Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 12 June 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 12 June 2019

 


 

 


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*  ANC row over South African central bank unnerves investors

*  Kenya Airways will back nationalisation to survive: chairman

*  Ethiopia forecasts 9% growth, plans higher spending in 2019/2020

*  Zambian government has no plans to seize First Quantum -sources

*  Morocco favours local institutional investors in Maroc Telecom stake sale

*  Ethiopia forecasts 9% growth, plans higher spending in 2019/2020

*  Power from Kenya's planned Lamu plant could cost 10 times more than
estimated -study

*  Cameroon's Sonara refinery offline for a year after fire - government

*  Bharti Airtel to pay Tanzania $26 mln, cancel debt at unit to settle
dispute

*  'We've been caught in a leasehold trap'

*  More security for zero-hours workers

*  UK phone firms demand clarity over Huawei

*  Boohoo: Web designer sues online fashion giant founder for £118.5m

 


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ANC row over South African central bank unnerves investors

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A row within South Africa’s African National
Congress (ANC) about the role of the central bank has unnerved investors and
exposed deep divisions in the governing party.

 

One ANC faction loyal to President Cyril Ramaphosa is opposing calls from a
rival group for the central bank’s monetary policy to do more to boost
employment and growth. [nL8N23D1G4]

 

The dispute threatens to undermine confidence in Africa’s most advanced
economy, as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has a strong reputation
for acting independently.

 

Here are responses to some of the questions raised by the row over the
central bank’s role.

 

WHAT IS THE SARB’S CURRENT FOCUS?

The primary focus of the bank’s monetary policy is price stability, but it
also seeks to ensure sustainable growth.

 

According to the constitution, “the primary object of the South African
Reserve Bank is to protect the value of the currency in the interest of
balanced and sustainable economic growth”.

 

The constitution adds the SARB “must perform its functions independently and
without fear, favour or prejudice, but there must be regular consultation
between the bank and the cabinet member responsible for national financial
matters”.

 

To achieve its monetary policy goals, the SARB has used an
inflation-targeting framework since 2000.

 

The current target band is 3% to 6%, and the bank uses interest rate
adjustments to meet its inflation target.

 

In 2010, the then-finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, wrote to the central
bank reiterating the SARB’s mandate but drawing attention to studies on the
importance of inflation management in supporting sustainable growth and
employment.

 

Bank officials say they routinely take into account labour market
developments as part of their monetary policy discussions.

 

WHAT ARE THE PROPOSED CHANGES?

ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule said on June 4 that a three-day meeting
of party leaders had “agreed to expand the mandate of the South African
Reserve Bank beyond price stability to include growth and employment”.

 

He also said the party wanted the government to consider quantitative
easing, a policy widely used by developed economies after the global
financial crisis to stimulate growth by pumping cash back into the economy.

 

However, the ANC issued a statement on June 6, in the name of Ramaphosa,
saying its policy on the role of the central bank had not changed. The
central bank governor dismissed talk of quantitative easing as not
appropriate for South Africa’s economic conditions. [nL8N23D52S]
[nJ8N1XA01C]

 

ANC members say there is disagreement in the party over whether the bank’s
mandate should be formally reworded to give job creation and growth more
prominence.

 

Some party members believe the SARB has not done enough to help the economy
more than two decades after the end of white minority rule.

 

The SARB has opposed previous attempts to alter its mandate and has said the
debate is an unnecessary distraction as the challenges facing the economy
cannot be solved by monetary policy alone.

 

WHAT DO OTHER CENTRAL BANKS DO?

Price stability is the primary focus of monetary policy in many of the
world’s largest economies, but some central banks have lesser priorities
such as contributing to their governments’ economic policies.

 

A smaller group of central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve,
Reserve Bank of Australia and Reserve Bank of New Zealand, have “dual
mandates” according to which they seek to maximise employment as well as
keep inflation in check.

 

Among emerging markets other than South Africa, Turkey’s central bank has
price stability as its primary goal, followed by growth and employment as
lesser objectives. Russia’s central bank has price stability as its
principal monetary policy objective but also tries to create conditions for
“balanced and sustainable economic development”.

 

In the United States, some policy experts have said the Fed’s dual mandate
is outdated and should be changed.

 

New Zealand’s central bank adopted its dual mandate as recently as 2018.
Officials at the bank have explained the move by saying low inflation is a
means to improve people’s wellbeing and that employment is a tangible
measure of wellbeing.

