Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 March 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 March 2019

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

 

*  Zimbabwe central bank borrows $985 million from African banks

*  South Africa's Bidvest appoints CEO in waiting

*  Uganda says Rwanda partially lifts trade blockade

*  Egypt's Suez Canal revenues rise to $468.7 million in January - Suez Canal Authority

*  Bidvest Group's HY earnings rise 9.6 pct boosted by services, freight

*  Egypt’s Eastern Co shares up 5 percent at opening on Egypt stock exchange

*  South African rand firms as U.S.-China trade optimism boosts risk appetite

*  Egypt regulator cancels Thursday trades of Amer Group, Porto Group

*  Dutch prosecutors target Shell over Nigeria oil deal

*  South African retailer Edcon gets $191 mln recapitalisation

*  Carlos Ghosn: Ex-Nissan boss granted bail by Tokyo court

*  The fastest road car in the world revealed - and it's electric

*  Prince Charles charity link to Russian offshore network

*  Trump targets India and Turkey in trade crackdown

*  India beats UK and US on mobile data price

*  Paperchase proposes store closures to cut costs

*  US ends diplomatic protocol tiff with EU

*  Ministers halt discussion of tax transparency bill

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

                                      

Zimbabwe central bank borrows $985 million from African banks

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank has borrowed $985 million from African banks to purchase fuel and other critical imports with current reserves covering imports for just four weeks, underscoring the severity of dollar shortages, governor John Mangudya said.

 

The southern African nation last month ditched a discredited 1:1 dollar peg for its surrogate bond notes and electronic dollars, merging them into a lower-value transitional currency called the RTGS dollar.

 

Mangudya said the central bank borrowed $641 million from the African Export and Import Bank, $152 million from Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, and $25 million from Mozambique’s central bank, among others.

 

The loans, which would be repaid from future gold earnings, have a tenure of between three and five years and attract an interest of up to 6 percent above the Libor rate, Mangudya said.

 

Gold is Zimbabwe’s single biggest mineral export earner, accounting for a third of its $4.2 billion earnings last year after a record output, central bank data shows.

 

“These loans are well structured facilities contracted last year. They will be paid from future (gold) export receivables,” Mangudya told a parliamentary committee.

 

The central bank takes 45 percent of dollar sales from gold producers and half from other miners to fund imports like fuel and power and repay foreign loans.

 

But the miners only have 30 days to keep their dollar balances in local foreign currency accounts, after which they must sell them. The companies have asked the central bank to extend the period they may keep their dollars to 90 days, according to mining executives.

 

OVERDRAFT LIMIT

Unable to get funding from foreign lenders like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank due to arrears of more than $2.4 billion, Zimbabwe has looked to financiers from the continent and local banks to shore up its budget.

 

The central bank chief said Zimbabwe had just $500 million in reserves, enough to purchase four weeks’ worth of imports.

 

Mangudya said government borrowing from the central bank reached $2.99 billion in December, about three times its permissible overdraft limit.

 

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has promised to curb borrowing in 2019 under reforms to revive the southern African economy, after the budget deficit soared last year following a spike in spending ahead of elections.

 

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube told Reuters last week that the local RTGS dollar, Zimbabwe’s new de facto currency, will be backed up with fiscal discipline and the government would allow it to fluctuate but would manage excessive volatility.

 

On the interbank forex market on Monday, one U.S. dollar fetched 2.5 RTGS dollars, the same rate as on Feb. 22 when the central bank sold some dollars to banks. That compares to a rate of 3.5 RTGS dollars per U.S. dollar on the black market,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 



South Africa's Bidvest appoints CEO in waiting

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Bidvest Group has appointed Mpumi Madisa as chief executive designate to ensure a smooth transition into the top job, the company said on Monday.

 

Madisa will work closely with current CEO Lindsay Ralphs until the 2021 financial year, the trading, distribution and services company said after posting a close to 10 percent rise in half-year earnings.

 

“This is consistent with a comprehensive succession plan that was developed and has been executed over the past several years to specifically mentor and continue her (Madisa’s) preparation for the chief executive role,” Bidvest said.

 

 

 

Uganda says Rwanda partially lifts trade blockade

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Rwanda has started to allow trucks carrying goods from Uganda to enter at one of the main crossing points on their shared border, the Ugandan government said on Monday, a sign that renewed hostilities have started to ease.

 

Rwanda last week abruptly begun blocking cargo trucks from Uganda from entering its territory as well as stopping its nationals from crossing over to Uganda.

