Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 21 December 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 21 December 2020

 


 

 

	
 


 

 


ü  Covid: US reaches long awaited deal for coronavirus aid

ü  European regulator says Boeing's 737 Max is safe

ü  Covid-19: Dover port halts traffic to France for 48 hours

ü  Covid: Nations impose UK travel bans over new variant

ü  Stocks falter, sterling skids as new COVID strain shuts UK

ü  Tesla's Elon Musk asks about converting 'large transactions' to bitcoin

ü  Oil prices fall amid worries over new coronavirus strain

ü  Shell reaps $2.5 billion from sale of minority stake in Queensland Curtis
LNG facilities

ü  Amazon shuts New Jersey facility till Dec. 26 on virus spike among
workers

ü  Nigeria's Reserves Will Dry Up in 30 Years Without New Oil Finds - NNPC

ü  Kenya: Puzzle of Kenya Pipeline Tender Paid Before Bids

ü  Nigeria: Petrol Price Cut - Oil Marketers Still Sell At N170 Per Litre -
Investigation

ü  Nigeria: Exclusive - While Nigerians Lament Increased Electricity Tariff,
Regulatory Agency's Officials Share Billions As Perks

ü  Uganda: MTN Amplifies Youth Voices Through Buzz Teenz Awards

 


 

 


Covid: US reaches long awaited deal for coronavirus aid

After months of wrangling, US lawmakers have agreed to a roughly $900bn
package of pandemic aid, including money for businesses and unemployment
programmes.

 

The money is set to accompany a bigger $1.4tn spending bill to fund
government operations over the next nine months.

 

It comes as many Covid-19 economic relief programmes were set to expire at
the end of the month.

 

About 12 million Americans were at risk of losing access to unemployment
benefits.

 

The House of Representatives and the Senate are expected to vote on the
package on Monday. It will then need to be signed into law by President
Donald Trump.

 

What do we know about the package?

The new package will include $600 direct stimulus payments to most
Americans, and boost unemployment payments by $300 per week. It is also set
to include more than $300bn in support for businesses, and money for vaccine
distribution, schools and renters facing eviction.

 

The deal was announced on Sunday by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.
"We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long
time: More help is on the way," he said.

 

The package, he added, contained "targeted policies to help struggling
Americans who have already waited too long."

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said
the package "delivers urgently needed funds to save the lives and
livelihoods of the American people as the virus accelerates".

 

The bill does not include substantial aid to local governments, which had
been a top priority for many Democrats. Mr Schumer said the package did help
local governments indirectly by providing money for schools, Covid-19
testing and other expenses.

 

He said the package would "establish a floor, not a ceiling, for coronavirus
relief in 2021", and that Democrats would push for more aid after
President-elect Joe Biden takes office on 20 January.

 

Congress was expected to pass the bill by Friday, but negotiations continued
through the weekend.

 

The delays led to concerns over whether the government would shut down
without a spending bill. Washington has been operating on temporary funding
since October, the start of the federal government's financial year.

 

What about previous aid?

The US in March approved more than $2.4tn in economic relief, including
$1,200 stimulus cheques, funds for businesses and money to boost weekly
unemployment payments by $600.

 

The package was credited with cushioning the economic hit of the pandemic,
which cast more than 20 million Americans out of work this spring and drove
the unemployment rate up to 14.7% in April.

 

The US has regained about half of the jobs lost, but economists and
businesses have been pushing Congress to approve further economic relief, as
programmes expired and money ran out, prompting recovery to slow.

 

A survey by the Chamber of Commerce released on Tuesday found three quarters
of small businesses said they needed gov5ernment help to survive.

 

media caption"I'm not sure how we're going to survive"

In the last five months, the US poverty rate has spiked, reaching 11.7% last
month - an increase of 2.4 percentage points since June, according to
research from the University of Chicago and University of Notre Dame.

 

Nearly eight million more Americans are now living in poverty. This year has
seen the biggest single year increase since poverty tracking began 60 years
ago.

 

Many low-income Americans have seen their bank balances drop steadily in the
months since April, when the first government stimulus checks arrived.
Without further assistance, lower-income families' checking account balances
will drop faster than higher-income households, a report by the JPMorgan
Chase Institute found.—BBC

 

 

European regulator says Boeing's 737 Max is safe

The head of Europe's aviation safety agency, EASA, has told the BBC he is
"certain" Boeing's 737 Max is now safe to fly.

 

Executive Director Patrick Ky said his organisation had "left no stone
unturned" in its review of the aircraft and its analysis of design changes
made by the manufacturer.

 

The plane was grounded in March 2019.

 

That was after it was involved in two catastrophic accidents, in which a
total of 346 people died.

 

It has already been cleared to resume flights in the US and Brazil. EASA
expects to give permission for it to return to service in Europe in
mid-January.

 

The plane's first accident occurred in October 2018, when a Lion Air jet
came down in the sea off Indonesia.

 

New software

The second involved an Ethiopian Airlines version that crashed shortly after
takeoff from Addis Ababa, just four months later.

 

Both have been attributed to flawed flight control software, which became
active at the wrong time and prompted the aircraft to go into a catastrophic
dive.

 

Since the Ethiopian crash, EASA has been carrying out a root-and-branch
review of the 737 Max's design, independently from a similar process
undertaken by the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

 

The review, says Mr Ky, went well beyond the immediate causes of the two
accidents and the modifications proposed by Boeing.

 

"We went further and reviewed all the flight controls, all the machinery of
the aircraft", he explains.

 

The aim, he says, was to look at anything which could cause a critical
failure.

 

In order to return to service, existing planes will now have to be equipped
with new computer software, as well as undergoing changes to their wiring
and cockpit instrumentation.

 

'Confident' of safety

Pilots will need to undergo mandatory training, and each plane will have to
undergo a test flight to ensure the changes have been carried out correctly.

 

US regulators have set out similar conditions.

