Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 12 February 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 12 February 2020

 


 

 


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ü  S.Africa's competition watchdog approves $1.7 bln Pioneer-Pepsico merger

ü  South African unions file court application over SAA job cuts

ü  South Africa Q4 unemployment rate unchanged at 29.1%

ü  South Africa's manufacturing output drops 5.9% year-on-year in December

ü  Total Chief dismisses Tullow Oil takeover idea

ü  Harmony Gold's rebounding profits give hunt for acquisitions fresh
impetus

ü  Egypt is talking with IMF about technical assistance - Cenbank governor

ü  Nigeria secures $1 mln U.S. grant to plan for gas-fired power plant

ü  South Africa's rand firms; focus shifts to data, Ramaphosa speech

ü  Burundi central bank bans foreign exchange bureaus for flouting official
rates

ü  UK trade will thrive despite border checks, says chancellor

ü  Samsung Galaxy S20 and Z Flip launch under shadow of coronavirus

ü  Tech giants face probe into deals going back a decade

ü  Ocado boss Tim Steiner bags £54m bonus

ü  Brexit: Border delays 'could cause fresh food problems'

ü  UK economy saw zero growth at the end of 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

S.Africa's competition watchdog approves $1.7 bln Pioneer-Pepsico merger

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Competition Commission conditionally
approved PepsiCo’s Inc $1.7 billion takeover of food and drinks producer
Pioneer Food Group Ltd on Tuesday, saying it is unlikely to lessen
competition in relevant markets.

 

PepsiCo struck a deal to buy South Africa’s Pioneer in July, lifting the
target firm’s shares and boosting a sector that has been hit by drought and
tough trading conditions.

 

The commission recommended that the Competition Tribunal, which makes the
final decision, approve the merger subject to public interest commitments,
it said in a statement.

 

Those include a moratorium on merger-related job cuts for a certain period,
and the creation of additional positions at the merged firm.

 

The company is also required to invest in the operations of the merged
company and the agricultural sector, and establish an enterprise development
fund.

 

It will also have to undertake a black empowerment deal to the value of at
least 1.6 billion rand ($108 million) “that will promote a greater spread of
ownership and participation by workers (and) historically disadvantaged
South Africans”.

 

($1 = 14.8152 rand)

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

South African unions file court application over SAA job cuts

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Two South African trade unions have filed an urgent
labour court application over planned job cuts at embattled South African
Airways (SAA), a spokeswoman for the National Union of Metalworkers of South
Africa said on Tuesday.

 

Analysts say the layoffs will be key to reviving the fortunes of SAA, which
is fighting for its survival after being placed under a form of bankruptcy
protection in December.

 

But unions say specialists appointed to try to rescue SAA are attempting to
push through the job cuts without following the country’s labour laws.

 

“We’ve gone to court in order to safeguard the rights of our members and to
ensure that proper legal process is followed if retrenchments do occur,”
NUMSA spokeswoman Phakamile Hlubi-Majola said.

 

She said unions were concerned that SAA’s business rescue practitioners
wanted to accelerate job cuts outside of the 60-day mandatory consultation
period provided for in the labour law’s section 189 process.

 

That is designed to give employees the right to challenge the fairness of
layoffs or to go on strike.

 

NUMSA and another union, the South African Cabin Crew Association, are also
seeking a second court order compelling the business rescue experts to
implement a training layoff scheme negotiated as part of a wage deal last
year.

 

The scheme would see a government training authority pay SAA workers that
could lose their jobs three-quarters of their salaries for a minimum of six
months while they are retrained.

 

Hlubi-Majola said unions expected their application to be heard on Thursday.
A spokeswoman for SAA’s business rescue team could not immediately comment.

 

 

 

South Africa Q4 unemployment rate unchanged at 29.1%

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at
29.1% in the final quarter of 2019 compared with the previous quarter,
official data showed on Tuesday.

 

There were 6.726 million people without jobs in the three months to December
31, from 6.734 million people in the prior quarter, Statistics South Africa
said its quarterly labour force survey.

 

The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes people who have
stopped looking for work, was 38.7%, slightly up from 38.5% in the previous
quarter.

 

 

 

South Africa's manufacturing output drops 5.9% year-on-year in December

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s manufacturing output fell 5.9%
year-on-year in December, its biggest drop since July 2014, after
contracting by 3.2% in November, the statistics agency said on Tuesday.

