Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 03 April 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 03 April 2020

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

 

ü  China's Luckin Coffee slumps on 'fake' data news

ü  Oil prices surge on hopes of a price war truce

ü  US jobless claims hit 6.6 million as virus spreads

ü  Coronavirus: Four ways the economy has been affected

ü  Coronavirus threatens the next generation of smartphones

ü  Middle East, Africa governments need to act faster to protect airlines -
IATA

ü  Senegal seeks $221 mln from IMF to mitigate coronavirus shock

ü  S.Africa's Famous Brands pulls plug on Gourmet Burger Kitchen

ü  South Africa's rand recovers after plunging to all-time low

ü  South Africa's Quantum Foods warns of 38% drop in first-half profit

ü  Africa seeks IMF, World Bank and EU support on debt relief - UNECA

ü  Tunisian banks will postpone loan payments for three months -central bank

ü  De Beers Group CFO Patel to leave by end of July

ü  S.Africa's 2019/20 tax revenue at 1.4 trillion rand, short of target

ü  Ethiopia opens up mobile money services to local non-financial firms

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


China's Luckin Coffee slumps on 'fake' data news

Shares in Luckin Coffee have slumped after the company said one of its top
executives and other employees had faked sales figures.

 

The Chinese coffee chain has now suspended its chief operating officer Jian
Liu and staff reporting to him.

 

It comes after the company appointed a special committee to investigate
issues in its financial statements for 2019.

 

Luckin, which competes with Starbucks, had been one of China's few
successful US stock market listings last year.

 

The Nasdaq-listed company said its investigation had found that fabricated
sales from the second quarter of last year to the fourth quarter amounted to
about 2.2bn yuan ($310m; £250m). That equates to about 40% of its estimated
annual sales.

 

It also said that it still needed to investigate and verify other costs and
expenses that were substantially inflated during the same period.

 

At the same time Luckin warned investors that they should no longer rely on
its previous financial statements that had showed the company's rapid
growth.

 

The company had 3,680 stores as of the end of September, according to its
third quarter 2019 earnings release. That represents an almost six-fold
increase since the previous June.

 

Coffee war brews in the land of tea

Luckin's US stock market value had almost tripled since its debut in New
York in May, topping $50 a share earlier this year.

 

Mr Liu has been Luckin's chief operating officer since May 2018.

 

In recent months though investors had begun to become wary that there may be
some serious issues at the company after an anonymous report alleging that
it had made up some of its numbers.

 

Earlier this year the high-profile short-seller Muddy Waters Research
started betting against the company's shares, citing a report that alleged
that Luckin had fabricated financial and operating figures from the third
quarter of last year.

 

At the time, Luckin strongly denied the allegations, describing them as
"misleading and false".

 

Luckin's shares ended Thursday's trading session down by more than 75% at
$6.40 after hitting a record low of $4.90 earlier in the day.--BBC

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Oil prices surge on hopes of a price war truce

Signs that Saudi Arabia and Russia may end an oil feud sent prices up more
than 20% on Wednesday, the biggest one-day leap on record.

 

US President Donald Trump said he expected the two sides to cut supply,
while Saudi Arabia called for an emergency meeting of oil producers.

 

The Russian energy minister also said his country may re-enter talks.

 

A deal to cut production - in response to the drop in demand from
coronavirus shutdowns - collapsed last month.

 

Since then, the cost of crude has fallen to lows not seen for almost two
decades as Russia and Saudi Arabia slashed prices and ramped up production
in a fight for market share.

 

Those moves, alongside the wider collapse in demand, have caused US oil to
its worst quarter on record. Prices fell by two thirds in the first three
months of the year, rocking the American energy sector.

 

The damage has prompted Washington to try to broker a new deal.

 

On Thursday, Mr Trump tweeted "I expect & hope" the two countries will agree
to cut supply by 10 million barrels "and maybe substantially more".