 

As a result, Mr Ky insists, "We are very confident that it is now a very
safe aircraft."

 

Most of the initial safety certification work on the 737 Max was carried out
by the FAA, and simply endorsed by EASA under the terms of a long-standing
international agreement.

 

But with the FAA now facing intense criticism for allowing an apparently
flawed aircraft into service, Mr Ky says in future, things will be done
differently.

 

"What is certain is that there were lessons learned from this, which will
trigger new actions from our side", he explains.

 

In particular, where EASA is not the primary authority carrying out safety
work, it will examine other people's decisions much more closely.

 

"We will perform our own safety assessment, which is going to be much more
comprehensive than it used to be", he says.

 

But have regulators lost credibility and public confidence since the
disasters?

 

"I hope not", says Mr Ky. "I think we have made a lot of progress in
assessing what went wrong and what can be made better

 

"I hope the public trusts in us when we say we think, we are certain, that
the aircraft is safe to fly".—BBC

 

 

Covid-19: Dover port halts traffic to France for 48 hours

The port of Dover has been closed to all vehicle traffic leaving the UK for
the next 48 hours.

 

France acted to halt lorry movements in the wake of fresh concerns over the
spread of a new strain of coronavirus.

 

UK ministers and officials will discuss the move at the government's Cobra
emergency committee on Monday.

 

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps urged the public and hauliers not to travel
to ports in Kent, saying "significant disruption" was likely in the area.

 

Kent Police has put Operation Stack into force on the M20 towards Dover to
queue lorries caught up in the disruption.

 

The force said it had implemented the closure of the coast-bound carriageway
of the motorway between Junctions 8 and 11 as a "contingency measure".

 

The Department for Transport has said that Manston Airport in Kent is being
readied to take up to 4,000 lorries to ease congestion in the county.

 

The Port of Dover is closed to traffic leaving the UK "until further notice"
due to border restrictions in France, port authorities said in a statement.

 

"Both accompanied freight and passenger customers are asked not to travel to
the port," it said. "We understand that the restrictions will be in place
for 48 hours from midnight."

 

Freight coming to Britain from France will be allowed, but there are fears
lorry drivers will not travel to avoid being stuck in the UK.

 

Unaccompanied freight, such as containers or lorry trailers on their own can
still be transported, but vans, lorries and trucks are banned. Hauliers are
advised to find other routes into the continent.

 

About 10,000 lorries a day travel between Dover and Calais during peak
periods such as Christmas.

 

Border restrictions could mean disruption to food supplies, as well as
difficulties in meeting orders of British goods in continental Europe.

 

"Tonight's suspension of accompanied freight traffic from the UK to France
has the potential to cause serious disruption to UK Christmas fresh food
supplies - and exports of UK food and drink," Food and Drink Federation
(FDF) chief executive Ian Wright warned.

 

"Continental truckers will not want to travel here if they have a real fear
of getting marooned.

 

"The government must very urgently persuade the French government to exempt
accompanied freight from its ban."

 

Stockpiles ready

Freight industry lobby group Logistics UK said it was concerned about the
welfare of drivers going from the UK to France, and said they should have
access to regular testing.

 

It appealed for calm from shoppers, and said it was "maintaining close
contact with UK government to ensure that supplies of fresh produce are
available throughout Christmas and the new year".

 

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) joined the FDF in appealing to the
government to find a solution, but also added that there should be no
immediate shortages.

 

"Retailers have stocked up on goods ahead of Christmas which should prevent
immediate problems," the BRC said.

 

While the situation will be discussed at the government's Cobra emergency
committee on Monday, meetings are being had between ministers and officials
on Sunday night, according to BBC political correspondent Nick Eardley.

 

He added that the government does not think the restrictions will affect the
delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to the UK.

 

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has called on the government to
extend the Brexit transition period as it deals with the new coronavirus
variant, saying it was a "profoundly serious situation" which "demands our
100% attention".

 

The current transition period is due to expire at the end of the year and
the EU and UK are still negotiating a trade deal.

 

Without it both sides will have to collect expensive tariffs that the Office
for Budget Responsibility says could harm the UK's economy.

 

Labour's Rachel Reeves, shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, called the
development "deeply worrying".

 

"The country needs to hear credible plans and reassurance that essential
supplies will be safeguarded, including our NHS, supermarkets and
manufacturers with crucial supply chains," she said.

 

Flight bans

French transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said France was suspending
all traffic from the UK from midnight for at least 48 hours.

 

A number of countries have banned or are considering stopping flights from
the UK following the emergence of a new variant of coronavirus.

 

Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey and Canada
are all halting flights, and other nations are considering the move.

 

Trains to Belgium are also not operating.

 

Eurotunnel suspended access to its Folkestone terminal on Sunday night for
traffic and freight heading to Calais.

 

Coronavirus cases in the UK have risen by 35,928 - nearly double the number
recorded last Sunday, figures show.

 

Public Health England medical director Yvonne Doyle said the "sharp" rise in
cases was of "serious concern".

 

It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new variant of the
virus was "getting out of control".

 

The new strain of the virus was first detected in September. In November
around a quarter of cases in London were the new variant. This reached
nearly two-thirds of cases in mid-December.

 

It is thought to have mutated in a way to increase the ability of the virus
to infect cells, but it is not thought to more deadly than other
variants.--BBC

 

 

 

Covid: Nations impose UK travel bans over new variant

European nations have begun to impose travel bans on the UK after it
reported a more-infectious and "out of control" coronavirus variant.

 

Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting
flights. The measures vary and are initially short-term but the French rules
also affect Channel freight.

 

An EU meeting on Monday morning will discuss a more co-ordinated response.

 

The new variant has spread quickly in London and south-east England.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday introduced a new tier four level of
restrictions for those areas, scrapping a planned relaxation of rules over
the Christmas period for millions of people.

