Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 February 2020

Wed Feb 5 10:36:21 CAT 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 05 February 2020

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ü  IMF lowers Uganda growth projection, cites oil investment delays

ü  Turkey's Karpowership looks to plug South African power gap

ü  South African retailer Edcon sells 167 CNA stores

ü  Vodacom to launch 5G services in South Africa in 2020

ü  Egypt's CIB proposes raising $951 mln for new expansion

ü  Glencore's 2019 cobalt up, copper down; share price rises

ü  Egypt to sell a 45% stake of Banque du Caire in the first half of 2020

ü  Angola's Endiama expects diamond output to top 10 mln carats in 2020

ü  Anglo American to decide this year on fate of South African thermal coal assets

ü  Tesla: Is the car firm really worth $150bn?

ü  Ryanair rapped over low emissions claims

ü  Rockstar Games founder Dan Houser leaves studio

ü  Disney+ takes on Netflix as 28 millions subscribers sign up

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IMF lowers Uganda growth projection, cites oil investment delays

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda’s economy is likely to grow by 6% in the 2019/2020 (July-June) financial year, down from an earlier projection of 6.3%, due to delays in the public investment needed to start oil production, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

“Downside risks have increased linked to uncertainty related to oil production,” the Washington DC-based fund said in a statement published on Wednesday. Its initial forecast had been issued last year.

It added that “the electoral period, and the complex external context” also weighed on the growth outlook.

Delays in providing key pieces of infrastructure like a pipeline and a refinery have prevented the start of oil production in the country.

Crude reserves in fields in Uganda’s west were discovered about 14 years ago and authorities now say production may start at the earliest in 2022, although ongoing disagreements with international oil firms may further delay that date.

The fields are owned by France’s Total, China’s CNOOC and Britain’s Tullow Oil, with each holding an equal stake.

Uganda is also due to hold a presidential election next year and incumbent Presidential Yoweri Museveni,75, in power since 1986, is expected to seek re-election.

He will likely face a strong challenge from pop star-turned- lawmaker Robert Kyagulanyi who uses his popular music and youthful energy to amass support.

The IMF also said the government was experiencing “large expenditure pressures” that were straining the budget and fuelling public borrowing. It urged the government to keep to a realistic budget and maintain debt sustainability.

Uganda’s public debt has ballooned in recent years due to large loans from China and is seen surpassing the crucial 50% of GDP threshold in the 2021/2022 financial year.

The projected revenue for the 2019/20 financial year could fall short by 9% amid delays in implementation of some planned tax-generating measures.

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Turkey's Karpowership looks to plug South African power gap

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Turkey’s Karpowership, one of the world’s largest powership firms, has submitted a plan to South Africa to provide “several” ships capable of plugging a severe power shortage in the country, a senior company official said on Tuesday.

South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom has regularly cut power over the past year, hobbling economic growth in Africa’s most industrialised country as unreliable coal-fired plants struggle to generate enough electricity to meet demand.

In December, South Africa’s energy department issued a request for information (RFI) to source between 2,000 and 3,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation capacity that could be connected in the shortest time, at the least cost.

“We have made a submission to the department as of last Friday and they received information on what is possible, where and how we would look to do it,” said Patrick O’Driscoll, global sales director at Karpowership.

“We have identified several locations that we believe are potential injection points,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of an African mining conference.

Karpowership currently provides around 4,100MW of power from its fleet of ships, mainly in eight African nations but also in Cuba, across the Middle East and Asia, as well as in Indonesia.

It has 25 powerships - built at its shipyard in Turkey - operational today and a construction pipeline in excess of 4,400MW of new vessels, O’Driscoll said.

Each ship, which anchors off-shore and connects to the electricity grid, is capable of providing a range of power options from 30MW to around 600MW and contracted for different lengths of time.

“It’s no secret that Karpowership has the ability to respond now, so speed of delivery has been paramount to all of the work we’ve done in Africa,” said O’Driscoll.

Illustrating the point, he said the company recently delivered and operated a 120MW contract in Senegal within nine weeks.

South Africa’s RFI calls for commercial operation following financial close of between three to six months or six to 12 months.

The powerships could run on multiple fuels, mainly natural gas and liquefied natural gas but also diesel, an important factor for cash-strapped Eskom.

