Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 07 October 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 07 October 2019

 


 

 


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*  Tripoli gov't gives Libya's NOC $1 billion in funding

*  Congo says IMF is considering new financial support

*  South African defence group Denel reports $125 mln loss

*  Nigeria levies $1.3 bln charge on banks for failing to meet loan target

*  Ethio Telecom appoints evaluator for assets, seeks advisor for
privatisation

*  Uganda licenses two new commercial banks in crowded market

*  Tunisian annual inflation unchanged at 6.7% in Sept

*  Egypt discussing possible new IMF cooperation -c.bank governor

*  South Africa's rand steady as focus shifts to U.S. data

*  Thomas Cook: Remaining 4,800 passengers set for return

*  Blocking research with China would 'hurt', Microsoft boss says

*  Libra: PayPal first to drop out of Facebook cryptocurrency

*  US unemployment rate falls to 50-year low of 3.5%

*  BP's Bob Dudley in line for up to £40m after exit

*  Japanese car sales sink in South Korea amid trade rift

 


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Tripoli gov't gives Libya's NOC $1 billion in funding

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya’s internationally recognised government said it
had allocated 1.5 billion Libyan dinars ($1.06 billion) for the National Oil
Corporation (NOC) to maintain oil production in 2019-2020, according to a
resolution shared with journalists on Saturday. 

 

The resolution said 1.2 billion dinars was allocated “for projects that
contribute in maintenance of current production rates and increase the
productive capacity of the oil and gas sector”. A further 300 million was
allocated for pay the NOC’s obligations to other companies. 

 

The resolution stated that the Central Bank deposit the sum in “an emergency
account” for the NOC to spend as planned.

 

It also said the money would be drawn from fees imposed since 2018 on sales
of foreign exchange, in a bid to end the gap between the official and
parallel foreign exchange markets. 

 

Libya’s current oil production is around 1.3 million barrels per day.

 

The NOC has frequently complained in the past that it was not receiving
sufficient funding from the Tripoli based Government of National Accord
(GNA).

 

Last week it said in a statement that production was expected to be severely
affected if it did not get the budget funding it needed from the government.

 

The NOC also said the government “reduced the approved budget of the
Corporation and its companies twice” this year without prior notice.

 

 

OPEC member Libya’s oil production has fluctuated sharply in recent years
due to attacks, protests and political conflict in the turmoil following the
country’s 2011 uprising.

 

The country has been split since 2014 between rival camps based in Tripoli
and the east, though the NOC in Tripoli has continued to control oil
production, with revenues flowing through the central bank in the capital.

 

($1 = 1.4120 Libyan dinars)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Congo says IMF is considering new financial support

DAKAR (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will consider
renewing financial support to Democratic Republic of Congo within the next
six months, the government in Kinshasa said on Saturday.

 

The IMF suspended its last financial aid to Congo - a loan programme worth
more than $500 million - in 2012 after the government failed to provide
sufficient details on the sale of state mining assets to an offshore
company.

 

In a statement following a cabinet meeting, the government said: “The IMF
will examine within six months a short-term programme with the government.”
It provided no further details.

 

The IMF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It said last
month that a political transition in which Felix Tshisekedi succeeded
longtime President Joseph Kabila in January provided an opportunity to
address deep-seated economic challenges.

 

Congo is a leading miner of cobalt, copper, gold, tin and diamonds but
remains one of the world’s least developed countries, largely due to
corruption and poor governance.

 

 

 

 

South African defence group Denel reports $125 mln loss

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s struggling state-owned defence
company, which had to be bailed out by the government last August, suffered
an operating loss of 1.9 billion rand ($125 million) for the year to March
31, it said on Friday.

 

Denel, which makes military kit for the South African armed forces and
clients in Africa, the Gulf and Europe, said its annual revenue had plunged
to an all-time low of 3.76 billion rand due to liquidity constraints.

 

“The decline in our reputation has also had a draining impact on our
financial position,” Group Chief Executive Danie du Toit said in a
statement, noting that revenue dropped by 36% over the period.

 

The company, which is among several state-owned enterprises being kept
afloat with government bailouts, said it was technically insolvent at the
end of March 2019, but it was recapitalised by the government with an
injection of 1.8 billion rand ($118 million) in August.

 

The cash crunch had left it struggling to pay salaries and suppliers in
recent months.