 

Speaking earlier about the dispute at a White House news conference, Mr
Trump said: "It's very bad for Russia, it's very bad for Saudi Arabia. I
mean, it's very bad for both. I think they're going to make a deal".

 

Separately, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Moscow would
work to stabilise the market.

 

The international benchmark, Brent crude, rose 21% to finish at $29.94 a
barrel and the price of US oil, known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI),
jumped almost 25% to $25.32. Both were record gains.

 

A cut of 10 million barrels per day would amount to about 10% of global
output.

 

Analysts said the US oil industry might also have to make cuts - either
voluntarily to help stabilise prices or due to financial pressures because
of the broader demand drop. Global demand for crude oil is predicted to be
almost 23% lower this month than it was a year ago, according to research
firm Rystad Energy.

 

"While a truce (if actually enacted) would be a positive [for oil prices],
we believe the benefits from a likely modest reduction in global crude oil
supply are still likely to be swamped by the decline in crude oil demand
that we see today, courtesy of the coronavirus," said Stewart Glickman,
analyst at CFRA Research.

 

Mr Trump, who is set to meet the bosses of major energy companies, including
Exxon Mobil and Chevron, at the White House on Friday, has described the US
energy sector as having been "ravaged".

 

On Wednesday, it saw the first stock market-traded casualty of the collapse
in oil prices when shale producer Whiting Petroleum, which was once the
largest oil producer in the US state of North Dakota, filed for bankruptcy.

 

The company said it had worked to cut costs and would continue to operate
under a restructuring plan.--BBC

 

 

 

US jobless claims hit 6.6 million as virus spreads

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits has hit a record high
for the second week in a row as the economic toll tied to the coronavirus
intensifies.

 

More than 6.6 million people filed jobless claims in the week ended 28
March, the Department of Labor said.

 

That is nearly double the week earlier, which was also a new record.

 

The deepening economic crisis comes as the number of cases in the US soars
to more than 236,000.

 

With the death toll rising to more than 5,600, the White House recently said
it would retain restrictions on activity to try to curb the outbreak.

 

Analysts at Bank of America warned that the US could see "the deepest
recession on record" amid forecasts that the unemployment rate could hit
more than 15%.

 

The outlook is a stark reversal for the world's biggest economy where the
unemployment rate had been hovering around 3.5%.

 

However, more than 80% of Americans are now under some form of lockdown,
which has forced the closure of most businesses.

 

This is the highest number of new unemployment claims in US history.

 

But what is so terrifying is not just the magnitude but also the speed with
which American firms have shed workers.

 

Roughly 10 million Americans lost their jobs in just the last two weeks. To
put that in context, 9 million jobs were lost in the 2008 financial crisis.

 

There were several reasons for this week's historic increase.

 

More states ordered non-essential businesses to close to contain the virus.
According to economists, a fifth of the US workforce is now in some form of
lockdown.

 

And a government relief package signed last week expanded unemployment
benefits to help more people, such as the self-employed and independent
contractors.

 

Some fear the true number could be even higher since many people couldn't
even get through to file a claim.

 

Given these are weekly figures, this data is the closest we have to
real-time information showing just how catastrophic the pandemic is for the
American economy. And it points to a bruising couple of months ahead.

 

More than 3.3 million people filed claims two weeks ago, eclipsing the
previous record of 695,000, set in 1982 and bringing the two-week total to
about 10 million.

 

The most recent figure was worse than many economists had feared.

 

"I don't usually look at data releases and just start shaking," said Heidi
Shierholz, former chief economist at the US Department of Labor and now
policy director at the Economic Policy Institute. "This is a portrait of
disaster ... It's like nothing we've ever seen before. It represents just
incredible amounts of grief and suffering."

 

Workers in accommodation and food services were hit hard again this week,
the Department of Labor said.

 

But it added that states are reporting "a wider impact across industries".