Eskom has said it spends billions of rand annually to supply diesel for its open cycle gas turbines, which it uses during emergency supply constraints to help keep the national electricity grid stable.

“I can give guarantees and assurances that Karpowership will be significantly less, maybe even half the cost of those peakers,” he said of Eskom’s open cycle gas turbines.

South African retailer Edcon sells 167 CNA stores

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African retail group Edcon said on Tuesday it was selling stationery business CNA to a consortium majority owned by Astoria Investments.

The sale, which is subject to regulatory approvals, involves 167 CNA stores as well as all brands and trademarks, Edcon said in a statement, without giving any more details on the transaction.

“As I have always said, CNA is an important but not a strategic part of the Edcon business, as it is not focused on clothing, beauty and home categories, and we would only sell if it’s good for CNA,” Edcon CEO Grant Pattison said.

“The new owners have the muscle and extensive management focus and leadership expertise to invest in the business.”

Astoria operates from Mauritius and has small stakes in firms including Admiral Group Alphabet Inc, Johnson & Johnson and Home Depot.

Edcon, which owns department chain Edgars and clothing retailer Jet, is in the middle of a turnaround plan, having secured 2.7 billion rand ($183 million) in cash and rent deductions as part of a plan to recapitalise the group.

The turnaround plan also entails closing non-performing stores, reducing store space, rebranding Edgars’ beauty stores and merging its home stores with Edgars.

“The ongoing process of consolidating, merging and rebranding of the businesses, will ensure an offering of a selected set of private and some international brands, while also being a fashion and beauty retailer that provides credit,” Pattison added.

CNA, founded in 1896 to sell newspapers in Johannesburg, sells books, stationery, magazines and gift wrapping products.

($1 = 14.7820 rand)

Vodacom to launch 5G services in South Africa in 2020

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Vodacom Group, South Africa’s biggest telecoms company by value, expects to offer 5G mobile services in its home market this year thanks to a recent roaming agreement with Liquid Telecom, Chief Executive Shameel Joosub said on Tuesday.

Last month Liquid Telecom said it would launch the first fifth generation (5G) wholesale roaming service in South Africa in early 2020, using its share of the 3.5 GHz spectrum and allowing mobile network operators to have open access to the new network.

“Having been the first network to commercially launch 5G in Africa through Vodacom Lesotho, we expect to be able to launch 5G services in South Africa this year,” Joosub said in a statement.

“This is possible thanks to a recent roaming agreement with Liquid Telecom, as 5G spectrum is largely unassigned in South Africa,” he added.

Although data-only mobile operator Rain launched the first commercial fixed-wireless 5G network in parts of Johannesburg and Tshwane in 2019, Vodacom will be the first incumbent operator to offer commercial mobile 5G services across the country.

Both Vodacom, majority owned by Britain’s Vodafone, and rival MTN have been running pilots of the super-fast next-generation technology using spectrum from the regulator that they are not yet permitted to commercialise.

Mobile operators have complained about delayed spectrum allocation, which is needed to roll out 5G.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa told an investment conference in November that his government had started the process of releasing spectrum and that a policy framework had been published.

Joosub also said that Vodacom’s 4G capacity in South Africa would expand after it agreed a revised roaming deal with Rain in an environment “where delays in assigning available spectrum will constrain capacity for all networks”.

Egypt's CIB proposes raising $951 mln for new expansion

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB) is proposing to issue up to 15 billion Egyptian pounds ($951 million) in financial instruments to fund expansion after rapid growth in 2019, its board said on Tuesday.

The bank’s consolidated net income rose 23% in 2019 to 11.8 billion pounds, it reported late on Monday.

The board authorised its chairman to call an extraordinary general assembly to approve the proposal, it said in a statement sent to the Egyptian stock exchange.

“Moving into 2020, we remain positive about the economic outlook and confident about CIB’s ability to ride out market variations,” it said in a statement accompanying its 2019 results.

The board also proposed increasing the bank’s paid-in capital by 4.925 billion Egyptian pounds to 19.702 billion pounds by distributing one free share for every three existing, the statement said.

It also proposed a cash dividend of 1.25 pounds per share for 2019.

CIB shares were up 0.27% higher by 1215 GMT.