 

($1 = 15.1619 rand)

 

 

 

Nigeria levies $1.3 bln charge on banks for failing to meet loan target

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria’s central bank has levied a charge on 12 banks for
a total of more than 400 billion naira ($1.3 billion) for failing to
increase loans to meet a regulatory target, three banking sources and one of
the lenders told Reuters on Thursday.

 

The central bank asked lenders in July to maintain a ratio of lending out at
least 60% of deposits by September or face a higher cash reserve levy, part
of measures aimed at getting credit flowing in Africa’s biggest economy.

 

The cash reserve requirement in Nigeria is 22.5%. However, the regulator has
said that banks which fail to meet its new minimum loan requirement will
face a higher cash reserve equal to 50% of the lending shortfall.

 

Central bank spokesman Isaac Okoroafor confirmed the levy on Thursday and
said: “The funds will go into (the cash reserve requirement) and will not be
available to (banks).”

 

The central bank has been seeking to boost credit to businesses and
consumers after a recent recession in Nigeria, but lending has yet to pick
up. With growth slow, banks prefer to park cash in risk-free government
securities rather than lend to companies and consumers.

 

Nigeria’s economy is expected to pick up in 2019 with gross domestic product
expanding close to 3%, up from 1.9% last year, according to the central
bank.

 

Since the recession, lenders have done little to expand credit in Nigeria,
blaming a weak economy after a 2014 oil price crash and a currency crisis
that made loans go sour. Analysts fear growing credit quickly could weaken
asset quality and capital buffers.

 

The central bank has said loans rose 5.3% in the three months to the end of
September, to 16.40 trillion naira, due to the new minimum requirement, and
increased the lending ratio target in what it said was a move to sustain the
momentum.

 

LIQUIDITY SHORTAGES

Lenders maintain a reserve account with the central bank to ensure that they
do not run out of cash to meet payment demands from depositors. The central
bank also uses the cash reserve requirement to manage liquidity.

 

Bank chief executives met with the central bank on Thursday to discuss the
liquidity implication of the withdrawal from the banking system.

 

“We believe this development is largely negative for the banking sector ...
the macro-environment is still too fragile to support strong growth in
lending,” analysts at Cardinal Stone said.

 

The local units of Citibank and Standard Chartered Bank are among those
affected, the sources said.

 

“We are mindful of the fact that there are some vulnerable sectors that we
will be lending to,” said Mobola Faloye, executive director of risk at
Standard Chartered Bank, after the bankers’ meeting. She did not identify
those sectors.

 

“It is important that we mitigate our risks and have what we called a credit
default clause that allows us to set off the obligations of defaulting party
against any other monies that defaulting party has in the industry,” she
said.

 

Other banks affected include top tier Nigerian lenders Zenith Bank, Guaranty
Trust Bank, First Bank and United Bank for Africa, the sources said.

 

Mid-tier lender FCMB said it was levied 14 billion naira. It added that it
would improve loan growth with a focus on asset quality. Other banks
declined to comment.

 

In the last few months, the regulator has capped interest-bearing deposits
at the central bank and barred banks from buying treasury bills for their
own accounts at an open market auction, to boost lending.

 

($1 = 306.40 naira)

 

 

 

Ethio Telecom appoints evaluator for assets, seeks advisor for privatisation

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethio Telecom has appointed international consulting
firm KPMG to evaluate its assets, and an advisor on the privatisation
process will be appointed soon, a senior finance ministry official said on
Thursday.

 

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office last year and announced a series of
major economic and political reforms. He pledged to open the largely
state-run economy to private investment, and is moving most quickly in the
telecoms sector.

 

State Minister of Finance Eyob Tekalign Tolina said the government had also
issued an expression of interest for a transaction advisor to help it issue
licences for other operators who would enter the telecoms sector.

 

The government said in July it will award two telecoms licences to
multinational mobile companies, in the first detailed announcement of the
government’s plans for opening one of the world’s last major closed telecom
markets.

 

The government will also offer a minority stake in Ethio Telecom, the
monopoly operator, and foreign firms will be invited to bid.

 

Eyob said it was too early to say what percentage of the state-run telecom
will be sold off.

 

Ethiopia’s telecoms industry is considered the big prize in a push to
liberalise the country’s economy because of its huge protected market
serving a population of around 100 million.

 

Officials have told Reuters that this is because the government believes
that the sector will boost growth in other parts of the economy.

