Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 30 October 2019

Wed Oct 30 00:07:43 CAT 2019

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 30 October 2019

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

*  S.Africa aims to finalise Eskom split around 2022

*  South Africa hopes to announce new Eskom CEO next week - Gordhan

*  South Africa Q3 unemployment rate at 29.1%, 11-year high

*  Volkswagen brings electric cars to Rwanda for ride-hailing service

*  Chevron seeks to reduce Nigerian presence with oilfield sales

*  MTN's $2 bln Nigerian tax dispute case set for Jan. 30-31

*  South Sudan to offer 14 oil blocks for licensing by Q1 2020 - oil
minister

*  Egypt's first smartphone maker to export to Germany next month

*  South Africa's credit demand growth slows to 6.19% y/y in September

*  Boeing accused of putting profit before safety by Senators

*  Saudi woos back top bosses despite Khashoggi murder

*  Hangers are 'fashion industry's plastic straw', says designer

*  Gender pay gap progress dismally slow, says charity

*  Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury hit by US-China tariffs

*  Hong Kong's leader issues fresh recession warning

*  Typical home £800 pricier than a year ago, says the Nationwide

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

S.Africa aims to finalise Eskom split around 2022

PRETORIA (Reuters) - The South African government unveiled the broad
outlines of a plan to overhaul struggling state power firm Eskom on Tuesday,
saying it hoped to complete a legal separation of the utility into three
entities around 2022.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a state of the nation address in February
that the government planned to split Eskom into units for generation,
transmission and distribution, but there has been little detail about the
timeframe.

Tuesday’s release of a government “special paper” on Eskom had been eagerly
anticipated by investors and ratings agencies, which cite the financial and
operational crisis at Eskom as one of the biggest risks to Africa’s most
industrialised economy.

Eskom produces more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity but has been
grappling with faults at its coal-fired power stations that have caused
several rounds of power outages this year. It also has an unsustainable 440
billion rand ($30 billion) debt burden.

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday that the
government would prioritise setting up the transmission unit as a separate
entity within an Eskom holding company.

At a later stage the government could create two or more Eskom generation
subsidiaries that could compete against each other.

The paper did not address Eskom’s debt in much detail, other than to say the
government was looking at various mechanisms to give Eskom additional debt
relief, on top of bailouts of more than 100 billion rand promised for the
next two financial years.

Gordhan said the government would hopefully announce a new chief executive
for Eskom next week, later than initially envisaged, after the previous CEO
left his post in July.

Eskom’s financial crisis is rooted in soaring expenditure, huge cost
overruns on two huge coal power stations and years of low tariffs.

It made a loss of more than 20 billion rand in the year to the end of March.

Ramaphosa, who came to power in February 2018 with a pledge to fix ailing
state firms, is under pressure to revive the flagging economy, which
suffered a steep contraction in the first quarter when Eskom implemented
severe power cuts.

($1 = 14.6430 rand)

 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

South Africa hopes to announce new Eskom CEO next week - Gordhan

PRETORIA (Reuters) - The South African government will hopefully announce a
new chief executive for state power firm Eskom next week, Public Enterprises
Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday.

Eskom’s previous CEO Phakamani Hadebe resigned earlier this year,
complicating government efforts to turn around the struggling utility.
[nL8N24V5CB]

Gordhan added at a news conference on Tuesday that government planned to
procure 2,000 megawatts of electricity to help end power cuts.

South Africa Q3 unemployment rate at 29.1%, 11-year high

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa’s unemployment rate stood at 29.1 % in the
third quarter versus 29% in the previous quarter, remaining at its highest
level in more than a decade, official data showed on Tuesday.

There were 6.7 million people without jobs in the three months to September
30, unchanged from the prior quarter, Statistics South Africa said its
quarterly labour force survey.

It was the highest jobless rate since the survey started in 2008,
statistician general Risenga Maluleke said.

The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes people who have
stopped looking for work, was 38.5%, unchnaged from the previous quarter.

Volkswagen brings electric cars to Rwanda for ride-hailing service

KIGALI (Reuters) - Volkswagen is importing a batch of electric powered Golf
models into Rwanda for a local ride-hailing service, establishing a
bridgehead in the country that it hopes to expand to other nations as it
seeks to increase market share globally.

Importing the vehicles into Rwanda, which sells itself to foreign investors
on its reliable infrastructure, stability and relative ease of doing
business, and where VW already assembles cars, is initially intended to test
infrastructure and performance in the region’s climate.