($1 = 15.7700 Egyptian pounds)

Glencore's 2019 cobalt up, copper down; share price rises

LONDON (Reuters) - Glencore said its 2019 copper output fell 6% and battery mineral cobalt rose 10% as it boosted production at its Katanga mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, offsetting the impact of the early closure of another operation.

The news drove Glencore’s shares 5% higher by 1000 GMT, outperforming London peers, as analysts took the view Glencore was overcoming operational problems in Africa.

The miner shut its Mutanda mine in Congo ahead of schedule in November in response to falling cobalt prices and rising costs and taxes.

Glencore, whose CEO Ivan Glasenberg has said he may be replaced this year, has been battling multiple issues, including political and operational issues in Congo and Zambia, and investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and Britain’s Serious Fraud Office.

The problems have weighed on Glencore’s shares, which shed 19% last year.

Analysts now predict a rally, saying the company is too cheap and operational problems have been tackled.

“Glencore continues to screen as a strong value proposition,” Tyler Broda of RBC Capital Markets said in a note.

Glencore on Tuesday said its 2019, copper output reached 1.37 million tonnes while cobalt climbed 42,200 tonnes. In the fourth quarter, copper output fell to 355,400 tonnes and cobalt production dropped to 11,900 tonnes.

It should benefit from the rise of electric vehicles, which use high volumes of copper and cobalt.

But the company, which is the world’s biggest shipper of export quality coal, is under mounting pressure from investors concerned about the need to phase out fossil fuel to lower climate-warming emissions.

Production of zinc, ferrochrome and nickel fell slightly but the company kept its full year 2020 outlook unchanged.

Also on Tuesday, Glencore appointed former China Molybdenum International CEO Kalidas Madhavpeddi to its board. China Moly, like Glencore, operates in Congo.

Egypt to sell a 45% stake of Banque du Caire in the first half of 2020

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s state-owned Banque Misr seeks to offer a stake of up to 45% of it Banque du Caire unit on the Egyptian Stock Exchange during the first half of 2020, its chairman Mohamed Eletreby said.

The bank also is open to sell part of the stake to a foreign investor during the initial public offering (IPO), added Eletreby during an event late on Monday.

A deal to sell Banque du Caire was cancelled in 2008 and an IPO has been postponed repeatedly over the past three years. Its chairman and CEO Tarek Fayed said in August that the bank expects to sell minority stake by early 2020.

“We want to sell a stake of up to 45% ... the selling will be inside Egypt, there will be no global depository receipts (GDR),” said Eletreby.

A roadshow was taking place in the United States to sell Banque du Caire shares, he added.

“It is possible that a foreign investor gets a stake... The roadshow will decide,” he said.

Angola's Endiama expects diamond output to top 10 mln carats in 2020

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Angola’s state-owned diamond firm, Endiama, expects to increase production to 10.3 million carats this year, from 9.12 million carats in 2019, the company said in a presentation released at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town on Tuesday.

It said it expected revenues from diamond sales to rise to $1.65 billion in 2020, from $1.26 billion last year.

Anglo American to decide this year on fate of South African thermal coal assets

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Global miner Anglo American expects to decide this year whether to sell its South African thermal coal business, Chief Executive Mark Cutifani told Reuters on Monday.

Anglo American and others have come under growing pressure to reduce their exposure to coal because of concern over climate change, with South32 having already launched the sale of its South African thermal coal operation.

“I expect we will take a view this year. But we will consult with our key stakeholders before we do that,” Cutifani said on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba industry conference in Cape Town.

Tesla: Is the car firm really worth $150bn?

When Tesla's market value crossed $100bn (£76.7bn) two weeks ago, overtaking Volkswagen, sceptics scoffed.

But on Tuesday, it zoomed past $150bn as shares gained more than 13%, rising to more than $887 apiece.

The jump means the firm's share price has more than tripled in the last three months, outpacing the predictions of even some of the most optimistic analysts tracking the company.

It now ranks as the world's second most valuable car company. So what's behind the turnaround?

Positive performance

Less than two years ago, things weren't looking quite as rosy for the carmaker.

The firm, which has reported losses every year since its start, faced a cash crunch amid production delays and heavy spending.