 

On a month-on-month basis factory production was down 2.8% in December and
fell 0.3% in the three months to the end of December, Statistics South
Africa said.

 

 

 

Total Chief dismisses Tullow Oil takeover idea

ABERDEEN, Scotland (Reuters) - Total Chief Patrick Pouyanne dismissed the
idea it might buy its partner in East Africa and Guyana, Tullow Oil, whose
share price slumped to 19-year lows in December over a string of bad news,
stoking takeover speculation.

 

Total is a partner in all growth markets for Tullow Oil whose market
capitalisation shrank to around 633 million pounds as of Wednesday from 3.28
billion pounds in September. It is slashing its workforce and restructuring
its portfolio.

 

Amid industry speculation about a potential Tullow takeover target, Pouyanne
told Reuters when asked whether Total might buy Tullow: “Stop dreaming...
No”.

 

As of late 2019, Tullow was saddled with $2.8 billion in debt, a hangover
from the last oil price crash which saw Brent crude futures plummet to below
$30 a barrel in 2016.

 

High debts can make buying assets a more attractive option than a corporate
sale.

 

Offshore Guyana, Tullow owns 60% and Total 25% of the Orinduik block,
estimated to hold around 5.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Total also
holds 25% in the Kanuku block, adjacent to Orinduik, in which Tullow holds
37.5%.

 

While two of Tullow’s previous wells in Orinduik produced heavy oil, calling
into question the quality of the reservoir, other wells targeting deeper
layers have produced lighter oil - reviving hopes for the commerciability of
wells targeting the so-called Upper Cretaceous.

 

Pouyanne said he expected two or three wells to be drilled offshore Guyana
this year. Total, Tullow and their Orinduik partner Eco are due to meet this
month and discuss next steps for their drilling off Guyana.

 

In Uganda and Kenya, Total and Tullow have partnered to bring the countries’
first oil projects onstream, but both projects have hit snags.

 

Onshore Uganda, a deal for Tullow to sell a chunk of its stake to Total,
fell through in August due to tax disputes with the government.

 

Uganda’s government said in December it had settled the dispute with the
companies, but they have not yet confirmed any such deal.

 

Pouyanne told Reuters discussions were still ongoing, but that Tullow’s
“financial issues” must also be dealt with.

 

In Kenya, Tullow and Total aim to reduce their stakes with a joint sale that
could see Tullow exit completely amid uncertainty over the project’s launch,
banking and industry sources said.

 

Tullow declined to comment.

 

 

 

Harmony Gold's rebounding profits give hunt for acquisitions fresh impetus

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s Harmony Gold Mining reported a
rebound in interim profits on Tuesday on the back of rising gold prices and
said it was looking for acquisitions in its home market, elsewhere in Africa
and Papua New Guinea.

 

CEO Peter Steenkamp said Harmony was in talks with parties about
acquisitions but would not comment on whether they included AngloGold
Ashanti’s sole remaining operation in South Africa, the world’s deepest gold
mine.

 

Harmony and precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater have both previously
expressed interest in acquiring AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine in South
Africa, as AngloGold looks to exit the country and pursue higher returns
elsewhere.

 

“We are continuously looking at potential acquisitions and growth
opportunities in both South Africa, Papua New Guinea and also, the rest of
Africa,” Steenkamp said.

 

Harmony would not shy away from deep level mining but would look for assets
with at least a million ounces of reserves, at least 10 years of life and
all-in-sustaining cost of round about a $1000/ounce, he said.

 

“We do have the expertise and the ability to run underground mines, so we
will not necessarily shy away from underground mines,” he said.

 

AngloGold’s CEO Kelvin Dushnisky told Reuters last week that the miner would
update the market later this month on the progress of the sale.

 

Harmony reported headline earnings per share, the main profit measure used
in South Africa, of 249 cents for the six months ended Dec. 31, rebounding
from a loss of 4 cents in the same period a year ago.

 

Earnings were boosted by a 19% climb in the group’s average gold price
during the six months, although it also faced production cuts in South
Africa due to nationwide power cuts, and rising operating costs.