 

 

 

Uganda licenses two new commercial banks in crowded market

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda’s central bank has licensed two new banks,
bringing the total number of commercial banks serving the East African
country’s small economy to 26, including a local unit of South Africa’s
Standard Bank which dominates the market.

 

The regulator has granted commercial licenses to Afriland First Bank Uganda
Limited and Opportunity Bank Uganda Limited, it said on Friday, without
giving more details.

 

The banks join a market which some analysts say already has too many players
for an economy of about $26 billion per year. Uganda’s population is around
42 million.

 

The new lenders are likely to face stiff competition from the crowded field,
Ramathan Ggoobi, an economics lecturer at a Kampala university, said.

 

Competition in the sector has reached “predatory levels”, he said, with some
banks devising strategies to win customers from other banks rather than
cultivating new ones.

 

“They are crowding around a very small market ... and it’s not likely that
they will be sustainable in the long run,” he said.

 

Officials from the two lenders were not immediately available to comment.

 

Major players in the sector also include the local units of international
giants Barclays Bank and Standard Chartered, as well as local lenders DFCU
Bank and Centenary Bank.

 

For various reasons including insolvency and posing a systemic risk to
country’s financial system, Bank of Uganda closed seven banks between 1993
and 2016, according to a parliamentary report.

 

 

 

Tunisian annual inflation unchanged at 6.7% in Sept

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia’s annual inflation rate was unchanged in September
at 6.7%, official data showed on Friday.

 

The central bank raised its main interest rate to 7.75% from 6.75% in
February to combat high inflation.

 

 

 

Egypt discussing possible new IMF cooperation -c.bank governor

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt is discussing possible further assistance from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it carry out structural reforms
once its current three-year IMF programme ends next month, its central bank
governor said on Thursday.

 

“The government and the IMF are reviewing to see if there is any area for
cooperation. There are still discussions on the subject, consultations,”
Tarek Amer told reporters.

 

“We did fiscal reform and monitoring reform. Now we are doing structural
reform. We are looking to see if the IMF can help on the subject of
structural reform.”

 

Egypt signed a three-year, $12 billion Extended Fund Facility on Nov. 11,
2016, after allowing its currency to weaken sharply, implementing a
valued-added tax and raising fuel prices to reduce its balance of payments
budget and deficits.

 

Amer said Egypt would continue working with the fund whatever new
arrangement was agreed upon.

 

“At a minimum is the post-programme monitoring in which the IMF continues
with us as long as the loan is outstanding,” he said.

 

Egypt’s government has said it will continue to work on attracting more
investment and lowering unemployment by improving the business environment.

 

IMF Mission Chief for Egypt Subir Lall said the government needed to press
ahead with reforms to support private sector development and job creation.

 

“It needs to strengthen governance and competition, better integrate women
and youth in the labour market, improve access to land, and limit the role
of the state in the economy,” Lall said in remarks sent to Reuters by email.

 

“We stand ready to support Egypt and its people as they continue the process
of transforming the economy to achieve high, sustained and inclusive growth
and job creation.”

 

A Cairo-based economist said it could be in Egypt’s interest to continue
cooperating with the IMF, perhaps through a classical stand-by arrangement
or a simple precautionary financing to help prevent and insure against
crises.

 

“A new IMF programme would reassure investors and reduce the cost of
borrowing,” the economist said.

 

 

South Africa's rand steady as focus shifts to U.S. data

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand was stable in early trade on
Friday as investors awaited direction from U.S. non-farm payrolls data out
later in the day.

 

At 0615 GMT, the rand was 0.05% firmer at 15.1575 per dollar versus a close
of 15.1650 on Thursday.

 

Investors have been caught out by a set of weak U.S. data this week,
including surveys on services and manufacturing sectors, deepening fears the
Sino-U.S. trade war is starting to hurt growth in the world’s biggest
economy.

 

Lower U.S. interest rate expectations lift investors’ appetite for emerging
markets assets, which offer higher returns but carry more risk.

 

The South African currency is expected to trade in the range of between
15.05 rand per dollar to 15.20 rand per dollar, NKC African Economics said
in a morning note.

 

Bonds were a touch weaker, with the yield on the benchmark government issue
due in 2026 up 0.5 basis point to 8.25%.

 

 

 

Thomas Cook: Remaining 4,800 passengers set for return

Flights repatriating the remaining 4,800 Thomas Cook holidaymakers are due
to take off on Sunday as the return of almost 150,000 people nears its end.