 

Top health officials said that there was no evidence the new variant was
more deadly, or would react differently to vaccines, but it was proving to
be up to 70% more transmissible.

 

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new strain "was out of control. We
have got to get it under control", admitting that this was "an incredibly
difficult end to frankly an awful year".

 

Which countries have acted and how?

Within hours of the UK announcement on Saturday, the Netherlands said it
would ban all passenger flights from the UK until 1 January.

 

Tracking the global pandemic: Where has been hit hardest?

What is tier four and who is in it?

Later on Sunday it said it would also bar ferry passengers arriving from the
UK, although freight would continue.

 

The country on Sunday reported a daily increase of more than 13,000 cases -
a new record, despite tough lockdown measures being applied on 14 December.

 

As Sunday wore on, major new restrictions were imposed by key European
nations.

 

France suspended all travel links, including freight lorries, with the UK
for 48 hours from midnight on Sunday (23:00 GMT).

 

Thousands of lorries move between the countries every day.

 

In response to France's ban, Eurotunnel said it would suspend access to its
Folkestone terminal from 22:00 GMT for traffic heading to Calais. People
booked to travel on Monday can get a refund. Trains will still run from
Calais to Folkestone.

 

The ferry terminal at Dover is now closed for all accompanied traffic
leaving the UK until further notice because of the French restrictions.

 

The freight issue has become so pressing that Mr Johnson will chair a COBRA
emergency response meeting on the matter on Monday.

 

In Ireland, which has significant passenger traffic with the UK at this time
of year, the government announced that flights arriving from England, Wales
and Scotland would be banned for 48 hours at least from midnight, and "in
the interests of public health, people in Britain, regardless of
nationality, should not travel to Ireland, by air or sea".

 

Ferry crossings for freight would continue.

 

In Germany, an order from the ministry of transport said planes from the UK
would not be allowed to land after midnight on Sunday, although cargo would
be an exception. Health Minister Jens Spahn said the UK variant had not yet
been detected in Germany.

 

What are the Covid symptoms and how do I protect myself?

Belgium suspended flights and train arrivals from the UK from midnight on
Sunday for at least 24 hours as a "precautionary measure".

 

Italy is blocking all flights from the UK until 6 January. The first case of
the UK variant has also been detected in Italy, the health ministry reported
on Sunday. The patient is in isolation in Rome.

 

Austria is to ban flights from the UK. Bulgaria has suspended flights to and
from the UK from midnight but, unlike the short-term measures in many other
nations, its ban lasts until 31 January.

 

Turkey has temporarily banned all flights from the UK as has Switzerland.

 

A European Council meeting will be held at 10:00 GMT on Monday on
co-ordinating EU actions.

 

2px presentational grey line

Analysis box by James Gallagher, health and science correspondent

The new variant was first detected in September. In November it made up
around a quarter of cases in London. This reached nearly two-thirds of cases
in mid-December.

 

Three things are coming together that mean it is attracting attention:

 

·         It is rapidly replacing other versions of the virus

·         It has mutations that affect part of the virus likely to be
important

·         Some of those mutations have already been shown in the lab to
increase the ability of the virus to infect cells

All of these come together to build a case for a virus that can spread more
easily. However, we do not have absolute certainty. New strains can become
more common simply by being in the right place at the right time - such as
London.

 

This variant is unusually highly mutated. The most likely explanation is it
emerged in a patient with a weakened immune system that was unable to beat
the virus.

 

There is no evidence yet to suggest the variant makes the infection more
deadly, and at least for now the developed vaccines will almost certainly
work against it.

 

However, if the virus changes so it dodges the full effect of the vaccine,
then "vaccine escape" happens, and this may be the most concerning
element.--BBC

 

 

 

Stocks falter, sterling skids as new COVID strain shuts UK

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks faltered and sterling slid on Monday as
unease over a new coronavirus strain that was shutting much of the United
Kingdom offset news that a deal had finally been struck on a long-awaited
U.S. stimulus bill.

 

The pound sank 1.2% to $1.3352 after several European countries closed their
borders to the UK as the country entered a tougher lockdown to fight a new
strain of coronavirus.

 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response meeting on
Monday to discuss international travel and the flow of freight in and out of
Britain.

 

That combined with the lack of a Brexit deal to slice 1.1% off FTSE futures,
while EUROSTOXX 50 futures shed 1.7%.

 

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2% after
hitting a string of record peaks last week. Japan’s Nikkei reversed early
gains to be down 0.4%, off its highest since April 1991.

 

In the United States, Republican U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
said an agreement had been reached by congressional leaders on a roughly
$900 billion COVID-19 relief bill.

 

The news saw futures for the S&P 500 jump at first, only to fade to a loss
of 0.2% as the session progressed.

 

Analysts at BofA noted a huge $46.4 billion flowed into equities in the
latest week, while the outflow from cash was the largest in four months.
There were record flows into tech shares and large flows to the consumer
sector, healthcare, financials, real estate and value stocks.

 

BofA chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett said a “sell signal” had
been triggered for the first time since February as cash levels declined to
4.0% in the latest Global Fund Manager Survey.

 

“Positioning is getting over-extended as policy support and profits are
peaking,” he said in a note. “Expectations for higher growth, inflation and
lower interest rates have become consensus and investors are positioning for
a very rosy scenario of low volatility and high growth.”

 

A CROWDED TRADE

Another popular trade has been shorting the U.S. dollar and again
positioning was looking over-extended by many measures, giving the currency
some respite on Monday.

 

“FX markets await final outcomes of a possible Brexit deal and U.S. fiscal
package,” said Ned Rumpeltin, European head of FX strategy at TD Securities.

 

“We remain biased to fade any ‘good news’ kneejerk USD-selling on both
fronts, however. These factors look fully priced and the short-USD trade
appears increasingly crowded.”

 

The dollar index firmed to 90.453 and away from last week’s trough of
89.723, which had been the lowest since April 2018.