Doubts about performance also dogged chief executive Elon Musk, who had a reputation for making promises but failing to deliver.

Tesla's numbers have since improved. The firm has now reported two quarters of profit and its new factory in Shanghai was up and running more quickly than expected.

Signs also suggest buyer demand has remained healthy, despite fears of a slowdown. Its new Cybertruck drew in about 200,000 orders, even after an embarrassing incident where its "tough" windows smashed during an on-stage demonstration.

The firm has also avoided self-inflicted mistakes, like the tweets from Mr Musk in 2018, which drew allegations of price manipulation, forcing him to step down as chair of the company.

"It has become very clear to investors that Tesla has a number of long-term sustainable growth drivers that are very difficult to dispute," says Rolf Bulk, an analyst at New Street Research.

Wolfe Research analysts also said they were "a little surprised by the magnitude" of the share price increase but "the abundance of positives explains the move".

In a note to clients last week, they wrote: "There may be ups and downs, but our view is the stock has found a new range."

Are these prices sustainable?

Rolf Bulk believes that the recent share price increase suggests that some investors betting against the firm have been squeezed. Or forced to "close out positions", a process that involves buying shares, which drives up prices.

But S3 Partners, which tracks such activity, said its research shows that recent buying has mostly been done by a mix of everyday investors and big firms.

Tesla's stock has however been subject to big swings historically.

Some analysts said prices could dive again, especially given the investment it is making in a new factory in Europe and the fact that the outbreak of coronavirus has forced its Shanghai factory to shut down temporarily.

The prospect of a weak first quarter is "something that is not fully appreciated by Wall Street today," Mr Bulk added.

What about other carmakers?

Tesla delivered more than 367,500 cars last year - up 50% from 2018. It has forecast sales of about 500,000 this year and analysts project that Tesla could hit two million by 2030.

Its deliveries remain far smaller than its rivals.

Volkswagen delivered almost 11 million vehicles last year, while Toyota - which has a market value of more than $230bn - sold more than nine million in the first 11 months of 2019.

However, experts say Tesla's electric car technology continues to lead the industry. The firm might be able to sustain that lead for longer than they had expected, even as demand for electric vehicles grows.

There is even speculation that the company's investment in battery power could put it in a position to be a supplier to other leading automotive companies.

In a recent note to clients Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said if Tesla could achieve all those outcomes, it might be worth about where it is trading today.

He added that that was "an aggressive 'blue sky' scenario that could take 10 to 20 years to achieve, if it could even be done at all".--BBC

Ryanair rapped over low emissions claims

Claims made by Ryanair about its carbon emissions have been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog.

Europe's biggest airline by passenger numbers had billed itself as the region's "lowest emissions airline" and a "low C02 emissions airline".

But the Advertising Standards Authority ruled Ryanair's claims in press, TV and radio adverts could not be backed up.

Ryanair hit back in a statement saying consumers could halve their carbon footprint if they switched to it.

In adverts last year, the Dublin-based operator claimed to have "the lowest carbon emissions of any major airline" and to be a "low fares, low CO2 emissions" carrier "based on the top 27 European airlines".

Complainants to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the adverts were misleading and could not be substantiated. By their nature, airlines do not have low emissions, critics said.

Aviation 'not the enemy' in climate battle

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In evidence to the ASA, Ryanair argued its green credentials were based on it having the youngest aircraft fleet using the newest most fuel-efficient engines, and flying 97% full on average.

Ryanair said its claims were supported using data from the European aviation organisation Eurocontrol and airline efficiency rankings published by Brighter Plant, a provider of carbon and energy calculations.

Clearcast and Radiocentre, used by companies to review adverts before they go public, both gave their backing.

Not clear

However, the ASA took issue with some of the figures and the definition of "a major airline" for the purposes of assessing emissions comparisons.

An airline efficiency ranking used by Ryanair was dated 2011, "and was therefore of little value as substantiation for a comparison made in 2019," the ASA said.

"Consequently, we concluded that the claims 'Europe's… Lowest Emissions Airline' and 'low CO2 emissions' were misleading," the regulator said.

The adverts must not be repeated "in their current form," the ASA ruled, adding: "We told Ryanair to ensure that when making environmental claims, they held adequate evidence to substantiate them and to ensure that the basis of those claims were made clear."