 

Harmony said it had to cancel both a night and day shift in South Africa
after state utility Eskom imposed power cuts at short notice, resulting in a
production loss of around 80 kilograms to 90 kilograms in December.

 

The group’s total production costs worldwide rose 9% in July-December
because of annual and inflationary increases, higher labour costs and
increased electricity costs among other factors, it said.

 

Gold production for the six months fell 8% due to a reduction in underground
recovered grade mainly at its Kusasalethu operations, as well as the
cutbacks in South Africa.

 

In Papua New Guinea, Harmony’s joint gold-copper project with Australia’s
Newcrest Mining Ltd, the Wafi-Golpu project, has hit problems after the
Papua New Guinea government said in September that it wants to keep 40% of
gold produced from the project.

 

The proposed policy changes are part of a push by the South Pacific
archipelago to transform its mineral-rich economy amid a perceived lack of
benefits flowing from resources projects back to communities.

 

Newcrest said on Tuesday that the Papua New Guinea national court had
dismissed a stay order on work relating to the project, paving the way for
talks to resume on it with the Pacific country’s government.

 

“As we go forward then, we will start to renegotiate the terms of the
Wafi-Golpu,” Steenkamp said.

 

 

 

Egypt is talking with IMF about technical assistance - Cenbank governor

DUBAI (Reuters) - Egypt’s central bank governor said on Tuesday that Egypt
is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about technical
assistance regarding structural reforms.

 

Governor Tarek Amer added that the priority was to grow the economy.

 

 

 

Nigeria secures $1 mln U.S. grant to plan for gas-fired power plant

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria will get a grant of more than $1 million from the
U.S. government for technical and financial work on a power plant project in
the capital Abuja, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) said on
Tuesday.

 

The money will go towards the 1,350 megawatt NNPC-Abuja Independent Power
Project plant and NNPC will work with U.S. firms GE and Continuum
Associates, the USTDA and NNPC head Mele Kyari said at the Nigeria
International Petroleum Summit.

 

 

 

 

South Africa's rand firms; focus shifts to data, Ramaphosa speech

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand firmed early on Tuesday as
sentiment was helped by an apparent slowdown in coronavirus infections, with
focus shifting to domestic economic data and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s
state of the nation address later this week.

 

At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 14.9500 per dollar, 0.19% higher than its
previous close.

 

China reported 108 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total
number of people killed in the country to 1,016, yet the number of new cases
fell.

 

Traders were waiting for unemployment and manufacturing figures set to be
released later in the session, while retail and mining production numbers
are scheduled to be reported later in the week.

 

Markets will be watching out for Ramaphosa’s annual speech at the opening of
parliament on Thursday for clarity on policy and reform, amid power cuts
that have knocked confidence in the economy.

 

“The local calendar will be dominated this week by the state of the nation
address, with investors eager for clarity on recent comments relating to the
possible use of pension funds to reduce energy parastatal Eskom’s debt
burden,” said analysts at NKC African Economics.

 

State power utility Eskom is heavily indebted and its creaking fleet of
coal-fired plants have struggled to meet electricity demand, forcing the
firm to implement rotational power cuts.

 

The root cause of Eskom’s financial woes partly lie in massive cost overruns
at two huge coal plant projects, but it has also been hamstrung by
mismanagement and corruption scandals under previous executives.

 

In fixed income, the yield on the benchmark government bond due in 2026 was
down 1.5 basis points to 7.995%.

 

 

 

Burundi central bank bans foreign exchange bureaus for flouting official
rates

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Burundi’s central bank has suspended the licences of all
foreign exchange bureaus in the central African nation, saying the move was
aimed at weeding out those flouting official exchange rates.

 

Burundi has experienced a shortage of foreign exchange since 2015 after a
political crisis that started when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced in
April that year that he would seek a third term in office. He went on to win
the election the following July.

 

The European Union suspended financial support to Burundi in 2016, saying
Nkurunziza had not done enough to resolve the political and economic crisis.

 

Burundi’s central bank said in a statement late on Monday it had withdrawn
licences for foreign exchange bureaus for violating rules that allow them to
trade currency within an 18% margin of the official exchange rate of 1850
Burundi francs per dollar.

 

“The licenses which were given to the foreign exchange offices are
withdrawn,” the central bank said in the statement seen by Reuters on
Tuesday, adding the ban would take effect on Feb.15. 

