Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 01 February 2019

Fri Feb 1 06:45:05 CAT 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 01 February 2019

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*  China hails 'important progress' in US trade talks

*  India job data spells trouble for Narendra Modi

*  Amazon sparks fears with sales forecast

*  Uber services suspended in Barcelona

*  Italy in recession amid sluggish eurozone

*  UK, France and Germany create payments system to trade with Iran

*  Equal pay: Asda loses appeal in court case

*  Cherry tomatoes could cost 10% more 'within a week of Brexit'

*  Brexit: Unilever stockpiles Ben & Jerry's and Magnum ice creams

*  'Big six' energy firm Npower to cut 900 jobs

*  South Africa's Eskom says 3 power plants have below 10 days of coal stockpiles

*  Edcon needs $226 mln over three years to "fix" business -CEO

*  Kenya's NIC to merge with Commercial Bank of Africa -NIC chairman

*  Kenya inflation falls, helped by lower transport costs

*  Kenyan shilling seen easing against the dollar

*  Botswana's first private coal mine to produce saleable coal in March

*  S.Africa's Exxaro aims to double coal exports through Richard's Bay by 2023

*  South Africa's trade surplus widens in December

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China hails 'important progress' in US trade talks

China's trade delegation says it made "important progress" in the latest round of talks with the US, China's state media reports.

At the end of a two-day meeting in Washington, China pledged to purchase an additional five million tonnes of US soy beans.

US President Donald Trump touted the promise as evidence that the two sides were making progress.

"Before we make a deal, it's a fantastic sign of faith," he said.

The Chinese delegation said in a statement that the two sides had had "candid, specific and fruitful" discussions, the Xinhua news agency reported.

At a press conference with Vice Premier Liu He on Thursday, Mr Trump said he hoped to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to hash out a final agreement by the 1 March deadline.

He also said he planned to send US officials to China for another round of talks.

"We have made tremendous progress," he said.

"That doesn't mean you're going to have a deal but there's a tremendous relationship and a warm feeling."

Is this progress?

In December, the US and China agreed to 90 days of negotiations, in an effort to defuse their escalating trade war, which had led to new tariffs on billions of dollars worth of goods.

Will the US and China finally agree a trade deal?

A quick guide to the US-China trade war

Shortly after, China - by far the world's biggest importer of soybeans - bought 1.13 million tonnes of the crop from the US.

The White House said on Thursday the country had agreed to purchase an additional 5 million tonnes - a promise Mr Trump described as "tremendous".

China imported more than 30 million tonnes of soybeans in 2017 - a figure that dropped sharply last year amid the trade war.

However, the US has also pressed for change on issues such as the theft of trade secrets and rules that limit the operations of foreign companies.

Officials said those issues were discussed, but did not provide details.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he was focused on securing a enforceable deal. He warned that many issues remained unresolved.

"We've made progress," he said. "At this point, it's impossible for me to predict success but we are in a place that, if things work, it could happen."--BBC

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

India job data spells trouble for Narendra Modi

India's unemployment rate is the highest it has been since the 1970s, according to a leaked government jobs report.

Economist Vivek Kaul explains what this means and why it matters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which is accused of withholding the findings months before the general election.

What does the report say?

It says that India has a jobs problem.

The country's unemployment rate - 6.1% - is the highest it has been since 1972-73, the earliest year for which comparable data is available. This is according to the latest employment survey, which was leaked to The Business Standard newspaper, after the government refused to release it.

On its own, an unemployment rate of 6.1% may not sound too dire, until you consider that in 2011-12, it was just 2.2%. And it's particularly high among people between 15 and 29 years - in urban India, 18.7% of men and 27.2% of women in this age group are looking for jobs, while in rural India, its 17.4% and 13.6% respectively.

How significant is it?

Over the years, the story of India's economic growth has been sold on the basis of its massive and young workforce - people under the age of 35 make up 65% of the population. The idea was that 10 to 12 million young people would enter the workforce every year. As they started earning and spending, growth would accelerate and this would pull millions more out of poverty.

But, as the survey shows, the unemployment rate among young people is very high. Nearly one in every five is unable to find a job. India's so-called demographic dividend is nowhere in sight.

This timing of this finding - just months ahead of a general election - makes it all the more significant. The report was approved by India's national statistics commission. Two of its members resigned earlier this week, citing the government's alleged refusal to release the report as one of the reasons.