 

The Civil Aviation Authority, which launched its Operation Matterhorn plan
after the tour firm collapsed, said 24 flights would operate today.

 

The final passengers are due to land in Manchester early on Monday on a
flight from Orlando, in the US.

 

Matterhorn involved more than 700 flights over two weeks, the CAA said.

 

Richard Moriarty, chief executive at CAA, said: "In the first 13 days we
have made arrangements for around 140,000 passengers to return to the UK and
we are pleased that 94% of holidaymakers have arrived home on the day of
their original departure."

 

Anyone not returning on these aircraft will have to make their own plans,
although those covered by the Air Travel Organiser's Licence scheme (Atol)
will be refunded. The majority of Thomas Cook holidays were packages and are
Atol protected.

 

Mr Moriarty said any traveller not covered by Atol and who wished to return
early might still find seats on Sunday's remaining flights. However, he said
there was no guarantee of availability and priority would be given to those
already due to return today.

 

To find out if there are available seats on repatriation flights, travellers
can contact the CAA call centre on +44 1753 330 330. They should not go to
the airport unless a seat is confirmed, the CAA said.

 

Saga continues

The return of the remaining passengers will bring to an end the biggest-ever
peacetime repatriation.

 

However, the Thomas Cook saga is far from over, with the future travel plans
of many customers in disarray and thousands of job losses.

 

The CAA said it will turn its attention to refunding the 360,000 bookings
cancelled when Britain's oldest travel group went under.

 

The travel firm collapsed with a black hole of more than £3bn in the early
hours of 23 September, after failing to obtain rescue funds from its banks.

 

An inquiry has been launched by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Committee, with MPs focussing on directors' stewardship of the company.

 

And the Financial Reporting Council, the accounting watchdog, is to
investigate the auditing of the company.--BBC

 

 

 

Blocking research with China would 'hurt', Microsoft boss says

Microsoft does more research and development in China than it does anywhere
else outside the United States. But, as US-China relations continue to sour
on issues of trade and cyber-security, the decades-long ties Microsoft has
in China are coming under close scrutiny.

 

In an interview with BBC News, Microsoft's chief executive Satya Nadella has
said that despite national security concerns, backing out of China would
“hurt more” than it solved.

 

“A lot of AI research happens in the open, and the world benefits from
knowledge being open,” he said.

 

"That to me is been what's been true since the Renaissance and the
scientific revolution. Therefore, I think, for us to say that we will put
barriers on it may in fact hurt more than improve the situation everywhere.”

 

Microsoft’s first office in China was opened by founder and then-chief
executive Bill Gates in 1992. Its main location in Beijing now employs more
than 200 scientists and involves over 300 visiting scholars and students. It
is currently recruiting for, among other roles, researchers in machine
learning.

 

In April, it was reported by the Financial Times that Microsoft researchers
were collaborating with teams at China’s National University of Defence
Technology, working on artificial intelligence projects that some outside
observers warned could be used for oppressive means.

 

Speaking to the newspaper, Republican Senator Ted Cruz said: “American
companies need to understand that doing business in China carries
significant and deepening risk.”

 

He added: "In addition to being targeted by the Chinese Communist party for
espionage, American companies are increasingly at risk of boosting the
Chinese Communist party’s human rights atrocities."

 

Technology as weapon

Mr Nadella acknowledged that risk.

 

“We know any technology can be a tool or a weapon,” he told the BBC.

 

“The question is, how do you ensure that these weapons don't get created? I
think there are multiple mechanisms. The first thing is we, as creators,
should start with having a set of ethical design principles to ensure that
we're creating AI that's fair, that's secure, that's private, that's not
biased.”

 

He said he felt his company had sufficient control over how the
controversial emerging technologies are used, and said the firm had turned
down requests in China - and elsewhere - to engage in projects it felt were
inappropriate, due to either technical infeasibility or ethical concerns.

 

“We do have control on who gets to use our technology. And we do have
principles. Beyond how we build it, how people use it is something that we
control through Terms of Use. And we are constantly evolving the terms of
use.

 

"We also recognise whether it's in the United States, whether it's in China,
whether it's in the United Kingdom, they will all have their own legislative
processes on what they accept or don't accept, and we will abide by them.”

 

'Leaves me wondering...'