 

The bank said commercial banks would however be allowed continue exchanging
currencies.

 

Police briefly detained more than 40 money traders in late 2019, accused of
violating the foreign exchange trading margins.

 

Typically traders turn to limited dollar supplies from neighbouring
Democratic Republic of Congo, which they were selling on the black market.

 

The franc has appreciated to 2,500 per dollar from 2,900 in recent days, and
traders said this would continue gaining ground due to traders slowing
imports, in part due to travel restrictions to China due the coronavirus
epidemic.

 

 

 

UK trade will thrive despite border checks, says chancellor

UK trade will thrive despite the introduction of UK border checks after the
Brexit transition period, the chancellor has said.

 

Sajid Javid admitted frictionless trade with the EU would be "over" but said
that Britain would have a "better future".

 

Earlier, an industry body warned border checks on imports could cause fresh
food supply problems.

 

But Mr Javid said supply chains "would be protected".

 

"Of course, we are not going to have completely frictionless trade because
we have left the [EU] customs union and single market," he told BBC
economics editor Faisal Islam.

 

"That is a deliberate decision, because we have a better future as an
independent sovereign nation trading with European friends, but also trading
more so with the rest of the world."

 

He said the government would defend automotive and other industries that
rely on frictionless trade, promising "complete equivalence".

 

"We are working closely with the car sector," he said. "We've been clear
there will be some changes but that can be done in a way that the sector...
continues to thrive."

 

Finance sector

Britain left the EU on 31 January but remains subject to its rules until the
end of the transition period on 31 December 2020.

 

The government has vowed to strike a trade deal by then, but some warn it
will not have time to reach a comprehensive agreement.

 

Commenting on Britain's goals, Mr Javid said he had urged the EU to consider
Britain's financial sector as "equivalent", in order to protect its access
to the bloc.

 

This was despite the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, having said
earlier on Tuesday that this was not up for discussion.

 

Border delays 'could cause fresh food problems'

The chancellor said he was confident the bloc would change its mind: "Look
back at withdrawal agreement, there were things that EU would reject... only
to change their mind later on."

 

He added there had been "private discussions" with the EU that made him
"very confident about the future".

 

Earlier, the British Retail Consortium warned that post-Brexit transition
border checks could cause fresh food supply problems unless there was a
"massive upgrade" in border facilities.

 

It said thousands of trucks, including those carrying fresh food, could be
held up at Channel ports.

 

The warning came after the government said the checks would mean extra
paperwork for both EU and UK firms.

 

Michael Gove, the minister in charge of Brexit preparations, told an event
on Monday that the end of frictionless trade was "inevitable".

 

"The UK will be outside the single market and outside the customs union, so
we will have to be ready for the customs procedures and regulatory checks
that will inevitably follow."--BBC

 

 

 

 

Samsung Galaxy S20 and Z Flip launch under shadow of coronavirus

Samsung is making all three models in its new flagship smartphone range
5G-compatible. The top-end Galaxy S20 also introduces a 100x zoom camera.

 

The firm also confirmed a new foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip. It uses "folding
glass" in its display and small fibres in its hinge to protect itself from
damage.

 

Several rivals plan their own handset launches over the coming weeks.

 

But the spread of the coronavirus poses a threat to production.

 

"The virus is going to affect the supply chain," said Ben Wood from the
consultancy CCS Insight.

 

"Although Samsung has diversified its manufacturing into places way beyond
China, there will still be components in these phones sourced from China."

 

Many factories in the country have delayed re-opening after its New Year
break because of fears the virus could spread in the workplace. China is
also the world's biggest smartphone market, and the outbreak has hit local
demand.

 

Samsung has suffered less impact than many of its rivals to date because it
makes most of its handsets in Vietnam, and sells relatively few phones to
Chinese consumers.

 

But TrendForce - a research firm - still predicts the virus will cause the
South Korean firm to produce 3% fewer devices than it might have in the
current quarter.

 

"I'm expecting that to mean some delays in delivering the new handsets,"
added Francisco Jeronimo an analyst at IDC.

 

Samsung told the BBC it was making its "best effort to minimise impact on
our operations".