Ryanair said it would comply with the ruling, but in a statement underlined its claim that emissions per passenger are 25% lower "than other major airlines".

The airline said: "Ryanair is delighted with its latest environmental advertising campaign, which communicates a hugely important message for our customers.

"The single most important thing any customer can do to halve their carbon footprint is switch to Ryanair."

The airline also said it would be making changes to claims on its website, which is not regulated in the UK but by the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ISAI).

The ISAI said in a statement it "is assessing the advertising in question. In line with due process, we will not be commenting further at this stage."

Carbon offset

Aviation has become a target of environmental activists, and there are signs so-called "flight shaming" is starting to have an impact on travel habits.

Against this backdrop, the industry has become more proactive about what it is doing to cut its carbon footprint.

On Monday, a group called Sustainable Aviation, whose members include Heathrow Airport, British Airways, EasyJet, Rolls Royce, Airbus and air traffic controller Nats, promised to cut its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050.

In 2018, Ryanair launched a voluntary carbon offset scheme, which has so far raised €2.5m (£2.1m) according to the airline's website. The money is invested in environmental projects in Ireland and abroad.

But last April, Ryanair was named as the only airline included in a list of Europe's top 10 polluters, according to data from the EU's Transport & Environment group.--BBC

Rockstar Games founder Dan Houser leaves studio

Co-founder of Rockstar Games, Dan Houser, is leaving the firm he started with his brother Sam in 1998.

Mr Houser was a main creative force behind two of the firm's biggest series, Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead.

His departure comes after an "extended break", Rockstar's parent company Take-Two Interactive said.

Rockstar's series have often courted controversy, but are among the best-selling and most critically-acclaimed games of the past two decades.

Mr Houser will officially depart in March, according to a notice Take-Two sent to US financial regulators. His brother Sam Houser will remain as the company's president.

Dan Houser was one of the lead writers for the Grand Theft Auto series, as well as Rockstar's other hits, Bully and Red Dead Redemption. He also worked as a voice actor on some of the company's projects.

In its filing, Take-Two wrote it was "extremely grateful" for Mr Houser's contributions and that the remaining team was focused on upcoming projects.

Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013, was one of the most commercially successful games of the decade, selling well over 100 million copies.

Rockstar's controversial success

The Grand Theft Auto series, as the name suggests, is mostly about stealing cars. It puts players in the shoes of a criminal, wanting to build an empire - allowing them to engage in robbery, murder, or soliciting prostitution.

The violent and sexual nature of the games has made the company a frequent target of criticism by politicians and special interest groups.

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But the company has also recently had to battle controversy among its fans.

In 2018, while the company was creating the award-winning and hugely successful Red Dead Redemption 2, Dan Houser told Vulture that the team was working 100-hour weeks.

Media captionWATCH: Inside Rockstar: Red Dead Redemption 2

The comment caused a stir at a time when many game journalists and fans were beginning to discuss so-called "crunch", where staff work to meet tight deadlines for a game's release.

Even during the creation of the first Red Dead Redemption in 2010, spouses and partners of the game's developers wrote an open letter accusing Rockstar of working them "to the brink".

Yet Rockstar is still one of the few gaming companies that take years rather than months to develop new games.

The company did not announce Mr Houser's replacement or respond to requests for further comment.

Take-Two's stock fell 5% following the announcement of Mr Houser's departure-BBC

Disney+ takes on Netflix as 28 millions subscribers sign up

Sign-ups for Disney's new streaming service have shot past expectations, as audiences respond to the offering of Star Wars, cartoons and other classics.

Walt Disney said about 28.6 million people had signed up for Disney+ since it started in November.

The on-demand video service, which costs $6.99 (£5.36) per month, is Disney's answer to the rising competition from Netflix.

Disney chief Bob Iger called the launch "enormously successful".

Disney+ now has almost as many subscribers as the firm's earlier on-demand streaming service Hulu, which was founded in 2007 and offers shows from US television.

"The launch of Disney+ has been enormously successful, exceeding even our greatest expectations," Mr Iger said on a call with analysts after the release of the company's quarterly earnings.

Disney also warned investors that its operating income in the next quarter could take a nearly $300m hit due to the closure of its parks in China.

