Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 09 January 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 09 January 2020

 


 

 


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

 


 

 


 

 

ü  South African power cuts to continue until Friday

ü  Kenya's KCB Group injects 5 bln shillings into NBK after acquisition

ü  South Africa's net foreign reserves rise to $44.897 bln in December

ü  South Africa's Absa PMI declines in December after power cuts

ü  Kenyan shilling holds steady against dollar

ü  Russia's VTB sues Mozambique over loan in $2 bln debt scandal

ü  Kenyan retailer Nakumatt to close as creditors back liquidation

ü  Twitter to test 'block all replies' function

ü  World Bank warns on global growth

ü  Tesco's sales fall in 'challenging' market

ü  John Lewis warns it may not pay staff bonus

ü  Netflix rival will limit show times to 10 minutes

ü  Travelex: Banks halt currency service after cyber-attack

ü  Anglo American eyes bid for potash mine firm Sirius Minerals

ü  Greggs staff to get £300 bonus after 'phenomenal year'

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

South African power cuts to continue until Friday

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s troubled state power utility Eskom
said on Thursday it would continue to cut power until Friday after losing
generating capacity overnight, with emergency reserves insufficient to meet
daytime demand.

 

Problems at Eskom, which generates more than 90% of the country’s power, are
widely viewed as the biggest impediment to economic growth. Outages last
year dented economic output and shook investor confidence in President Cyril
Ramaphosa’s administration.

 

The utility said up to 2,000 MW would be cut from the system until 0600
local time (0400 GMT) on Friday, adding the power system was still “severely
constrained and unpredictable” with over 14,000 MW of its 44,000 MW total
nominal capacity offline due to breakdowns.

 

The power cuts had been expected to last until Thursday morning.

 

Ramaphosa is trying to revive Africa’s most advanced economy, which is
flirting with recession, and attract new investment.

 

Eskom’s new chief executive Andre de Ruyter started work on Monday and will
oversee a government plan to split the company into separate units for
generation, transmission and distribution to improve its performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 

Kenya's KCB Group injects 5 bln shillings into NBK after acquisition

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya’s biggest lender by assets, KCB Group, has
injected 5 billion shillings ($49.31 million) into National Bank of Kenya
(NBK), which it acquired last year, it said on Thursday.

 

“In addition to enabling NBK to comply with capital adequacy requirements,
the injection bolsters NBK’s financial resources,” the lender said.

 

($1=101.4000 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

South Africa's net foreign reserves rise to $44.897 bln in December

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s net foreign reserves rose to $44.897
billion in December from $44.415 billion in November, Reserve Bank data
showed on Wednesday.

 

Gross reserves increased to $55.058 billion at the end of December from
$54.893 billion in the previous month.

 

The forward position representing the central bank’s unsettled transactions,
or swap, showed a negative balance of $64 million in December after a
positive balance of $31 million in November.

 

 

South Africa's Absa PMI declines in December after power cuts

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa’s seasonally-adjusted Absa Purchasing
Managers’ Index (PMI) fell deeper into a contraction in December, following
a slump in new sales orders and business activity due to power cuts, the
survey showed on Wednesday.

 

The index, which gauges manufacturing activity in Africa’s most
industrialised economy, fell to 47.1 points in December, from 47.7 in
November. Anything below 50 indicates that activity is contracting rather
than expanding.

 

Absa said some respondents for the December survey said production was lost
due to electricity disruptions.

 

“Bouts of load shedding (power cuts) and persistent weak domestic demand
coupled with more intense headwinds from the global economy likely weighed
on activity during the year,” Absa said in a statement.

 

South Africa’s state-owned power utility Eskom has struggled to meet demand
since 2007 due to unreliable coal-fired power plants, forcing it into rounds
of power cuts, locally known as “load shedding”.

 

Eskom, which generates more than 90% of South Africa’s power, is widely
viewed as the biggest impediment to economic growth.

 

 

 

Kenyan shilling holds steady against dollar

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was stable against the dollar on
Wednesday mainly due to low demand for hard currency from importers, traders
said.

 

At 0849 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 101.25/45 per dollar,
compared with 101.15/35 at Tuesday’s close.

 

 

Russia's VTB sues Mozambique over loan in $2 bln debt scandal

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Russian bank VTB is suing a Mozambique state-owned
company over $535 million it extended as part a series of loans now at the
centre of a $2 billion debt scandal.

 

An online court filing dated Dec. 23 shows VTB has lodged a lawsuit in
Britain’s High court against the Mozambique state and Mozambique Asset
Management, which borrowed the money from VTB as part of a costly project
that U.S. authorities say was an elaborate front for a bribery and kickback
scheme.