 

Uganda summoned Rwanda’s ambassador to Kampala on Friday to protest against the border closure.

 

Ofwono Opondo, Uganda’s government spokesman, said on Monday that the flow of cargo traffic had been eased at Mirama Hills, one of the three main border crossings between the countries.

 

Uganda will review allegations of arbitrary detentions of Rwandese which authorities in Kigali have cited as one the reasons for stopping the country’s nationals from coming to Uganda, Opondo said.

 

“Specific cases raised on alleged arbitrary arrests or detentions shall be handled through normal diplomatic channels,” he wrote on Twitter.

 

Two other crossings including the busy Katuna border post remain closed, he said.

 

The hostilities, fuelled by longstanding mutual suspicions and allegations of supporting each other’s dissidents, are unlikely to escalate into war because of overwhelming western diplomatic pressure on both sides to calm the situation, analysts said.

 

Rwanda depends for much of its imports on a trade route through Uganda to Kenya’s Indian Ocean seaport of Mombasa.

 

The same transport artery is also a pipeline for goods from Kenya and Uganda to Burundi and parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

 

Any prolonged disruption of the flow of commerce on the route could potentially trigger a serious economic crisis in the region.

 

Nicholas Sengoba, a Uganda political analyst, told Reuters the tensions were “a growing cancer” in relations between the two countries.

 

“But I don’t see the situation escalating to an outbreak of war simply because the economic and other stakes are high,” he said.

 

“The diplomatic pressure on both countries especially from the west will be such that both sides will have no choice but pull back.”

 

 

Egypt's Suez Canal revenues rise to $468.7 million in January - Suez Canal Authority

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s Suez Canal revenues rose to $468.7 million in January from $451.9 million in the same month last year, the Suez Canal Authority said on Monday.

 

January’s figure was lower than December’s $471.8 million in revenue.

 

The canal is the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia and one of the government’s main sources of foreign currency.

 

 

 

Bidvest Group's HY earnings rise 9.6 pct boosted by services, freight

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Bidvest Group’s half-year earnings rose 9.6 percent, the South African firm said on Monday, bolstered by services, freight and office and print divisions, despite a sluggish economy and political uncertainty.

 

South African companies have been struggling to lift their earnings in a sluggish economy at home, where industrial activity and consumer spending is lacklustre. There is also political uncertainty ahead of the national elections in May.

 

The trading, distribution, and services firm said headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the six months ended December rose to 629.1 cents from 574 cents a year earlier. HEPS is the main profit measure in South Africa, which excludes certain one-off items.

 

Normalised HEPS, which exclude acquisition costs and amortisation of acquired customer contracts, were 635.7 cents, while the group’s trading profit increased 6.3 percent to 3.3 billion rand ($233.02 million).

 

The services division’s trading profit broke through the 1 billion rand mark, with strong domestic and overseas growth underscoring its annuity nature, the group said, while office and print’s result “was pleasing” given the structural decline of the industry in which it operates.

 

The freight division’s trading profit rose 8.6 percent to 700.1 million rand. Freight volumes were buoyant for the first four months, but slowed over the latter two months.

 

“This is a good result despite the frail economic backdrop and significant business and political uncertainty,” Group Chief Executive Lindsay Ralphs said in a statement.

 

“It again demonstrates the value of our diversified portfolio and the quality of the underlying businesses.”

 

On Friday, Bidvest made an offer of 10.50 Namibian dollar ($0.7418) per share to acquire all outstanding shares of Bidvest Namibia that the group does not already own, subject to the approval of a delisting resolution.

 

Bidvest, which also operates in financial services and automotive retailing, declared an interim dividend of 282 cents per share, up 10.6 percent.

 

($1 = 14.1618 rand)

 

($1 = 14.1550 Namibian dollars)

 

 

 

 

Egypt’s Eastern Co shares up 5 percent at opening on Egypt stock exchange

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s top cigarette maker Eastern Company SAE shares were up 5 percent at opening on Egypt stock exchange after share offer to reach 17.50 Egyptian pounds($1.00)per share.

 

The company sold 95 percent of the shares on offer in the private sale and will sell the remainder at a public offer that begins on Sunday.

 

The Egyptian government had been planning to launch a programme of sales in state companies last October by selling 4.5 percent of Eastern Company.

 

The total amount of the IPO will not exceed 1.635 billion pounds.