 

The euro likewise edged back to $1.2190, while the dollar was steady on the
yen at 103.36.

 

The dollar also found support from a Nikkei report that Japanese Prime
Minister Yoshihide Suga told Finance Ministry officials in November to make
sure the dollar did not fall below 100 yen.

 

The general risk-off mood saw gold prices gain 0.8% to $1,895 an ounce.

 

Oil prices ran into profit-taking after notching up seven straight weeks of
gains, with travel restrictions in Europe a further blow to demand.

 

U.S. crude fell $1.57 to $47.53 a barrel, while Brent crude futures dropped
$1.65 to $50.61.

 

 

 

Tesla's Elon Musk asks about converting 'large transactions' to bitcoin

(Reuters) - Elon Musk on Sunday asked about the possibility of converting
“large transactions” of Tesla Inc’s balance sheet into bitcoin, according to
a Twitter exchange between Musk and a well-known advocate for the digital
currency.

 

 

Michael Saylor, chief executive officer of MicroStrategy Inc, in a tweet to
Musk, suggested that the billionaire Tesla founder and head, make the move.

 

“If you want to do your shareholders a $100 billion favor, convert the $TSLA
balance sheet from USD to #BTC,” Saylor wrote in his tweet. “Other firms on
the S&P 500 would follow your lead & in time it would grow to become a $1
trillion favor.”

 

“Are such large transactions even possible?” Musk replied to Saylor.

 

“Yes. I have purchased over $1.3 billion in #BTC in past months & would be
happy to share my playbook with you offline....,” Saylor tweeted.

 

Tesla and Musk could not be reached for comment.

 

“Every CEO faces the challenge of how to preserve & enhance shareholder
value in the face of this year’s unprecedented monetary expansion,” Saylor
said in a message to Reuters.

 

“Bitcoin is the best solution to the store of value problem faced by every
individual, investor, & corporation on earth,” Saylor said.

 

Shares of Tesla rose to a record high on Friday in a frantic day of trading
as investors geared up for the electric carmaker’s much anticipated entrance
into the benchmark S&P 500 index on Monday.

 

Bitcoin rose to a high of $24,299.75 on Sunday, after passing the $20,000
milestone for the first time last week, amid surging interest from larger
investors. Bitcoin was last at $23,60.98 up 2.88%.

 

 

Oil prices fall amid worries over new coronavirus strain

TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices slid in early trade on Monday as a
fast-spreading new coronavirus strain in the United Kingdom raised concerns
that tighter restrictions there and in other European countries could stall
a recovery in the global economy and its need for fuel.

 

Brent crude dropped 97 cents, or 1.9%, to $51.29 a barrel by 0103 GMT after
rising 1.5% and touching its highest since March last Friday.

 

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 83 cents, or 1.7%, to
$48.27 a barrel after also climbing 1.5% on Friday to its highest level
since February.

 

Monday’s declines came after oil prices marked seven straight weeks of gains
last week as investors focused on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

 

“A new variant of the coronavirus in Britain and tighter travel restrictions
in Europe sparked fears over slower economic recovery, prompting investors
to unwind long positions,” said Kazuhiko Saito, chief analyst at commodities
broker Fujitomi Co.

 

“The oil market has been on a bull trend in the past month or so, ignoring
negative factors, amid an optimism that a widening vaccine rollout would
revive global growth, but investors’ rosy expectations for 2021 have
suddenly vanished,” Saito said.

 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair an emergency response
meeting on Monday to discuss international travel, in particular the flow of
freight in and out of Britain as COVID-19 cases surged by a record number
for one day. The headache comes as Johnson also seeks to hammer out a final
accord on Brexit.

 

The variant, which officials say is up to 70% more transmissible than the
original, also prompted concerns about a wider spread, forcing several
European countries to begin closing their doors to travellers from the
United Kingdom.

 

The negative sentiment also overshadowed a weekend deal among U.S.
congressional leaders for a $900 billion coronavirus aid package.

 

Adding to pressure, the oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future
output, rose by eight to 346 in the week to Dec. 18, the highest since May,
Baker Hughes said on Friday, as producers keep returning to the wellpad with
crude prices trading above $45 a barrel since late November.

 

 

Shell reaps $2.5 billion from sale of minority stake in Queensland Curtis
LNG facilities

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Shell said on Monday it has agreed to sell a 26.25%
stake in its Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) facilities to Global
Infrastructure Partners Australia for $2.5 billion, helping the oil major
meet its annual target for divestments.

 

Shell, advised by Rothschild & Co, put a minority stake in the asset up for
sale earlier this year, after infrastructure investors expressed interest in
the asset which has a guaranteed earnings stream for 15 years.

 

The sale price was in line with analysts’ expectations.

 

“This decision is consistent with Shell’s strategy of selling non-core
assets in order to further high-grade and simplify Shell’s portfolio,” the
company said in a statement.

 

Shell is aiming to raise $4 billion a year from asset sales. The sale to
Global Infrastructure Partners puts it on target for this year, following
the divestment of its Martinez refinery and Appalachia shale gas assets.

 

The QCLNG plant is majority owned by Shell, with minority stakes owned by
China National Offshore Oil Corp and Tokyo Gas Co.

 

The stake Global Infrastructure Partners has bought gives it a piece of a
U.S.-dollar denominated, inflation-linked usage fee paid by CNOOC and Tokyo
Gas over about 15 years, regardless of the LNG plant’s throughput.

 

Global Infrastructure Partners was not immediately available for comment on
the deal.

 

Shell’s remaining 73.75% stake in the common facilities aligns with its
stake in the overall QCLNG venture, which produces liquefied natural gas at
an 8.5 million tonnes a year plant for export mostly to China and Japan.

 

 

 

Amazon shuts New Jersey facility till Dec. 26 on virus spike among workers

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc said on Sunday it had closed one of its
warehouses in New Jersey out of caution till Dec. 26, after seeing an
increase in asymptomatic positive cases amongst workers.