 

"With this report there should be little doubt that ... US is already in
deep recession and the global economy will be too", tweeted Mohamed A
El-Erian, chief economic adviser to financial services firm Allianz.

 

The US recently passed a more than $2tn rescue bill, which funds direct
payment for households, assistance for businesses and increased unemployment
benefits.

 

It also made more people eligible to receive benefits, including workers
whose jobs are suspended rather than cut. There is speculation the
government may provide further relief.

 

Unlike other countries such as the UK, the US has not implemented a
programme that pays firms to keep workers on the payroll - one reason the
numbers are so stark, Ms Shierholz says.

 

"There's an attempt at it," Ms Shierholz said, pointing to the expanded
eligibility. "But this concept of keeping workers on payroll through a
downturn is not well socialised in the US. It's just not how we've done
things in the past."--BBC

 

 

 

Coronavirus: Four ways the economy has been affected

A quick walk down any deserted high street or a video chat with friends and
family is a reminder that currently it is anything but business as normal.

 

But for the first time the UK's official number-crunchers, the Office for
National Statistics (ONS), has put out a comprehensive account of how the
British economy has been affected so far.

 

Here are four things we learnt:

 

1. Almost half of companies were suffering before the lockdown

Of the almost 4,000 companies the ONS spoke to, 45% said their takings were
substantially below normal between 9 and 22 March; almost all attributed
that to the fallout from Covid-19.

 

And they were responding largely before Prime Minister Boris Johnson
announced the enhanced restrictions on movement and closure of non-essential
businesses, including gyms, hairdressers, cinemas and pubs, on 23 March.

 

So the next set of figures are likely to show a big rise in the level of
suffering. Economists are warning that activity could have dipped by as much
as 15% across the quarter.

 

2. Over a quarter of firms were intending to lay off staff temporarily

Again, this was largely ahead of the closure of non-essential businesses and
the announcement of the government's Job Retention Scheme.

 

The scheme allows organisations to furlough staff who were on the payroll up
to the 28 February (even if they were laid off or left subsequently), with
the government covering up to 80% of salaries.

 

So again, the numbers will have risen since - probably sharply. And this of
course doesn't cover all affected workers.

 

Other figures have shown that the number applying for universal credit, many
of whom will have been self-employed, have risen by 950,000 in just two
weeks.

 

Even with the furlough scheme, some economists say the UK unemployment rate
could double to 8% this year.

 

3. The cost of cold and flu remedies has shot up

As the demand for hand sanitiser, soap, and loo rolls, soared, so too did
concerns of excessive price mark-ups.

 

The Competition and Markets Authority even set up a coronavirus task force
to deter price gouging.

 

But how real are these fears?

 

The ONS said that almost 70% of businesses reported that prices of their
products were unchanged.

 

Only 12% admitted to raising prices but in many cases this was due to
problems with getting hold of supplies.

 

The ONS has also zoned in on some of the current must-haves, monitoring the
price of items from toilet rolls to vitamin C online.

 

It found that cold and flu remedies were 10.7% more expensive in the last
week of March than in the previous week .

 

This is on top of reports of price rises earlier in the month which
pharmaceutical companies have blamed on rising demand and a scarcity of raw
materials.

 

Other items have seen prices vary by far less with some, such as
antibacterial wipes and baby food seeing falls recently.

 

As yet, there's little evidence here of a significant impact on the overall
cost of living.

 

4. Many firms that export or import have had supply chain issues

Roughly six out of ten of the firms the ONS heard from neither import or
export.

 

But of those that do, more than half reported disruption. This is presumably
down to interrupted production around the globe - perhaps inevitably in the
face of movement restrictions, shuttered factories and offices and depleted
workforces.

 

The ONS survey doesn't reveal the extent of the disruption - it may just a
be a slight delay.

 

However, given today's highly integrated global supply chains, this could
flag supply issues with some imported items down the line.