 

WHY ARE INVESTORS WORRIED?

In South Africa, investors are worried by the row over the SARB’s mandate
because it is being driven by bitter factional battles within the ANC rather
than sober policy debate.

 

They are concerned that expanding the central bank’s mandate could increase
arguments for riskier monetary policy.

 

The push to change the bank’s role comes from a left-wing camp within the
ANC that wants Ramaphosa to change tack on a range of policies and is using
the mandate issue as a battering ram, some ANC members say.

 

The economic implications for South Africa could be serious if the change is
rammed through in a way that shakes the confidence of the investors who fund
the country’s twin budget and current account deficits.

 

It could also impact the country’s sovereign credit ratings.

 

Only one global ratings agency, Moody’s, still gives South Africa an
investment-grade rating, but that rating is hanging by a thread and if it
falls the government’s borrowing costs would almost certainly rise.

 

Moody’s has said the central bank’s credibility is an important factor in
its ratings decisions.

 

HOW COULD THE SARB’S MANDATE BE CHANGED?

Altering the SARB’s mandate could be a drawn-out process, as officials
understand the process differently.

 

Some believe the constitution would have to be amended since the SARB’s
current focus is enshrined in that document.

 

A two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament is required to change
the constitution.

 

The ANC has 230 out of the 400 seats in the lower house, or 57.5 percent of
the seats, so it would have to rely on the support of other parties.

 

But other officials believe a letter from the finance minister, like the one
written by Gordhan in 2010, would be sufficient to change the mandate.

 

Current Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is an opponent of changing the SARB’s
mandate.

 

If the SARB thinks its independence is under threat, it could challenge in
court any moves to change its mandate.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Kenya Airways will back nationalisation to survive: chairman

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya Airways will support the government if it decides
that nationalising the airline is critical for its future, Chairman Michael
Joseph said on Tuesday.

 

The loss-making carrier, which is 48.9% government-owned and 7.8% held by
Air France-KLM, has been struggling to return to profitability and growth. A
failed expansion drive and a slump in air travel forced it to restructure $2
billion of debt in 2017 to save the business.

 

The cabinet backed a plan last year to hand over management of the
profitable Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi to Kenya
Airways in a bid to strengthen its balance sheet and allow it to buy new
planes and open new routes.

 

But parliament’s transport committee, which does not want the airline to run
the airport, rejected that plan.

 

The committee was preparing alternative recommendations to revive the
carrier, including potential nationalisation, Joseph told Reuters in an
interview.

 

“They are proposing some kind of aviation holding company where KQ (Kenya
Airways) would sit in as 100% owned by the state,” he said.

 

“If this is in the best interest of the airline in order to put us on a
level playing field with competing airlines, and if it allows us to grow the
JKIA hub in the best interest of Kenya, then this is what we should do.”

 

James Macharia, Kenya’s minister of transport, did not respond to requests
for comment.

 

Kenya Airways, which has 41 planes, wants to increase the fleet and open new
routes to compete more effectively with carriers like Ethiopian Airlines and
Emirates.

 

Ethiopian Airlines operates more than 100 planes and it has turned Addis
Ababa into an aviation and travel hub for the continent over the past
decade.

 

With a pretax loss of 7.59 billion shillings ($74.89 million) last year,
Kenya Airways required some state intervention to put it back on a growth
footing, Joseph said.

 

“We don’t want KQ to be nationalised, but if this is the right way to go and
in the interest of both KQ and the aviation industry in Kenya, then I would
say this is the right way to go,” he said.

 

($1 = 101.3500 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

 

Ethiopia forecasts 9% growth, plans higher spending in 2019/2020

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia’s economy is projected to grow by 9% in
2019/2020, finance minister Ahmed Shide told lawmakers on Tuesday as he
presented plans to raise spending in one of Africa’s fastest-growing
economies.

 

The data in Ethiopia’s draft budget provides an insight for investors keen
to gain a foothold in Ethiopia, whose population makes it the continent’s
second-largest market.

 

Ahmed proposed 386.9 billion birr ($13.48 billion) in government spending
for 2019/2020, which if approved will be 12% higher than 2018/2019’s 346.9
billion birr figure.

 

Lawmakers from the ruling coalition, who dominate parliament, are expected
to approve the plans in the next few weeks.

 

William Davison, a senior analyst at Brussels-based Crisis Group, said the
growth targets were ambitious. The International Monetary Fund in April
projected the country’s growth for 2019 at 7.7%.