 

VTB had been in talks with the southeast African country over restructuring
the loan, which the deputy head of VTB Capital’s legal department said in
October represented a “significant exposure” for the bank.

 

“An agreed restructuring remains our preferred outcome but after 3 years of
discussions with no tangible progress VTB must now consider all options
available to it for a resolution,” VTB said in an emailed statement.

 

Mozambique’s Attorney General’s Office said it was waiting for formal
notification of the lawsuit.

 

The court filing said the case relates to “general commercial contracts and
arrangements” but no further information was available, other than that VTB
Capital, the investment banking arm of VTB, is being represented by law firm
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

 

The debt scandal has already sparked a series of court cases spanning
London, New York and South Africa, ensnaring global investment bank Credit
Suisse, three of its former bankers, Mozambique’s former finance minister
and a past president’s son.

 

However this is the first time any of the cases have involved VTB, which is
more than 60% owned by the state. It comes despite an increasingly close
relationship between Russia and Mozambique, with President Filipe Nyusi
visiting Russia twice last year and a series of agreements between Maputo
and Moscow.

 

Credit Suisse and VTB provided or arranged a total of around $2 billion for
the project, encompassing tuna fishing, maritime security and shipyard
development. Hundreds of millions of dollars went missing, while the
benefits never materialised.

 

Mozambique did not disclose some of the loans, which were guaranteed by the
state. The International Monetary Fund and other donors cut off support when
they came to light in 2016, triggering a currency collapse and sovereign
debt default.

 

It remains on the hook for the money, the largest chunk of which now sits in
a restructured eurobond. The country is trying to challenge the guarantee
related to a $622 million loan from Credit Suisse, also in a London court.

 

The Jubilee Debt Campaign, which calls for the cancellation of unjust or
unpayable debts of the poorest countries, said Mozambique should not have to
pay a cent towards the loans, which were guaranteed without the approval of
Mozambique’s parliament.

 

“The loan guarantee was in clear breach of Mozambican law, and the lenders,
companies and politicians involved should all be held to account for their
role in the deal,” Sarah-Jane Clifton, the campaign’s director, said.

 

 

 

Kenyan retailer Nakumatt to close as creditors back liquidation

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Creditors of Kenya’s Nakumatt supermarket chain, once
East Africa’s biggest retailer, voted on Tuesday to wind it up after it was
unable to pay debts following a failed rescue attempt.

 

Nakumatt expanded from a mattress shop in a rural town to a network of more
than 60 branches before a cash crunch forced it to shut more than a dozen
outlets in 2017 when it was unable to pay suppliers, landlords and other
creditors.

 

Poor management, rapid expansion and a flood and militant attack at two
separate stores all hurt the chain, opening the door for foreign chains such
as France’s Carrefour and South Africa’s Shoprite to enter the market.About
92% of creditors who voted backed the liquidation.

 

Pater Kahi, who was appointed as an administrator in 2018, said creditors
had no choice but to back receivership. Liquidation allows suppliers to
indirectly recoup up to 46% of the value of their debt through tax refunds,
he said.

 

Nakumatt owes more than 30 billion shillings ($296 million): 18 billion to
suppliers, 4 billion to commercial paper holders and the rest to banks.

 

The banks may go after the assets of individual directors of Nakumatt, Kahi
said, and are considering hiring a private investigator to track down
directors’ assets.

 

Kenyan police are also investigating potential fraud, he said, adding a
forensic audit had not yet been carried out because there were no funds for
it. The audit would cost at least 40 million shillings, he said.

 

Police did not respond to calls seeking comment, while Nakumatt’s former
management could not be reached for comment.

 

“The guys who will walk home with zero are the commercial paper holders,”
Kahi said.

 

Kimani Rugendo, chairman of the Suppliers Association of Kenya, which
represents more than 1,500 members, said Nakumatt owed his
juice-manufacturing firm Kevian close to 100 million shillings. He wants a
forensic audit.

 

“I still don’t believe all these billions really went into a loss as it was
declared,” he said. “It is an inflated loss, a man-made loss, and we should
know where they took all the money.”

 

“Our hope has been for a revival and to get at least our money back in the
long run, at least 80%,” he said.

 

Kenya enacted new regulations last year compelling retailers to pay
suppliers within 90 days.

 

Rugendo said that was “a step in the right direction.”

 

($1 = 101.1500 Kenyan shillings)

 

 

 

Twitter to test 'block all replies' function

Twitter has said it will test new features that allow users to control who
can reply to their posts - or block replies entirely.

