Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 July 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 July 2019

 


 

 


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*  South Africa weighs new support measures for struggling Eskom

*  Morocco’s Q2 economic growth slows to 2.4%, planning agency says

*  Nigeria will sign Africa free trade agreement -presidency

*  South African business confidence slightly higher in June

*  South Africa's private-sector activity remains in contraction in June
-PMI

*  Kenyan private sector activity jumps in June -PMI

*  Pfizer, Sanofi, to boost South African Biovac's vaccine output

*  Naspers picks Mahanyele-Dabengwa as CEO for South Africa

*  Boeing gives $100m to help 737 Max crash families

*  Netflix announces dedicated UK operation at Shepperton

*  'Dr Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini in Bitcoin battle

*  Vodafone switches on 5G network in seven UK cities

*  Bitcoin's energy consumption 'equals that of Switzerland'

*  Sainsbury's sales slide despite deep discounts

*  Serco fined £19m over tagging scandal

 

 


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South Africa weighs new support measures for struggling Eskom

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa is weighing extra options to support
Eskom, including swapping the financially troubled state power firm’s debt
for government bonds or ring-fencing it in a special account, a senior
treasury official said.

 

Discussions are at an early stage, and it is not yet clear which option will
be chosen, he said. Eskom, which supplies more than 90% of the country’s
electricity, has this year been forced into rolling nationwide power cuts
that have eroded growth in an already fragile economy.

 

President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged 230 billion rand ($16 billion) of
support over the next 10 years but, with the firm operating at a hefty loss,
officials say other measures will be needed to make it financially
sustainable.

 

Ian Stuart, acting deputy director general for the National Treasury’s
budget office, said various scenarios were being considered for resolving
the “large and complex” issue, with implications for South Africa’s credit
rating a key criterion.

 

“We are looking at which option is best both in terms of fiscal costs and
support for the reform process,” he told Reuters. Support could take the
form of ongoing subsidies, or the firm’s debt could be moved off its balance
sheet to the government or into a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

 

“A switch to South African government bonds will be looked at, but we have
to confirm the legalities of each option and implications for ratings
agencies,” Stuart said.

 

Investors say any support measures would need to be accompanied by efforts
to cut Eskom’s costs and boost its revenues.

 

Ramaphosa’s government has sought to reassure the major credit agencies that
it has a credible plan to rescue Eskom without putting public finances at
risk.

 

Of the agencies, only Moody’s still rates South Africa at investment grade,
on the lowest such rung on its scale. It declined to comment on Wednesday.

 

Eskom, which said it had held extensive consultations with government
officials over the proposed support structures, is expected this month to
post a year-to-March loss of up to 20 billion rand.

 

It had around 440 billion rand ($31 billion) of debt as of March, of which
more than 270 billion rand was government-guaranteed. In 2018, South
Africa’s gross domestic product was $366 billion, according to World Bank
data.

 

‘DEEP RESTRUCTURING’

The government wanted a “deep restructuring” of Eskom’s business model once
its generation performance and liquidity had improved, said Adrian Lackay, a
spokesman for the Department of Public Enterprises, which is coordinating
rescue efforts with the treasury and the presidency.

 

Government-appointed experts are promoting a model whereby Eskom could
unlock relatively cheap development funding if it cuts its carbon emissions
quicker.

 

But that idea could face strong opposition from mining unions, which
vigorously oppose policies that could lead to job losses at coal mines.

 

Investors want to see more steps to fix Eskom fast.

 

Pavel Mamai, partner at fund manager ProMeritum, said all the support
measures had their merits, but Eskom would need to cut costs and increase
revenues.

 

“A swap for South African government bonds would probably help deleverage
Eskom best, allowing it to achieve lower borrowing costs and opening market
access,” he said. “In the SPV option it would depend how the debt is
accounted for.”

 

Peter Attard Montalto, head of capital markets research at Intellidex, said
the government should follow through on plans to divide Eskom into separate
entities for generation, transmission and distribution.

 

“The largest concern that the SPV does not address is the conditionality
that forces Eskom into line,” he said. “A deleveraged Eskom with the
state-owned enterprise’s monopoly mindset is a dangerous thing.”

 

($1 = 14.1452 rand)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Morocco’s Q2 economic growth slows to 2.4%, planning agency says

RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco’s economic growth slowed to 2.6% in the second
quarter from 2.8% in the first quarter, the country’s planning agency said
on Wednesday, citing a drop in agricultural activity.