 

“This projection appears to be based on factors such as positive investor
sentiment amid a more pro-business regulatory environment, which the
authorities clearly hope will counteract reduced spending on infrastructure,
a recent key growth driver,” he told Reuters.

 

Ethiopia had scheduled power cuts because of insufficient water in
hydropower dams and the possibility of further political instability which
might constrain growth, as it did in the year of 2017/18, he said.

 

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 following three years of
intermittent protests and embarked on ambitious reforms, including proposals
to open up the state-owned telecoms firm and the national carrier Ethiopian
Airlines to private investors.

 

But he faces a number of challenges, including shortages of foreign
currency. The draft budget said the government plans to get 40 billion birr
in loans and 37 billion birr in grants, a bit less than half of the target
in this year’s budget for combined loans and grants.

 

Last September, China restructured some of its loans to Ethiopia, including
financing for a $4 billion railway.

 

Ethiopia’s total outstanding foreign debt stands at 27 billion dollars. Of
that, 15.8 billion dollars is government debt and the remainder is owed by
state-owned enterprises.

 

($1 = 28.6713 birr)

 

 

 

Zambian government has no plans to seize First Quantum -sources

LUSAKA/LONDON/TORONTO (Reuters) - Zambia has no plans to seize the assets of
Quantum Minerals Ltd and the copper producer intends to stay in the country
despite the government’s move to wrest control of a rival miner, government
and industry sources told Reuters.

 

Canadian-listed First Quantum has looked on nervously as the Zambian
government appointed a provisional liquidator to run Vedanta’s Konkola
Copper Mines (KCM), claiming KCM has breached the terms of its licence.

 

The move has unnerved international miners concerned about rising resource
nationalism in Zambia and neighbouring countries.

 

First Quantum, scarred by having its operations in Democratic Republic of
Congo seized in 2010, is embroiled in a dispute with the Zambian government
after being handed a $5.8 billion bill last year for unpaid import duties.

 

“The government will not touch First Quantum,” one source close to the
government said. “Vedanta is very different from First Quantum.”

 

Among the international miners, First Quantum has the most to lose in
Zambia, which accounts for 83% of production from the company’s operating
assets this year, excluding a new project in Panama.

 

But the company also has bargaining power as the most profitable miner in
Zambia and the biggest tax payer.

 

In 2018, it said it paid more than $533 million in taxes to the Zambian
government, including royalties, income and corporate tax.

 

Two sources close to the company, who requested anonymity because of the
sensitivity of negotiations, said First Quantum would stay, but would freeze
investment and might put operations on hold.

 

“They’ll not go. They are here for the long term,” one of the sources said.

 

Still, the company cannot mine at a loss, and, if necessary, would suspend
production and cut jobs, shrinking the tax revenues Zambia desperately needs
as its debts mount, one source said.

 

A First Quantum spokesman declined requests for comment.

 

No one from the Zambian government was immediately available for fresh
comment.

 

The Zambian government has increased taxes and said it will switch to a
non-refundable sales tax, from a refundable value-added tax.

 

First Quantum has said the tax changes will add about 10 cents per pound of
copper in 2019 to its costs and between 15 cents to 18 cents per pound in
following years.

 

At the time of its first quarter results in April, First Quantum CEO Philip
Pascall said the company would be “very cautious” about capital expenditure
in Zambia.

 

Pascall, who attended boarding school in Zimbabwe, has weathered previous
changes in the Zambian tax regime and the sources say he will do so again.

 

“That’s the smart thing to do to wait for relations to be less toxic,”
another of the sources said.

 

So far First Quantum has retreated from threats to shut in production in
favour of negotiations.

 

First Quantum’s open-pit Zambian operations, Kansanshi and Sentinel, are
projected to produce 235,000 tonnes and 250,000 tonnes of copper annually,
respectively. The company expects an all-in sustaining cost of $1.70-$1.85
per pound, excluding the planned Zambian sales tax.

 

This is profitable even with copper prices currently around $2.65 per pound
or roughly $5,900 per tonne.

 

‘CASH COW’

Analysts say First Quantum is undervalued. Its shares have fallen 35% from a
peak in April, nearly double the loss on the benchmark Solative Global
Copper Mines index.

 

“The shares have fallen because of a total misunderstanding of the
situation,” said Charl Malan, an analyst at VanEck Global Investors, one of
the company’s top 10 shareholders.