 

"We want to help people feel safe participating in the conversation on
Twitter," the company said.

 

The move comes as social media companies are under increasing pressure to
address so-called "cyber-bullying".

 

The firm has already launched a feature which allows its users to hide
replies to their tweets.

 

Twitter unveiled details of the experiment during a presentation at the
annual Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas.

 

The new features, to be tested early this year, will allow users to select
four different settings for replies:

 

Social media companies are facing intense scrutiny over how they are dealing
with harassment - which has led to firms and governments introducing
measures to tackle the issue.

 

YouTube said in December last year that it will no longer allow videos that
"maliciously insult someone" based on "protected attributes" such as race,
gender identity or sexuality.

 

In April, the UK government proposed an independent watchdog that will write
a "code of practice" for tech companies.

 

In 2018, Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey promised to increase the
"health" of public conversation.

 

Late last year, the firm launched a feature which allows users to hide
certain replies to their tweets, as part of its efforts to tackle abusive
behaviour.--BBC

 

 

 

World Bank warns on global growth

Global economic growth is likely to be only slightly faster this year than
the weak performance seen in 2019, according to a World Bank forecast.

 

The world economy is likely to expand by 2.5% in 2020, up from 2.4% last
year, the Bank's economists predict.

 

That reflects an expected recovery in some emerging and developing countries
that had a difficult 2019.

 

But it will be offset by slower growth in the United States and some other
developing nations.

 

Growth in 2019 was the slowest since the financial crisis. And the moderate
forecast for this year is beset with uncertainty

 

It depends on a substantial improvement in some large emerging and
developing economies. India is predicted to rebound after a marked slowdown
in growth last year.

 

Brazil should grow somewhat more strongly after a period of weakness. Mexico
and Turkey should see growth after recording none for 2019 as a whole.
Argentina's economy will continue to contract but more slowly than in the
last two years.

 

The forecast suggests that economic activity in Iran will stop declining
this year with growth returning in 2021. But even then it won't, if the
Bank's forecasts are born out, be a strong recovery. And the political
tensions and violence that have erupted in the last few days could easily
undermine that.

 

The Bank warns of risks to this outlook. Iran is a reminder that conflict in
the Middle East is an ever present danger that can have economic
consequences. The report was written before those events took place.

 

Even so, the report says: "The disruption in Saudi oil production in
mid-September highlights the potential for renewed tensions in the Middle
East."

 

Franziska Ohnsorge, a World Bank economist and one of the authors of the
report, says these problems could feed through to emerging and developing
economies through higher oil prices.

 

There have been occasions in the past when problems in the Middle East have
led to higher oil prices and even contributed to a global recessions.

 

That said, Ms Ohnsorge noted two factors that could help moderate how oil
prices respond: the fact that the oil producers' group Opec has been
restricting production and could reverse that action. In addition, the US
shale oil industry, which is a relatively new factor in the global market,
can increase production much more rapidly than traditional ways of getting
oil.

 

Trade tensions are another potential trouble spot for global growth. They
could "re-escalate", as the report puts it. There have been signs of
movement in the US-China dispute. The two sides have made what President
Trump calls a phase one deal, but it is far from fully resolved. The Bank
seems to be acutely aware that progress could be easily reversed and other
trade tensions could arise.

 

There is also a concern about a rapid build-up of debt in emerging
economies. The Bank says a wave of debt accumulation began after the global
financial crisis. For emerging and developing economies, the report says
"the increase in debt in these economies has already been larger, faster,
and more broad-based than in any of the previous three waves".

 

Those waves occurred over the past half-century. They have been navigating
what the bank calls "dangerous waters" as this build up of debt has been
accompanied by repeated disappointments over economic growth, which could
make it harder to generate the resources to pay the debts.

 

The overall picture is one of a global outlook that is overcast and highly
uncertain.--BBC

 

 

 

Tesco's sales fall in 'challenging' market

Sales at the UK's biggest supermarket, Tesco, fell slightly in the months
that include the all-important Christmas period.

 

Like-for-like sales in the UK fell by 0.2% in the 19 weeks to 4 January.

 

It was the final Christmas under the leadership of Tesco's boss Dave Lewis,
who described the UK market as "subdued".

 

But things were less gloomy at High Street rival Marks & Spencer, where
sales grew 0.2%.

 

M&S said its food departments had a "standout" run in the two weeks leading
up to Christmas.

 

In the 13 weeks before the final week of December, food sales increased
1.4%.

 

Nevertheless, M&S boss Steve Rowe also described the market as
"challenging".

 

On that, he and Mr Lewis agree. Tesco said: "The UK environment has clearly
been challenging."