 

Agricultural output, which represents some 15% of Morocco’s gross domestic
product, fell 2.7% in the second quarter after a drop of 3.2% a quarter
earlier. Lack of rainfall cut cereals production to 6.1 million tonnes, down
40.7% from 2018.

 

Non-agricultural growth slowed to 3.4% in the second quarter, down from 3.8%
a quarter earlier, mainly because of the mining sector.

 

Money supply rose to 4.3% in the second quarter, up from 3.8% the previous
quarter. Fixed capital formation grew to 2.8% in the second quarter from
2.6% in the first quarter.

 

Third-quarter growth is seen falling to 2.4% as agricultural activity is
expected to shrink 2.5%.

 

The central bank expects economic growth to slow to 2.8% in 2019 from 3% in
2018.

 

 

 

 

Nigeria will sign Africa free trade agreement -presidency

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria will sign an Africa free trade agreement at the
coming African union summit, according to a statement posted on the Nigeria
presidency’s Twitter feed on Tuesday.

 

Nigeria, the largest economy on the continent, was one of the last countries
that had not committed to signing the deal and its decision to join the bloc
will significantly bolster its clout.

 

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) aims to eliminate
tariffs between member states, creating a market of 1.2 billion people with
a combined GDP of more than $2.2 trillion.

 

Apart from Nigeria, only Eritrea and Benin have chosen not to join the zone.
President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed concern it could allow neighboring
countries to inundate Nigeria with low-priced goods, and confound efforts to
encourage moribund local manufacturing and expand farming.

 

But a panel set up to assess the impact of joining the bloc recommended last
week the president “should consider joining.”

 

“Our position is very simple, we support free trade as long as it is fair
and conducted on an equitable basis,” the Twitter feed quoted Buhari as
saying.

 

It added Nigeria would sign onto the deal at an upcoming African Union
summit in Niamey, Niger. The agreement with the other signatories came into
force on May 30.

 

 

 

South African business confidence slightly higher in June

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s business confidence inched slightly
higher in June, rising to 93.3 from 93.0 in May, the South African Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said on Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate maker Mars backs Ivory Coast, Ghana cocoa floor price

ABIDJAN/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - U.S. food maker Mars Inc. supports a
decision by Ivory Coast and Ghana to set a floor price for their cocoa
exports, a senior executive told Reuters on Wednesday, becoming one of the
first major chocolate companies to back the initiative.

 

The West African neighbours said last month they will fix a minimum price of
$2,600 per tonne free-on-board that chocolate companies must pay from the
2020/21 season if they want to access their more than 60% share of global
supply. [nL8N23J3JP]

 

The price is meant to ease pervasive farmer poverty that has become a blight
on chocolate’s image and a threat to the sector’s future in West Africa, as
young people walk away from a life of backbreaking labour with little
reward.

 

“We believe cocoa farmers should earn sufficient income to maintain a decent
standard of living,” John Ament, Global Vice President of Cocoa for Mars,
told Reuters. “The reality today is that many are a long way from this.”

 

Mars makes a number of iconic chocolate treats including M&M’s, Snickers and
Twix.

 

Though farmer advocacy groups have applauded the decision, major players in
the chocolate industry have remained largely silent since the decision was
announced on June 12.

 

Privately, some complain they were not consulted on the plan and worry it
could push companies to buy their beans elsewhere or over-stimulate
production, leading to a global price crash. [nL8N23X5GY]

 

Officials from Ivory Coast and Ghana were meeting with industry executives
in the Ivorian commercial capital, Abidjan, on Wednesday to discuss details
of the strategy.

 

“We support moves by governments to intervene to achieve a higher price that
leads to a sustainable increase paid to the farmer and is supported with
governance to ensure there is no further expansion of land use to grow
cocoa,” Ament said.

 

Mars said Ivory Coast and Ghana are crucial sources of cocoa for its
business. One industry analyst estimated that the company uses around
430,000 tonnes of West African cocoa and cocoa derivatives annually.

 

The floor price is not the first attempt to combat farmer poverty.

 

Third-party certification schemes, corporate sustainability programmes, and
government-guaranteed minimum prices in both countries have aimed to raise
living standards for farmers.