 

“First Quantum is not going to lose its assets. It is profitable, it is
paying salaries and paying taxes... First Quantum won’t sell the Zambia
assets. Zambia is their cash cow.”

 

The sources and the industry as a whole, however, acknowledge Zambia is
high-risk as it grapples with mounting debts and as politicians are already
positioning ahead of elections scheduled for 2021.

 

Vedanta has said its KCM unit is “largely unprofitable”, although it has
paid taxes through its payroll and says it has invested in the business.

 

Vedanta Resources, part-owner of the Mumbai-listed Vedanta group of
companies, has also said it will vigorously defend itself and has threatened
international arbitration in response to the Zambian government’s
intervention in KCM.

 

Mining Minister Richard Musukwa has said the Vedanta case is “a signal to
other mining companies not complying with the law to put their houses in
order.” He has not explicitly said any miners are safe from government
intervention.

 

($1 = 13.2250 Zambian kwachas)

 

 

 

Morocco favours local institutional investors in Maroc Telecom stake sale

RABAT (Reuters) - The Moroccan government, which plans to sell an 8% stake
in Maroc Telecom, will sell 6% of that this month as a block order to local
institutional investors such as retirement funds, insurance companies and
banks, the ministry of finance said on Tuesday.

 

The remaining 2% stake will be sold on the Casablanca stock exchange, where
the company is already listed, it said.

 

The government owns 30% of Maroc Telecom, Morocco’s largest telecom
operator, which announced on May 31 that the government would sell up to an
8% stake of the company’s capital.

 

The 6% stake comprises 52,745,700 shares, priced at 127 dirhams ($13.2) per
share, which will be sold before the end of June, the finance ministry said
in a statement. Analysts see the stake sale to institutional investors as a
way to prevent United Arab Emirates-based Etisalat, which already owns 53%
of Maroc Telecom, further increasing its stake.

 

Maroc Telecom is also listed on the Euronext exchange in Paris.

 

The 2% stake sale, totalling 17,581,900 shares, will take place on the
Casablanca stock exchange as a public offering, the ministry said.

 

Besides Morocco, Maroc Telecom operates subsidiaries in Benin, Burkina Faso,
Chad, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Togo and the Central
African Republic.

 

The sale would pump $1 billion into the state budget as a first step in a
privatisation programme that is designed to cut the 2019 budget deficit to
3.3% of gross domestic product, from 3.8% of GDP in 2018.

 

The government also plans to sell the five-star La Mamounia hotel in
Marrakech and the Tahaddart power plant in the north of the country.

 

 

 

Ethiopia forecasts 9% growth, plans higher spending in 2019/2020

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia’s economy is projected to grow by 9% in
2019/2020, finance minister Ahmed Shide told lawmakers on Tuesday as he
presented plans to raise spending.

 

Ahmed proposed 386.9 billion birr ($13.48 billion) in government spending
for 2019/2020, which if approved will be 12% higher than 2018/19’s 346.9
billion birr figure.

 

Lawmakers from the ruling coalition, who dominate parliament, are expected
to approve the plans over the next few weeks.

 

The International Monetary Fund projected the country’s growth for 2019 at
7.7% in April.

 

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 and embarked on ambitious
reforms, including proposals to open up the state-owned telecoms firm and
the national carrier Ethiopian Airlines to private investors.

 

 

 

Power from Kenya's planned Lamu plant could cost 10 times more than
estimated -study

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Electricity from a coal-fired power plant due to be
built in Kenya by a Kenyan-Chinese consortium will cost consumers up to 10
times more than planned, a U.S. thinktank says, raising further doubts about
the long-delayed project.

 

Construction of the plant on the Kenyan mainland opposite the tourist island
of Lamu was scheduled to begin in 2015 but has been repeatedly halted, due
in part to opposition by environmentalists.

 

Amu Power, a consortium comprising Kenya’s Gulf Energy and Centum Investment
and a group of Chinese companies, is due to build the plant after winning
the government contract.

 

The plant’s backers say it would help tackle Kenya’s frequent blackouts by
increasing generation capacity by nearly a third and generating power that
would cost about half what consumers currently pay.

 

But opponents say those costs are much higher than projected.

 

Amu Power says electricity from the plant will cost 7.2 U.S. cents per KWh.
But that is “highly optimistic,” the U.S.-based Institute for Energy
Economics and Financial Analysis said in an independent study, which is the
most extensive so far on the plant’s cost.