 

“Through our in-house COVID-19 testing program, we detected an increase in
the number of asymptomatic positive cases at our PNE5 facility in northern
New Jersey and have proactively closed the site until December 26th out of
an abundance of caution,” an Amazon spokeswoman said in a statement to
Reuters.

 

Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, said it isn’t anticipating any
impacts to operations or deliveries due to this shutdown.

 

It did not specify the number of workers who contracted the disease at its
PNE5 facility, which is a sorting center.

 

The company, however said, that its employees will be paid for the shifts
that they miss because of the shutdown of the facility.

 

In October, Amazon said more than 19,000 of its U.S. frontline workers
contracted the coronavirus this year, or 1.44% of the total, a disclosure
sought by labor advocates who have criticized the COVID-19 response of the
company.

 

Some staff, elected officials and unions in recent months have said Amazon
put its employees’ health at risk by keeping warehouses open during the
pandemic.

 

The company had said it would expand virus testing to 50,000 U.S. employees
per day by November through internally built capacity.

 

 

Nigeria's Reserves Will Dry Up in 30 Years Without New Oil Finds - NNPC

Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that
without the discovery of fresh hydrocarbons in some parts of the country,
the current 37 billion barrels in reserves will dry up in 30 years, given a
projection of 2.3 million barrels per day by 2023.

 

The corporation which recently set a target of a three billion increase,
which will take the reserves to 40 billion barrels, noted that it will
continue to dig for more crude oil, noting that at 2019 production levels,
the current deposits will likely dry up in an extended period of 40 years.

 

Speaking during the NNPC/IDSL asset management and operational excellence
webinar series tagged: 'Developing Strategic Organisational Framework to
Improve Asset Management Efficiency', Group General Manager, National
Petroleum Investment Services (NAPIMS), Mr. Bala Wunti, also stressed that
the 10 per cent gas being flared can provide a lot of power for the country.

 

He said: "Today, we are sitting on top of about 37 billion barrels of crude
oil reserves, which if you take the 2019 average of production number which
is 2.1 million barrels per day, it, therefore, means that if we don't do
anything today, we will produce everything we have in about 40 years.

 

"For some of us who are just 30 years, it means, potentially, they can see a
Nigeria without oil and if we need to extend this, we need to do something
and bring in more reserves to produce more.

 

"This is even more given that the target given to the NNPC is to produce 2.3
million barrels in 2023. If we don't do anything about our reserves, at 3
million barrels, you can imagine the volume we can produce which will be in
the region of 30 years.

 

"So, in three decades, we will see a Nigeria without oil and potentially we
all hope to spend the next 30 years alive. That's why we need to do
something," he stated.

 

He called for more attention to be paid to gas production but stressed that
if the current 10 per cent gas being flared and re-injected is properly
utilised, it could power the entire country.

 

"Globally, gas has become a destination fuel. We have a significant quantity
of over 203 TCF. If we maintain our current production, we can keep
producing gas in the next 65 years. We flare about 10 per cent of this and
for re-injection and that's about 800 million gone.

 

"If converted, this can generate five gigawatts of electricity, given what
we flare today. We also re-inject about 2.5 bcf of gas across the industry.
If you convert this to gas, it can generate another 15 gigawatts of
electricity.

 

"So, between flaring and re-injection, we can easily get about 20 gigawatts
of electricity. If we are to convert 8 bcf just for power, we can generate
48 gigawatts of electricity and we can double our gas anytime we want,"
Wunti noted.

 

Earlier in his keynote address, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mallam
Mele Kyari, highlighted the challenges that the industry has witnessed,
particularly in the last one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic

 

He said that despite the problems in the sector, the corporation was on
course to achieving its $10 unit cost of production per barrel of crude oil
in the coming months.

 

"We cannot achieve much unless we work efficiently, work smart and in a way
that cost of production is at such levels that you are competitive.

 

"So, the countries and companies that will survive in the next 30 to 40
years in the fossil fuel business are those that have been able to reduce
prices, provide efficient fuel, and work efficiently.

 

"Today, there are countries that can't produce coal anymore and we are one
of them. In the next 30 years, there will be countries with significant oil
but that can't produce. The only way to avoid this is to start today.

 

"This is what we saw and decided that we must bring our unit operating cost
to $10 or below and that's very practical. There are territories that unit
cost is from 3 to 4 dollars. So, nothing difficult to do because it's
possible.

 

"We are taking significant steps and making sure that those assets produce
and it's already paying off. We are doing it with our partners and within,
particularly the NPDC operations.

 

"We have seen a significant decline in the cost of production and the net
effect is that we must be more efficient such that cost becomes the drive
and not the business. Then ultimately we are able to produce low-cost fuel
and transit into the new environment," he said.

 

On the current market situation, the NNPC boss said that the search for
renewables has made it even more difficult for producers of fossil fuels to
survive in the industry.

 

He said: "Shortly before the coming of COVID-19, we were already seeing the
dwindling of fortunes in the oil industry because many things were
happening.

 

"Demand was going down, transitions are happening, people are looking for
other choices and nations have made the decision not to make further
investment in fossil fuels.

 

"The combination of that was what we were seeing before COVID-19, despite
that economic activities were going on all over the world.

 

"As we speak now, we still haven't recovered demand and it's unlikely that
we recover this demand to pre-COVID levels, not to talk of making
improvement and even when they do, the revenue that will come from there
will be challenged even into 2021 and beyond."

 

While harping on the need to deepen gas penetration, domestically and for
export, he stated that the NLNG train 7 would make a tremendous impact,
especially given that Nigeria made more money from gas during the pandemic.

 

"We need to focus on technology, focusing on gas, reducing upstream cost is
everything and also reducing production costs. All these will not happen if
we don't have the right fiscal environment.