 

Still, a Fairtrade International survey last year found that just 12% of
Ivorian cocoa-farming households earned $2.50 per person per day, a level it
calculated to be the living income benchmark.

 

“Initiatives to boost productivity, improvements in social services and
infrastructure, and exploration of alternative incomes are necessary, but
they will likely not be enough without an increase in the price farmers
receive for their crop,” Ament said.

 

 

 

South Africa's private-sector activity remains in contraction in June -PMI

(Reuters) - South African private sector activity remained in contraction in
June as factory output slipped on a slide in new orders, while a slowdown in
overall demand stretched to a full year, a survey showed on Wednesday.

 

IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) inched up to 49.7 in June from
49.3 in May, remaining below the 50 point mark that separates expansion from
growth for the fourth time in the six months of 2019.

 

Four of the five sub-indexes in the survey showed a contraction, but at a
slower pace than the previous month.

 

“Firms reflected a continuing period of difficulty in the domestic economy,
as first-quarter growth results showed a 3.2% annualised contraction. The
offshoot impact on the rand, along with a steep rise in fuel prices, also
led to a sharp mark-up in overall costs,” said David Owen, an economist at
IHS Markit.

 

Panellists linked lower output to the fall in new orders, as well as higher
input prices which could not be fully passed on to consumers faced by
unemployment near record highs.

 

The shock contraction in growth in January-March, with agriculture, mining,
manufacturing and retail all shrinking amid nationwide power cuts by state
utility Eskom, has dimmed hopes of a strong recovery following May’s
election. [nL8N23B29A]

 

“With demand remaining weak, and businesses lacking the incentive to raise
output, the PMI suggests that any second-quarter rebound may be modest at
best,” Owen said.

 

Consumer spending accounts for around 60% of gross domestic product in South
Africa but has underwhelmed in recent quarters. With inflation subdued,
however, and the central bank set to cut interest rates this month, the
outlook is brightening.[nL5N22Y1Z9][nL8N23Q3RQ]

 

The PMI survey’s 12-month outlook for activity, a measure of future
sentiment, reached the strongest since March 2018.

 

- Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from IHS Markit and
customers need to apply for a licence.

 

 

 

Kenyan private sector activity jumps in June -PMI

(Reuters) - Kenya’s private sector activity jumped in June, helped by
increased local and external demand for goods, a survey showed on Wednesday,
but there were concerns about cashflows, partly arising from late payments
by government departments.

 

The Markit Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for
manufacturing and services rose to 54.3 in June from 51.3 in May and was its
highest in 10 months. Any reading above 50 indicates growth.

 

“Alongside the sharp increase in new orders, firms stated that new
government spending plans should help business growth over the year. Many
panellists also reportedly intend to open new branches in the near future,”
the survey said.

 

However, there were concerns about the spillover effects of a drought early
this year, which hurt the performance of the agriculture sector, and delays
by the government in paying bills owed to the private sector.

 

“Granted, the long rains have started now, however private consumption is
always also dragged lower during periods where the weather is poor owing to
the high dependence on the agrarian sector,” said Jibran Qureishi, Regional
Economist for East Africa at Stanbic Bank.

 

“Various panellists continue to lament a lack of ‘money circulation’ which
is creating cashflow issues. Clearly, the government isn’t adequately
addressing the arrears issue owed to the private sector.”

 

Finance Minister Henry Rotich said in his 2019/20 (July-June) budget speech
last month that the government had made it a priority to pay 10.9 billion
shillings owed to its suppliers by the end of June.

 

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said last week the economy grew 5.6%
year-on-year in the first quarter from 6.5% in the same quarter last year,
due to dry weather which curbed the farming sector.

 

- Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from IHS Markit and
customers need to apply for a licence.

 

 

 

Pfizer, Sanofi, to boost South African Biovac's vaccine output

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa’s Biovac Institute will start local
production of Sanofi’s Hexaxim vaccine next year and Pfizer’s anti-pneumonia
Prevnar 13 vaccine in 2021, boosting supply of life-saving drugs in its main
market, its CEO said.

 

Local output of the two human vaccines is a step change for Biovac, a
public-private partnership 47.5%-owned by the South African government with
long-term ambitions of expanding sales into the continent.

 

The new production lines follow years of technology transfers and skills
upgrades with partners Sanofi and Pfizer in Africa’s largest pharmaceutical
market. The companies were tight-lipped about commercial details of the
partnership.