Job creation was a key promise during Mr Modi's election campaign in 2013.

Why are millions of Indian women dropping out of work?

Narendra Modi: India's economic saviour?

In early January, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, a private institution, had raised the alarm, saying the number of unemployed people has been rising steadily and had reached 11 million by the end of December 2018.

Who is to blame - the government or the economy?

It is a little bit of both.

The Indian economy and the bureaucratic machinery that supports it do not encourage entrepreneurship and job creation - there is a lot of red tape and crucial reforms are still pending. One cannot lay all the blame on Mr Modi, who has been in power for just five years. The problem is older and deeper.

But Mr Modi had promised "minimum government and maximum governance" - which translates to efficiency and growth - and failed to deliver on this. His government also did two things that badly hurt the economy.

In 2016, his government cancelled all 500 ($8; £6) and 1,000 rupee notes, which accounted for 86% of the currency in circulation. This was supposed to be a crackdown on illegal cash but India's central bank subsequently said most of that money made its way back into the banking system.

Demonetisation, as it is known, adversely affected large parts of India's economy and particularly the informal sector which relied heavily on cash transactions. Agriculture also suffered as farmers largely pay in and get paid in cash. A number of small businesses shut down and those that managed to survive cut jobs. In such situations, young people are more likely to get fired.

Then in July 2017, the government implemented the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a sweeping new single tax code that replaced numerous central and state levies. But it crippled small businesses, partly because it was shoddily designed and implemented. This has also delayed job recovery, suggesting that employment could increase next year.

Why India's GST is one of the world's most complex tax reforms

Viewpoint: Modi's currency gamble damaged Indian economy

The data for this survey was collected between July 2017 and June 2018. It is the first survey of jobs since demonetisation and the new tax code.

Is there a problem with the data?

When opposition parties expressed concern over rising unemployment in the past few years, Mr Modi often dismissed the criticisms, saying "no-one has accurate data on jobs" and calling the figures they quoted "propaganda".

Mr Modi was referring to India's large informal economy, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the country's jobs. But any meaningful employment survey would have to capture this demographic. The periodic labour force survey collects data from large as well as small enterprises across India - it, therefore, takes into account the informal sector.

It counts as unemployed anyone who is looking for work and cannot find it. This includes people looking for jobs through employment exchanges, intermediaries, friends or relatives as well as those applying for work or approaching employers.

Officials have said the figures cited by Business Standard were part of a draft report and not finalised.

"The veracity of the data is not known," said Rajiv Kumar, vice chair of government economic policy think-tank Niti Aayog.

He was speaking a day after India's top statistics official and a deputy resigned, accusing the government of delaying publishing the report which they had approved.

Is high unemployment a sign more people are looking for jobs?

No. A higher rate of unemployment could never possibly be seen as a positive thing.

The survey also includes the labour force participation rate, which has fallen from 39.5% in 2011-12 to 36.9% in 2017-18. This means that a smaller portion of the population is now looking for work. This happens when people looking for jobs cannot find them and eventually decide to stop looking. So, they drop out of the labour force.

It could also mean that a greater number of young people are spending more years in education, simply because they want to or because they cannot find jobs and are putting off joining the labour force.--BBC

Amazon sparks fears with sales forecast

Amazon has forecast lower-than-expected sales for the first three months of the year sparking investor fears over slowing growth.

Shares in the online giant fell almost 5% in after-hours trading despite it reporting record sales and profit for the Christmas holiday period.

Amazon expects sales to grow between 10% and 18% in the first quarter, slightly below analyst forecasts.

A hit from currency exchange rates was partly to blame, the firm said.

How Jeff Bezos took Amazon to the top

Amazon's market value tops $1tn

In the three months to the end of the year, which included the crucial Christmas period, profit rose 63% to $3bn (£2.2bn) while revenue was up 20% to $72.4bn.

While this was better than analysts had expected, it was still the slowest sales growth for the firm since the start of 2015.

The deceleration comes as the firm encounters challenges abroad, with changing regulations in markets such as India.

It also faces increased competition at home, as rival retailers such as Target and Walmart invest heavily in online operations.

Neil Saunders, analyst at research firm GlobalData, said competitors' gains had hurt the growth of Amazon's retail division.

"In our view, the gap between Amazon and the rest is now narrowing," he said.

"Amazon will now need to work doubly hard to achieve any future sales gains."

Nonetheless, he said that compared to many other retailers, the firm's retail sales figures were still strong.