“We’ve been investing more than $30 billion into new electric vehicles and
platforms and the entire world is moving in that direction,” VW’s Africa
boss Thomas Schaefer told Reuters. “The plan for Africa is that ultimately,
we replace the whole fleet into electric.”

VW, which has a global target of producing 600,000 electric cars a year by
2022, is starting small in Kigali, importing 50 eGolf models in the first
few months. The vehicles - combustion-engine cars modified to run on
electricity - will be integrated into the company’s app-driven “Move”
service, launched last December.

German power equipment firm Siemens will build 15 charging stations in
Kigali.

The stations can charge up to 80 percent of a car’s battery within an hour,
although it takes around 11 hours to charge a car at home, said Andile
Dlamini, the group’s communications officer. The eGolf’s range, fully
charged, is up to 230 kilometers. VW’s new ID3 models to be launched next
year will have a range of 600 km.

Rwanda has an installed power generation capacity of 286 MW the cars would
mainly charge at night, when there is an excess of power. Unlike many
African nations, Rwandan electricity is relatively reliable.

Rwanda’s prime minister Edouard Ngirente said he hoped electric car use
could expand, noting fuel products were Rwanda’s biggest import last year.

Schaefer acknowledged the high price of electric cars would not appeal to
most African consumers, but said scaling up production and favourable
government policy could help bring prices down.

“The Rwandan government is working on electric vehicle policy and if that
policy favours electric cars over traditional, then that development can
happen very fast,” Schaefer said.

Chevron seeks to reduce Nigerian presence with oilfield sales

LAGOS/LONDON (Reuters) - Chevron is seeking to sell several Nigerian
oilfields as part of a global drive to reshape its portfolio as it focuses
on growing its U.S. shale output, banking and industry sources said.

Chevron joins rivals including Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell in a drive
by foreign oil companies to reduce their footprint in Africa’s largest oil
producer which has been mired in political and security instability in
recent years.

The San Ramon, California-based company, Nigeria’s third largest oil
producer, is looking for buyers for a number of its the onshore and shallow
offshore fields, where local producers have expanded their presence.

Chevron did not respond to a request for comment.

Chevron’s Nigerian subsidiary operates and holds a 40% interest in 8 blocks
in the onshore and near-onshore regions of the Niger Delta under a joint
venture with Nigeria’s National Petroleum Company (NNPC), according to its
website.

The discussions are being held directly with potential buyers and Chevron is
not planning to launch a tender process for the assets at this stage, two of
the sources said.

In 2018, Chevron’s production in Nigeria reached 194,000 barrels of crude
oil per day, 233 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and 6,000 barrels
of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per day, according to its website.

MTN's $2 bln Nigerian tax dispute case set for Jan. 30-31

LAGOS (Reuters) - A federal judge in Lagos has set Jan. 30 and 31 for the
hearing of a $2 billion tax dispute between South Africa’s MTN Group and the
Nigerian government.

The attorney general has demanded the telecoms firm pay the tax bill
relating to the import of equipment and payments to foreign suppliers from
2007 to 2017, but MTN argues the claim is without merit and that the
attorney general exceeded his powers in making the request.

On Tuesday, lawyers for the government submitted their case against MTN,
insisting the attorney general has the power to levy the charge and
requesting a court date in late January to continue the proceedings.

Government lawyers had in June asked that the case be adjourned until
October to give time to prepare their case, the latest dispute between MTN
and the Nigerian government.

Nigeria is the South African firm’s biggest market, with roughly 58 million
users accounting for a third of its core profit.

In December, MTN agreed to make a $53 million payment to resolve a separate
dispute with Nigeria’s central bank, which said the company improperly
removed $8.1 billion from the country between 2007 and 2008.

MTN also this year was set to pay off another 330 billion naira ($1 billion)
fine imposed for not disconnecting unregistered SIM cards.

In May, the company’s local unit, MTN Nigeria, listed in Lagos in a 2
trillion naira flotation that made it the second-largest stock on the bourse
by market value.

It has said that it would sell more shares to the public and increase local
ownership once the tax row is resolved.

($1 = 306.4000 naira)

South Sudan to offer 14 oil blocks for licensing by Q1 2020 - oil minister

JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan plans to offer 14 oil blocks to exploration
companies in a licensing round by the first quarter 2020, its oil minister
said on Tuesday.