 

“We start production of (the) hexavalent in Q3 2020,” Morena Makhoana,
Biovac’s chief executive said at its state-of-the art facility in Cape Town,
referring to the Sanofi vaccine.

 

The plant, modernized at a cost of around 1 billion rand ($70 million), will
produce four million doses of Hexaxim vaccine a year and has capacity to
ramp up significantly as it explores new markets in neighbouring Namibia,
Mozambique and Angola, he said.

 

South Africa’s government buys about 95% of the total 25 million doses of
vaccine supplied annually by Biovac, covering diseases such as tuberculosis,
cervical cancer and influenza.

 

Biovac’s dose of Hexaxim, a six-in-one vaccine for several diseases
including diphtheria, tetanus and polio, is the only one in the world that
is fully liquid and unlike other versions on the market, Makhoana said, does
not have to be mixed before injecting. This makes it easier to administer in
remote and resource-poor clinics across Africa, he added.

 

“On this particular six-in-one vaccine we are the only tech transfer partner
with Sanofi in the world, so we are very proud,” Makhoana told Reuters.

 

Sanofi said it will continue to invest in South Africa’s vaccine programme
as it looks to bolster its position.

 

“South Africa, and Africa for that matter, is an emerging market and showing
strong growth year-on-year and hence will remain a priority for Sanofi,”
Merilynn Matthew, who heads Sanofi’s South African vaccines unit, said.

 

Around one-in-five African children do not get immunized, with measles alone
accounting for 61,000 preventable deaths a year on the continent, according
to the World Health Organisation.

 

SECURITY OF SUPPLY

Biovac, the rest of which is owned by a consortium led by local investment
holding firm Immunotek, has also made progress preparing Pfizer’s pneumonia
vaccine for infants, Prevnar 13, Makhoana said. It expects full output of 3
million doses to start in the first half of 2021.

 

Under a five-year agreement signed with Pfizer in 2015, Biovac only packaged
labelled syringes but it is now acquiring the formulation and filling
processes ahead of the new product line launch.

 

“Security of supply is one big issue and the second is the economic benefits
local production brings, while making sure that prices are equally
benchmarked and South Africa pays a fair price in line with other middle
income countries such as Brazil or Turkey,” Makhoana said.

 

At the partnership launch four years ago, a cabinet minister said the
pneumonia vaccine alone used up 40% of South Africa’s total budget for
vaccines, with the government then paying around 185 rand ($13.11) per
single dose of imported Prevenar 13. Each infant will eventually need three
doses. Pfizer did not provide the current cost of the vaccine.

 

“The technology transfer process has enabled significant knowledge transfer,
job creation and direct investment,” said Rhulani Nhlaniki, Pfizer’s country
manager.

 

($1 = 14.1249 rand)

 

 

 

Naspers picks Mahanyele-Dabengwa as CEO for South Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Naspers on Wednesday appointed Phuthi
Mahanyele-Dabengwa to the newly-created role of chief executive of South
Africa for the media and e-commerce group.

 

Founded more than 100 years ago in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Naspers has
turned itself from a newspaper publisher into a $104 billion giant with
e-commerce and internet investments, including a stake in China’s Tencent.

 

Naspers said Mahanyele-Dabengwa will report directly to CEO Bob van Dijk and
will be based in Johannesburg where she will be responsible for the group’s
day-to-day business in South Africa and its recently-formed Naspers Foundry
and Naspers Labs.

 

Naspers Foundry is a 1.4 billion rand ($99 million) start-up funding
initiative aimed at boosting the local technology sector, while Naspers Labs
is an initiative aimed at developing the skills and talent of South Africa’s
unemployed youth.

 

“Her significant investor and board experience across varied sectors, makes
Phuthi the perfect match for this important role at Naspers,” van Dijk said
of Mahanyele-Dabengwa, who is an executive chairperson at Sigma Capital, a
private majority black owned investment group.

 

Naspers has committed to invest 4.6 billion rand in the South African
technology sector over the next three years, with 3.2 billion rand allocated
to the development of its existing technology businesses, including
classifieds business OLX, online retailer Takealot, and food delivery Mr D
Food.

 

It has been reorganizing its other businesses, spinning out and separately
listing its African pay-TV monopoly Multichoice, valued at nearly 60 billion
rand, in February.