Matt Sheehan, from the Paulson Institute, studies the relationship between
California's technology scene and the Chinese economy. He said Microsoft's
efforts, particularly its Beijing office, have had tremendous impact.

 

"It dramatically advanced the field, advances that have helped the best
American and European AI research labs push further," he said.

 

"But those same advances feed into the field of computer vision, a key
enabler of China's surveillance apparatus."

 

He cites one particular paper as highlighting the complexity of working
with, and within, China. Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition,
published in 2016, was a research paper produced by four Chinese researchers
working at Microsoft.

 

According to Google Scholar, which indexes research papers, their paper was
cited more than 25,256 times between 2014-2018 - more than any other paper
in any other field of research.

 

"The lead author now works for a US tech company in California," said Mr
Sheehan, referring to Facebook.

 

"Two other authors work for a company involved in Chinese surveillance. And
the last author is trying to build autonomous vehicles in China.

 

"What do we make of all that? Honestly, it leaves me - and I think it should
leave others - scratching their heads and wondering."--BBC

 

 

 

Libra: PayPal first to drop out of Facebook cryptocurrency

Payments firm PayPal has become the first company to pull out of an alliance
that is trying to launch Facebook's digital currency Libra.

 

PayPal made the announcement in a statement on Friday, but did not specify
what had prompted the decision.

 

Libra, and its digital wallet Calibra, were revealed by Facebook in June.

 

But the cryptocurrency has been criticised by regulators, and both France
and Germany have pledged to block it from Europe.

 

PayPal said it "[remained] supportive of Libra's aspirations" but had chosen
to focus on its own core businesses.

 

The firm was one of the original members of the Libra Association, a group
of 28 companies and non-profits helping to develop Libra. Its other members
include payments company Visa, ride-hailing app Uber and humanitarian
charity Mercy Corps.

 

Why Facebook wants to be money's future

Could Facebook’s new currency be stopped in its tracks?

In response to PayPal's withdrawal, Libra Association said it was aware that
attempts to "reconfigure the financial system" would be hard.

 

"Commitment to that mission is more important to us than anything else," it
said in a statement. "We're better off knowing about this lack of commitment
now."

 

At its unveiling this year, Facebook said people would be able to make
payments with the currency via its own apps, as well as on messaging service
WhatsApp. Partner firms would also be able to accept Libra for transactions.

 

Facebook said Libra would be independently-managed and backed by real
assets, and that paying with it would be as easy as texting.

 

But there have been concerns about how people's money and data will be
protected, as well as over the potential volatility of the currency.

 

US treasury head warning over Facebook Libra

Carney gives Facebook currency cautious welcome

The Group of Seven advanced economies warned in July that it would not let
Libra proceed until all regulatory concerns had been addressed.

 

Central bank chiefs, including the UK's Mark Carney, have also voiced
scepticism, and US President Donald Trump has tweeted he is "not a fan" of
the currency.

 

The Libra Association will hold the first meeting of its governing body -
the Libra Council - on 14 October.

 

The group said in a tweet that it planned to share updates soon afterwards
about "1,500 entities that have indicated enthusiastic interest to
participate".--BBC

 

 

 

 

US unemployment rate falls to 50-year low of 3.5%

The US unemployment rate has fallen to a 50-year low, possibly easing
recession worries after recent weak economic data.

 

The Labor Department figures showed that the rate fell to 3.5% in September
from 3.7%, with the economy adding 136,000 jobs last month.

 

In addition, August data was revised up to 168,000 jobs created instead of
the previously reported 130,000.

 

However, wage growth was unchanged and manufacturing jobs fell in September.

 

The report came on the heels of a string of weak economic reports, including
a plunge in manufacturing activity to more than a 10-year low in September
and a sharp slowdown in services industry growth to levels last seen in
2016.

 

There are fears that the Trump administration's 15-month trade war with
China is spilling over to the rest of the US economy, which has been one of
the few bright spots in a world where many other countries are experiencing
marked slowdown.

 

The US-China trade dispute has eroded business confidence, hitting
investment and manufacturing.

 

WTO warns trade wars could hit living standards

Despite the continued moderate employment growth and sharp drop in the
jobless rate, many economists still expect the Federal Reserve to cut
interest rates at least one more time this year.

 

The US central bank cut rates in July for the first time since 2008 and cut
them again last month. It is trying to keep the longest economic expansion
in US history, now in its 11th year, on track.