 

The camera module on the S20 Ultra is thicker than those of the smaller
models

There are three S20 variants:

 

the basic model with a 6.2in (15.7cm) display. It has three rear cameras: a
64-megapixel telephoto lens, a 12MP wide and a 12MP ultra-wide. It starts at
$999/£799

the S20+ has a 6.7in (17cm) display. It adds a depth sensor to the basic
model's array. It starts at $1,199/£999

the S20 Ultra has a 6.9in (17.5cm) display. Its telephoto lens is only 48MP,
but the wide-angle lens is bumped up to 108MP. It starts at $1,399/£1,199

The S20 Ultra's camera module is thicker than that of the others to
incorporate a periscope. This uses a prism to reflect light into the
device's interior, allowing the wide-angle option to feature a longer lens
and bigger sensor.

 

Although it is possible to take 108MP shots, owners are expected to let the
phone automatically merge groups of nine pixels into one most of the time.
This aids low-light photography.

 

The 100x "super-resolution zoom" facility uses the lower-resolution 48MP
camera. Machine-learning techniques stitch together pixels from up to 20
different frames to achieve a better result than would be possible via a
simple digital zoom.

 

It allows Samsung to boast double the zoom range of Huawei's competing P30
handset, although one expert questioned how usable it was in practice.

 

"The 100x zoom ends up with a quite blurred image, so I don't think people
will turn to it that often", commented Mr Jeronimo.

 

"But it should have a wow factor when shown off in stores. And at 20x to 30x
you can get a good photo."

 

The phones also introduce Single Take mode. Samsung said this uses
artificial intelligence to simultaneously take a mix of stills and videos
via the various cameras, giving the owner a selection to choose from after
the fact.

 

Single Take mode takes photos and video clips over a 10 second period using
a variety of the cameras

"We want to make sure consumers can really enjoy the moment in front of
them... and don't have to worry about adjusting settings," explained product
manager Mark Holloway.

 

The phones are also among the first to be capable of recording in 8K
resolution - four times as many pixels as 4K and 16 as many as 1080p high
definition.

 

Most people do not yet own 8K screens, but Samsung suggests this offers a
degree of future-proofing as well as the ability to extract high-quality
stills from the footage.

 

Smartphone shipments

Jan-Dec 2019

 

Brand Units  Annual change      Q4 market share

Samsung     295.8 million         1.2% 21.6%

Huawei        240.6 million         16.8%         17.5%

Apple 191.0 million         -8.5% 13.9%

Xiaomi         125.6 million         5.5% 9.2%

Oppo  114.3 million         0.9% 8.3%

Others         404.6 million         -12.7%        29.5%

Source: IDC

"Both the new tech and the more user-friendly user interface should help
with how Samsung's camera functionality is perceived," commented Carolina
Milanesi from Creative Strategies.

 

"Its results in the past were not quite on a par with competitors, perhaps
signalling it wasn't leveraging software to do the heavy-lifting as much as
the likes of Apple and Google. This time round there is definitely more 'AI'
involved."

 

Samsung is pitching gaming as one benefit of having 5G connectivity,
suggesting that lower latencies will mean that players can see and react to
events in online titles split-seconds faster than if they were on 4G.

 

Samsung highlights that 5G offers faster upload and download speeds as well
as less lag time when using remote services

The phones' Google Duo app also displays video chats in higher quality when
on 5G.

 

Samsung surprises with Galaxy Flip Z Oscars reveal

5G mobile networks are not ready for primetime

5G explained in 45 seconds

Networks are still in the early stages of deploying the technology, but one
consultant said it was still wise to offer it as standard.

 

"Consumers are holding on to their phones for three or four years, and don't
want something that will become obsolete in that lifetime," said Ben Wood.

 

"And this launch represents a unique opportunity: Huawei is on the back foot
as it doesn't have access to Google's suite of apps, and Apple currently
doesn't have a 5G-capable iPhone."

 

The Z Flip is the second smartphone Samsung has made with a flexible screen

The Z Flip, however, is limited to 4G.

 

Several of its features - including a clamshell design with a small display
on the outside and a 6.7in foldable screen on the inside - had already been
revealed by Samsung in a TV advert on Sunday.

 

It represents the firm's second attempt at a foldable after the troubled
launch of the Galaxy Fold tablet-phone hybrid.