 

Naspers also plans to float its international internet assets on Euronext in
Amsterdam, a move it said in March will create a $140 billion European
internet giant.

 

“I am thrilled to be joining Naspers at such a pivotal time for the group
and for South Africa,” Mahanyele-Dabengwa said.

 

($1 = 14.1048 rand)

 

 

 

Boeing gives $100m to help 737 Max crash families

Boeing is giving $100m (£80m) to help families affected by the two crashes
of the company's 737 Max planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

 

The payment, stretching over several years, is independent of lawsuits filed
in the wake of the disasters, which together killed 346 people.

 

The money will support education and living expenses for families and
community programmes, Boeing said.

 

Lawyers for victims' families dismissed the move.

 

The loss of Ethiopian Airlines' flight ET302 in March was the second fatal
accident involving a 737 Max in the space of five months. A near identical
aircraft, owned by the Indonesian carrier Lion Air, went down in the sea off
Jakarta in October 2018.

 

Crash investigators have focussed on the aircraft's control system and
Boeing has been working with regulators to roll out a software upgrade. The
top-selling 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March, with no date
when the aircraft might be cleared to fly again.

 

Boeing said in a statement on Wednesday that the "funds will support
education, hardship and living expenses for impacted families, community
programs, and economic development in impacted communities. Boeing will
partner with local governments and non-profit organizations to address these
needs. This initial investment will be made over multiple years."

 

Dennis Muilenburg, the chairman and chief executive, added: "We at Boeing
are sorry for the tragic loss of lives in both of these accidents and these
lives lost will continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and on our minds for
years to come.

 

"The families and loved ones of those on board have our deepest sympathies,
and we hope this initial outreach can help bring them comfort," he said.

 

'Disingenuous'

Nomi Husain, a Texas-based lawyer representing some of the families of
victims of ET 302, said Boeing's payment "doesn't come anywhere close to
compensating the families for what has been taken from them".

 

He told the BBC's transport correspondent Tom Burridge that "some of our
clients are not interested in financial compensation at this point" and that
Boeing "put profit over safety to get their number-one selling plane to
market" - a claim the planemaker strongly denies.

 

Mr Husain has so far filed seven cases on behalf of families, with some of
those lawsuits seeking damages of $276m. He estimated that about 50 lawsuits
had so far been filed by victims' families.

 

Some families are waiting for further information about the technical causes
of the crashes and how regulators cleared the 737 Max to fly before deciding
on legal action, he said. But many others just want the truth, he added.

 

Meanwhile, Robert Clifford, who is representing 23 families, said: "This
type of offer so early in the litigation process is unprecedented. Because
there is still so much to learn about what occurred, it also appears to be
disingenuous."--BBC

 

 

 

Netflix announces dedicated UK operation at Shepperton

Netflix has announced it's taking a long-term lease on Shepperton Film
Studios near London.

 

Its plan is to create a dedicated UK production hub, including 14 sound
stages, workshops and office space at the site owned by the Pinewood Group.

 

Major films including Gladiator, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Mamma Mia!: Here
We Go Again have used the facilities.

 

Filming on Netflix's action film The Old Guard, starring Charlize Theron, is
already underway at the studio.

 

The deal, believed to be in place for 10 years, will see the Netflix
production hub take up 435,000 square feet of the studios.

 

The financial details have not been disclosed by either company.

 

Over the past year, 40 Netflix originals and co-productions have been
created across Britain, including Sex Education in Wales, Outlaw King in
Scotland and The Crown at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.

 

Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer for Netflix said the studio "has
been synonymous with world class film for nearly a century".

 

"We're incredibly proud to be part of that heritage," he went on. "This
investment will ensure that British creators and producers have first rate
production facilities and a world stage for their work."

 

Analysis by media editor Amol Rajan

The creative industries in Britain are growing much faster than the rest of
the economy. This means they will be central to the country's future after
Brexit. If you talk to the streaming giants, they say that the cheap pound,
exceptional calibre of producers and writers, and huge appetite for
English-language productions together make this country a hugely attractive
proposition.

 

As a result, there is a chronic shortage of studio space in Britain. When
demand vastly exceeds supply, prices rise. When prices rise, the poor are
priced out. It follows that while a giant like Netflix - the biggest company
in film and television anywhere in the world today - says they want studio
space at Shepperton, they get it. But for the smaller companies desperate
for facilities where their creative impulses can flow, there is still not
nearly enough usable space.