 

($1 = 17.4600 Egyptian pounds)

 

 

 

South African rand firms as U.S.-China trade optimism boosts risk appetite

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand firmed against the dollar in early trade on Monday as risk appetite improved on signs the United States and China were close to striking a tariff deal to end their protracted trade war.

 

At 0604 GMT, the rand traded at 14.1650 per dollar, 0.46 percent firmer than its close of 14.2300 on Friday.

 

U.S.-China trade deal appears to be closer to reality, rolling back U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, as Beijing makes pledges on structural economic changes and eliminates retaliatory tariffs, a source briefed on negotiations said on Sunday.

 

Locally, the focus this week is on GDP numbers for the last quarter of 2018 due on Tuesday and current account data for the same period to be released on Thursday.

 

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government paper due in 2026 was down 2 basis points to 8.725 percent in early trade.

 

 

 

Egypt regulator cancels Thursday trades of Amer Group, Porto Group

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s financial regulator cancelled trades made on Thursday in Amer Group Holding and Porto Group, the authority said in a statement.

 

Last week Amer Group’s board approved voluntarily delisting the company from the Egyptian stock market.

 

 

 

Dutch prosecutors target Shell over Nigeria oil deal

LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch prosecutors are preparing criminal charges against Royal Dutch Shell over its $1.3 billion acquisition of Nigerian offshore oilfield OPL 245 in 2011.

 

Shell said in a statement on its website that it had been informed by the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office (DPP) that it had nearly concluded its investigation and is preparing to prosecute Shell for criminal charges directly or indirectly related to the 2011 settlement of disputes over OPL 245.

 

The Dutch decision piles pressure on Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell, which is already facing charges of bribery in a trial in Milan over the same deal alongside Italy’s Eni.shel

 

Prosecutors in Italy allege that the two oil companies knew that around $1.1 billion used for the acquisition of OPL 245 would be used to pay politicians, businessmen and middlemen.

 

Both oil firms have denied any wrongdoing.

 

A spokeswoman for the Dutch prosecutors said: “Based on the preliminary criminal investigation, public prosecutors concluded that there are prosecutable offences”.

 

Under the deal, Eni and Shell jointly acquired the OPL 245 field from a company owned by former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete, who was convicted of money laundering in an unrelated case in France in 2007.

 

Eni Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi and four ex-Shell managers, including its former head of upstream, Malcolm Brinded, are also facing charges of international corruption in the Milan trial. All have denied any wrongdoing.

 

Shell shares were up 0.37 percent at 0923 GMT.

 

 

 

South African retailer Edcon gets $191 mln recapitalisation

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Edcon has secured 2.7 billion rand ($191 million) in new cash and rent deductions as part of a plan to recapitalise the struggling department store chain.

 

The owner of Edgars and stationary retailer CNA has been grappling with its debts for several years, after troubles in its credit business in 2014 coincided with an economic slowdown and weak consumer spending.

 

In January, Edcon’s chief executive Grant Pattison said it needed 3 billion rand ($226 million) in financing over the next three years to allow it time to “fix” its business.

 

Edcon, which vies for market share with TFG, Truworths and international chains such as Zara and H&M, is one the biggest names in South African retail, employing more than 14,000 full-time staff in over 1,100 stores.

 

It has been in talks with lenders and other investors about injecting money, while asking landlords to reduce rents in exchange for equity in the company.

 

“This is a significant step forward towards ensuring the restoration of our balance sheet and putting the company back on the path to success,” Pattison said of the deal with Edcon’s secured lenders, the government pension fund and landlords .

 

“It will provide management with a sufficient time-frame to implement the store estate restructure and focus on returning the business to profitability.”

 

Edcon said the recapitalisation will result in the removal of all of its interest-bearing debt and also introduce a new group structure and set of shareholders.

 

Once all conditions have been finalised, the shareholders will consist of Edcon’s existing lenders, the Public Investment Corporation and participating landlords of Edcon, as well as Edcon’s employees, it said.

 

The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union welcomed the announcement, saying in a statement that the agreement means “a job massacre has been averted in the local clothing manufacturing industry.”

 

Edcon currently occupies 5.3 percent of Liberty Two Degrees’ Ltd total portfolio gross lettable area (GLA) and this exposure is anticipated to reduce to 4.3 percent of total GLA by Dec.31, the real estate investment trust said in a statement after the announcement.

 

While Redefine Properties Ltd, a significant landlord of Edcon, said it agreed to rental reductions up to the maximum amount of 13.8 million rand ($974,569.39) over a two-year period in respect of leases totalling 21,972 square meter.