 

September's job gains were below the monthly average of 161,000 this year,
but still above the roughly 100,000 needed each month to keep up with growth
in the working-age population, according to economists.

 

Manufacturing shed 2,000 jobs last month, the first decline since March,
after hiring 2,000 workers in August. The sector is seen as having borne the
brunt of the trade wars.

 

This week, Washington announced tariffs on aircraft, other industrial
products and agricultural products from the European Union as part of a
dispute over aircraft subsidies given to Boeing's rival Airbus.

 

What's been worrying the markets?

Shares were hit earlier this week by some disappointing economic surveys.

 

While the manufacturing sector has been the weak point of the US economy,
the services sector had been performing more strongly.

 

"You've had this dichotomy, manufacturing extremely weak, service sector
holding up and looking fairly resilient," said Neil Shearing, group chief
economist at Capital Economics.

 

However, he said that on Wednesday, the non-manufacturing purchasing
managers' index - which tests the mood of businesses - showed its slowest
rate of growth for three years.

 

"The key question has been, OK, manufacturing's weak but so long as the
service sector holds up and continues to be resilient, the US economy can
avoid recession," Mr Shearing said.

 

Jim Reid, a strategist at Deutsche Bank in London, said that the US has been
the "bright spot in a pretty moribund" western world, growing at about 2% to
2.5% a year, while Europe slips towards 0.5% or even 0% growth.

 

It is just a US problem?

Mr Shearing said that the manufacturing sector is weak globally.

 

"The essence of the issue is that since May this year, the manufacturing
data both in the US and globally has been pretty horrific," he said.

 

But economies are less reliant on manufacturing than in the past. In the US,
for instance, it makes up about 12% of the economy.

 

"We tend to think of the economy being about making things, but actually in
the modern era it's more about services - health, retail, leisure," he said.

 

The US is still the world's biggest economy - despite the growth of China -
and if it slows down the rest of the world can be expected to do so too. It
is almost impossible to have a US recession without the rest of world
suffering too.

 

Mr Shearing said it is not just about its size. "It's the consumer of last
resort," he said, describing the US trade deficit which President Donald
Trump has complained about.

 

"What the trade deficit is telling you is that the US consumes more than it
produces," he said. "If it slows, there's repercussions".

 

What does it mean for US interest rates?

Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell has been under pressure from President
Trump to cut rates.

 

Last month, the Fed cut rates for the second time this year, lowering its
key target rate by 25 basis points to between 1.75% and 2%. The markets are
expecting another cut before the end of the year.--BBC

 

 

 

BP's Bob Dudley in line for up to £40m after exit

BP's boss Bob Dudley is stepping down next year - and could receive up to
£40m in shares after he leaves.

 

Mr Dudley, who spent 40 years with BP, has been chief executive for nine
years, taking over after the Deepwater Horizon drilling accident.

 

In that time he has amassed 8.3m shares, currently worth £40m, in bonuses
that he is yet to receive as they are linked to BP's performance.

 

BP said he could only receive all the shares if every single target was hit.

 

Mr Dudley will be replaced by BP insider Bernard Looney in February.

 

Executive pay at BP was a contentious issue in 2016 when investors voted
down a 20% pay increase for Mr Dudley.

 

The company's latest annual report shows that during his period at the helm
Mr Dudley received $118m (£95m) in cash and shares.

 

His outstanding bonus awards of shares are currently worth £40m, but the
precise amount that Mr Dudley receives will be based on the company's
performance and the share price when they are released to him.

 

For example, over the past decade, he has received 80% of the shares he
could have received and none on three occasions.

 

'Challenging time'

Mr Dudley is also waiving any right to pay and bonuses worth a possible
$2.5m.

 

A BP spokesperson said: "The details of what shares Bob Dudley will
eventually receive will be included in our remuneration reports over the
next three years.

 

"How many of the possible maximum shares will be awarded will depend on BP's
performance against stringent measures over extended periods of time - this
is designed to make sure that directors' reward is aligned with
shareholders' interests.

 

"Bob Dudley could only receive the possible maximum number of shares set out
in the annual report if BP performed to the maximum on every measure. "

 

Helge Lund, BP's chairman, said Mr Dudley "was appointed chief executive at
probably the most challenging time in BP's history".

 

The Deepwater Horizon drilling accident, in the Gulf of Mexico in April
2010, killed 11 workers and caused an environmental catastrophe.