 

Eventually, this will get built, as part of an investment-in-infrastructure
programme. In the meantime, the marriage of Netflix and Shepperton - one of
the most storied names in all cinema - shows that when the best of the new
and the best of the old come together, Britain is the location. At some
point, politicians will notice, and look to take advantage.

 

Pinewood group chairman, Paul Golding, added the deal with Netflix was part
of a wider £500m expansion which will see them build an additional 22 sound
stages (16 at Shepperton and six at Pinewood), thus "enabling us to host
even more productions."

 

Over the past decade the growth of the UK film/TV industry has significantly
outpaced that of the UK economy.

 

Dedicated production space, therefore, is in short supply and specialist
property agents Lambert Smith Hampton estimate there is a current shortage
of studio space in the UK the size of more than one hundred football
pitches.

 

Netflix and its partners will produce new and existing TV series and feature
films.

 

Earlier this year Netflix's Roma won three Oscars - including best foreign
language film.--BBC

 

 

 

'Dr Doom' economist Nouriel Roubini in Bitcoin battle

Outspoken economist Nouriel Roubini, nicknamed Dr Doom for his gloomy
warnings, has caused a stir with his latest attack on Bitcoin and its fellow
cryptocurrencies.

 

Prof Roubini, who foresaw the financial crisis, says Bitcoin is "overhyped".

 

At a summit in Taiwan on Tuesday, he likened it to a "cesspool".

 

But his sparring partner at the event, who runs a cryptocurrency exchange,
has angered the professor by blocking the release of video of the event.

 

Arthur Hayes, the chief executive of the BitMex exchange, controls the
rights to footage of their debate, which took place during the Asia
Blockchain Summit.

 

In a post on Twitter, Prof Roubini said he "destroyed" Mr Hayes in the
debate and called him a "coward" for not making it available.

 

During the debate, Prof Roubini, a long-standing critic of Bitcoin, argued
it was destined to end up in the "museum of failed coins" with all the other
digital currencies.

 

He said Bitcoin was "not secure, not decentralised and not even scalable".

 

Mr Hayes countered that Bitcoin had made "impressive" progress in its decade
of existence, adding that "Bitcoin and crypto markets are the only real free
market left in the world".

 

After the event, Mr Hayes told Bloomberg that Prof Roubini was merely
envious of Bitcoin's success.

 

He said: "He's a hater. He's a no-coiner - someone doesn't have any Bitcoin
and watched the price rocket in their face over the past few years."

 

Mr Hayes said he would be releasing highlights of the debate at a later
date.

 

Bitcoin, seen as an alternative currency, exists largely online. It is not
backed by governments or traditional banks.

 

Bitcoins are created through a complex process known as "mining" and then
monitored by a network of computers across the world.--BBC

 

 

 

Vodafone switches on 5G network in seven UK cities

Vodafone has become the second UK mobile operator to turn on its 5G network,
offering faster speeds and the opportunity for new services.

 

The network is going live in seven UK cities, including Cardiff, London,
Manchester and Glasgow.

 

Making a success of the service could be crucial to the firm which has seen
financial losses and customer complaints in recent years.

 

5G networks offer more capacity than 4G with speeds up to 100 times faster.

 

It could also help support new technologies such as artificial intelligence,
the internet of things, robotics, connected cities and self-driving cars.

 

The three other cities to benefit are Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool.

 

Twelve additional towns and cities will follow later this year - Birkenhead,
Blackpool, Bournemouth, Guildford, Newbury, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Reading,
Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington and Wolverhampton.

 

Vodafone is the first UK provider to offer 5G roaming in Germany, Spain and
Italy.

 

Business director of Vodafone UK, Anne Sheehan, said: "5G is a game-changer
for the economy and UK businesses. We are committed to helping our customers
take advantage of this technology by making it widely available in the UK
and through roaming. We want to help UK businesses become global leaders and
5G will play an important role in achieving that aim."

 

Vodafone is offering three pricing options for SIM only:

 

Unlimited Max: £30 per month, giving users unlimited mobile access at speeds
as fast as the device and the network will allow.

Vodafone Unlimited: £26 per month and offering speeds of up to 10 Mbps
(megabits per second)

Vodafone Unlimited Lite: £23 per month and offers speeds of up to 2 Mbps

Tariffs that are structured by data speed are "a first for the UK" said
mobile analyst Kester Mann, of research firm CCS Insight.