 

It’s equity contribution will be 54.6 million rand, it added in a statement.

 

($1 = 14.1601 rand)

 

 

 

Carlos Ghosn: Ex-Nissan boss granted bail by Tokyo court

The former boss of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, has been granted bail by a Tokyo court in a surprise decision.

 

The court set bail at one billion yen (£6.8m; $8.9m) and Japanese media reports said he could be released as early as Tuesday.

 

Mr Ghosn has been charged with financial misconduct but has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

 

The court had rejected two previous requests for bail, saying Mr Ghosn was a flight risk and could hide evidence.

 

The latest request was filed by a new legal team, which was appointed by the Brazilian-born executive last month.

 

On Monday, the head of his defence, Junichiro Hironaka, said he was optimistic Mr Ghosn would be granted bail. Nicknamed "the Razor", the Japanese lawyer has a reputation for winning tough cases.

 

Carlos Ghosn and Japan's 'hostage justice' system

Ghosn says 'plot and treason' behind arrest

Five charts on the Nissan boss scandal

Ghosn: The relentless 'cost killer'

Prosecutors in Tokyo were expected to file an appeal against the decision to grant bail, which requires Mr Ghosn stay in Japan and be placed under video surveillance.

 

Bail is rarely granted in Japan without a confession and the length of Mr Ghosn's detention had drawn some criticism.

 

The 64-year-old has been in custody since his arrest last November on allegations he understated his income at Nissan. He has also been charged with aggravated breach of trust.

 

Mr Ghosn, a towering figure of the car industry, was the architect of the Renault-Nissan alliance. He brought Mitsubishi on board in 2016.

 

Following his arrest, Nissan and Mitsubishi removed Mr Ghosn as chairman. Renault initially kept him on as chair, and he resigned from the French carmaker in January.

 

Mr Ghosn was born in Porto Velho, Brazil, to Lebanese parents. He was once tipped as a potential president of Lebanon, a move he eventually dismissed because he already had "too many jobs".--BBC

 

 

The fastest road car in the world revealed - and it's electric

It's the most powerful street-legal car ever to come out of Italy. And when your competitors include Ferrari and Lamborghini, that's some badge of honour.

 

It may even be the most powerful road car ever, although when you're dealing with hypercars (the noun supercar is no longer sufficient) it's a fine margin between first, second and third.

 

But being number one is not the most important thing. Because what's really special about the Pininfarina Battista, being unveiled on Tuesday at the Geneva Motor Show, is this: it's all-electric.

 

So, here are some stats. Maker Automobili Pininfarina claims its Battista does 0-62mph in less than two seconds, 186mph in less than 12 seconds, has a top speed of more than 250mph, and does 280 miles on one charge.

 

Its brake horse power (bhp) is equivalent to 1,900, about twice that of a Formula 1 car (a decent-sized Ford Fiesta, Britain's best-selling car, has a bhp of between about 84 and 138).

 

Rimac's CTwo supercar can do 0-60mph in under two seconds and has a top speed of 258mph (412 Km/h)

The power "is crazy" says Automobili Pininfarina chief executive Michael Perschke. The car is, he says, a statement that high performance and electric propulsion are not mutually exclusive.

 

The Battista is not the only hypercar - electric or otherwise - on display at Geneva. And Rimac's Concept Two car and Tesla's Roadster have already pushed the boundaries of what is possible with battery technology.

 

Fast, fun, trendy

But there's no doubt that the Battista is one of the most anticipated unveilings at this week's show, partly because Automobili Pininfarina is little more than a year old

 

To have leapfrogged some of the industry's most famous names in such a short time has attracted a mixture of admiration and curiosity.

 

That said, it wasn't a completely clean slate. The carmaker is a spin-off of Pininfarina, the legendary Italian design house that helped take many Ferrari and Alfa Romeo cars from the drawing board to production.

 

The Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group bought a majority stake in Pininfarina in 2015. Mahindra has an automotive division, owns South Korean car company SsangYong Motor, and runs a team in the Formula E racing series.

 

So when Mahindra decided to extend the Pininfarina name from car design to car production it brought with it expertise and resources.

 

Car industry revs up for an electrified motor show

Why are more and more car companies teaming up?

China powers up electric car market

Tesla showed that electric cars can be fun, fast and trendy. And with its latest price cuts and sales strategy, the Californian company is pushing further into mass market territory.

 

Koenigsegg's Regera combines a twin-turbo V8 petrol engine with three electric motors

Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, said he wants to take Automobili Pininfarina in the opposite direction and prove that electric cars can be luxurious, exclusive and collectable.

