Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 April 2020

Mon Apr 6 08:02:29 CAT 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 April 2020

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ü  The iShield: Apple to design and make medical gear

ü  Oil slides as Saudi Arabia-Russia talks delayed

ü  New car registrations may drop more than 40%

ü  Young and low-paid to be among worst hit in lockdown says study

ü  Coronavirus: Tech firms summoned over 'crackpot' 5G conspiracies

ü  Coronavirus: ExCel U-turns on charging NHS for hospital site

ü  UK among economies risking record slump

ü  Africa could lose 20 mln jobs due to pandemic - AU study

ü  South Africa's arms firm Denel to produce ventilators in coronavirus fight

ü  Congo's Chemaf mothballs copper-cobalt processing plant over coronavirus

ü  Nigeria to set up $1.39 billion fund to fight coronavirus

ü  BAT South Africa urges government to lift cigarette sale ban

ü  Lisbon court seizes NOS shares held by Angola's dos Santos

ü  Egypt non-oil private sector contracts faster as virus hits -PMI

ü  World Bank sees 'major global recession' due to pandemic

ü  Egypt and Sudan begin operating joint electricity grid

ü  Senegal GDP growth to shrink to less than 3% due to coronavirus -president

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The iShield: Apple to design and make medical gear

Best-known for phones and computers, Apple has now turned its hand to making face shields for medical workers.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook tweeted on Sunday that it has designed and is now making the protective gear.

The tech giant plans to make more than one million shields a week, which will be shipped first to US medical workers and then distributed globally.

It has also sourced 20 million face masks which it is donating worldwide to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Companies, from electronics firms to carmakers, have been shifting production to help make vital medical equipment and supplies for hospitals around the world.

"This is a truly global effort, and we're working continuously and closely with governments at all levels to ensure these are donated to places of greatest need," Mr Cook said in a video posted on Twitter.

Apple has pulled in designers, engineers and suppliers to shape, produce and ship the face shields.

Mr Cook said the first shipment of the plastic face shields, which can be assembled in less than two minutes, was delivered last week to some hospitals in Silicon Valley. The materials are sourced from both the US and China.

"In both these efforts, out focus is on unique ways Apple can help, meeting essential needs of caregivers urgently and at a scale the circumstances require," Mr Cook added. "For Apple, this is a labour of love and gratitude, and we will share more of our efforts over time."

With a worldwide shortage of hospital equipment such as ventilators and protective gear for medical workers, organisations, educational institutions and individuals have been joining the effort to meet the demand.

In the UK, around 1,400 3D-printer owners have pledged to use their machines to help make face masks for the NHS.--BBC

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Oil slides as Saudi Arabia-Russia talks delayed

Global oil prices have dropped after Saudi Arabia and Russia postponed a meeting about a deal to cut output as the virus pandemic hits demand.

The two countries have been locked in an oil price war for the last month.

Traders are concerned that, with large parts of the world in lockdown, there will be too much crude available, putting pressure on prices.

Last week, crude prices soared after US President Donald Trump suggested that an agreement was imminent.

In Asian trade, the global benchmark Brent crude fell 12%, while US-traded oil, known as West Texas Intermediate, was more than 10% lower.

Measures in countries across the world to slow the spread of the coronavirus, including the US, UK and much of mainland Europe and Asia, have seen global energy demand fall sharply.

At the same time the month-long oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia has left the global market with far more crude than is needed.

The price war came after a deal between the two countries to cut production, in response to the drop in demand, collapsed last month.

That has pushed down prices to lows not seen for almost two decades as traders wait for a new deal to be agreed.

The major oil producing countries were scheduled to meet on Monday, but the meeting has now been pushed back to Thursday.

US oil fell by two thirds in the first three months of the year, as it saw its worst quarter on record.

The huge impact on the American energy sector has prompted Washington to attempt to broker an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

On Thursday oil prices rose by more than 20%, the biggest one-day leap on record, on signs that an end was in sight for the dispute.

Mr Trump had 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.--BBC

New car registrations may drop more than 40%

New car registrations for March are likely to make gloomy reading for those in the motor industry.

The figures, due out at 0900, are expected to show a drop of more than 40% compared to last year.

The Society for Motor manufacturers and Traders is likely to report that the fall in sales was even greater than that seen during the financial crisis.