 

As such, Vodafone will need to explain this to customers who are "only just
beginning to understand the value of megabytes and gigabytes".

 

The total cost of a 5G Samsung Galaxy S10 and two-year contract is £1,637
($2,062) for Vodafone's cheapest advertised tariff.

 

To encourage small businesses to take up 5G services, Vodafone is offering a
series of new plans that give business customers access to unlimited data
and 5G at the same price as 4G.

 

5G is finally here. So what does it offer?

EE launches 5G network

Rival Three plans to roll out 5G in August with services from O2 coming in
the autumn.

 

"After a hotly contested battle with Vodafone, EE claimed the honour of
switching on the UK's first 5G network, in May 2019. However, the reality is
that being first means little to consumers and the initial launches this
summer represent only the first few tentative steps in a marathon 5G journey
ahead," said Mr Mann.

 

"The real winners in 5G will only become apparent several years down the
line."

 

The UK has put itself at the top of the leader board with its swift adoption
of the technology.

 

"In 2012, the UK was only the 53rd nation to launch 4G behind places such as
Guam, Azerbaijan and Kiribati. Now, with all four networks planning to
switch on 5G in 2019 it moves from laggard to leader," said Mr Mann.

 

All the UK's operators continue to use Huawei's equipment despite
controversy surrounding the Chinese telecoms firm. If the UK government
decides it is no longer safe to rely on having it as part of the network,
the operators would be forced to strip out its kit and replace it.--BBC

 

 

 

Bitcoin's energy consumption 'equals that of Switzerland'

Bitcoin uses as much energy as the whole of Switzerland, a new online tool
from the University of Cambridge shows.

 

The tool makes it easier to see how the crypto-currency network's energy
usage compares with other entities.

 

However, one expert argued that it was the crypto-currency's carbon
footprint that really mattered.

 

Currently, the tool estimates that Bitcoin is using around seven gigawatts
of electricity, equal to 0.21% of the world's supply.

 

That is as much power as would be generated by seven Dungeness nuclear power
plants at once.

 

Over the course of a year, this equates to roughly the same power
consumption as Switzerland.

 

Bitcoin energy use in Iceland set to overtake homes

Iran seizes 1,000 Bitcoin mining machines after power spike

"We want to use comparisons that set the narrative," said the tool's
co-creator Michel Rauchs, from the university.

 

"Visitors to the website can make up their own mind as to whether it seems
large or small."

 

 

How does it work?

In order to "mine" Bitcoin, computers known as mining machines are connected
to the crypto-currency network.

 

They are tasked with verifying transactions made by people who send or
receive Bitcoin. This process involves solving puzzles.

 

The puzzles aren't integral to verifying movements of Bitcoin, they simply
provide a hurdle to ensure no-one fraudulently edits the global record of
all transactions. As a reward for pitching in to this system, miners
occasionally receive small amounts of Bitcoin.

 

To make as much money from this process as possible, people often connect
large numbers of miners to the network - even entire warehouses full of
them.

 

That uses lots of electricity because the miners are more or less constantly
working.

 

The University of Cambridge tool models the economic lifetime of the world's
Bitcoin miners. It uses an average electricity price per kilowatt hour
($0.05, £0.04) and the energy demands of the Bitcoin network. Finally, the
model assumes that all the Bitcoin mining machines worldwide are working
with various efficiencies.

 

It is then possible to estimate how much electricity is being consumed at
any one time.

 

Bitcoin energy expert Alex de Vries, from accountants PwC, built a similar
tool to estimate Bitcoin's energy use last year.

 

He told BBC News that the most important thing was the carbon footprint of
Bitcoin's energy consumption.

 

That is, the emissions associated with the electricity resources used to
power the crypto-currency. This varies from place to place, depending on
energy supplies.

 

Mr de Vries said that, despite its many proponents, the Bitcoin network has
an energy consumption problem. It uses lots of energy despite processing
fewer than 100 million financial transactions per year.

 

He added that the number was "completely insignificant" in global terms. The
traditional financial industry processes 500 billion transactions per year,
he added.

 

Mr de Vries said that Bitcoin still appears to use far more energy per
transaction than all the world's banks put together, when considering the
amount of energy used by data centres.