In North America, sales increased 18% year-on-year, while its international sales climbed 15%.

'Impressive' profit

Mr Saunders said the firm's profits were also "impressive".

Amazon's widening profits are largely driven by the growth of its high-margin businesses, including its cloud, advertising and third-party seller services.

Amazon's cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services provided two thirds of the firm's profit last quarter.

It is one of the services the firm is relying on to help offset slowing revenue growth in its retail arm.

Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos, who is also the world's richest man, singled out its smart speaker Alexa, saying it was the company's best-selling device.

Nicholas Hyett, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the online retailer was "tightening its grip" on its customers with add-on services such as Amazon Prime which offer free delivery and other benefits.

"With so many opportunities, the biggest problem facing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is where to focus the attention," he added.--BBC

Uber services suspended in Barcelona

Ride-hailing company Uber says it has suspended its services in the Spanish city of Barcelona because of new regulations.

The decision comes after the Catalan government insisted on imposing a 15-minute delay before passengers could be picked up.

Uber has been the target of protests by taxi drivers in Barcelona who say their business is being undermined.

A rival service, Spain's Cabify, has followed Uber's example.

Uber said the new restrictions left it with "no choice" but to suspend its services "while we assess our future in Barcelona".

Although ride-hailing has been suspended, the UberEats food delivery service will continue to operate in the city.

'We are thrown to the wolves'

London Uber fares rise to fund electric cars

Cabify, which has one million users in Barcelona, said the city had "given in to the demands of the taxi sector, seriously hurting citizens' interests".

It said the move would put 3,000 jobs at risk in the city.

In July last year, Spanish taxi drivers began public protests in Barcelona and Madrid.

The drivers are still on strike in the Spanish capital, but Madrid authorities have said they will not adopt the same restrictions as in Barcelona.

Uber has fallen foul of restrictions in many parts of the world at different times.

In the UK, Transport for London stripped it of its licence in late 2017, saying it was not a "fit and proper" operator.

It was then awarded a short-term 15-month licence for London in June last year, with London mayor Sadiq Khan saying the firm had been "put on probation".--BBC

Italy in recession amid sluggish eurozone

Italy's economy tipped into recession at the end of last year, according to latest figures.

In the final three months of 2018, the economy shrank by 0.2%, following a 0.1% decline in the third quarter, the Istat statistics office said.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the contraction was likely to continue into 2019.

Meanwhile, figures from the EU showed economic growth in the 19-country eurozone still languishing.

Growth in the euro area remained at 0.2% in the final quarter of 2018, the same as the previous quarter and in line with analysts' expectations.

The figures, issued by the Eurostat agency, showed that in the 28-nation EU as a whole, fourth-quarter growth was 0.3%.

In contrast to Italy, some other eurozone economies expanded more than expected, with France and Spain posting growth rates of 0.3% and 0.7% quarter-on-quarter respectively.

Italy's statistics office said agriculture, forestry, fishing and industry had all contributed to the economic downturn, while a rise in net exports failed to offset those declines.

Italy's coalition government was forced to revise its expansionary 2019 budget last month after the European Commission raised concerns about the impact on the country's debt levels.

The renewed recession in Italy aggravates the problem the government has with its finances.

The ruling parties' desire to increase spending to meet election campaign commitments led to a stand-off with the European Commission which argued Italy was going to be borrowing too much. Rome pared back its plans and the dispute was resolved.

But the fact that the economy has turned out to be even weaker is bad news for the government finances.

Tax revenue will be hit and that will tend to lead to a bigger financial hole to be filled by borrowing.

Italy's problem is its accumulated debt, which is on one measure the largest in the eurozone.

It would be a huge problem for the rest of the eurozone if Italy were to suffer the kind of debt crisis that Greece and others experienced a few years ago.

That is not a near-term prospect, but Italy's persistently weak economic performance makes it very hard to banish that risk conclusively.

Italy has the biggest government debt in the EU at more than €2.3 trillion ($2.6tn; £2tn). It is also the fourth-largest government debt in the world.

The country's debt burden as a percentage of annual economic activity is second only to Greece in the EU at 132%.

Last week, European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said eurozone economic data had been weaker than expected and the risks to growth had increased.

Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that the overall eurozone figures "don't look pretty, but have been well telegraphed by the hard data and the financial market horror show in Q4".