 

This time round, the concept is a tall-screened phone that can be used
one-handed when opened, and made wallet-sized when closed.

 

The hinge mechanism has also evolved. It now incorporates tiny brushes to
sweep away dirt and dust particles. In addition, it can hold the device
partially open, which Samsung is pitching as being helpful for taking
selfies or recording vlogs.

 

The firm says it can be opened and closed more than 200,000 times.

 

The other big change is to the display, which now features a substance
Samsung calls "folding glass".

 

"You clearly notice that the screen is much more resistant than the Fold's,
which should reduce the risk of scratching," said Mr Francisco.

 

"It's still probably not as resistant as a normal smartphone, but you can
feel its quality."

 

The Z Flip will cost $1,380 in the US and £1,300 in the UK and becomes
available on 14 February.

 

It will compete with Motorola's Razr, which has a similar design. But both
are expected to sell in far smaller quantities than the S20 range.

 

"There's a lot of excitement around this new category, but [for most] they
are prohibitively expensive," said Paolo Pescatore from PP Foresight.

 

25 January: Lunar New Year, one of the biggest festivals of the year, takes
place. Millions of people travel home, and many companies close or slow down
production.

 

27 January: Chinese authorities officially extend the holiday period until
10 February to try and contain the spread of the virus. The move affects
suppliers of smartphone components for Samsung, Apple, and others.

 

30 January-3 February: Apple announces all its stores and offices in china
will remain shut until at least 9 February, as does Microsoft and Google,
while Samsung closes its flagship store in Shanghai.

 

7 February: As pressure mounts from companies around the world for China to
re-open its production facilities, Apple supplier Foxconn repurposes part of
its production line to make surgical masks.

 

10 February: Foxconn receives permission to reopen two major plants in
Zhenghzou and Shenzhen. But Reuters news agency reports that only 10% of
workers turned up, citing an unnamed source. Other factories remain closed -
and some local authorities tell factories not to reopen until 1 March.--BBC

 

 

 

Tech giants face probe into deals going back a decade

Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft are facing fresh scrutiny
over whether they stifled competition by buying up smaller rivals.

 

The Federal Trade Commission has asked the firms to hand over information
about a decade of deals, warning it could lead to action being taken.

 

The tech giants already face several government investigations into whether
their practices harm competition.

 

FTC chair Joseph Simons said "all options are on the table".

 

"If during this study, we see that there are transactions that were
problematic, it is conceivable we could go back and initiate enforcement
actions to deal with those transactions," he said.

 

Actions could include forcing companies to unwind deals or break off parts
of their business, he added.

 

Mr Simons said the FTC's probe was separate from the investigations being
undertaken by the Justice Department, a coalition of states attorney
generals and Congress.

 

It is using authority that it has previously used to examine cigarettes,
alcohol advertising and internet providers.

 

Critics of the tech giants say the firms have consolidated power over the
last decade by buying up potential rivals.

 

Examples include deals such as Facebook's 2014 purchase of WhatsApp, Apple's
2014 acquisition of Beats and Amazon's takeover of Diapers.com, which was
announced in 2010.

 

They have called on US regulators take more action, pointing to fines and
other measures issued in Europe.

 

The orders that the FTC announced on Tuesday concern deals completed between
1 Jan 2010 and 31 December 2019, focusing on the many, often smaller,
transactions that the firms were not required to report to the government.

 

The FTC said it expected its request to yield information on "hundreds" of
purchases and inform debate about whether the US should change its rules for
what kinds of deals are subject to government review.

 

Currently, firms must report any deal worth more than about $90m to the
government.

 

Officials did not specify a timeline but said they hoped to move quickly.
The agency has faced calls by some members of the US Congress to move more
aggressively against the tech firms such as Facebook.

 

The companies involved did not comment.--BBC

 

 

 

Ocado boss Tim Steiner bags £54m bonus

The boss of online shopping company Ocado has bagged a £54m bonus, despite
his firm posting a bruising £214.5m loss last year.

 

Tim Steiner got the windfall after an incentive scheme tied to the firm's
share price paid out.

 

It comes on top of a further £4.7m in salary and other bonuses for Mr
Steiner, bringing his total pay in 2019 to £58.7m.

 

Ocado is seeing strong sales but has not made a profit for three years.