 

The electricity used for Bitcoin produces about 22 megatons of CO2 annually,
a study in the scientific journal Joule estimated. That is as much as Kansas
City in the US.

 

 

 

Sainsbury's sales slide despite deep discounts

Deep discounting has failed to stem the slide in sales for Sainsbury's.

 

The supermarket giant says it has cut prices on more than 1,000 everyday
food and grocery products since February.

 

Yet in its latest quarterly trading statement, it reports a fall of 1.2% in
its total sales, excluding fuel.

 

Chief executive Mike Coupe complained of a "tough trading environment", but
said Sainsbury's was making progress. The firm said: "Retail markets remain
highly competitive and promotional."

 

The results cover the 16 weeks to 29 June. Like-for-like sales, which ignore
the boost that a retailer gets from opening new stores, were even worse,
falling by 1.6%.

 

The supermarket is still reeling from its failed bid to merge with rival
Asda, which was blocked in April by the UK's competition watchdog over fears
it would raise prices for consumers.

 

Sainsbury's shares fell more than 2% in early trading before bouncing back
to trade 2% higher on the day.

 

Tesco faces Brexit deadline headache

Are these the foods millennials want to eat?

Failed Asda bid cost Sainsbury's £46m

Sainsbury's said it had reduced the prices of more than 1,000 big-selling
own-brand products, including items in the dairy, meat, fish, poultry and
fresh produce categories.

 

Recovery plan

The price cuts show that Sainsbury's is "trying to compete", according to
Thomas Brereton, retail analyst at GlobalData, but he cautioned: "Its more
premium image means it will continue to stumble if it tries to overcome its
competitors on price."

 

Mr Brereton said there was a "distinct lack of a recovery plan being
offered", adding: "Sainsbury's seems to have taken the brunt of the grocery
revolution, caught in-between focusing on price (like rival Tesco has done)
and focusing on product and service (such as Waitrose)."

 

The supermarket said it was now "the leading UK retailer of chilled
plant-based food", thanks to the introduction of meat-free products such as
Ribz and Vegbabs.

 

It is also pressing ahead with its policy of integrating catalogue retailer
Argos, which it bought in 2016, into its stores.

 

It said it now had 283 Argos outlets in Sainsbury's supermarkets, while the
brand was showing strong online growth.

 

With retailers under pressure from environmentalists to curb the use of
unnecessary packaging, Sainsbury's said it was committed to removing more
than 10,000 tonnes of plastic from its stores and getting rid of
unrecyclable varieties.

 

It also said it would upgrade 400 of its supermarkets this year, with
improvements including SmartShop self-scanning technology, which is now
available in 148 of its outlets.--BBC

 

 

 

Serco fined £19m over tagging scandal

Outsourcing giant Serco has been fined £19.2m for fraud and false accounting
over its electronic tagging service for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

 

The fine is part of a deferred prosecution deal with the Serious Fraud
Office, which will end an investigation that began in 2013.

 

Serco had been understating how profitable the contract had been in its
reporting to the MoJ.

 

Back in 2013 the company paid £70m in compensation to the government.

 

On top of the fine, Serco paid £3.7m in costs.

 

The firm said it was "mortified" its UK subsidiary Serco Geografix had
overcharged to tag criminals.

 

"Serco apologised unreservedly at the time, and we do so again," the firm's
chief executive Rupert Soames said.

 

He added that the management and culture of Serco "have changed beyond all
recognition" since 2013.

 

Reform efforts

In 2013 Serco and fellow outsourcing group G4S faced allegations of charging
the government for electronically monitoring people who were either dead, in
jail, or had left the country.

 

Serco lost its contract to tag criminals in the UK in late 2013.

 

It said it has taken "significant steps" to try to reform, including
strengthening its bidding, contract management, internal audit and
management assurance processes.

 

No board members or senior executives that were in post at the time still
work for the group.

 

The Financial Reporting Council also launched an investigation in June 2016
into Serco's auditor, Deloitte, at the time of the offences.--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


Edg Edgars

AGM

Edgars Training Auditorium, 1st Floor LAPF House, 8th Avenue/Jason Moyo St,
Bulawayo

11 July 2019, 9am

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


Bindura Nickel Corporation

 

 

 


Padenga Holdings

 

 

 


Delta Corporation

 

 

 


Meikles Limited

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
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been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All
opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be
suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth
companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than
the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any
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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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