 

It cost the oil company more than $60bn (£49bn) and caused extensive damage
to its reputation.

 

Mr Lund said: "During his tenure he has led the recovery from the Deepwater
Horizon accident, rebuilt BP as a stronger safer company and helped it
re-earn its position as one of the leaders of the energy sector.

 

"This company - and indeed the whole industry - owes him a debt of
gratitude".

 

Only this week, the oil firm as embroiled in another controversy after Royal
Shakespeare Company to end its partnership with BP after concerns were
raised by students about the company's impact on the environment.

 

'Creative'

It has faced other protests and in August, BP sold its last operation in
Alaska but insisted this was not the result of pressure from environmental
campaigners.

 

Mr Dudley said his successor was a "terrific choice to lead the company
next".

 

"He knows BP and our industry as well as anyone but is creative and not
bound by traditional ways of working".

 

Mr Looney, an Irish citizen, joined BP in 1991 after a degree in electrical
engineering from University College Dublin.

 

Since 2016, he has been running the "upstream" part of BP since 2016, which
produces about 2.6 million barrels equivalent of oil and gas a day.

 

But he began his career as a drilling engineer, worked in roles in the North
Sea, Vietnam and the Gulf of Mexico, including as a drilling engineer on the
Thunder Horse field discovery.

 

The 49-year old, who grew up on a farm, has spoken out on mental health
issues.

 

Last month, he told the industry publication Energy Voice said that his
father suffered from depression and he had "decided to talk about the
subject of mental health and my own experience".

 

"The first thing we need to do is make it OK to talk about - end the stigma
and make it a leadership act," he said.

 

Mr Looney will be paid a salary of £1.3m, as well as bonuses and a pension
allowance of 15% of his salary.

 

BP's announcement comes at the end of a week that has seen several
departures of high profile FTSE 100 bosses.

 

On Wednesday, Tesco's chief executive Dave Lewis surprised investors when he
said he would leave the supermarket chain next summer. He will be replaced
by Ken Murphy, who has held senior roles in the group that owns chemist
chain Boots.

 

Imperial Brands announced on Thursday that its chief executive, Alison
Cooper, would be standing down. It has not yet named a replacement for Ms
Cooper, who was one of the five women running a FTSE 100 company.--BBC

 

 

 

Japanese car sales sink in South Korea amid trade rift

Japanese car sales in South Korea fell again last month, as a trade row
between the two countries continues to simmer.

 

Toyota sales slumped 62% in September from a year earlier, while Nissan and
Honda also saw sales drop.

 

The declines came despite a rise in sales of foreign cars overall in South
Korea last month.

 

Tensions between the two sides have sparked boycotts of some Japanese goods
in South Korea.

 

Consumers have reacted to a row between Seoul and Tokyo, which has evolved
in recent months from a diplomatic feud into a trade battle.

 

The dispute flared in July when Japan tightened controls on South Korean
exports, targeting materials used in memory chips and display screens that
are vital for local companies such as Samsung.

 

Both countries later struck one another off their list of trusted trade
partners.

 

South Korea and Japan's feud explained

How an Asian trade row could hit electronics supplies

Auto sales slump

Carmakers have been among the companies caught in the crossfire of the trade
spat.

 

"We believe that the recent decline in sales volume has been affected by the
recent Japan-Korea relationship," a Toyota spokesperson said.

 

Other Japanese automakers also saw a slide in sales in Korea last month.
Figures from a Korean auto industry group released Friday showed total sales
from Toyota, Honda and Nissan plunged 74% in September from a year earlier,
according to news agency Yonhap.

 

The drop came despite strong demand for foreign cars in South Korea. The
Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association said sales of imported
vehicles rose 17% in the country last month.

 

How did the trade rift begin?

The trade row has been fuelled by diplomatic tensions over compensation for
wartime labour.

 

Last year, South Korean court rulings that ordered Japanese firms to pay
compensation to Koreans over forced wartime labour inflamed long-running
tensions.

 

The decisions drew condemnation from Japan, which argues the dispute was
settled in 1965 when diplomatic ties were normalised between the
neighbouring countries.

 

In recent months, South Korea has terminated its military
intelligence-sharing pact with Japan and the dispute has continued to spill
over into trade.00BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


Bindura Nickel Corporation

 

 

 


Padenga Holdings

 

 

 


Delta Corporation

 

 

 


Meikles Limited

 

 

 


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