 

For years the firm, which sells groceries online and has no physical stores,
failed to live up to its potential, disappointing investors.

 

But since 2017, its fortunes have picked up as it struck partnerships with
major retailers including M&S and Kroger in the US.

 

M&S to start home delivery next year

'Sprinklers turned off' in Ocado warehouse fire

Shares in the business have soared, rising from around £2.50 to £12.55 on
Tuesday. It has caused a five-year "growth incentive plan" to kick in, the
firm explained in its 2019 annual report which was published today.

 

Some £88m will be shared among its top executives through the scheme, it
said.

 

Alongside Mr Steiner's payout, the firm's finance director, Duncan
Tatton-Brown, and chief operating officer, Mark Richardson, have both banked
£14m. Luke Jensen, who runs Ocado's tech division, will get £6m.

 

In its annual results published on Tuesday, Ocado blamed its hefty loss on a
fire at its Andover warehouse, which is now being rebuilt. The firm also
said it had been spending heavily on building more fulfilment centres.

 

But it said revenue had risen 10% for the year to 31 December to £1.7bn.

 

The company, which was founded in 2000, now has orders to build 30
warehouses around the world, with the first overseas depots due to open in
Canada and France this year.--BBC

 

 

 

Brexit: Border delays 'could cause fresh food problems'

Post-Brexit transition border checks could cause fresh food supply problems,
an industry body has warned.

 

Shoppers will notice the supply issues next January unless there is a
"massive upgrade" in border facilities, the British Retail Consortium said.

 

The warning came after cabinet minister Michael Gove said that border checks
are "inevitable" after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December.

 

Officials said firms have enough time to prepare for the changes.

 

Food availability

Border checks could quickly cause hold-ups at Channel ports of thousands of
trucks, including those carrying fresh food, the BRC said.

 

The government will have to "move fast" to put in place the necessary border
infrastructure and staff to cope with those checks by the end of the year,
it said.

 

If it doesn't, "consumers in the UK will see significant disruption,
particularly in the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables" the BRC's
director of food and sustainability Andrew Opie warned.

 

"If you think this is going to hit us in January, that's our peak import
season for things like fresh fruit and vegetables. Customers are really
going to see the problems on supermarket shelves unless we get that
infrastructure," he said.

 

"So, you've got enormous bureaucracy, enormous change, but crucially you've
got a problem with the infrastructure at the key ports around the Channel,
which currently really act as an extension of the motorway for our supply
chain, where you will be holding thousands of vehicles every day."

 

"I don't know if you've been to Dover recently, but there isn't an enormous
amount of room to hold that infrastructure," he added.

 

'Inevitable' border checks

The warning came after Mr Gove told a Border Delivery Group event on Monday:
"The UK will be outside the single market and outside the customs union, so
we will have to be ready for the customs procedures and regulatory checks
that will inevitably follow."

 

 

The Brexit transition period is due to end at 11pm on 31 December this year.

 

>From then, there will be import checks at the UK border, and traders in the
EU and UK will have extra paperwork, the government said.

 

>From next January, all traders will have to fill out customs declarations
and be liable to customs checks on goods for cross-channel trade.

 

If no trade deal is reached with the EU, taxes such as tariffs will also
need to be charged and collected.

 

Facilities such as the Channel Tunnel have been designed for minimal border
checks.

 

New customs infrastructure, facilities and systems as well as staff, agents
and vets will have to be in place by the end of this year.

 

But Mr Gove told the conference there would be light touch administration of
trade across the Irish Sea.

 

However, last week it emerged that Stena Line, the biggest operator of
ferries in the Irish Sea, is preparing for trade checks between Great
Britain and Northern Ireland.

 

It was quietly confirmed in a speech. Some might argue it has been
inevitable since the election.

 

But the change in the way the UK trade border functions with our biggest
trade partner is one of the single biggest changes to the way the UK economy
functions.

 

Put simply, many industries rely on the frictionless free flow of goods
between the UK and the continent.

 

The unequivocal message from Michael Gove is that businesses should prepare
for the the end of that as 2020 draws to a close.

 

Whereas the impact of all this in the Irish Sea has garnered considerable
attention, the new trading arrangements between Dover and Calais and along
the Channel Tunnel will have a bigger effect on the economy.