March is usually one of the strongest months of the year for the car industry.

It is a popular time to buy because it is one of two occasions when new number plates are released.

But the Covid-19 outbreak has taken a heavy toll, forcing potential customers to stay at home for the past fortnight and reducing new registrations for the month by about 200,000 compared with the same period last year.

They fell to the lowest level seen in March for more than two decades.

The crisis has come at a difficult time for the industry, which was already suffering with falling sales and a collapse in demand for diesel vehicles, while struggling to meet tough new emissions targets.

The coronavirus outbreak has also halted car production. All of the UK's major car factories suspended work last month, and it is not yet clear when they will reopen.--BBC

Young and low-paid to be among worst hit in lockdown says study

Young workers and the worst paid are the most likely to be affected by the closure of businesses amid the coronavirus lockdown, a study says.

A "remarkable concentration" of workers under 25, women and the worst paid will be hit by the economic effects.

That's according to the research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

It sparks "serious worries about the effect of this crisis on the young especially and on inequality," said Xiaowei Xu, an IFS economist.

In mitigation, "in the short run, many will have the cushion of the incomes of parents or other household members," she said.

The research comes as the UK's confidence in the economy has fallen to its lowest in 12 years as the COVID-19 crisis drains consumer confidence.

'Stark' outlook

The last time such a decline happened was during the 2008 economic downturn.

Market research firm GfK's consumer confidence gauge dropped to -34, a decline of 25 points compared to just two weeks earlier.

It suggested record grocery sales were not enough to counteract the "stark" outlook for the retail industry.

GfK asked people in mid-March and at the end of March how confident they were about a number of areas such as personal finance and the general economic situation.

Data showed that many are now expecting their personal and household's financial position to worsen over the next 12 months.

Stockpile boost

"Our falling confidence in our personal financial situation and the wider economy reflects the new concern for many across the UK," said Joe Staton, GfK's Client Strategy Director.

The UK's supermarkets had their best month on record as shoppers rushed to stockpile ahead of the coronavirus lock-down.

Market data provider Kantar revealed last week that overall sales were up 20.6% in March.

It said that the average household spent £63 more than usual during this period.

However, Mr Staton warned the latest data shows that consumers plan on withholding from making many unnecessary purchases during the current period of economic uncertainty.

He suggested it could spell disaster for many high-street chains which are already under pressure due to the forced closure of stores.

Universal Credit spike

"Despite record grocery sales, and recent peaks for purchases of freezers, TVs and home office equipment as people prepared for a long period in the home, the Major Purchase Index is down 50 points - a stark picture for some parts of the retail industry in the short to medium term," added Mr Staton.

It was claimed this week that that 20% of small businesses could fold in April due to the collapse in consumer demand, despite unprecedented government intervention to support jobs.

The Department for Work and Pensions revealed a record number of people had applied for universal credit benefits in the past fortnight as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

It said 950,000 successful applications for the payment were made between 16 March, when people were advised to work from home, and the end of the month.

The department said it would normally expect around 100,000 claims in a two week period.

Meanwhile, thousands of people are calling on the government to close a loophole in its plans to help workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced help for companies to pay staff - but only those on the payroll on 28 February.--BBC

Coronavirus: Tech firms summoned over 'crackpot' 5G conspiracies

The culture secretary is to order social media companies to be more aggressive in their response to conspiracy theories linking 5G networks to the coronavirus pandemic.

Oliver Dowden plans to hold virtual meetings with representatives from several tech firms next week to discuss the matter.

It follows a number of 5G masts apparently being set on fire.

The issue will test the companies' commitments to free speech.

Earlier in the week, blazes were reported at masts in Birmingham, Liverpool and Melling in Merseyside.

A spokesman for Vodafone's mobile network told the BBC there had been a total of four further incidents over the past 24 hours at both its own sites and those shared with O2, but did not identify the locations.

"We have received several reports of criminal damage to phone masts and abuse of telecoms engineers apparently inspired by crackpot conspiracy theories circulating online," a spokeswoman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport told the BBC.

"Those responsible for criminal acts will face the full force of the law.

"We must also see social media companies acting responsibly and taking much swifter action to stop nonsense spreading on their platforms which encourages such acts."

DCMS has yet to confirm which tech companies are being summoned.