"Indeed, it seems to us that markets will be inclined to look at these headline [figures] as good news. They indicate that things probably won't get much worse in the near term - this is a bold assumption, given poor January survey data - and that the ECB will keep rates low for a long time."--BBC

UK, France and Germany create payments system to trade with Iran

The UK, Germany and France have created a new payments system to allow European businesses to trade with Iran without falling foul of US sanctions.

All three opposed last year's decision by President Donald Trump to abandon a 2015 deal under which international sanctions on Iran were lifted.

Some of the US sanctions make it difficult for European banks to make direct payments to Iran.

The US said sanctionable activity with Iran risked "severe consequences".

By creating a new payment channel, based in Paris, and managed by a German banker, the UK, France and Germany hope to enable companies to continue to trade with Iran.

Many other existing payment channels have links to the US, which means making payments to Iran is difficult.

The UK Foreign Office said the Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), was a "new mechanism for facilitating legitimate trade between European entities and Iran".

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said initially the new payment system would only apply to food, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods, which are not subject to sanctions.

Oil, Iran's main source of foreign exchange, will not be covered.

'Toughest regime'

In a statement, the US Embassy in Berlin said: "As the President has made clear, entities that continue to engage in sanctionable activity involving Iran risk severe consequences that could include losing access to the US financial system and the ability to do business with the United States or US companies."

However, it added it did not expect the new payments system would "in any way impact our maximum economic pressure campaign" against Iran.

In 2015, Iran accepted curbs on its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. However, last November the US reinstated all its sanctions on Iran. The White House said it was "the toughest sanctions regime ever imposed" on Tehran, targeting Iran and states that trade with it.

On Thursday Mr Hunt said INSTEX was "part of European efforts to preserve and support the Iran nuclear deal" and "preserve sanctions relief for the people of Iran".

"This is a clear, practical demonstration that we remain firmly committed to the historic 2015 nuclear deal struck with Iran, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, for as long as Iran keeps implementing it fully," he added.

He said more work needed to be done to get the system up and running: "That includes work with Iran to establish the necessary counterpart structures."

EU targets Iran over alleged murder plots

US to reinstate all Iran sanctions

Earlier this month the EU announced fresh sanctions on a unit of the Iranian intelligence agency and two individuals over alleged assassination plots.

The EU accused them of attempting, or carrying out, attacks within several European countries.

Speaking at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Bucharest Mr Hunt said the Iran nuclear deal remained "central to international efforts to halt nuclear proliferation and is crucial for the security of the region".

"But we are clear; this commitment does not in any way preclude us from addressing Iran's hostile and destabilising activities," he added.--BBC

Equal pay: Asda loses appeal in court case

Supermarket giant Asda has lost an appeal in the latest development in a long-running legal dispute with staff over equal pay.

The decision means that lower paid shop staff, who are mostly women, can compare themselves with higher paid warehouse workers, who are mostly men.

Asda said it was "disappointed" with the decision and added it remained confident in its case.

A ruling over whether the work is of equal value is likely to be in May.

Leigh Day, which represented the staff, said the judgement was a "major step forward in the fair pay battle".

Asda said: "We are obviously disappointed with the decision, which relates to a preliminary issue of whether jobs in different parts of the business can be compared."

It said it had brought the appeal "because it involved complex legal issues which have never been fully tested in the private sector and we will continue to ensure this case is given the legal scrutiny it deserves".

What is the gender pay gap?

What is the gender pay gap at your firm?

The Employment Tribunal first ruled against Asda in October 2016. It said shop workers, who mainly work at check-outs or stacking shelves, could compare themselves with staff who work at warehouses.

Asda then appealed against this decision on 10 different grounds.

In August 2017, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled all points of their appeal unsuccessful. Asda then took its case to the Court of Appeal.

Following Thursday's ruling, the Court of Appeal denied Asda the right to appeal. However, the BBC understands the supermarket chain intends to apply to the Supreme Court to appeal against the ruling there.

Are the jobs comparable?

If the jobs are comparable, are they of equal value?

If they are of equal value, is there a reason why the roles should not be paid equally?

Leigh Day represents more 30,000 shop floor staff from the big four supermarkets - Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Morrisons - in similar cases.

The legal firm said if the four supermarkets lost their cases and were ordered to pay all eligible staff, the cost could be more than £8bn. However, that would only be if all 500,000 store workers made a claim.

The GMB union, which represents some Asda workers, welcomed what it described as Thursday's "landmark" judgment.