 

By getting businesses to take the prospect seriously, the government's hope
is that more will be prepared and so delays and disruption can be limited.

 

But we are dealing with parts of the border that are designed to run without
checks.

 

There will need to be more customs officers, thousands more customs agents,
mass recruitment of vets, and new customs posts.

 

Almost every independent economic analysis - and the government's own until
now - has shown that extra trade friction with what is currently our biggest
market will be an overall hit to the economy.

 

Preparation can help alleviate some of that hit, but not all.

 

Added costs

Businesses also said they face extra costs from checks. The British Chambers
of Commerce (BCC) said that for many businesses, border delays would incur
higher costs than tariffs.

 

Adam Marshall, the BCC director general, said: "Additional friction will
equal higher costs for a lot of our business, and while the discussion over
the past few months has focussed a lot on tariffs, it's actually these
border costs... that really is the biggest source of cost for most."

 

EU trade will not be waved through with zero checks, which had been the case
under a no-deal Brexit.

 

Traders will not be able to use special arrangements to lodge new paperwork
after a grace period at a later date.

 

Industries from car manufacturers to food distributors, which rely on the
frictionless free flow of goods with the continent, say they face extra
costs, delays and red tape from what are known as non-tariff barriers.

 

Products of animal origin will need export certificates from a registered
vet.--BBC

 

 

 

UK economy saw zero growth at the end of 2019

The UK economy saw no growth in the final three months of 2019, as
manufacturing contracted for the third quarter in a row and the service
sector slowed around the time of the election.

 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the car industry had seen a
particularly weak quarter.

 

The ONS figures also showed the economy grew by 1.4% in 2019, marginally
higher than the 1.3% rate in 2018.

 

Recent surveys have suggested that the economy has picked up in the new
year.

 

How worried should we be?

Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, suggested that the
flat growth seen at the end of the year would "prove to be a low point".

 

She added: "The pick-up in the surveys of activity and sentiment suggest the
first quarter will be much better.

 

"The GDP figures were not quite as bad as we had feared in quarter four. The
stagnation in GDP beat our forecast of a 0.1% quarter-on-quarter fall."

 

In December alone the economy grew by 0.3%, the ONS said, reversing the
decline seen previously in November.

 

Chancellor’s economic growth goal ‘unrealistic’

UK rates held as economy shows signs of picking up

"It's likely that political uncertainty and unwinding stockpiles caused the
economy to flag at the end of last year," said Tej Parikh, chief economist
at the Institute of Directors.

 

"However, firms entered 2020 with more of a spring in their step. Confidence
has shot up, while hiring plans and investment intentions have also risen a
notch, but the post-election bounce may tail off."

 

Which sectors performed poorly?

Rob Kent-Smith, the ONS's head of GDP, said: "There was no growth in the
last quarter of 2019 as increases in the services and construction sectors
were offset by another poor showing from manufacturing, particularly the
motor industry."

 

The services sector - which accounts for more than three-quarter of the UK
economy - grew by just 0.1% in the final quarter of 2019, while the
construction sector grew by 0.5%.

 

However, the manufacturing sector saw output fall by 1.1%. That came after
some car factories paused work in November in case Britain left the European
Union without a deal on 31 October.

 

The ONS revised up the growth figure for the third quarter of 2019 to 0.5%
from its previous estimate of 0.4%.

 

What about trade?

The last three months of 2019 also saw the trade deficit in goods and
services widen to £6.5bn from the £4bn deficit seen between July and
September.

 

A deficit occurs when the value of a country's imports in goods and services
exceeds what it exports.

 

The deficit widened largely because of a shrinking of the surplus in UK
trade in services.

 

By contrast, the goods trade deficit shrank in the last three months of
2019. That was mostly accounted for by a £2.2bn decrease in machinery and
transport equipment imports, which could suggest that orders might have been
brought forward to avoid the (postponed) October Brexit deadline.

 

For 2019 as a whole, the trade deficit for goods and services narrowed
slightly by £0.5bn to £29.3bn.--BBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 


 

INVESTORS DIARY 2020

 


Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

 


 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 


Companies under Cautionary

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


Bindura Nickel Corporation

 

 

 


Padenga Holdings

 

 

 


Delta Corporation

 

 

 


Meikles Limited

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


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been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or
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opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without
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any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are
for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

 


 

 


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