 

It said the 1000-MW coal-fired plant’s 25-year power purchasing agreement
would cost consumers more than $9 billion, even if it does not generate any
power.

 

“The true costs of Lamu’s electricity during the years 2024 through 2037
could average as high as US 22 to US 75 cents per KWh — three to 10 times
the company’s 2014 projection,” the study noted. “We believe Kenya should
cancel the project.”

 

 

The study said the plant’s backers had underpriced coal imports and rising
operational and maintenance costs.

 

Joseph Njoroge, principal secretary at the Ministry of Energy, said the
plant was competitive but did not address specific concerns.

 

“One condition of any competitively acquired project is to sustain the bid
specifications to the end,” he said in a text message to Reuters. “The plant
will be put up with (the) aim of producing electricity based on sound
economic projections.”

 

Francis Njogu, chief executive officer of Amu Power, did not respond to
requests for comment.

 

Kenya’s Energy Regulatory Commission, which sets tariffs, also did not
respond to a request for comment.

 

The plant’s location on the mainland in the coastal Lamu County region is
about 14 km from Lamu island, a famous ancient Swahili settlement and UNESCO
World heritage site and a top tourist destination.

 

Environmentalists say the plant will pollute the air, destroying mangroves
and breeding grounds for five endangered species of marine turtles, fish and
other marine life.

 

In 2018, a Kenyan court suspended the project for a second time, sending the
dispute back to an environmental tribunal. It is expected to issue a
decision later this month on whether the project can go ahead.

 

 

 

Cameroon's Sonara refinery offline for a year after fire - government

DOUALA (Reuters) - Cameroon’s 42,000-barrel-per-day Sonara oil refinery will
be shut for a year following a fire earlier this month, a spokesman for the
ministry of commerce told Reuters on Tuesday.

 

Operations came to a halt at the country’s only refinery in Limbe this month
after a storage tank exploded.

 

Sonara produces 20 percent of Cameroon’s gasoline demand, the rest of which
is imported, said ministry spokesman Eric Epoune. It also supplies to other
countries in the region, including Nigeria, Togo and Ghana, according to its
website.

 

Epoune said extra imports will cover the shortfall and that a fuel shortage
will be avoided.

 

 

 

 

Bharti Airtel to pay Tanzania $26 mln, cancel debt at unit to settle dispute

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - India’s Bharti Airtel has agreed to pay 60 billion
shillings ($26 million) over five years and cancel debt to resolve a dispute
over ownership of its Airtel Tanzania unit, the Tanzanian government said on
Monday.

 

Tanzania’s minister for foreign affairs and east Africa cooperation,
Palamagamba Kabudi, announced the deal at a ceremony to receive a
three-month batch of monthly payments worth 1 billion shillings each due
from April this year.

 

Bharti Airtel also cancelled $407 million of debt owed to it by Airtel
Tanzania as part of the the settlement, Kabudi said.

 

In 2017, the Indian company was drawn into a dispute with Dar es Salaam over
ownership of the mobile operator after President John Magufuli said it was
fully owned by state-run Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd (TTCL)

 

He said TTCL had been cheated out of its shares through an irregular
privatisation process. Bharti Airtel rejected the claim, saying it had
complied with regulatory approvals when it acquired a 60% stake in the firm.

 

After prolonged negotiations the two sides in January signed a settlement
that included Bharti Airtel agreeing to increase the government’s stake in
the company from 40% to 49%.

 

Bharti Airtel Executive Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said he hoped would the
deal would “give a fresh start to the company.”

 

($1 = 2,293.0000 Tanzanian shillings)

 

 

 

'We've been caught in a leasehold trap'

When Ian Rice bought his new home two years ago, he didn't really think
about the leasehold. Now he's angry that he was "mis-sold" an unfair
contract.

 

"We feel we've been caught in a leasehold trap. The developers weren't
honest with us. They told us we had to use their solicitors, who didn't warn
us about any of the hidden service charges in the lease," he told the BBC.

 

Ian reckons it will cost him more than £20,000 to get out of the leasehold
trap.

 

But stories like his have prompted the Competition and Markets Authority
(CMA) to announce an investigation into the leasehold system.

 

It said it wants to find out whether people are being treated fairly when
buying a home.

 

Treated unfairly

Ian Rice is convinced he was treated unfairly: "It was a new build and the
sales rep said that as the ground rent was just £250 a year there wasn't
much point buying the freehold."