General secretary Tim Roache, said: "We know we're not all the way there, there are more hurdles to jump in this process and as always we remain ready to negotiate should Asda want to get round the table."

Asda said: "Our hourly rates of pay in stores are the same for female and male colleagues and this is equally true in our depots.

"Pay rates in stores differ from pay rates in distribution centres because the demands of the jobs in stores and the jobs in distribution centres are very different; they operate in different market sectors and we pay the market rate in those sectors regardless of gender."--BBC

Cherry tomatoes could cost 10% more 'within a week of Brexit'

The cost of cherry tomatoes could increase by more than 10% if there is a no deal Brexit, say growers in southern Spain.

Earlier this week, I visited a vast site near Alicante, where 60 million kilograms of cherry tomatoes are grown, picked and shipped every year and a third of them are bound for the UK.

But growers are worried that a no deal Brexit is going to push up the price we pay for them in the shops.

Jorge Brotons is the commercial director for Bonnysa and deals with all the big UK supermarkets. The business has been growing tomatoes for the UK since 1956.

Why Dutch fear no deal will leave onions to rot

No-deal Brexit 'to leave shelves empty'

"We're trying to understand what the different scenarios can be. If there is no deal, we'll have to trade in a different way as tariffs will be applied, new inspections and this means we add new processes to current situations," he says.

Ultimately it means more work, more time, more people to make checks and all that means more costs.

"The cost in agriculture and margins are very very tight, and the history of prices shows tomatoes haven't increased in 15 years," he says.

"With all costs increasing our margins are so tight - we can't absorb any more cost and any more costs in that chain means losses and having to decide to do something else."

We start the day at Bonnysa's vast greenhouse complex which spans a huge valley in northern Alicante. The sun shines brightly and the temperature is around 15 degrees, a reminder of why salad growing here is much easier than in the UK in January.

In the greenhouse we visit, we meet two pickers undertaking the fortnightly harvest. Within 15 minutes they've gathered trays of their bright red bounty and it is on to the factory for processing.

The pickers have no idea how many cherry tomatoes pass across the factory floor per year - they laugh when I ask. And it's not hard to understand why. They're everywhere.

One sorting line spreads them, then photographs them and another separates them. We see all of the big UK supermarkets' labels on the boxes bound for the UK, but I can't tell you who they are as the firms requested confidentiality. For them, it is too sensitive to be heard talking about Brexit - even when it's just tomatoes.

Angel Jiminez is director of exports at Trota, a logistics firms that sends 200 lorries of tomatoes to the UK every week.

So how would a no deal Brexit affect their business? "Right now there is no paperwork involved to cross the border and we can cross easily, but more paperwork means delays. Time is money, more days is more time - and it is the final buyer who pays for everything."

He also says the haulier industry is no where near prepared enough: "Brexit is not going to be easy at the beginning."

Uri is one of the many Trota drivers that transport Bonnysa's cherry tomatoes to the UK. It's Monday and he's just about to begin the 2,000km journey from the Alicante plant, across Spain and France, and on to Britain through the Channel Tunnel.

Eurotunnel is the preferred crossing for most perishable food items, and by volume the tunnel carries more food than car parts because of its speed and access to market. For Bonnysa it is vital that it continues to function smoothly after Brexit, whatever deal is achieved.

At least according to the company that operates the tunnel, firms need not worry.

"Here at Eurotunnel we're ready, soft Brexit, hard Brexit we've been preparing for two and a half years. We've taken the worst case scenario as our goal all the way through," says John Keefe, director of public affairs at Eurotunnel.

"We will be able to deliver our transport system from day one from both sides."

I join Uri in the truck from Calais and we head through the tunnel and into Folkestone for the final leg of his journey - on to the supermarket distribution centre. All in all, it takes just over two and a half days to transport a tomato from Bonyssa's vines to sub-zero temperatures in Dartford.

They'll be on the supermarkets on Friday in time for your weekend salad.

There is zero friction on our journey (apart from some snow), but the concern from Spain is that the introduction of new checks and customs at any point in the trip will add new costs if there's a no deal Brexit - and that means higher prices for UK shoppers, a thought shared by Justin King, former boss of Sainsbury's.

