face tariffs going into the EU. Whether they would have to go through some checks and tests to show compliance with EU rules would depend on exactly what was agreed.

So exporting could involve more red tape and more costs for UK firms.

This is one reason why many economists think the UK economy will be smaller with this kind of deal than it would have been had we stayed in the EU.

How easily services businesses could supply clients in the EU would depend on the extent of regulatory alignment and on what agreement can be reached on working and travelling across borders.

Can we have an FTA with the US if we have one with the EU?

It would probably be more difficult. One clear potential trouble spot is product regulations, especially food standards.

The US and EU tried to negotiate a wide ranging deal that ran aground partly on that issue.

There were particular issues about chlorine-rinsed chicken, growth-promoting hormones used in beef production, and genetically modified (GM) foods.

The US wanted to be able to sell these foods (or to do so more easily in the case of GM foods) in the EU. The EU wouldn't agree.

In a UK-US trade negotiation, the Americans will want easier access for their foods to the UK.

The EU would be very wary of any such foods in circulation in the UK finding their way into the EU's single market.

If they thought that was a risk they would be more reluctant to allow unrestricted access for UK goods, lest some of the controversial US food should get in.

If we don't get a FTA with the EU is that a "no-deal Brexit"?

The term "no-deal" was often used to mean no withdrawal agreement. So the scenario of no FTA at the end of next year is not no-deal in that sense.

Ratifying Mr Johnson's deal would mean an agreement covering citizens' rights (EU citizens here and British on the continent) the financial contribution and the Irish border.

But "no deal" is also sometimes used as meaning no trade agreement and a WTO terms trade relationship with the EU and that scenario is a possible outcome of Mr Johnson's approach.--BBC

Amazon pulls Auschwitz-themed Christmas ornaments

Amazon has withdrawn a range of "Christmas ornaments" displaying images of a former concentration camp that sellers had posted on its website.

The move followed a tweet from Poland's Auschwitz Memorial calling on the retailer to remove the "disturbing and disrespectful" merchandise.

It included Christmas tree decorations, a bottle opener and a mouse-pad.

All displayed scenes from the Nazi death camp where millions of people were killed in World War Two.

The Christmas merchandise featured images from Auschwitz including the railway line leading to its infamous gates, the barbed wire fences and the buildings where it housed victims - mainly Jews.

The memorial and museum later posted an update to say the items had been removed and thanked social media users for their "activity and response" after the post attracted thousands of retweets.

But later Auschwitz Memorial posted again to say "sadly, it's not over yet".

PC dismissed for Auschwitz eBay sales

Poland reacts angrily to Netflix Nazi documentary

'I lost my childhood in the Holocaust'

It said it had found a "disturbing online product" from another seller - a computer mouse-pad bearing the image of a freight train used for deporting people to the concentration camps.

Amazon said the "products in question have been removed".

"All sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who do not will be subject to action, including potential removal of their account," the company added.--BBC

Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide

Daimler, the German carmaker that owns Mercedes-Benz, has said it will shed at least 10,000 jobs worldwide as it seeks to fund the switch to electric cars.

Daimler personnel chief Wilfried Porth told journalists the number of jobs lost would be "in the five figures".

The move comes days after rival Audi said it would cut 9,500 of its 61,000 jobs in Germany for similar reasons.

Daimler said the car industry was going through "the biggest transformation in its history".

"The development towards CO2-neutral mobility requires large investments, which is why Daimler announced in the middle of November that it would launch a programme to increase competitiveness, innovation and investment strength," the firm said.

"Part of this programme is to reduce staff costs by around €1.4bn by the end of 2022 and, among other things, to reduce the number of management positions worldwide by 10%."

Electric cars

Daimler, which has a global workforce of nearly 300,000 and factories in 17 countries, said it would reduce costs and employment "in a socially responsible manner", including the use of "natural fluctuation".

"In addition, the possibilities for part-time retirement will be expanded and a severance programme will be offered in Germany in order to reduce jobs in the administration," it added.

Daimler said its plans had been agreed with the firm's works council, which includes union representation.

German carmakers have been slow to adapt to new technological trends, including self-driving cars and electric vehicles.

At the same time, they have been suffering falling demand in China, while the trade war between Washington and Bejing has also dented growth.--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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