 

But the report also shows traffic though ports up to 28 March is holding up.
And we know that airlines and the shipping industry are working with
government to maintain the transport of essential cargo.--BBC

 

 

 

Coronavirus threatens the next generation of smartphones

Every Autumn, Mazen Kourouche heads to the biggest Apple Store in Sydney,
Australia, and queues up for hours to be one of the first people in the
world to get his hands on the latest iPhone.

 

"Since the iPhone 7 came out I've been lining up for the new Apple devices
for a few reasons: firstly the hype associated with them, secondly because
of the resale value, and thirdly because Australia is the first country to
get access to the devices, so people are interested in hearing about it," he
says.

 

According to Mr Kourouche, who develops software for the iPhone operating
system (iOS), many people would usually travel from overseas to get their
hands on the iPhone in Australia. The nation's time zone means its Apple
stores are the first to open around the world on launch day.

 

This year could be different though. Like most other retailers, Apple has
closed its shops around the world in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

 

It's still too early to say whether the shops will be back open in the time
for the launch of new devices in the autumn.

 

But in some countries the picture is not encouraging. In the UK, the
government has said that it could be between three to six months before
normal life will resume and that includes re-opening non-essential shops.

 

In the case of Apple, it has its iPhone 12 waiting in the wings. It's a
particularly important phone, as it's the first to incorporate 5G
technology, allowing it to connect with the new generation of faster phone
networks.

 

Sources have told the Japanese publication Nikkei that Apple is weighing up
whether to delay that launch.

 

The same may be true for devices manufactured by Samsung and other rivals
that use the Android operating system.

 

"Approximately 70% of smartphones are manufactured in China - so as the
pandemic hit China, there has been significant disruption to the supply of
existing devices," says Razat Gaurav, chief executive of Llamasoft, a supply
chain analytics company.

 

Many smartphone makers rely on components that are made in China and South
Korea, two nations that have been hardest hit by the outbreak.

 

The South Korean city of Daegu, where most of the country's coronavirus
cases are clustered, is only 20 minutes away from the area where many of
those components are produced.

 

And it's not just supply, demand has fallen dramatically. Shipments of
smartphones in China tumbled by 40% in the first quarter of 2020, compared
with the same period last year, according to research firm IDC.

 

The company suggests that Chinese consumers will buy 33 million fewer phones
in the first three months of the year.

 

"We're likely to see significant drops in Western Europe and the US as
well," Gaurav adds.

 

The effect on existing devices will be a worry for device manufacturers, but
it will be the impact on their new devices which will be of greater concern,
particularly as fans of Apple and Android devices are accustomed to specific
times of the year when they can buy a new device, while manufacturers rely
on this as one of the biggest revenue streams every year.

 

"The smartphone is a complicated product, and there are so many components
that go into it. In order to source all of those different parts, you're
getting materials and parts from about 40 different countries," says Gaurav.

 

Different parts of the production process will be affected in different
ways.

 

"Much of the design work does not require significant social contact,
meaning you don't have to be in physical proximity to people," says Frank
Gillett, an analyst at research firm Forrester.

 

But there may be some research and development work which requires
specialised equipment that employees can't take home.

 

A lot of this work would have already been carried out for devices set to
launch this year, but it could hinder device launches in 2021, which
companies are already working on ahead of time.

 

According to Emile Naus, partner at consultancy BearingPoint, the most
important part of the phone is not the hardware, it's the software, and this
can be developed remotely. However, testing the device may be harder to
carry out.

 

"Testing may be hard as the industry is very tight on security and they
would probably struggle with the concept of people taking home prototypes of
the phone to test - as these are usually shrouded in secret," he says.

 

The other issue is around shipping; with many airlines suspending flights
and delays with ocean freight, there is a chance that materials and
components may not get to assembly plants, and that the finished product
does not get to retail outlets.

 

The effects of this and the China factory shutdowns are only now starting to
ripple down into the smartphone industry, and the impact could be bigger
than expected.