 

"Why is Mahindra betting on the luxury segment? Because there will also be vehicles that people will want to buy because they are objects of desire and passion," Mr Mahindra says.

 

'New frontier'

Electric vehicles are the future and Mahindra intends to be in the mass market for shared mobility and autonomous vehicles, he said. "But this disruption is not going to affect people's desire for things of beauty and make the heart beat faster."

 

With the Pininfarina pedigree and Italian heritage there are big hopes that the Battista will make electric cars cool, sexy; an electric Ferrari, perhaps.

 

Paolo Pininfarina, chairman of Pininfarina and grandson of the company's founder, said designing something beautiful was key - not surprising given the heritage. "We are designers, we are Italian. We could not compromise on the car's beauty," he said.

 

"Also, as we are designers, we are not tied to any particular powertrain like Ferrari or Lamborghini. So we could approach the design as a new frontier," he said.

 

Outstanding

The T-shaped battery along the centre and behind the seats gave the designers far more space to work with than the internal combustion engines they were used to.

 

"It created different aerodynamics. We were able to explore and experiment," Mr Pininfarina said. Cooling is less of an issue than on petrol cars, so it does not have the large grilles seen in many high-performance vehicles.

 

"To have been able to design a car with such power, torque and speed, and yet emit zero-emissions, is, we think, truly outstanding," he said.

 

The Battista - named after Pininfarina's founder Battista "Pinin" Farina - won't be the only electric vehicle produced by Automobili Pininfarina.

 

The plan is for a range of EVs, including a sports utility vehicle, although the intention is to remain firmly in the luxury bracket.

 

Pininfarina did once try to produce an electric car, in 2008, a project shelved when the company ran into financial trouble. That car promised 30mph in 5 seconds, top speed 85mph and range of 125 miles.

 

It's an illustration of just how far electric technology has moved on. But for Mr Mahindra, we're still only at the start of what emissions-free technology can achieve.--BBC

 

 

 

Prince Charles charity link to Russian offshore network

An investment bank led by an oligarch who collaborated with Prince Charles on charity work managed a network of offshore companies moving billions out of Russia.

 

An international investigation has exposed how the network received money from companies linked to major fraud.

 

The oligarch, Ruben Vardanyan, is the former boss of Moscow investment bank Troika Dialog.

 

He says he was not involved in the bank's day to day operations.

 

Money from the network was sent to the Prince's Charities Foundation to help restore Dumfries House, a stately home in Ayrshire.

 

The prince's charities said they had subjected Mr Vardanyan's donations to robust due diligence and no red flags had been raised.

 

The prince, the oligarch and the stately home

 

 

The web of more than 70 offshore companies is exposed in a leak of 1.3 million confidential bank transactions to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a consortium of east European investigative journalists who shared information and documents with the BBC and the Guardian.

 

Between 2009 and 2011 the Prince's Charities Foundation received three payments, adding up to $202,000 via a now-defunct bank in Lithuania.

 

The leaked bank data show the last of the payments went to an account held by the Prince's Charities Foundation.

 

The payments were from a company called Quantus Division Ltd, which is revealed today to have been part of a network of offshore companies that sent billions of dollars out of Russia.

 

The network was managed by a Moscow investment bank, Troika Dialog, whose chief executive at the time was Mr Vardanyan.

 

Over the years, Mr Vardanyan enjoyed an ongoing charitable and business relationship with the Prince of Wales.

 

In 2010, Mr Vardanyan attended an event celebrating Armenia and its culture at Windsor Castle where the Prince spoke about Dumfries House and his plans to restore it.

 

The Troika Network

Most of the leaked records are from the Lithuanian bank Ukio Bancas, shut down by the Lithuanian authorities in 2013.

 

Between 2005 and 2011 more than €3.35bn was moved into a network of offshore companies managed by Troika Dialog and €3.5bn was moved out.

 

The companies appear to have been used to move money anonymously.

 

The Troika network of companies was set up as a service for clients, many of them members of Russia's elite, to move money around the world for both business and personal use.

 

They used some of it to pay for everything from properties in the UK to luxury yachts, artwork and World Cup tickets.

 

Ruben Vardanyan and his partners made $1bn between them in 2011 when they sold Troika to Sberbank, owned by the Russian state.

 

Documents seen by the BBC suggest that companies in the network including Quantus Division Ltd made and received payments said to be for goods such as food, lighting, electronic goods, building materials and even sanitary ware.