“We are inviting all our investors that wanted to invest in South Sudan to
come and move on to those blocks,” Awow Daniel Chuang, told an Africa Oil
and Power conference.

Egypt's first smartphone maker to export to Germany next month

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s first smartphone maker, SICO, said it will begin
exporting its devices to Germany in November as part of its expansion plan
to sell its products in Europe and Africa, its chairman told Reuters.

Silicon Industries Corporation (SICO), which already exports to the Gulf and
aims to start selling phones in other European countries, said it signed an
agreement in October with a company operating in Europe to market its
products.

“We will begin exporting from Upper Egypt to Germany, Holland, Austria, and
then Sweden, Norway and Finland,” its chairman Mohamed Salem said.

SICO, which was set up in December 2017 and has 200 million Egyptian pounds
($12.43 million) in paid-up capital, sells phones under the brand name Nile
X and has said it uses a Chinese design of 3G/4G U.S. technology.

Its plant in Assiut, Upper Egypt, has a production capacity of 2 million
devices annually.

“We signed agreements with three Chinese companies to manufacture phones for
them for export to Africa and to offer on the Egyptian market,” Salem said.

“We started manufacturing them a month ago and the first of these products
will be distributed inside the Egyptian market next week.”

Private investors own 80% of the company and the remaining 20% is held by
Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

SICO currently exports around 25% of its capacity, Salem said. It aims to
export 50% of its products by the end of next year.

($1 = 16.0900 Egyptian pounds)

South Africa's credit demand growth slows to 6.19% y/y in September

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Growth in private sector credit in South Africa
slowed to 6.19% year-on-year in September from 6.86% in the previous month,
central bank data showed on Tuesday.

Expansion in the broadly defined M3 measure of money supply also slowed, to
6.11% in September from 7.45% in August.

Boeing accused of putting profit before safety by Senators

US lawmakers have accused Boeing of engaging in a "pattern of deliberate
concealment" as it sought approval for its 737 Max 8 plane to fly.

The accusation came as Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg was quizzed
by the Senate Commerce Committee.

Senators said they had serious concerns that Boeing put profits over safety
as it rushed to get clearance.

Two deadly 737 Max 8 crashes killed a total of 346 people. Mr Muilenburg
admitted the firm had made "mistakes".

"We have learned from both accidents and identified changes that need to be
made," he said.

In October last year, a Boeing 737 Max operated by Lion Air crashed, killing
all 189 people on board.

Five months later an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed, killing 157, after
which the entire 737 Max fleet was grounded.

'Casualness and flippancy'

Lawmakers accused Boeing of being aware of problems in the automated control
system in the 737 Max 8, known as MCAS, which has been identified as a
factor in both accidents.

What went wrong inside Boeing's cockpit?

Senator Roger Wicker said messages between Boeing staff during certification
that raised issues in the MCAS test system betrayed "a disturbing level of
casualness and flippancy".

Senator Richard Blumenthal said Boeing had rushed the approval process and
engaged in a "pattern of deliberate concealment".

He suggested that pilots had been misled and Boeing had, in effect, designed
a 'flying coffin'.

Boeing provided the messages to the committee ahead of the testimony.

Mr Muilenburg said he had learned the details of the exchange recently could
not elaborate on the communication.

Families of people who died in the crash, many of whom attended the hearing,
told the BBC that they felt Mr Muilenburg was evasive and should resign.

"I want him to say unequivocally that he takes responsibility for the deaths
of 346 people because the crashes were preventable," said Paul Njoroge, who
lost five family members in the Ethiopia crash.

Adnaan Stumo, whose sister Samya died in the Ethiopian Airlines crash, said
Mr Muilenburg should step down "and go to jail".

Senators also criticised the regulatory process, saying there was excessive
"cosiness" between the firm and safety officials at the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA).

Mr Blumenthal described the US certification process as "absolutely broken".

Mr Muilenburg said the firm supported "strong oversight" but declined to
support increasing the authority of the FAA, which has been criticised for
delegating too much of its oversight to company officials.

Mr Muilenburg said safety is enhanced by tapping industry technical
expertise.

The company also disputed the characterisation of its relationship with
regulators as "cosy".

"It's not a cosy relationship. It's a professional relationship," said
Boeing's chief engineer John Hamilton.

Since the grounding of the 737 Max fleet in March, Boeing has said it is
fixing software and has overhauled its review procedures.