 

Mr Gillett believes that the likes of Apple and Samsung are more likely to
hold back on certain features for new devices than delay launches. The time
to get certain features tested, or for software developers to be able to
work on applications that make use of these features, is critical.

 

Much obviously depends on what happens in the coming months. Restrictions on
delivery and shipping might force firms to delay product launches, and
possibly launches may even be held back until 2021.

 

If shops stay closed then this could be a particular problem for Apple,
which has an important retail network.

 

"We know that the first weeks and months of these new devices' sales life
are very important because they're sold at the highest levels," says Mr
Naus.

 

Demand for the new devices may also falter, as spending serious amounts of
money on the latest model may not be an option for householders going
through financial difficulties.

 

But Forrester does not see brands making big changes to the price of their
new handsets. Instead it thinks they may cut prices further on their older
models, and perhaps bolster the number of entry-level priced-models
available.

 

Prices may not come down - but if the demand is not there, then perhaps new
strategies could be put into place.

 

"What you might also see are some creative pricing models to make it feel
more affordable and responsive to people's situations. Perhaps there will be
a temporary promotion to help people out at a lower price if they can show
an unemployment cheque or an emergency services ID," says Mr Gillett.

 

However, Apple's biggest fans are likely to remain loyal.

 

"I don't think [the pandemic] will impact interest, especially amongst
consumers because we're always buying new things: right now the big thing is
toilet paper but eventually it'll go back to being iPhones," says Mr
Kourouche.--BBC

 

 

 

Middle East, Africa governments need to act faster to protect airlines -
IATA

DUBAI (Reuters) - Middle Eastern and African governments must act faster to
protect their airlines, the International Air Transport Association said on
Thursday, warning their losses from the coronavirus pandemic had risen to
$23 billion.

 

Several states have stepped in to help their airlines that have seen demand
decimated by the global outbreak, such as the United States, Singapore and
Australia, though few in the Middle East and Africa have made their
intentions clear.

 

“The whole industry is going through one of its darkest moments of history,”
IATA Africa and Middle East Vice President Muhaammad Ali Albakri said in an
online press briefing.

 

“This is why countries who realise the importance of this industry have
stepped forward (and are) pumping billions to save those airlines. We’re
hoping that countries in Africa and the Middle East follow suit.”

 

IATA, the industry’s largest lobby group, has already urged Middle Eastern
and African governments to take action by providing airlines with funding,
loans and tax relief.

 

Middle Eastern carriers have now lost $19 billion in revenue this year, up
from $7.2 billion on March 11, and African airlines’ losses so far remain at
$4 billion, IATA said.

 

Dubai on Tuesday promised to provide its state carrier Emirates with new
funding, but gave no details, while Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar
al-Baker told Reuters on Sunday the state airline would eventually need
government assistance.

 

“We haven’t seen the details that we are looking for to give the airlines
the life support they need to bridge them through this crisis,” Albakri
said.

 

“(Governments) really have to understand that ... helping the airline
industry to survive will eventually help these countries rebuild their
economies.”

 

IATA also called on airports, suppliers and other industry partners to
remove or defer some charges to airlines.

 

 

 

 

Senegal seeks $221 mln from IMF to mitigate coronavirus shock

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Senegal has wrapped up talks with the International
Monetary Fund to secure $221 million to help it mitigate the economic impact
of the coronavirus pandemic, the Fund said on Thursday.

 

The West African nation has reported 175 confirmed cases of the disease,
according to World Health Organization statistics. The IMF said in a
statement that the pandemic had led to a drop in remittances from Senegalese
living abroad and a shutdown of its tourism sector.

 

“This (financing) will allow the authorities to meet the urgent budgetary
and balance of payment needs stemming from the deterioration of the global
economic conditions and the spread of COVID-19 in Senegal,” the IMF said in
a statement.