'Complete rubbish'

False theories are being spread on smaller platforms such as Nextdoor, Pinterest and the petitions site Change.org as well as larger ones including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.

Scientists have said the idea of a connection between Covid-19 and 5G is "complete rubbish" and biologically impossible.

Several of the platforms have already taken steps to address the problem but have not banned discussion of the subject outright.

Pinterest, for example, limits its search results for coronavirus and related terms to showing pinned information from recognised health organisations but does not have a comparable restriction for 5G.

Facebook said it had also removed a number of groups that were encouraging attacks on 5G masts.

However, a post entitled "burn baby burn - it's begun", which accompanied videos of telecoms equipment ablaze, was only taken down about six hours after it was flagged to the company's press office.

YouTube bans some types of bogus posts about Covid-19, but classes conspiracy theories linking the virus to 5G as "borderline content". As a result, it said it tries to reduce the frequency its algorithms recommend them, but does not delete the videos from its platform.

A spokeswoman for the Google-owned service said it intended to "evaluate the impact" of this approach. It did, however, remove one video flagged by the BBC that featured threatening language.

Change.org said its open nature allowed anyone to set up a petition about any issue they cared about, but added they must comply with its guidelines to stay online.

"We have removed a number of petitions making unsubstantiated health claims about 5G from the platform," a spokeswoman added.

Vodafone has said the attacks are "now a matter of national security".

"It beggars belief that some people should want to harm the very networks that are providing essential connectivity to the emergency services, the NHS, and rest of the country during this difficult lockdown period," wrote UK chief executive Nick Jeffery.

"It also makes me angry to learn that some people have been abusing our engineers as they go about their business.

"Online stories connecting the spread of coronavirus to 5G are utterly baseless. Please don't share them on social media - fake news can have serious consequences."

The GSMA - a trade body that represents the wider mobile industry - also urged social media and other content-hosting providers to "accelerate their efforts to remove fake news" relating to the problem.

The campaign against 5G has been flourishing on social media for the last year.

Facebook in particular has been full of groups claiming the technology is dangerous, with many of them also pushing anti-vaccine messages.

Until recently, apart from the odd fact-checking message alongside posts, the companies have done little to combat this trend. Neither Twitter nor YouTube, for instance, has an option in their reporting systems to flag misinformation.

Even on Friday, complaints to Facebook moderators about a group that appeared to encourage arson attacks on 5G masts received replies saying the page did "not violate our community standards" - although after the BBC contacted Facebook's press office it was taken down.

In normal times, social media platforms are very reluctant to curb what they regard as an essential part of their mission: giving people the right to free expression, however outlandish or unscientific their views.

But these are not normal times.

The government is effectively waging a war against a deadly virus, and keyworkers looking after vital infrastructure are facing abuse, possibly inspired by these social media campaigners.

That means there is now intense pressure on the likes of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter to combat what one minister has called "dangerous nonsense" - and they will want to be seen to be acting responsibly, even if some of their users cry censorship.--BBC

Coronavirus: ExCel U-turns on charging NHS for hospital site

The owner of London's ExCel centre has performed a U-turn on charging the NHS to use the site as a hospital to treat coronavirus patients.

ExCel chief executive Jeremy Rees said an initial agreement with the NHS to house the temporary Nightingale Hospital "included a contribution to some fixed costs".

But he said: "We have since decided to cover the fixed costs ourselves."

Mr Rees added that the ExCel had always been provided to the NHS rent-free.

The Sunday Times reported that the centre, which is owned by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), was charging the NHS between £2m and £3m in rent to use the east London site.

Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, managing director and group chief executive of ADNEC, said: "To be clear, profit has always been the furthest thing from our minds."

He added: "It is our firm commitment that we will not charge a penny for the use of our facilities, and we will provide the NHS with the operational and logistical support it needs for NHS Nightingale London."

The field hospital can hold as many as 4,000 patients and is the first of a number of similar facilities planned for the UK.

The Nightingale Hospital was built in nine days and is now open. It has 500 beds in place, with space for an additional 3,500.--BBC

UK among economies risking record slump

The coronavirus pandemic could trigger a global slump bigger than the Great Depression of the 1930s, a closely watched international survey suggests.

Manufacturing and services sectors in key geographical areas, including the UK, US and the eurozone, saw record falls in activity during March, according to Purchasing Managers’ Index data.