 

However, they were being purchased by companies with no offices, no employees and no trade, suggesting that in reality no such goods changed hands.

 

 

 

Other bank records show tens of millions of dollars flowing into companies in the network from other companies linked to major crimes.

 

They include one of the largest frauds to have been exposed in Russia, the $230m tax fraud discovered by Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.

 

In November 2009, nearly a year after reporting the fraud, Mr Magnitsky died in suspicious circumstances in a Russian prison.

 

Leaked bank records from Ukio Bancas show companies that benefited from the tax fraud sent $123m through the Troika network.

 

The BBC has seen no evidence that Mr Vardanyan was himself involved in any criminal activity.

 

His lawyers told us he was not involved in the operations, management or activities of the wealth management arm of Troika Dialog Group, and that he has always acted in a transparent way.

 

A spokesman for Clarence House said the Prince of Wales's charities operate independently of the prince himself in relation to all decisions around fundraising.

 

A spokesman for The Prince of Wales' Charitable Foundation and The Dumfries House Trust told us: "The charities apply robust due diligence processes. In the case of the examples highlighted, no red flags arose during those processes. "--BBC

 

 

 

Trump targets India and Turkey in trade crackdown

The US plans to end preferential trade status for India, under a scheme which allows certain products to enter the US duty-free.

 

President Donald Trump said India had failed to assure the US it would provide reasonable access to its markets.

 

India said the US move would have a "minimal economic impact".

 

The US will also end Turkey's preferential trade status, saying it no longer qualifies.

 

It is the latest US attempt to counter what it sees as unfair trade practices. Mr Trump has pledged to reduce US trade deficits, and has repeatedly criticised India for high tariffs.

 

As a result, he directed the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office to remove India from a programme that grants it preferential trade treatment.

 

Preferential trade treatment for India currently allows $5.6bn (£4.3bn) worth of exports to enter the United States duty free.

 

In a letter to Congress, the US president said India had "not assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets of India".

 

'Preferential treatment'

Under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) programme, "certain products can enter the US duty-free if the beneficiary developing country meets a set of criteria established by Congress".

 

The criteria include providing intellectual property protection, and giving the US reasonable and fair market access.

 

Is trade spoiling the Trump-Modi bromance?

A quick guide to the US-China trade war

India's Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said the withdrawal from the GSP would have "minimal economic impact of $190m (£144m) on India".

 

"Our trade relations remain cordial with the US. There is no disruption on trade talks," Mr Wadhawan said.

 

'Things need to change'

Analysis by Karishma Vaswani, Asia business correspondent

 

India is the world's biggest beneficiary of America's GSP programme, which was created in the 1970s to help developing and poor countries improve their economic growth prospects.

 

At the time, India was clocking in growth rates of as low as 3.5%. This year it is thought that it could shoot up to the world's fifth largest economy, rivalling the UK.

 

Analysts say that's why the US, and in particular the Trump administration, is saying things need to change.

 

Countries that are no longer developing nations shouldn't continue to get special access from the US to help them grow - especially if they're not providing reciprocal access.

 

Trade experts also say there's a sense within the Trump administration that if they're going after China based on its claims that it is still a developing country, then it is hypocritical not to do the same with India, too.

 

The US also intends to remove Turkey from its GSP programme. It argues the country no longer meets the criteria because it is "sufficiently economically developed".

 

The changes may not take effect until at least 60 days after the notifications to Congress and the governments of India and Turkey.

 

Trade war

The move is the latest push by the Trump administration to redress what it considers to be unfair trading relationships with other countries.

 

That sentiment has fuelled a damaging trade war between Washington and Beijing. Negotiations are ongoing to resolve the dispute that has seen both sides impose billions of dollars worth of tariffs on one another's goods.

 

The US has also imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from countries around the world. Last year, India retaliated to those tariff hikes by raising import duties on a range of goods.

 

The move to end US preferential status for India comes at a challenging time for India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he prepares to face elections this year.--BBC

 

 

 

India beats UK and US on mobile data price

A study into the amount people pay for mobile data has found that the UK has some of the most expensive prices in Europe.

 

The research, from price comparison site Cable.co.uk, found that one gigabyte (GB) of data cost $0.26 (£0.20) in India but $6.66 in the UK.

 

The US had one of the most expensive rates - with an average cost of $12.37 for the same amount of data.

 

The results were "disappointing" said Cable's telecoms analyst Dan Howdle.