 

Around $147 million of the requested funding would be disbursed from the
Fund’s the Rapid Financing Instrument, with the remaining $74 million coming
from its Rapid Credit Facility.

 

The financing still requires the approval of the IMF’s executive board,
which is expected to consider the request by mid-April.

 

Though they currently account for just a fraction of global coronavirus
cases, the pandemic has already sent an economic shockwave through many
African nations.

 

The IMF and other multilateral financial institutions are seeking to ramp up
support for vulnerable African countries so they can better fight the
disease, which experts say could easily overwhelm their under-resourced
health systems.

 

 

 

S.Africa's Famous Brands pulls plug on Gourmet Burger Kitchen

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Famous Brands said on Thursday it
had decided not to provide any further financial support to its UK-based
unit Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK).

 

“Accordingly, the board of GBK will consider the options available to the
business,” Famous Brands’ statement said, after stating that the board had
reviewed its investment and opted against further financial assistance.

 

 

 

South Africa's rand recovers after plunging to all-time low

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand traded firmer against the
dollar early on Thursday, recovering after falling to a record low the
previous session, but investor confidence remained fragile as concerns over
the economy linger.

 

At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1100 per dollar, 0.6% firmer than its
previous close. It weakened to an all-time low of 18.2750 on Wednesday.

 

South Africa has imposed some of the toughest restrictions on the continent
to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak, including deploying the army to
support police during a 21-day lockdown that began on Friday.

 

The likely toll on an economy already in recession showed up in preliminary
tax numbers, with 2019/20 collection 160 billion rand ($8.84 billion) below
February’s Treasury estimates.

 

“Deeply indebted South Africa will carry the wounds of the COVID-19 shock
for a longer period, given the upward pressure in spending related to
containment efforts and the drag on revenue due to the slump in economic
activity,” analysts at NKC African Economics said in a note.

 

Government bonds also firmed in early trade, with the yield on the 10-year
instrument due in 2030 dipping 6 basis points to 11.010%.

 

($1 = 18.0940 rand)

 

 

 

South Africa's Quantum Foods warns of 38% drop in first-half profit

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African feed and poultry company Quantum
Foods said on Thursday half-year earnings could fall as much as 38%, partly
due to a margin squeeze in its egg business because of lower selling prices.

 

The group said headline earnings per share for the six-months ended March 31
were expected to fall between 28.1 cents and 34.9 cents, down between 23%
and 38% compared with 45.4 cents for the same period in the previous year.

 

The owner of Nulaid eggs said the drop in egg selling prices was a result of
an increase in supply in South Africa and higher feed production costs. The
company expects the egg business, which contributed about 25% of group
revenues in 2019, to report a loss when it publishes results on May 21.

 

Quantum said Covid-19 had, to date, not had any significant effect on its
business. The company said the extent of the negative impact of Covid-19 on
consumers and the economy was still uncertain but it would communicate any
significant effect on its operations or financial performance.

 

Headline earnings, the main profit measure in South Africa, were also
negatively impacted by a decline in earnings from operations elsewhere in
Africa. In Zambia, a very poor 2019 maize harvest resulted in higher feed
costs, and consequently lower margins from eggs and lower demand from
livestock customers, the company said.

 

On the upside, Quantum had improved profitability from the feeds business,
benefiting from increased volumes supplied to both external customers and
the company’s layer farms that had higher numbers of layer hens in
production.

 

Profit from the group’s farming business also improved, mostly due to higher
volumes of live birds supplied by the Western Cape broiler farming
operations, it said.

 

“Productivity on the layer farms continues to improve which further
contributed to earnings. However, weaker demand from the layer livestock
market negatively impacted margins in this business,” Quantum added.

 

 

 

 

Africa seeks IMF, World Bank and EU support on debt relief - UNECA

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - African finance ministers want International
Monetary Fund, World Bank and EU support for bilateral, multilateral and
commercial debt relief amid the coronavirus crisis, the UN Economic
Commission for Africa (UNECA) said.