But senators said the continued delays in re-certification cast serious
doubt on the initial approval.

They faulted Boeing for not sharing more information about the MCAS system
with regulators or pilots, despite its power to control the plane's flight
path.

Senator Maria Cantwell said the crashes should spur broader scrutiny of
automated systems, which are becoming more common - not just in airplanes
but also in cars and other forms of transportation.

"This is the issue du jour," she said.--BBC

Saudi woos back top bosses despite Khashoggi murder

Saudi Arabia has attracted high-profile business and political figures to
its "Davos in the Desert" event, including some who stayed away last year
over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The event, under way in Riyadh, features US Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin, who pulled out last time.

Others who have changed their minds since then include the bosses of Credit
Suisse, Blackstone and BlackRock.

HSBC's John Flint dropped out in 2018, but interim boss Noel Quinn is there.

The event, officially known as the Future Investment Initiative, is being
held for the third time and is viewed as the kingdom's key annual investment
event.

It is organised by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and despite its
nickname, has no connection with the World Economic Forum's annual event in
the Swiss resort of Davos.

It became mired in controversy last year amid a wave of revulsion after Mr
Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi Arabia's government, was killed
inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul by a team of Saudi agents.

Saudi prosecutors have put on trial 11 people who they say were involved in
the "rogue operation" that led to Khashoggi's death. They are seeking the
death penalty for five of them.

But Human Rights Watch says the trial does not meet international standards
and that Saudi authorities have "obstructed meaningful accountability".

Oil flotation

On Tuesday, the first day of the three-day event, participants include three
people who pulled out at the last minute last year:

Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and chief executive of the Blackstone Group

Tidjane Thiam, chief executive of Credit Suisse

Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive of BlackRock.

Other big names due to speak on Tuesday were Indian Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, World Bank President David Malpass and US President Donald Trump's
son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Not all business sectors have returned to the Saudi fold. Uber chief
executive Dara Khosrowshahi was one of last year's dropouts and big tech
firms are absent from this year's line-up.

The forum is taking place as uncertainty continues over the timing of plans
to float part of Saudi state oil giant Aramco.

The latest reports carried by al-Arabiya television suggest that shares in
Aramco will begin trading on the Riyadh stock exchange on 11 December, but
there has been no official confirmation.--BBC

Hangers are 'fashion industry's plastic straw', says designer

A recyclable clothes hanger has been developed by a fashion designer in an
attempt to end the use of plastic ones.

Roland Mouret says plastic hangers are the "plastic straw" of the fashion
industry and has developed what he says is the world's only sustainable
brand.

They are made out of 80% recycled plastic recovered from the sea and 20%
recyclable plastic, and they also feature aluminium hooks.

Current plastic hangers are hard to recycle because of how they are made.

They can include a combination of up to seven different plastics as well as
metal, and many hangers end up in landfill where they can take up to 1,000
years to break down, according to hanger recycling company First Mile.

Mr Mouret offered 300 of his new hangers for free to most designers at last
month's London Fashion Week. However, only about 20% accepted them.

Mr Mouret, who created the hangers in collaboration with the firm Arch and
Hook, told BBC Breakfast: "A beautiful garment has to be hanged on a hanger
and has to be carried by van to the store.

"In that travel, we use single use plastic hangers that we throw away
straight away after, and they're all polystyrene and polystyrene is not
recyclable."

Mr Mouret says his hanger is "fully sustainable".

"I think it's stronger than a normal hanger, but at the moment, if you break
it, it's completely recyclable.

"You can have something that becomes so circular that nothing goes back to
the sea."

There has been growing concern about the environmental cost of continuing to
use plastic hangers.

Over the summer, Labour MP Angela Smith said shops should be banned from
giving them out, while John Lewis is inviting its customers to bring in old
hangers for reuse or for in-store recycling.

And an Aberdeen shopping centre has created a scheme where customers can
leave plastic hangers in a designated area in its car park entrance for
others to reuse.

Where does recycling and rubbish from the UK go?

Mainetti job cuts in Jedburgh 'a big blow'

The Jedburgh firm which makes 100 million clothes hangers a year

Mr Mouret also blamed the desire for fast fashion for environmental
problems.

"One of the trends of the 90s was the must-have [item of clothing], and the
must-have was treated as an addiction," he said.

"Every time if you don't buy it, you're going to be unhappy and if you buy
it, you can throw it away.