 

"There's enormous work going on to ensure the PIB comes on the table. The
end result will be clarity around our fiscal environment and to know where
we are going in 30 years because we will have a stable fiscal environment,
more opportunities, and become more competitive.

 

"By the half of next year, I believe we will be able to deliver on the PIB
and ultimately, the cost will become an issue because, with more
competition, there will be more reward for production and more investment,"
he stated.-This Day.

 

 

 

Kenya: Puzzle of Kenya Pipeline Tender Paid Before Bids

Kenya Pipeline Company paid a consultancy firm for a job it was yet to
advertise, then opened bids for the same job, raising concerns over tender
irregularities that left interested applicants chasing the wind in the
multimillion deal.

 

According to the 2019 audit report for the firm carried out by the Auditor
General, the unnamed firm was paid part of the Sh15 million for the job it
had not been awarded after which other competitors were invited to simply
rubberstamp the process.

 

The consultant who was undertaking forensic and security investigations at
KPC was given a deal irregularly before KPC tendered for the job, wasting
more resources and taking applicants through a futile tendering process
according to Auditor General Nancy Gathungu.

 

The tender was issued on March 8, 2018, an evaluation technical and
financial proposals followed on March 18 and 19th while the contract was
awarded on May 8th. The deal was then signed on June 12, according to the
report.

 

Sh1.5 million

 

"Examination of the documents submitted by the consultant for payment
implies the consultant was hired way before the procurement process started.
For instance, the first payment amounting to Sh1.5 million was made on 8th
March 2018, the same date the request for proposal was issued. The payment
was supported by an invoice dated 5th March 2018, which was long before the
contract was signed," Ms Gathungu wrote.

 

Read:Pipeline tender fate now lies with court

 

The consultant received the advance payment without presenting any bank
guarantees as required in the contract and which is also against the law.

 

The auditors also questioned the value derived in the Sh655 million supply
for hydrant pit valves used in the fuelling of aircrafts which were directly
procured in 2015 illegally.

 

Launched investigations

 

The management had defended the move to be based on the fact that the
supplier was also the manufacturer of the equipment without providing any
evidence to back the claim.

 

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission launched an investigation into the
supply which has seen some former staff of KPC taken to court.

 

"Whereas the spare parts delivered by the vendor were subject to EACC
investigation, the company put them to use only after EACC authorised their
use. However, the value of the items is yet to be recorded in the company
books and are not included in the assets reflected in the financial
statements," Ms Gathungu wrote.-Nation.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Petrol Price Cut - Oil Marketers Still Sell At N170 Per Litre -
Investigation

Barely a week after the Federal Government had slashed the price of petrol
from N170 to N162.44 per litre, oil marketers continue to sell the product
at N170, according to Vanguard investigation.

 

The investigation showed that the oil marketers, especially members of the
Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, and Major Oil Marketers
Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, still sell the product at N170 per litre in
many parts of Nigeria.

 

The marketers argued that they were not officially aware of any reduction,
stressing that they were never carried along on the matter.

 

In an interview with Vanguard, weekend, Chairman of MOMAN, who also doubles
as Managing Director, 11 Plc, Mr. Adetunji Oyebanji, said the 'planned
reduction' was not in the best interest of the downstream sector.

 

According to him, "We are completely in the dark as to how the price was
arrived at, what the components are and other details that operators in the
sector are expected to know and make meaningful business decisions.

 

"This uncertainty and policy somersaults will not augur well for the sector.
We acknowledge that times are hard but we need to think of the long-term
sustainability of the sector, which still demands much investment to grow
and create new jobs."

 

He added: "My cost will not allow the reduction. We would not reduce the
price. It can only work if marketers have finished their old stocks
otherwise it will not be reduced."

 

However, another operator, who pleaded anonymity, said: "This is because if
you load before the price changes, you would be debited at the current rate
at the loss of N5 per litre. The development will not bring about hoarding
but some slight shortfall of product in circulation. The majority of the
marketers will not buy petrol until next week."

 

The price cut was agreed at a recent meeting between the organised labour,
including the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC),
and the Federal Government, where the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) agreed to cut N5 from N167.44.

 

According to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, the
price of petrol was expected to drop to N162.44 per litre.-Vanguard.

 

 

 

Nigeria: Exclusive - While Nigerians Lament Increased Electricity Tariff,
Regulatory Agency's Officials Share Billions As Perks

Since its establishment, the electricity regulator, NERC, has been mired in
financial scandals.

 

At a time many Nigerians are grumbling about the increase in electricity
tariff, commissioners and members of the board of the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission (NERC), have illegally paid themselves billions as
salaries, severance entitlements and to purchase exotic cars, which were
allegedly registered in their names, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

 

The decisions of the commissioners are in clear violations of the extant
regulations such as the Procurement Act 2007 and the Electric Power Sector
Reform Act 2005.

 

PREMIUM TIMES is in possession of a petition sent to the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission by a concerned individual, who did not want to
be named, with details of the illegal jumbo payments.

 

James Momoh, the immediate past chairperson of the commission, confirmed
that the payments were indeed made, adding that the decision was jointly
taken by the board.

 

NERC was established in October 2005 after the enactment of the Electric
Power Sector Reform Act 2005. The commission's mandate includes licensing,
determining operating codes and standards, establishing customer rights and
obligations and setting cost reflective of industry tariffs.

 

The agency, by law, is funded through 1.5 per cent of charges paid to the
distribution companies by electricity customers.

 

But since its establishment, the agency has been mired in financial
scandals.

 

Its first board, led by Ransome Owan, was dissolved in 2008 over an
allegation of corruption. An administrator was appointed to head the
commission until 2010 before a new board led by Sam Amadi was constituted.

 

However, the Mr Amadi-led board was also accused of illegally allocating
huge sums as severance packages for the board members, among other
allegations. The allegations were denied by Mr Amadi.