The UK figure, dropped from 53.0 in February to 36.0 in March.

Readings below 50 indicate contraction.

The data is published by IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

'Devastation'

Andrew Wishart, an economist at Capital Economics, said the PMIs were probably underestimating the scale of the economic fallout.

"We are forecasting a 15% fall" in economic output in the period from April to June, he said, "a larger fall in output than in the financial crisis or the Great Depression," he said.

"It’s increasingly difficult to find the words to describe the devastation as every region in the world fights to save human life as the first priority,” said Duncan Brock, CIPS group director.

“The likelihood of a global recession is now a given, though its duration and severity has yet to reveal itself.”

The composite figure for the manufacturing and services sectors in the eurozone was even worse, down from 51.6 in February to 29.7.

“Confidence about the future was the lowest recorded by the survey since data were first available in July 2012,” said IHS Markit.

“The four largest nations covered by the survey all registered record declines in activity, with Italy and Spain experiencing the sharpest reductions.”

'Worse to come'

Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the Italian and Spanish figures showed the slump might worsen in April, when the level of infections is expected to peak in those countries.

As for the UK figures, he said: "In one line: horrendous, and probably not reflecting the full devastation."

The comparable figure for the US hit a new low of 40.9 in March, down from 49.6 in February.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said: “The policy response to the economic damage from the virus has already been unprecedented, but the collapse in business expectations for the year ahead tells us that companies are expecting far worse to come.

“IHS Markit is now forecasting an around 5.5% contraction of US GDP in 2020.”

In normal times, these figures would be top of the news - a frightening warning of impending economic disaster. Purchasing managers - senior managers in companies who keep across what's happening to a company's orders and buy its supplies - see before anyone else if business is drying up.

This chart speaks for itself, adding to evidence from the scale and suddenness of the job losses and benefit claims all around the world. Looking purely at the economic effect on orders and jobs, it is no exaggeration to say that the impact of the Covid 19 shutdowns around the world is now like the Great Depression - but on speed.

And what is most extraordinary is that, from one perspective, that awful-sounding thing is a success for government policy. By ordering shutdowns to try and save lives, our government and others around the world have also ordered a reduction in economic activity unprecedented in its speed and depth. They have required, instructed and requested a huge recession - and they have got one.

Let's hope when the shutdown's lifted and governments want a bounce-back, that they again get what they wish for.

It's all another sign that the Covid 19 crisis is turning everything - environmental, social and economic - on its head.--BBC

Africa could lose 20 mln jobs due to pandemic - AU study

JOHANNESBURG/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - About 20 million jobs are at risk in Africa as the continent’s economies are projected to shrink this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according an African Union (AU) study.

So far, Africa accounts for just a fraction of total cases of the disease which has infected more than one million people worldwide, according to a Reuters tally.

But African economies are already facing an impending global economic downturn, plummeting oil and commodity prices and an imploding tourism sector.

Before the onset of the pandemic, continent-wide gross domestic product (GDP) growth had been projected by the African Development Bank to reach 3.4% this year.

However, in both scenarios modelled by the AU study - seen by Reuters and entitled “Impact of the coronavirus on the Africa economy” - GDP will now shrink.

Under what the AU researchers deemed their realistic scenario, Africa’s economy will shrink 0.8%, while the pessimistic scenario said there would be a 1.1% dip.

Up to 15% for foreign direct investment could disappear.

The impact on employment will be dramatic.

“Nearly 20 million jobs, both in the formal and informal sectors, are threatened with destruction on the continent if the situation continues,” the analysis said.

African governments could lose up to 20 to 30% of their fiscal revenue, estimated at 500 billion in 2019, it found.

Exports and imports are meanwhile projected to drop at least 35% from 2019 levels, incurring a loss in the value of trade of around $270 billion. This at a time when the fight against the virus’ spread will lead to an increase in public spending of at least $130 billion.

Africa’s oil producers, which have seen the value of their crude exports plunge in past weeks, will be among the worst hit.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest oil producers Nigeria and Angola alone could lose $65 billion in income. African oil exporters are expected to see their budget deficits double this year while their economies shrink 3% on average.

African tourist destinations will also suffer.