 

"Despite a healthy UK marketplace, our study has uncovered that EU nations such as Finland, Poland, Denmark, Italy, Austria and France pay a fraction of what we pay in the UK for similar data usage. It will be interesting to see how our position is affected post-Brexit," he said.

 

The study compared mobile data pricing in 230 countries around the world. The UK ranked 136th in the list. The global average was $8.53 for 1GB.

 

The cheapest mobile data in Western Europe is in Finland with an average price of $1.16 for 1GB of data. Denmark, Monaco and Italy all offer packages below $2. There were 15 countries in Western Europe which had cheaper prices than the UK.

 

In Eastern Europe, Poland is the cheapest at $1.32 per gigabyte, followed by Romania ($1.89) and Slovenia ($2.21).

 

Top five nations:

 

India - $0.26

Kyrgyzstan - $0.27

Kazakstan - $0.49

Ukraine - $0.51

Rwanda - $0.56

Bottom five nations:

 

Zimbabwe - $75.20

Equatorial Guinea - $65.83

Saint Helena - $55.47

Falkland Islands - $47.39

Djibouti - $37.92

Data packages

Zimbabwe is the most expensive country in which to buy mobile data - with an average cost of 1GB coming in at an eye-watering $75.20.

 

Africa has both the cheapest and most expensive prices, with Rwanda, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo all offering less than $1 data prices but Equatorial Guinea and Saint Helena both charging more than $50 per gigabyte.

 

Asian nations make up half of the top 20 cheapest countries, with only Taiwan, China and South Korea charging more than the global average.

 

The reasons for the vast differences in prices around the world were complex said Mr Howdle.

 

"Some countries have excellent mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure and so providers are able to offer large amounts of data, which brings down the price per gigabyte. Others with less advanced broadband networks are heavily reliant on mobile data and the economy dictates that prices must be low, as that's what people can afford," he added.

 

"At the more expensive end of the list, we have countries where often the infrastructure isn't great but also where consumption is very small. People are often buying data packages of just a tens of megabytes at a time, making a gigabyte a relatively large and therefore expensive amount of data to buy."

 

The research looked at SIM-only deals and included a range of packages from all the providers in each country.--BBC

 

 

 

Paperchase proposes store closures to cut costs

Stationer Paperchase has proposed a restructuring that involves the closure of five of its 145 stores.

 

Another 23 stores will be at risk as it tries to cut their rents by 50%.

 

The retailer is involved in a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) renegotiating terms with its creditors.

 

Paperchase has been hit by fewer customers, increased rents and business rates, and higher costs due to the fall in the value of the pound.

 

Pre-tax profits fell from just over £600,000 in 2017 to a loss of £6.3 million last year, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

 

However, turnover increased 6% thanks to growth in its online and international business.

 

The company is proposing linking some of its rents to store sales.

 

Paperchase's parent company Primary Capital called in advisers from KPMG to explore a potential CVA last month.

 

Will Wright, restructuring partner at KPMG and proposed supervisor of the CVA, said the deal gives the firm "the ability to rationalise its store portfolio by exiting stores that are unprofitable, secure rent reductions where stores are over-rented and implement turnover rents to reflect the highly seasonal nature of the business."

 

Creditors will vote on the proposals on 22 March. Paperchase needs to secure at least 75% creditor approval for the CVA to go ahead.--BBC

 

 

 

US ends diplomatic protocol tiff with EU

The United States has ended a spat with the European Union over diplomatic protocol that came amid heightened tensions over trans-Atlantic trade.

 

US ambassador Gordon Sondland said the bloc was "one of America's most valuable partners in ensuring global security and prosperity".

 

The dispute surfaced in January over an apparent downgrading of the EU's diplomatic status.

 

The EU said it was pleased the US had decided "to revert to usual practice".

 

What went wrong?

Early this year it emerged that the US had changed the way it treated the EU delegation and ambassador.

 

The EU had previously been treated "as a country would be" on the US diplomatic list but was now being seen as an international organisation, which is ranked lower.

 

The EU ambassador was the last diplomat to be called up at the state funeral for President George HW Bush last December, according to Deutsche Welle.

 

US downgrades EU diplomatic status

US and EU retreat from brink on trade

Has Trump turned his back on Europe?

Are relations improving?

Trade relations are still tense and diplomatically three EU states have tried to find a way around US sanctions re-imposed on Iran.

 

Europe creates pay system for Iran trade

The EU and US are set to meet this week with the aim of negotiating a trade deal limited to industrial goods.