 

Exotic cars

 

According to the petitioner, the seven commissioners of NERC recently paid
N75 million each to themselves amounting to a total sum of N525 million for
the purchase of exotic cars. The cars were also registered in their names.

 

Earlier in 2018, the board, through its supervising ministry, submitted a
memo to President Muhammadu Buhari through the Federal Executive Council
(FEC) to seek approval for the purchase of sport utility vehicles (Toyota
Land Cruiser) for its seven commissioners to the tune of N450 million.

 

Irked by what was described as an insensitive request, the FEC reportedly
rejected the request and advised the agency to patronise Innoson Vehicle
Manufacturing Company Limited, a local vehicle manufacturing company that is
based in Anambra State.

 

Dissatisfied with the president's decision, the board reportedly
circumvented the directive by paying each of the commissioners N75 million.

 

According to the petitioner and other sources, the money was then used by
the commissioners to import sport utility vehicles from the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), while other sedan vehicles were purchased from other
unidentified sources.

 

The petition reads in part; "From these monies, six exotic and expensive
jeeps were bought from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and seven utility
vehicles from various sources with each commissioner having one SUV jeep and
another sedan vehicle, while the chairman only bought a sedan, having
inherited upon resumption, a newly acquired SUV as his operational vehicle.

 

"All procured vehicles were bought and registered in the names of these
commissioners despite the fact that they had, from inception, allocated to
themselves, the best of the commission's SUV and other cars as operational
vehicles, fully maintained by the commission, inclusive of attached drivers
by the commission for close to 42 months."

 

The petitioner added that the vehicles were bought less than 16 months to
the end of the tenure of the commissioners and that the process did not
follow the Public Procurement Act.

 

"The intent of this fraudulent and brazen act of the seven commissioners is
to go with these highly-priced vehicles upon the expiration of their tenure
in 16 months' time," the petition further noted.

 

According to Section 19 (a) of the Procurement Act 2007 "Subject to
regulations as may from time to time be made by the public procurement
bureau, under the direction of Council, a procuring entity shall, in
implementing its procurement plans: (a) advertise and solicit for bids in
adherence to this Act and guidelines as may be issued by the Bureau from
time to time."

 

Severance package

 

In a manner similar to its predecessor, the current board of the agency has
also allegedly approved the payment of huge sums to the commissioners as
severance packages even while its tenure is far from ending.

 

According to the petition, the illegal increase in the salaries of the
commissioner amounting to about 200 per cent of the approved scale by the
National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, has further increased what
each of the commissioners budgeted for themselves as severance package.

 

"The current remuneration of the commissioners of NERC is also against the
directives of the house committee on power as shown in the attached report.
The commissioners also approved and paid themselves a humongous sum as
Covid-19 palliative and special duties allowance with total disregards to
the same section of the Act," the petitioner wrote.

 

According to the report referred to by the petitioner, the chairperson of
the NERC board currently earns an annual income of N83.4 million as against
N59.9 million approved by the wages commission.

 

Arbitrary salary increase/ Appointment of aides

 

The commissioners also jerked up their salaries and emoluments in total
disregard for Section 42, Subsection 1 (a) of the Electric Power Sector
Reform Act 2005. The act recommends that payments of salaries and emoluments
to the commissioners and staff of the agency must be approved by the
National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

 

According to the petition, the commissioners allocated more than N320
million as severance packages to each of themselves. Their aides and those
of their predecessors, who were said to have been appointed illegally, were
also beneficiaries of the severance largesse.

 

In violation of the federal government's circular referenced B63833/73 of
January 7, 2000, which pegs political appointees capable of appointing
special and personal assistants to ministers and special advisers to the
President, the board is said to have consistently approved the appointment
of personal assistants and special advisers to all the commissioners.

 

The aides, who are appointed from outside the commission, are reportedly
indiscriminately placed on various ranks with "remuneration well above N13
million per annum."

 

Meanwhile, a 2013 audit report from the office of the Auditor General of the
Federation on the agency, frowned on such appointments, and demanded
retrieval of all the financial benefits enjoyed by such appointees from
their principals.

 

However, rather than heeding the caution of the auditor general, the
incumbent board of the commission allegedly went on to pay severance
packages of up to N12 million to each of the former aides to the
ex-commissioners.

 

The auditor general's report, which is contained in a memo dated April 30,
2013 and referenced DCS/MUC.189/CORP/5, listed nine "illegal" aides
appointed by the then commissioners to include Bubara Dakolo, Sam Okoro,
Falua Ayoka, Maude Buba, Ogbu Dennis, among others.

 

The memo reads in part; "These appointments, however, contravenes the
provision of Circular Ref. No. B.63833/73 dated January 7, 2000, which
implied that only Hon. Ministers and Special Advisers to Mr. President are
entitled to and can appoint one SA and one PA each from outside the service.
Therefore, the appointment of SA and PA by political office holders such as
chairman and commissioners of the commission who are not in the category
identified in the circular was wrong and improper.

 

"More so, the various sums paid to these assistants in the form of salaries,
allowances, DTA, estacode, etc, are viewed as illegal disbursement of public
funds since their appointment clearly violates the provision of extant
circular."

 

The memo, therefore, recommended official disengagement of the assistants,
and that "amounts so far paid to each of these assistants in form of
salaries, allowances, duty tour allowances and estacodes allowances, etc,
should be ascertained and recovered from each of the commissioners who
enjoyed their services and evidence of recovery should be forwarded to my
office for confirmation."

 

PREMIUM TIMES cannot ascertain whether the refunds were made, but further
findings revealed that the circular referenced by the auditor general has
not been vacated by the government.

 

Budgeting N2bn for office partitioning

 

In its 2021 budget proposal, the agency allocated N2 billion for the
partitioning and furnishing of its eight-storey headquarters' building.

 

This angered the House of Representatives' committee on power, especially
following the failure of the then chairperson of the commission, Mr Momoh,
to give details of the budgetary allocation.