Africa has in recent years been among the fastest growing regions in the world for tourism. But with borders now closed to prevent the disease’s spread and entire airlines grounded, the sector has been almost entirely shut down.

Countries where tourism constitutes a large part of GDP will see their economies contract by an average of 3.3% this year. However, Africa’s major tourism spots Seychelles, Cape Verde, Mauritius and Gambia will shrink at least 7%.

“Under the average scenario, the tourism and travel sector in Africa could lose at least $50 billion due to the covid-19 pandemic and at least 2 million direct and indirect jobs,” the AU study said.

Remittances from Africans living abroad - the continent’s largest financial inflow over the past decade - are unlikely to cushion the blow.

“With economic activity in the doldrums in many advanced and emerging market countries, remittances to Africa could experience significant declines,” the analysis found.

South Africa's arms firm Denel to produce ventilators in coronavirus fight

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Denel will design and develop medical ventilators in partnership with other state-owned entities, research bodies and medical technology companies to help treat coronavirus patients, the state arms and technology company said on Sunday.

Governments and hospitals globally have pleaded with manufacturers to speed up production of ventilators to cope with a surge in patients struggling to breathe.

Danie du Toit, group chief executive of Denel, said in a statement engineers from Denel Dynamics and Denel Aeronautics were already working round the clock on Project Sabela to produce the ventilators, without giving a target figure.

“We are still in the early stages of the project, but we are optimistic that this local initiative will help to alleviate the dire need for medical ventilators that are required in great numbers at both public and private hospitals,” Du Toit said.

A task force has been formed consisting of experts from Denel, Armscor, which acquires defence materiel on behalf of the Department of Defence, power utility Eskom, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and other entities to investigate designs and produce a prototype of a local medical ventilator.

Du Toit said he was confident the team would soon make huge strides in producing the ventilators at a time of global shortages.

On Saturday, the African Union called for international cooperation and support while up scaling local production of medical supplies and equipment on the continent given the urgent need for it.

Denel, a cornerstone of South Africa’s once-mighty defence industry, is also considering other initiatives in which it could repurpose its current operations and technology to assist the national effort to tackle to health crisis.

This includes looking at options to produce sanitisers for industrial and medical uses once product certification issues have been clarified and converting Casspir mine-protected vehicles into ambulances, the firm said.

South Africa has reported 1,585 coronavirus cases as of late Saturday, with nine deaths.

The ministry of health has approached President Cyril Ramaphosa to assist the department “with mobilizing reinforcements” from various countries such as Cuba and China, it said on Saturday.

On the same day, Ramaphosa said he spoke to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and “asked for technical expertise on infection control, supply of lifesaving equipment for mobile testing and infection control.”

South African officials have imposed some of the toughest anti-coronavirus measures on the continent, including a 21-day “stay at home” lockdown that started on March 27.

Congo's Chemaf mothballs copper-cobalt processing plant over coronavirus

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Chemaf, the Congo subsidiary of Dubai-based Shalina Resources, is halting operations at its Usoke copper-cobalt processing plant and stopping construction work on its Mutoshi plant, Chief Financial Officer Nico de Lange told Reuters on Sunday.

The facilities are the latest mining operations to be affected by travel restrictions and border closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which de Lange said had made it impossible to source sufficient oxide ore for Usoke to function.

“It’s an operational decision, not a COVID decision, but COVID was the last push,” said de Lange, adding that Usoke was loss-making prior to the coronavirus pandemic.

Democratic Republic of Congo has shut schools, banned gatherings of over 20 people, closed restaurants and bars, restricted internal travel and suspended inbound flights from badly affected countries to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

Chemaf is in discussions with workers at both plants, de Lange said, declining to give details of the packages being negotiated. The Mutoshi plant employs 1,100 workers, while Usoke - which has put under so-called under care and maintenance - employs about 570.

The processing plant that Chemaf is building at Mutoshi will have capacity for 20,000 tonnes of copper and 16,000 tonnes of cobalt per year, according to its website.

Chemaf’s Etoile copper and cobalt mine is still producing as normal, de Lange said. The company’s target is for Etoile to produce 2,000 tonnes of copper and 460 tonnes of cobalt per month this year.

Production losses at Usoke this year will be offset by increased production at Etoile’s processing plant, so there will be “effectively no impact” on Chemaf’s overall output, according to the CFO.