 

But when the Liverpool-based builder decided to add an extension, he got a
shock. "We discovered there were all sorts of covenants on the lease
contract.

 

"We would have to pay permission fees to build an extension, or even to just
paint our front door."

 

He is is angry about being mis-sold the lease and the fact that the
developers have now sold on the freehold and the new owners have doubled the
cost of Ian buying it.

 

"It's going to cost me more than £20,000 to buy the freehold and pay
associated legal costs," he said.

 

Misleading practices

The CMA has launched its investigation after concerns were raised by MPs and
consumer groups about unfair leasehold contracts, with costly fees or
onerous terms.

 

"Our investigation will shed light on potential misleading practices and
unfair terms to help better protect people buying a home in future," said
George Lusty, senior director for consumer enforcement at the CMA.

 

The watchdog is writing to developers, lenders and freeholders asking for
information about how leaseholds are sold and managed, and the terms their
contracts contain.

 

It also wants to understand the impact such practices have on homeowners,
and is calling on people to share experiences that could be relevant to its
work by 12 July.

 

What will the investigation cover?

The CMA's consumer protection law investigation will examine two key areas:

 

Potential mis-selling: whether people who have bought a leasehold property
are given the information they need to fully understand the obligations they
are taking on, for example the requirement to pay ground rent over a certain
period of time, or whether they have an accurate understanding of their
ability to buy their freehold.

Potential unfair terms: whether people are having to pay excessive fees due
to unfair contract terms. This will include administration, service, and
"permission" charges - where homeowners must pay freeholders and managing
agents before making home improvements - and ground rents, which in some
cases can double every 10 years.

In March, a committee of MPs called for the CMA to probe leasehold
mis-selling claims.

 

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee said that the UK's
leasehold system has left a number of householders in unsellable and
unmortgageable homes.

 

It said leaseholders in new-build properties are often treated as a source
of profit.

 

"For too long, housebuilders and developers have not been transparent enough
about what it actually means to buy a leasehold property, which has led to
three in five [people] feeling like they were mis-sold," said Mark Hayward,
chief executive of estate agent trade body NAEA Propertymark.

 

"Buying a property is a huge undertaking and it should be an exciting time,
but for thousands of homeowners, it's led to financial difficulty as they've
become trapped in confusing contracts with freeholders. It's encouraging to
hear the CMA will take enforcement action against any company found to be
misleading consumers."

 

MPs: Home leasehold system needs reform

'I own a home but feel like I'm renting'

House owners rue leasehold purchases

"Leaseholders have been consistently ripped off by freeholders for decades
and on a huge scale," said Louie Burns of the Leasehold Group of Companies.

 

"By employing dishonest practices, including onerous ground rent terms,
unjustifiably high service charges and one-off bills, unfair and excessive
permission charges, and unreasonable costs to enfranchise or extend leases,
freeholders have effectively held leaseholders to ransom.

 

"This has not happened by accident - it is the result of a concerted effort
by greedy freeholders and developers to extract every penny they can from
leaseholders, many of whom simply did not understand the implications of
leasehold ownership because they were not provided with the correct
information at the time of purchase."

 

The difference between a freeholder and a leaseholder

Someone who owns a property outright, including the land it is built on, is
a freeholder.

 

With a leasehold, the person owns a lease which gives them the right to use
the property. But they still have to get their landlord's permission for any
work or changes to their homes.

 

When a leasehold flat or house is first sold, a lease is granted for a fixed
period of time, typically between 99 and 125 years, but sometimes up to 999
years - although people may extend their lease or buy the freehold.

 

But leasehold house owners are often charged expensive ground rent as well
as fees if they want to make changes to their homes. A leasehold house can
also be difficult to sell.--bbc

 

 

 

More security for zero-hours workers

"Working on a zero-hours contract made me feel exhausted and negatively
affected my mental health."

 

This statement comes from a former theme park worker, but is a typical view
of the estimated five million UK people with no job security.

 

Now some zero-hours contract workers are set to be offered greater security
under a new Living Hours programme.

 

It will require organisations to pay the Living Wage and give workers with
at least four weeks' notice of shifts.

 

Under the programme - created by charity The Living Wage Foundation -
workers will also get a contract that accurately reflects hours worked, and
a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours a week.

 

Minimum wage rates rise, but bills go up too

Zero-hour staff 'do more night shifts'

Why are 1.8 million people getting a pay rise?