"The nature of our very efficient food supply chain is there is little surplus cost or margin along the way," he says. "The more inefficient it becomes, the ability of suppliers and retailers to absorb that is very limited. They will be passed on to consumers and really quite quickly."--BBC

Brexit: Unilever stockpiles Ben & Jerry's and Magnum ice creams

Unilever has said it is stockpiling Ben and Jerry's ice cream and Magnum bars ahead of the UK's departure from the European Union.

Chief executive Alan Jope said the consumer goods giant was holding a few weeks' worth of extra stock in case of disruption to supply chains.

It follows admissions of Brexit stockpiling from other firms.

The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March but concern is mounting it will exit without a deal.

No-deal Brexit 'to leave shelves empty'

How has business been affected by Brexit?

Mr Jope said Unilever was also stockpiling deodorant in mainland Europe in case of Brexit-related delays.

The firm's Leeds factory, which makes Sure, Lynx and Dove, supplies the whole of Europe, while its ice creams are produced on the continent.

Mr Jope added that the firm was building up stocks of the materials used to package goods.

"We have built inventory on either side of the Channel," Mr Jope said. "It's weeks of inventory - not months or days.

"If I was in the designer handbag business then I might have built further [inventory] cover but we're not, we are in fast-moving consumer goods and one of the things we have learned is, when you build inventory, it can end up being the wrong mix of product."

Tariff fears

A number of companies have been stockpiling goods ahead of Brexit, including car-parts maker Robert Bosch, luxury goods firm LVMH and French drugmaker Novartis.

Earlier this week, Sainsbury's, Asda and McDonald's warned that stockpiling fresh food was impossible - and that a no-deal Brexit would leave them short of stock.

But the government said it has "well established" ways of working with industry to prevent disruption.

Mr Jope, who succeeded Paul Polman as Unilever's chief executive in November, said the company was preparing for various Brexit scenarios but that a no-deal outcome would be the hardest to manage.

"We desperately hope that we don't end up in a tariff-laden environment," he said.--BBC

'Big six' energy firm Npower to cut 900 jobs

Energy giant Npower, oneof the big six energy providers in the UK, plans to cut 900 jobs to save costs.

The energy firm said the number of redundancies would be "considerably lower" because of natural turnover.

The firm blamed "an incredibly tough" retail energy market for the decision and the government's new price cap which began at the start of January.

Npower employs 6,300 people. It said it was too early to say in which departments the cuts would fall.

However, a spokesman for the firm said it was aiming to preserve its customer service support team.

"Even with these reductions, we still forecast significant losses this year, but we're doing everything we can to minimise them whilst continuing to focus on service and value for our customers," said Npower chief executive Paul Coffey.

The government's new price cap will keep energy bills below £1,137 a year for "typical usage".

It was introduced to stop people who did not switch energy provider being stuck on expensive default deals.

Energy regulator Ofgem has said the cap will save 11 million customers an average of £76 a year on their gas and electricity bills.

However, many providers have said the cap has made the market unviable, with several smaller energy firms collapsing since it was announced.

Matt Lay, the national energy officer at union Unison, said Npower's announcement was "the tip of the iceberg".

"Npower isn't the only firm struggling. The UK's entire retail energy market is broken and in need of an urgent fix.

"Households across the country are now better off because of the price cap. But as more energy suppliers shed staff, or go under completely, it's businesses and consumers who'll end up picking up the tab," he said.

Merger derailed

Npower was due to merge its retail business with larger rival SSE last year, but the firms scrapped the plan after the cap was announced.

The merger would have seen SSE's household energy division, SSE Energy Services, combined with the retail operations of Npower, which is owned by Germany's Innogy.

SSE blamed the performance of the two businesses, the energy price cap and changing energy market conditions for the decision.

South Africa's Eskom says 3 power plants have below 10 days of coal stockpiles

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Three power plants operated by South Africa’s Eskom have below 10 days of coal stockpiles, Eskom’s Chief Operating Officer Jan Oberholzer said on Thursday.

Such low coal stockpiles put those plants at risk of outages and increase the risk of controlled power blackouts in Africa’s most industrialised economy.

Edcon needs $226 mln over three years to "fix" business -CEO

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African retailer Edcon needs 3 billion rand ($226 million) in funding over the next three years to “fix” the business, its chief executive Grant Pattison said on Thursday.

Edcon has been grappling with an over-leveraged capital structure for several years, after troubles in its credit business in 2014 coincided with an economic slowdown and weak consumer spending at home.