ARTISANAL COBALT SITE SHUT

The cobalt and copper miner has also shut the Mutoshi artisanal cobalt mining site - through which cobalt is sold to commodity trader Trafigura under a pilot project started in January 2018 and overseen by the NGO PACT.

Chemaf initially closed the site on March 23 for two weeks due to the risk of spread of the coronavirus but is likely to extend the closure, de Lange said.

De Lange would not comment when asked whether Chemaf was also in negotiations with the artisanal mineworkers at Mutoshi to provide them with an income in the interim.

The artisanal miners work under a mining cooperative, COMIAKOL, which has around 5,000 members. The number of miners on-site on any given day varies but can be up to 2,700, according to a technical report on the pilot project.

Democratic Republic of Congo has 154 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 18 deaths from COVID-19, the government on Saturday.

Nigeria to set up $1.39 billion fund to fight coronavirus

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria plans to create a 500 billion naira ($1.39 billion)coronavirus fund to strengthen its healthcare infrastructure to tackle the virus, the government said on Saturday.

Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, House of Representatives speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and Senate President Ahmad Lawan agreed in a meeting that the crisis intervention fund would pull in cash as loans from various special government accounts and get the rest from grants and loans from multilateral institutions, a statement said.

“This cisis intervention fund is to be utilised to upgrade healthcare facilities,” Ahmed said in the statement.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest nation, has 209 confirmed cases of coronavirus and four deaths. Lagos state, neighboring Ogun state and the capital territory of Abuja entered a two-week lockdown on Monday aimed at stemming the spread of the virus.

 The IMF is making $50 billion available from its emergency financing facilities and some 80 countries have already asked for help, including about 20 from Africa. The World Bank has also approved a $14 billion COVID-19 response package.

Last week, Nigeria’s Central Bank also launched a drive to raise 120 billion naira from the private sector to source equipment and infrastructure to fight the pandemic.

The proposed fund would require approval from the National Assembly in order to borrow the money from special accounts, and Lawan said that while the body was on a two-week hiatus aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus, it would work to pass a bill to enable the borrowing plan.

“When there is need for us to meet or to take legislative action in support of ensuring that the government responds appropriately to developments issues and challenges in the country, we will do so,” Lawan said.

($1 = 360 naira)

BAT South Africa urges government to lift cigarette sale ban

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African arm of British American Tobacco urged the government on Saturday to reconsider its ban on cigarette sales during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, saying it would have unintended consequences.

South African officials have imposed some of the toughest anti-coronavirus measures on the continent, including a 21-day “stay at home” lockdown that started last week Friday.

During the lockdown, essential services retailers and petrol station forecourt stores are not allowed to sell alcohol or cigarettes.

The government has justified the ban on studies showing that smoking can make people more susceptible to serious complications from a coronavirus infection.

British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) said it supported the decisive measures taken by the government but warned the ban on cigarette sales could jeopardise the fight to contain the virus.

“It will unintentionally force 11 million smokers to go outside of their neighbourhood in search of outlets willing to defy the ban, as we’ve seen in some media reports,” it said in a statement.

“This would lead to greater movement of people and more interactions than if smokers were able to buy cigarettes at their nearest legal outlet at the same time as buying all their other essential goods.”

The tobacco group also warned that the ban could boost illicit trade in tobacco as smokers were more likely to buy from underground traders.

BATSA is the leading tobacco manufacturer in South Africa with 78% market share of the legal cigarette market. It sells cigarettes through 50,000 outlets including grocery stores, liquor shops, spazas, informal traders and fuel stations.

In 2019, BATSA contributed 13 billion rand ($682.99 million)in total taxes of which 10 billion rand was tobacco excise.

In a statement, the Chairperson of the Fair-trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA) also urged the government to reconsider the nationwide ban.

“Uplifting the ban would, amongst other things save jobs, bring more money into the state coffers, stimulate the economy, and decrease the psychological impact on South Africans of the lockdown period,” FITA Chairperson Sinenhlanhla Mnguni said.

($1 = 19.0340 rand)

Lisbon court seizes NOS shares held by Angola's dos Santos

LISBON (Reuters) - Sonaecom, sub-holding of Portugal’s Sonae, said on Saturday evening a Lisbon court seized shares in telecommunications firm NOS of a holding company it co-owned with former first-daughter and Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos.