"We thought it would carry on, it fell apart. It's falling apart now and
that's why we have to make a change."--BBC

Gender pay gap progress dismally slow, says charity

Progress on closing the gender pay gap is "dismally slow", according to
equality charity the Fawcett Society.

At the current rate of decline it will take 60 years to eradicate the gap,
the charity said.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicate that in
the year to April 2019, the gender pay gap for full-time workers rose to
8.9% - up from 8.6% the previous year.

But for people under 40, the gap for full-time employees was close to zero.

The gender pay gap is the percentage difference between average hourly
earnings for men and women.

In 2012, the gap between what the average full-time female employee earned
compared with the average man was 9.5%. This gap had only narrowed to 8.9%
in 2019.

The pay gap for all workers fell from 17.8% in 2018 to 17.3% in 2019, and
continues to decline, the ONS said.

Presenter Samira Ahmed takes BBC to tribunal

Gender pay gap: What is the pay gap where I work?

Gender pay gap grows at hundreds of big firms

The extent of the pay gap varies by age, with older female workers more
likely to earn less in comparison.

Women over 40 are more likely to work in lower-paid occupations and,
compared with younger women, are less likely to work as managers, directors
or senior officials, the ONS said.

Sam Smethers, the Fawcett Society's chief executive, said: "Progress to
close the gender pay gap is dismally slow and at this rate it will take 60
years to eradicate it.

"As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act women have waited
long enough.

"The pay gap represents a productivity gap and a waste of women's skills and
potential. Too many women are trapped in low paid part-time work or locked
out of non-traditional sectors while others experience pay or pregnancy
discrimination."

Ms Smethers called for pay gap reporting by ethnicity, for medium-sized
businesses to be included in reporting requirements, and for firms to be
required to publish action plans.

She also said that the underlying causes needed to be addressed, "one of
which is the unequal sharing of unpaid care work". Improvements would
include better-paid periods of paternity leave for fathers, and making all
jobs flexible unless there is a business case against.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said it would take "decades" to close
the gender pay gap at the current rate.

"Government must pick up the pace. It's clear that publishing gender pay
gaps isn't enough on its own," she said.

"Companies must also be legally required to explain how they'll close them."

'Blunt instrument'

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) called for "more action to ensure
women of all ages receive fair and equal pay at every level".

"Employers must identify and remove all barriers to training and career
development opportunities to support women into senior level positions and
enable parents and carers to thrive in skilled roles," said Jane Gratton,
head of people policy at the BCC.

However, she added that "naming and shaming employers" through pay gap
reporting was "a blunt and ineffective instrument".

"It does not help those who are trying and struggling to recruit women, and
can deter women from applying," she said.

The gender pay figures were released by the ONS as part of a wider set about
UK employee earnings.

The data showed that median weekly earnings for full-time employees
increased by 2.9% to £585 from last year, but after inflation is taken into
account, the increase was just 0.9%.

Moreover, median weekly earnings in real terms are still 2.9% lower than the
peak of 2008, which they were £603 in 2019 prices.--BBC

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury hit by US-China tariffs

Bloomsbury Publishing has become an unexpected victim of the ongoing trade
war between the US and China.

Nigel Newton, chief executive of the firm, which publishes Harry Potter
among other titles, said books printed in China for the USA became 15% more
expensive overnight on 1 September.

This was as a result of tariffs being imposed by the countries on each
other.

"It is not a cost we anticipated, and it's one we hope to take in our
stride," he told the BBC.

The company expects the tariffs to have only a small impact on the current
financial year, and says it has various ways to mitigate the impact in the
future.

The tariffs have previously been imposed on items such as cars, food and
footwear, but many people had not realised books would be targeted as well.

Separately, Mr Newton said that some of Bloomsbury's illustrated books are
printed in China, "because the quality is so good and the pricing is so
good".

'Second-half weighted'

Mr Newton was speaking after the firm said it expected its full-year
performance to be in line with expectations.

In the six months to the end of August, the publisher reported a 5% drop in
sales to £71.3m with pre-tax profits falling by nearly 19% to £1.3m.

However, the firm said it was confident about future sales.

Mr Newton told the BBC: "The publishing year is traditionally second-half
weighted with back-to-university in October, and the big Christmas gifting
season in the second half - so it's very much a game of two halves."

This month, Bloomsbury has published titles including the illustrated
version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

In its results statement, the company said: "With our strong consumer list
in the second half, our sales are therefore expected to be even more
second-half weighted than in previous years."