 

Africa is facing a perfect storm of an impending global economic downturn,
plummeting oil and commodity prices and weaker currencies which threaten to
imperil its coronavirus response. [nL8N2BK105]

 

Co-chaired by South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni and Ken Ofori-Atta
of Ghana, the ministers met via video conference on Tuesday. Many wore
medical masks, said the UNECA, which hosted the meeting.

 

“The call for debt relief ... should be for all of Africa and should be
undertaken in a coordinated and collaborative way,” UNECA said in a
statement.

 

In an initial meeting organised by UNECA last month, ministers called for a
$100 billion stimulus package, including a suspension of debt service
payments. [nL8N2BG69J]

 

Following Tuesday’s meeting, they said the continent’s development partners
should consider debt relief and interest rate forbearance over a two to
three-year period for all African low-income and medium-income countries.

 

They also called for the creation of a special purpose vehicle to “deal with
all sovereign debt obligations” though no further details were given as to
what shape it would take.

 

Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases had climbed to at least 5,300 by
Tuesday, with more than 170 recorded deaths, according to a Reuters tally.

 

 

 

Tunisian banks will postpone loan payments for three months -central bank

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian banks will allow their customers to defer loan
payments for three months as part of a package to ease the social and
economic effects of the coronavirus crisis, the central bank said on
Wednesday,

 

The central bank last month cut its key interest rate from 7.75 pct to 6.75
pct and postponed loan payments by poor people for six months.

 

 

De Beers Group CFO Patel to leave by end of July

LONDON (Reuters) - Diamond miner De Beers said on Thursday its Chief
Financial Officer Nimesh Patel will leave the company on July 26 to join
Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc.

 

The company, which is majority owned by diversified miner Anglo American,
said it would name a successor in due course.

 

 

 

S.Africa's 2019/20 tax revenue at 1.4 trillion rand, short of target

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s tax revenues again fell short of the
government’s target, with preliminary collection for the year ended March at
1.356 trillion rand ($75.58 billion), the revenue service said on Wednesday,
several billion rand short of the amount estimated in the February budget.

 

Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) Edward Kieswetter
said lower-than-expected economic growth, increasing job lay-offs and
persistent electricity shortages were the main contributors to the slide in
tax receipts.

 

“These factors have begun to manifest themselves measurably in weaker
economic activity, especially in sectors such as manufacturing and financial
services,” Kieswetter said in a teleconference.

 

($1 = 17.9409 rand)

 

 

 

Ethiopia opens up mobile money services to local non-financial firms

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia’s central bank will allow locally-owned
non-financial institutions to start offering mobile money services as it
seeks to boost non-cash payments in the country, it said.

 

The Horn-of-Africa nation is in the midst of massive economic reforms led by
reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, including the privatisation of
state-owned telecommunications monopoly Ethio Telecom.

 

The new directive would allow Ethio Telecom, as an Ethiopian-owned company,
to move into mobile money. Any foreign-owned companies, however, would
remain locked out, according to the new regulations that were published on
Wednesday.

 

Foreign telecom operators, including Kenya’s Safaricom and South Africa’s
MTN, have expressed interest in bidding for telecoms licenses in Africa’s
second most populous country.

 

But without further changes to the regulations, they will remain unable to
offer mobile financial services business, analysts said.

 

“This directive effectively excludes foreign fin-tech and telecom companies
from reaping the business benefits,” Bahakal Abate, a corporate lawyer in
Addis Ababa, told Reuters.

 

In February, Ethiopia delayed the award of two telecoms licences to
multinational companies. The licences would end the state monopoly and open
up one of the world’s last major closed telecoms markets.

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


Bindura Nickel Corporation

 

 

 


Padenga Holdings

 

 

 


Delta Corporation

 

 

 


Meikles Limited

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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