 

The lawmakers threatened to delete the allocation from the agency's proposal
if they could not be provided with contract sum and other details.

 

But in less than 24 hours after the lawmakers' decision, the agency, on
November 5, posted a statement on its website, denying what was contained in
its budget proposal submitted to lawmakers.

 

The statement, which was simply credited to the management of the agency,
stated that; "The Commission further clarifies that no contracts in the sum
of NGN2bn (Two Billion Naira) have been awarded to any person or company for
the purpose of renovating and/or furnishing of the head office complex in
Abuja. The ONLY capital project included in the 2021 budgetary appropriation
is a request for the provision of a sum of NGN294,064,276 for the
partitioning and furnishing of the head office complex in Abuja. This
project is being implemented in phases in alignment with the projected cash
flows of the Commission and in accordance with the approval granted by the
Federal Executive Council at its meeting of July 11, 2018."

 

I'm ready for handcuffs - Ex-chair

 

Speaking on the phone with our reporter, the immediate past chairperson of
the commission, Mr Momoh, confirmed that the EFCC had earlier raised similar
queries with the commission and that responses were already submitted to the
anti-graft body.

 

He, however, declined further comments on the matter, saying he had already
stepped down and that his successor and former deputy, Sanusi Garba, was in
the best position to answer PREMIUM TIMES' questions.

 

"I appreciate that you are asking me these questions. Maybe I will refer you
to talk to the new chair of NERC. I stepped down last week. So I can no
longer be answering official questions. You can call the new chairman,
Sanusi Garba," he said.

 

Mr Momoh, however, noted that similar questions were asked by the EFCC and
answers "were given when I was there."

 

"It will not be proper for me to speak on behalf of the commission now
because I have handed over everything in my possession to my successor. So
Sanusi should be able to answer you. More so, the decisions of the
commission were not reached by one person. They are collective decisions and
if there is any allegation, it is the six or seven plus one that must take
responsibility. I'm ready whenever you are set to handcuff us. So I have not
run out of the country yet," Mr Momoh added.

 

Meanwhile, Mr Momoh also expressed regret that he could not complete his
five-year term of office having attained the 70-year-age which the Act
recommends as the age limit for any official of the agency.

 

PREMIUM TIMES had exclusively reported Mr Momoh's appeal to President
Muhammadu Buhari to be granted an exception to continue his term in office.
But the president instead nominated Mr Garba, an engineer from Katsina, to
take over as the chairperson.

 

"Even though my appointment was for five years, it is the prerogative of Mr.
President to allow me to continue as chair. That was not done, so a new
chair is in place. He is Sanusi Garba. My appointment was terminated based
on age since they said the Act says so. But the Act also forgets to state
that when you are given an appointment for a five-year term, you are meant
to serve out your term. But unfortunately, they didn't follow my appointment
letter," he told our reporter on the phone.

 

Incumbent chairperson keeps mum

 

When contacted, the new NERC chairperson neither picked calls to his two
telephone lines nor responded to both text and WhatsApp messages sent to
him.

 

But the agency's spokesperson, Michael Faloseyi, said though he does not
attend the board meeting of the commission, he could confirm that the
allegations are spurious.

 

Speaking on the phone with our reporter, Mr Faloseyi said; "The commission
is a credible organisation; we don't engage in anything without following
due processes. And as far as I'm concerned, all the issues raised are
considered rather spurious. There is no truth in all the issues raised. But
you must know that I don't attend board meetings. However, the commission
has been transparent enough to communicate most of its decisions
appropriately. So most of the issues being raised are considered
non-existent and spurious. They are a figment of some people's
imagination."-Premium Times.

 

 

Uganda: MTN Amplifies Youth Voices Through Buzz Teenz Awards

Telecom giant MTN Uganda under its youth-engagement platform, MTN pulse was
one of the sponsors of the first-ever virtual Buzz Teeniez Awards (BTAs)
that happened over the weekend.

 

For 13 years now, the Teenagers have been awarding their outstanding
entertainment acts and last Sunday, they once again awarded their best
entertainers ranging from artistes to DJs. The BTAs are Uganda's longest
standing awards.

 

Crysto Panda was the day's biggest winner, walking away with the coveted
"Teeniez Artist of the year' Award as well as three other awards for the
best male artiste, best break-out artiste and best teeniez collabo. B2C,
Sheebah, Spice Diana, Karole Kasita, and DJ Slick Stuart and Roja also got
recognized by the Teeniez for their outstanding entertainment works.

 

This year's BTAs brought to life two new categories particularly targeting
fashion and rap talent. For his dope lines, Cabella1 was named the first
ever Teeniez Underground Rapper, earning himself a mentorship and a free
song recording with Artin Pro.

 

He also won 10 GB MTN data per month for 6 months courtesy of MTN Pulse.
Other winners of the 10 GB data from MTN are; Karole Kasita, Crysto Panda,
Mun G, DJ Slick Stuart and Roja.

 

Commenting about MTN's involvement in the BTAs, Hellen Kirungi the MTN
Uganda youth segment manager said that: "We are happy to bring the Pulse
lifestyle to Buzz Teeniez Awards. This platform has given the youth a voice
in the world of entertainment and as MTN, we want to amplify that voice
through our youth platform, MTN Pulse."

 

MTN Pulse is youth dedicated platform through which MTN empowers the youth
with offers such as; data bundles, music streaming, video uploads, games,
career placement and advice among others.

 

The MTN Pulse app is packed with hot data offers, killer deals, legit games,
dope music and awesome freebies that keep youth living it up with #NoFear
all day, every day.-Observer.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Zimbabwe

National Unity Day

Zimbabwe

22/12/2020

 


 

Christmas Day

 

25/12/2020

 


 

Boxing Day

 

26/12/2020

 


 

New Year’s Day

 

01/01/2021

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


ART

Seed co Int.

Dairibord

 


Starafrica

Medtech

Turnall

 


Seed co

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


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