A quick guide to the US-China trade war

JK Rowling to release new Harry Potter e-books

Microsoft's eBook store: When this closes, your books disappear

Bloomsbury to digitally revive out-of-print books

In recent years, there were fears that the publishing industry would be
harmed by the introduction of electronic books and other new technology.

But Mr Newton said: "Publishing has been a winner in the digital revolution
for several reasons.

"Whether someone buys an e-book or a print book doesn't matter to us -
they're still buying a book from us.

"Secondly e-books have made books available to people 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, in every country in the world.

"And thirdly the internet itself has created such a huge range of new ways
to reach readers through social media and directly targeted email shots.

"For digital resources, which is one of the really exciting growth areas of
Bloomsbury, during this period sales were up 73%."--BBC

Hong Kong's leader issues fresh recession warning

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam said the territory is likely to record
negative growth for the year as months of protests have knocked the economy.

The unrest has disrupted businesses and dealt a particularly heavy blow to
the tourism and retail sectors.

The warning comes ahead of preliminary gross domestic product figures due on
Thursday that are expected to show Hong Kong entered a technical recession.

That is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

In a briefing in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Ms Lam said the third quarter growth
numbers are likely to show that outcome.

To combat the slowdown, she said the city has so far injected more than
HK$20bn ($2.6bn; £2bn) to support the economy including the transport,
tourism and retail sectors.

Ms Lam said the government will deliver more relief measures, without giving
specific details.

Her comments follow a similar warning from the territory's Finance Secretary
Paul Chan over the weekend. He said it would be "extremely difficult" to hit
the government's pre-protest forecast of growth of between 0% and 1% for
2019.

"The blow to our economy [from the protests] is comprehensive," Mr Chan
said.

The demonstrations began over a proposed extradition bill between the
territory and mainland China, and have evolved into demands for greater
freedoms.

Hong Kong is part of China, but its citizens have more autonomy than those
on the mainland.

The background you need on the Hong Kong protests

A quick guide to the Hong Kong protests

How business is adapting to Hong Kong's new reality

Clashes between police and activists have become increasingly violent, with
police using tear gas and protesters storming parliament.

Those protests have led to a sharp decline in tourist arrivals, with visitor
numbers expected to have slumped 50% in October.

Hong Kong was one of the world's most visited cities last year, with 30
million tourists.

Retailers have also been hard hit. Some shops have been forced to shorten
trading hours, while workers report fears over their safety as well as
getting to work.

Mr Chan said in August that retail sales had plunged more than 25% - the
biggest monthly drop on record.--BBC

Typical home £800 pricier than a year ago, says the Nationwide

The price of the average home rose by £800 in the last year, according to
the Nationwide, marking a slow period for the UK housing market.

In the equivalent period three years ago, the average property price rose by
£9,100, the building society's data shows.

UK house prices have risen by less than 1%, on a year-on-year basis, for
each of the last 11 months.

The annual increase was 0.4% in October, the Nationwide said.

That meant the average home was now valued at £215,368.

Three generations under one roof to beat the housing crisis

The UK cities where rent is rising the fastest

The Nationwide figures, which are based on the building society's lending
data, show that prices rose by 0.2% in October compared with September, and
by the same level in the three months to the end of October compared with
the previous quarter.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said that the number of people
in work in the UK had been relatively strong and meant house prices were
relatively stable despite the political backdrop.

However, he said that any trend of rising unemployment would be "a
significant concern" for the UK housing market.

Brexit uncertainty

Commentators said there were few signs of any change from the subdued
housing market, although different regions do show different trends.

"It's hard to see the market emerging from this sub-1% annual growth rut
until there is clarity on Brexit," said David Westgate, chief executive at
Andrews Property Group.

"The sheer level of political uncertainty has left the property market in a
protracted limbo [but] demand is being powered by cheap mortgages, a strong
jobs market and a growing indifference to political events."

On Monday, figures from the Land Registry showed that 545 residential
properties were sold in England for £1m or more in September. The majority
of them - 304 - were in the Greater London area.

The most expensive property sold was a £17m semi-detached in the Kensington
and Chelsea area of London. The cheapest was a flat in Sunderland, sold for
£16,000.

---BBC

INVESTORS DIARY 2019

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Companies under Cautionary

Bindura Nickel Corporation

Padenga Holdings

Delta Corporation

Meikles Limited

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