Workers underpaid by record £15.6m

Commitments to the programme have already been made by major Living Wage
employers including Richer Sounds, SSE and Standard Life Aberdeen, who will
receive Living Hours accreditation.

 

Julian Richer, Founder and Managing Director of Richer Sounds, said: "If you
treat the people who work for you well, you're going to have happier, more
motivated staff, and ones that stay with you for years.

 

"Offering Living Hours is a great way to provide workers with security, but
it's also going to help businesses in the long-run."

 

A zero-hours contract worker at a theme park said they had to give up a
whole day to work but could end up being paid for just a couple of hours

A zero-hours contract worker's tale

A former theme park worker, who asked to remain anonymous, explained why
being on a zero-hours contract affected their mental health.

 

"Our rota for the week was sent out on Sunday evenings and, with shifts
regularly changing, I couldn't plan my week and always felt that I had to be
available to work.

 

"I also worked as a 'breaker', which meant spending the whole day at work
but only being paid for the couple of hours a day spent covering other
colleagues' shifts when they took a break.

 

"If the weather was bad or suddenly turned, the theme park would be closed
and everyone sent home.

 

"Sometimes this meant giving up a whole day but only being paid for an
hours' work, or not at all, which didn't even cover my bus fare to work.
I've since moved to a new job which has a full-time contract, which means
I'm able to save money and plan my week to spend time with family."

 

"The Living Wage has put almost £1bn extra into the pockets of more than
200,000 workers, but it's increasingly clear that pay is not the only driver
of in-work poverty," said Katherine Chapman, director of the Living Wage
Foundation.

 

"A lack of secure, stable hours is leaving millions of families struggling
to keep their heads above water. This isn't good for workers or businesses."

 

She warned that constant uncertainty over the number of hours, timings of
shifts or the amount of pay people get each week places them under enormous
pressure.

 

"A shift cancelled at the last minute might sound small, but it can be the
difference between being able to pay for your family's dinner that night or
going hungry. And being expected to work at short notice means you can't
plan around other costs and commitments."

 

More than five million workers earn less than the real Living Wage and are
in a form of insecure work, two million of which are parents, the charity
said.

 

More than a fifth of workers aged 16-24 are in low-paid, insecure work, and
in most types of insecure work measured, young people are worst affected.

 

Wales, the North East and the West Midlands have the highest rates of low
paid, insecure work, with Scotland, the South East and London the lowest.

 

"Everyone should have the right to guaranteed hours. But many workers are
kept on a string - not knowing how much work they'll have from one week to
the next," pointed out TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady.

 

She pointed out that it can make planning and making ends meet a nightmare.

 

"It's time to end this limbo and give people fair notice of their hours and
compensation if their shifts are cancelled."--bbc

 

 

 

UK phone firms demand clarity over Huawei

The UK risks losing its position as a world leader in mobile connectivity,
Britain's mobile operators are warning.

 

In a draft letter to Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, seen by the BBC,
operators will urge the government to clarify its position over Huawei.

 

The letter asks for an urgent meeting between industry leaders and the
government to discuss their concerns.

 

Operators say they can't invest in infrastructure while uncertainty over the
use of Chinese technology persists.

 

The companies are planning to send the letter to government as soon as this
week.

 

They are concerned at the government's inability to decide whether Huawei
technology will be approved for use in new 5G networks.

 

A government spokesperson said: "The security and resilience of the UK's
telecoms networks is of paramount importance. We have robust procedures in
place to manage risks to national security and are committed to the highest
possible security standards.

 

"The Telecoms Supply Chain Review will be announced in due course. We have
been clear throughout the process that all network operators will need to
comply with the government's decision."

 

Huawei is the world's leading supplier of next generation connectivity
equipment, but it has faced a backlash from the US.

 

The US government has already banned the use of Huawei technology after
citing concerns that the company may present a security threat by allowing
the Chinese government a way to snoop on critical infrastructure.

 

The US has also threatened to limit intelligence co-operation with any
country that allows Huawei equipment to be used in its own networks.

 

Earlier this year there were unconfirmed reports that the government was
considering allowing Huawei equipment into the periphery of new mobile
networks, but not into the "core" of systems that could end up managing
crucial services such as hospitals, police forces and the energy network.

 

BT-owned mobile operator EE said it had delayed the launch of Huawei's 5G
phones "until we get the information and confidence and the long-term
security that our customers 
 are going to be supported".