($1 = 13.2516 rand)

Kenya's NIC to merge with Commercial Bank of Africa -NIC chairman

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s NIC will merge with the country’s biggest privately owned bank, Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), to create the third-biggest bank in the region, the chairman of NIC said on Thursday.

“Today we announce our intention to merge NIC Group and CBA Group,” Chairman James Ndegwa told reporters.

NIC aims to get shareholder approval in the first quarter of 2019, regulator approval in the second quarter, and formally merge in the third quarter, said NIC CEO John Gachora.

The merged bank will have an asset base of 444 billion Kenyan shillings ($4.41 billion), making it the region’s third-largest after KCB and Equity.

The transaction will take place though a share swap between the two banks, with current NIC group shareholders owning 47 pct of the merged entity and CBA shareholders owning 53 pct of the merged entity. NIC group will remain listed, Gachora said.

In December, the two banks said they would hold talks on a potential merger to combine their expertise in retail and corporate banking. NIC is a leading bank in asset financing and has a strong base of mid-sized corporate clients. CBA has a strong retail client base, including digital-only customers on its M-Shwari mobile platform. [nL8N1YB4PP]

The merger is the first major deal announced in the industry since the government capped commercial lending rates in 2016. In December, Finance Minister Henry Rotich said merger talks between the two banks were welcome, because a deal would help strengthen the financial sector.

($1 = 100.7500 Kenyan shillings)

Kenya inflation falls, helped by lower transport costs

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s annual inflation fell in January, helped by falling transport prices, the statistics office said on Thursday.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement inflation fell to 4.7 percent year-on-year in January from 5.7 percent in December, while month-on-month, inflation was 0.35 percent.

It said the transport index fell by 1.43 percent compared with December, helped by lower fuel prices.

On Monday, the central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 9.0 percent, saying inflation was anchored within the target range.

The government preferred band for inflation is between 2.5 and 7.5 percent in the medium term.

Kenyan shilling seen easing against the dollar

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling firmed against the dollar on Thursday due to hard currency inflows from diaspora remittances and offshore investors buying government debt supplying end month demand from oil and goods importers, traders said.

At 0828 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 100.65/85 per dollar, compared with 100.75.95 at Wednesday’s close.

Botswana's first private coal mine to produce saleable coal in March

GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana’s first privately owned coal mine will produce its first saleable coal in March, the chief executive of the company overseeing the project told Reuters.

The Masama Coal Mine aims to produce 1.2 million tonnes per annum of coal and will target the South African market as well as other countries in the region, Minergy Chief Executive Andre Boje said.

“We should ramp up to the nameplate volume of 300,000 tonnes per month by June/July 2019. Our target market is the southern African region at 1.2 million tons per annum, using a combination of road and rail transport,” Boje added.

The open cast mine and associated coal wash plant is located 60 km (37 miles) northwest of Botswana’s capital Gaborone and is being developed at a cost of 400 million pula ($39 million).

The Masama mine is estimated to hold 390 million tonnes of coal reserves.

($1 = 10.3627 pulas)

S.Africa's Exxaro aims to double coal exports through Richard's Bay by 2023

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African coal miner Exxaro aims to double its coal exports through the Richard’s Bay export terminal by 2023, from 8 million tonnes a year at present, Nombasa Tsengwa, executive head of Exxaro’s coal operations, said on Thursday.

South Africa's trade surplus widens in December

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s trade balance recorded a surplus of 17.17 billion rand ($1 billion) in December from a revised 3.29 billion rand surplus in November, official data showed on Thursday.

Exports fell by 13.4 percent on a month-on-month basis to 102.75 billion rand in December, while imports decreased 25.8 percent to 85.58 billion rand, the South African Revenue Service data showed.

($1 = 13.2747 rand)

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Nampak

AGM

68 Birmingham Road, Southerton

06 Feb 2019 - 12pm

Ariston

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

19 Feb 2019 - 2:30pm

Zimbabwe

Robert Mugabe National Youth Day

Zimbabwe

21 Feb 2019

Powerspeed

AGM

Boardroom, Gate 1, Powerspeed Complex, Graniteside

28 Feb 2019 - 11am

Zimbabwe 

Independence Day

Zimbabwe

18 Apr 2019 

Good Friday

19 Apr 2019

Easter Saturday

20 Apr 2019

Easter Sunday

21 Apr 2019

Easter Monday

22 Apr 2019

Workers Day

01 May  2019

Africa Day

25 May 2019

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

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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