 

President Donald Trump pulled back from imposing tariffs on European car imports last July, after the EU said it planned to buy more US soya beans and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

 

EU imports of soya beans have since soared. However, US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports which were imposed last year remain in place.

 

Last week President Trump described the EU as "very, very tough" on US farming goods and cars. "We take their product; they don't take ours. We don't charge them tariffs; they charge us tariffs," he asserted, according to a White House transcript.

 

In his statement, Mr Sondland welcomed the EU's new ambassador, Stavros Lambrinidis, praising the EU as a "uniquely important organisation", adding that "this level of engagement and co-operation should be recognised appropriately in all settings".

 

EU foreign affairs spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said that the EU had been in touch with the US to "clarify the matter" after the change to diplomatic practice.

 

"We are pleased that the United States took the decision to revert to usual practice," she said.--BC

 

 

 

Ministers halt discussion of tax transparency bill

The government has dropped a debate on a bill about financial services ahead of a likely defeat.

 

A group of MPs had hoped to amend the bill to force greater tax transparency in Britain's Crown dependencies.

 

Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man would have to have public registers of beneficial ownership under their plans.

 

The Treasury said as the amendments were only tabled on Thursday, they will be considered at a later date to ensure "sufficient time for proper debate".

 

The islands said the attempted clampdown was "contrary" to established constitutional relationships.

 

More than 40 MPs had signed the amendment to the Financial Services Bill, requiring the UK to help all overseas territories and Crown dependencies set up a publicly accessible register. It would have obliged them to do so by the end of 2020.

 

Tory MP Andrew Mitchell and Labour's Margaret Hodge, who have long campaigned for more transparency over who owns assets in the UK and its dependencies, led the group of MPs.

 

Dame Margaret said public registers "are the next big step for tackling money laundering and tax evasion" but the government had "taken the outrageous step to pull the bill from today's business".

 

Mr Mitchell told the BBC: "This amendment is an important continuation of the British G8 agenda on transparency and openness to combat money laundering and tax evasion.

 

"In the face of certain defeat the government have pulled the business for today but the business will return and so will this important amendment".

 

In the Commons, he complained to the Speaker that the government intended "arbitrarily to extend" the 2020 deadline "by no less than three years to the end of 2023 in flagrant breach of what was agreed by this House".

 

He said that during the original debate, he and Dame Margaret only agreed to extend the deadline until 2020 because of recent hurricanes and storms that damaged many of the overseas territories.

 

Dame Margaret agreed and accused the government of "a blatant, deliberate and arrogant snub of this Parliament".

 

The MPs were supported by Conservative former Brexit Secretary David Davis and Labour's ex-International Development Secretary Hilary Benn. And the SNP's Alison Thewliss said the government was "running scared".

 

Speaker John Bercow said it was a "rum business" that the bill had "suffered a mysterious and unexplained disappearance".

 

"It is at the very least very discourteous to the House of Commons," he told MPs, adding: "The legislation will presumably have to come back."

 

Mr Bercow suggested the decision reflected "a degree of anxiety" and "inexperience" in the government.

 

A Treasury spokesperson said: "The beneficial ownership amendments were tabled on Thursday, and we want to give them proper and thorough consideration.

 

"The government will not move the bill today but will reschedule it to ensure that there is sufficient time for proper debate."

 

Tax haven retreat underlines government's weakness in Commons

By the BBC's parliamentary correspondent Mark D'Arcy

 

The government's decision to pull a debate and votes on the Financial Services Bill underlines the weakness of its position in the Commons.

 

Faced with a threatening backbench uprising led by a wily Conservative former chief whip and a dangerous street-fighting Labour grandee, the government has opted for retreat rather than defeat.

 

Working across the party divide, Andrew Mitchell and Margaret Hodge have been successfully pushing for a public register of beneficial ownership of companies based in British overseas territories like Anguilla, Bermuda, Gibraltar, the Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.

 

The amendment they had put down to the bill would have reaffirmed that and called for a draft Order in Council requiring the government of any British overseas territory that has not introduced such a register to do so no later than 31 December 2020.

 

Crucially, the bill - which brings a wedge of EU financial regulation into UK law - would have added the same requirement for Crown dependencies - the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.--BBC

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


Willdale

AGM

Boardroom, Willdale Adminstration Block, Teneriffe Factory, 19.5km peg Lomagundi Road, Mt Hampden

07 March 2019 11am

 


Mash

AGM

Boardroom, ZB Life Towers, 77 Jason Moyo Avenue

18 March 2019 12pm

 


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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