 

Vodafone has also announced it is suspending orders of Huawei 5G handsets.

 

In perhaps the biggest blow to Huawei, British firm ARM, which designs
processors used in most mobile devices worldwide, has also said it may
suspend ties with Huawei.

 

Huawei has found itself on the front line of the trade war between the US
and China.

 

The company insists that it poses no security threat to any of its
customers.

 

Huawei says suggestions to the contrary are a smokescreen for frustrating
China's attempts to emerge as a leading designer and provider of high tech
equipment, rather than assembling the nuts and bolts of technology designed
in the US and Europe.--bbc

 

 

 

Boohoo: Web designer sues online fashion giant founder for £118.5m

A web developer is suing the founder of online fashion retailer Boohoo for
£118.5m amid claims he reneged on a promise to reward him for creating the
firm's website.

 

Richard Womack has brought a claim against billionaire Mahmud Kamani for
breach of an agreement.

 

He claims he was promised a 10% share in the Manchester-based company and
was essentially Boohoo's "third founder".

 

A spokesman for Mr Kamani described the claim as "entirely without merit".

 

He said Mr Womack had made "a number of different attempts to extract
substantial sums of money from Mahmud Kamani" and the latest allegation was
"entirely opportunistic".

 

Solicitors acting for Mr Womack said he had spent two years developing the
Boohoo website, choosing the company's logo and deciding the "look and feel"
of the site.

 

When the website launched at the Clothes Show Live in December 2006, the IT
consultant also designed Boohoo's stand and helped collect contact details
of initial interested customers, JMW solicitors said.

 

Mr Womack says a meeting was held at the company's office shortly
afterwards, in which he was promised a 10% share in Boohoo.

 

But he claims the promise was never honoured and he has received "zero
recognition" and not "a single penny" for two years of work.

 

Mr Womack said: "It's very galling to have had zero recognition for the part
I played.

 

"It's just not right - particularly when, the reality is, Boohoo has three
founders, not two. We agreed that I would receive a 10% share in the company
by way of remuneration for the work I did and that's all I ask for - what
was agreed."

 

JMW solicitors confirmed legal papers had been served to the High Court
sitting in Manchester.

 

Mr Kamani's spokesman said: "There is no evidence to support Womack's claims
because no offer of a stake in Boohoo was ever made to Womack.

 

"No monies are due and owing to Womack. Any claim which is formally served
on Mr Kamani will be met with an application to strike it out."

 

Revenues at Boohoo, which also owns the PrettyLittleThing fashion label,
grew strongly in the last four months of 2018, jumping 44% to £328.2m.--bbc

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


RTG

AGM

Jacaranda Rooms 2 and 3, Rainbow Towers

12 June 2019, 12pm

 


Zimplow

AGM

Head Office, 36 Birmingham Road, Southerton

13 June 2019, 10am

 


TSL

AGM

28 Simon Mazorodze Road, Southerton

19 June 2019, 12pm

 


Zimpapers

AGM

Boardroom, 6th Floor, Herald House

20 June 2019, 12pm

 


Masimba Holdings

AGM

Head Office, 44 Tilbury Road, Willowvale

21 June 2019, 12:30pm

 


RioZim

AGM

1 Kenilworth Road, Highlands

24 June 2019, 10:30am

 


Proplastics

AGM

Palm Court, Meikles

25 June  2019, 10am

 


Fidelity Life

AGM

Great Indaba Room, Crowne Plaza Monomotapa

26 June 2019, 10am

 


GB Holdings

AGM

Cernol Chemicals Boardroom,  111 Dagenham Road, Willowvale

26 June 2019, 11:30am

 


Dawn Properties

AGM

Ophir Room, Monomotapa Hotel

27 June 2019, 10am

 


Unifreight

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

27 June 2019, 10am

 


African Sun

AGM

Ophir Room, Monomotapa Hotel

27 June 2019, 12pm

 


FMP

AGM

Palm Court, Meikles

27 June 2019, 12pm

 


MedTech

AGM

Boardroom, Stand 619, corner Shumba/Hacha Roads, Ruwa

27 June 2019, 2pm

 


FML

AGM

Palm Court, Meikles)

27 June 2019, 2:30pm

 


FBC

AGM

Royal Harare Golf Club

27 June 2019, 3pm

 


ZHL

AGM

Aquarium Room, Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel

30 June 2019, 10am

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <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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