Sonaecom and dos Santos, who was named a suspect in a fraud investigation in Angola this year, each own 50% of holding firm ZOPT, which owns 52.15% of NOS.

The seizure affects half of ZOPT’s shares, equivalent to dos Santos’ holdings - but ZOPT as a whole will be deprived of voting rights, a decision Sonaecom argued “seriously harms the interests of ZOPT and Sonaecom, both being third parties completely unrelated to the judicial process underway.”

Sonaecom said it would contest the decision as ZOPT “is not liable for the debts of its shareholders”. Dos Santos has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Angolan courts seized dos Santos’ assets in December, but did not freeze voting rights, Sonaecom said.

In February, Portugal’s public prosecutor ordered the seizure of bank accounts belonging the ex-first daughter, who also owns shares in several other Portuguese companies including oil group Galp.

Sonaecom said it would cooperate with judicial authorities while taking “all appropriate legal action to revert and terminate the seizure procedure”.

Earlier this year, hundreds of thousands of files about dos Santos dubbed the “Luanda Leaks” were released by several news organisations focussing on how she amassed a fortune estimated at more than $2 billion.

Egypt non-oil private sector contracts faster as virus hits -PMI

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s non-oil private sector activity contracted at a far faster rate in March than in February as the coronavirus-induced economic slowdown spread across the globe, a survey showed on Sunday.

IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the non-oil private sector came in at 44.2 last month, down from 47.1 in February and far below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction.

It was the sharpest contraction since January 2017, shortly after Egypt put in place austerity measures as part of an IMF-backed economic reform programme signed in November 2016.

“The global economy is notably reeling from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic ... the Egyptian non-oil private sector was no exception,” said IHS Markit economist David Owen.

IHS Markit said the March survey registered the weakest level of optimism in the series’ history, with confidence falling for a third month in a row, driven by concerns around the pandemic, especially its effect on the tourism industry.

The spread of the novel coronavirus has almost totally shut down Egyptian tourism, which accounts for an estimated 15% of gross domestic product. The last scheduled airline flights to Egypt ended on March 19.

Both output and new orders at Egyptian businesses fell, with output dropping to 40.6 in March from 46.2 in February and new orders to 40.2 from 46.2.

Businesses said they were also hurt by factory closures in China.

A contraction in non-oil sector employment extended for a fifth straight month in March, but at a slightly slower rate. The employment sub-index came in at 47.0 March compared with 46.8 in February.

- Detailed PMI data are only available under licence from IHS Markit and customers need to apply for a licence.

World Bank sees 'major global recession' due to pandemic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World Bank Group President David Malpass on Friday said the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic was expected to cause a “major global recession” that would likely hit the poorest and most vulnerable countries the hardest.

“We intend to respond forcefully and massively with support programs, especially for poor countries,” Malpass said in a posting on the LinkedIn networking site, adding that he planned to speak soon with the leaders of Ethiopia, Kenya and other countries.

Egypt and Sudan begin operating joint electricity grid

KHARTOUM/CAIRO (Reuters) - The electricity grids of Egypt and Sudan were officially connected on Friday with an initial capacity of 60 megawatts, Sudan’s Ministry of Energy and Mining said.

The extension of the grid to Sudan’s northern regions was completed with testing on Friday morning, part of efforts to expand power supply, the ministry said.

The line was completed in April last year with a length of 100 km (62 miles) in Egypt and 70 km (44 miles) in Sudan, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement on Saturday.

The first phase of connectivity aims to provide Sudan with a capacity of up to 70 megawatts, increasing to 300 megawatts in the second phase after the upgrade of some Sudanese power stations, it added.

Egypt has rapidly expanded its power generation in recent years and has been looking to export surplus electricity to neighbouring countries.

Senegal GDP growth to shrink to less than 3% due to coronavirus -president

DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal’s economic growth will fall to less than 3% in 2020 from a forecast 6.8% because of the coronavirus, President Macky Sall said on Friday.

“Our sustained economic growth over several years is being brutally curbed,” Sall said in a speech, adding that the West African country’s tourism industry would be among the sectors worst-hit by the epidemic.

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Companies under Cautionary

Bindura Nickel Corporation

Padenga Holdings

Delta Corporation

Meikles Limited

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DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

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