That figure assumes the coronavirus outbreak keeps Disney's resorts in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed for two months, and takes into account the fact that visitors to Hong Kong had already dropped significantly due to protests there.

'Accessible' price

Disney announced in 2017 that it would create its own streaming service, aiming to combat the declining audiences for its traditional business as viewers move online.

Shortly after, it announced a deal to buy the bulk of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox entertainment empire, as it looked to bulk up its catalogue to compete.

"I'm enormously proud of what we have accomplished in a relatively short period of time and believe we are well positioned to not only withstand the disruptive forces ... but to thrive," Mr Iger said.

Most of the current subscribers come from the US and about half signed up directly through the website, he said. He attributed part of the appeal to Disney's "very accessible" price.

UK launch

International expansion of Disney+ is the firm's next priority, he added.

The service is currently available in five countries, including the US and Canada. It is due to launch in the UK and other countries in western Europe next month. Mr Iger said the service will also launch in India in March.

Disney said revenues in the quarter were up 36% year-on-year. However profits declined 25% from $2.8bn to $2.1bn, amid heavy spending on its on-demand offerings.

Revenues in its direct-to-consumer unit - which includes Hulu and Disney+ - increased to $4bn, from $0.9bn, but operating loss widened from $136m to $693m.

Disney shares rose more than 2% in after-hours trade.--BBC

Mobile operators clash on 'notspots' costs

An agreement to share network equipment in order to improve phone coverage in rural areas has hit a stumbling block over costs.

Rival operators are unhappy at the price BT-owned EE is asking them to pay to share its equipment.

O2's chief said the fees being sought by its rival "may undermine the viability of the project".

BT said the costs were based on the value of the masts and other investments it had made over the years.

A key meeting is due to take place on Wednesday to hammer out the details, the BBC has learned.

No signal

The £1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) agreement was announced in October and aims to get the mobile operators working together to extend the geographic coverage of 4G to 95% of the UK by 2025.

Many rural areas have only patchy service, and some have none at all.

The government is contributing £500m towards the costs, with the other half of the bill being footed by the mobile operators.

The Conservatives want the deal done as soon as possible - ideally in time for the Budget on 11 March - and has threatened to intervene if the operators cannot reach agreement.

The BBC understands that if the mobile operators do fail to agree, the government will consider other ways of achieving its 95% coverage goal.

It will, said one industry insider, make delays to improving rural mobile coverage inevitable.

The Financial Times reported that BT wants to include 320 yet-to-be-built masts in the agreement and to charge 250% more than the existing commercial rate for rivals to access them.

One insider told the BBC it would be cheaper for operators to build their own masts.

BT has not revealed the commercial agreements it is hoping to sign with other operators but it is believed it will offer rivals a cheaper rate for masts on its emergency service network, which was partially funded by the government. There are several hundreds of these in rural locations.

Previously BT's chief executive Marc Allera has said the costs of sharing equipment needed to reflect the fact that EE has 4G coverage in "significantly more places than any other network".

"Finding an analogy here is tricky because this is complex, but I sometimes think of it like Sainsbury's building a new superstore in a rural area and being made to give away shelf space to Tesco, Lidl and Asda," he said in a blog.

Of the meeting this week BT told the BBC that it was "ready to go".

"We've proposed a far simpler and more pragmatic way for SRN to succeed, plus a way to reduce any taxpayer money by also including new sites that are being built by us in the future.

"It's now down to the industry to finalise the deal to get it done."

All the operators said they were committed to getting an agreement.

In a blog, O2 chief executive Mark Evans said: "The SRN requires all four mobile network operators to deliver additional investment and an unprecedented level of infrastructure-sharing; it requires the government to deliver planning policy reform and a modest level of funding."

Dave Dyson, chief executive of Three, said: "Enhancing mobile connectivity for the 9.3 million living in the UK's countryside requires a joined-up approach between the industry and government.

"A Shared Rural Network is the best way to do that, bringing mobile coverage to more places in the UK and giving people in rural areas a similar choice to those living in towns and cities."

And Vodafone told the BBC: "We remain committed to the Shared Rural Network scheme and are working towards reaching a final agreement."--BBC

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Companies under Cautionary

Bindura Nickel Corporation

Padenga Holdings

Delta Corporation

Meikles Limited

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