 

But the supermarket said it outperformed the market and had its "biggest
ever day of UK food sales" in the run-up to Christmas.

 

On Monday, market research firm Kantar said supermarket sales growth over
Christmas was the slowest in five years.

 

Richard Lim, the boss of analyst firm Retail Economics, said M&S could be
showing signs of recovery after what was a tough year for the business,
which dropped out of the FTSE 100 in September.

 

"Food performed particularly well, benefiting from stronger underlying
household finances, but consumers also responded positively to more
competitive pricing," he said.

 

"It appeared that shoppers were prepared to indulge that little bit more
this Christmas on food if they spotted value for money."-BBC

 

 

 

 

John Lewis warns it may not pay staff bonus

Retail group John Lewis Partnership has warned its staff bonus may be in
doubt as it reported a fall in festive sales at its department store chain.

 

It warned that annual partnership profits were expected to be "substantially
down on last year".

 

The board will meet in February to decide if it is "prudent" to pay the
staff bonus, the partnership said.

 

In a surprise announcement, John Lewis & Partners said its managing director
Paula Nickolds will step down.

 

The partnership has been combining the executive teams behind John Lewis and
Waitrose into one team, and she was expected to become executive director of
brand next month.

 

John Lewis said: "After some reflection on the responsibilities of her
proposed new role, we have decided together that the implementation of the
future partnership structure in February is the right time for her to move
on."

 

Bonus warning

Ms Nickolds was the first woman to become managing director of the
partnership, having worked her way up after joining as a graduate trainee in
1994.

 

She was appointed as managing director in 2017 and had been expected to take
on the new executive role in February, when the John Lewis and Waitrose
boards merge.

 

Instead, she will leave the partnership next month.

 

The John Lewis Partnership is owned by its staff, who are known as partners.

 

The bonus for partners has been paid since 1953, but in January 2019 the
group warned it might not be paid that year.

 

Two months later, it cut the bonus to the lowest since the 1950s after a
plunge in profits.--BBC

 

 

 

Netflix rival will limit show times to 10 minutes

A deep-pocketed new streaming service has revealed it will launch in the US
on 6 April.

 

Quibi has raised $1bn (£763m) in funds and commissioned some of Hollywood's
biggest names to make content for its mobile-only service. Each show will be
10 minutes or shorter.

 

The firm intends to charge $4.99 (£3.80) per month for basic access and
$7.99 for an ad-free version.

 

But one industry-watcher questioned consumers' willingness to pay.

 

Quibi's chief executive Meg Whitman and founder Jeffrey Katzenberg announced
the details of the service at the CES tech expo in Las Vegas.

 

She was previously the chief of eBay and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, while
he produced some of Disney's best known animated movies before heading up
Dreamworks Animation.

 

The stars involved in the new service include:

 

the directors Steven Spielberg, Sam Raimi and Guillermo del Toro

the models Chrissy Teigen and Tyra Banks

the actors Bill Murray, Idris Elba and Reese Witherspoon

In addition to entertainment, the service intends to screen bespoke news
bulletins from NBC, BBC and Telemundo, among others.

 

Much of the presentation was taken up showing off a feature called
Turnstile, which allows viewers to keep the image full-screen, whether they
hold their phone in landscape or portrait mode.

 

Show creators have framed their shots so that the action suits either aspect
ratio, and in some cases have used the facility to reveal a different
point-of-view.

 

For instance one show features a traditional perspective when the picture is
widescreen, but shows a view of the protagonist's phone when held vertical.

 

After dark

Quibi which stands for "quick bites" is commissioning videos running from
four to 10 minutes in length.

 

The services will include episodic series, and also movies - which will be
divided up into chapters.

 

Ms Whitman announced that it had partnered with Steven Spielberg to create a
horror series, After Dark, that can only be viewed after sunset. To do this,
the app will check the user's location and the local time to check it is
indeed dark where they are, Ms Whitman explained.

 

Off-stage, Ms Whitman told the BBC that Quibi had received more than a 100
pitches a week from filmmakers who wanted to use its Turnstile rotating
video tech.

 

 

"There's a long history in this town of Hollywood, of technology enabling a
new form of storytelling. And that's exactly what we're trying to do," she
said.

 

This is not the first time streaming services have released interactive
videos.

 

Netflix has offered a series of interactive programmes since 2017, most
notably an episode of its sci-fi series Black Mirror.

 

But the feature remains a rarity on its platform.

 

One expert said Turnstile had promise but was unlikely to be a key selling
point.

 

"Turning the screen to keep what is on the screen in frame is great, but it
can't dictate the storyline and it is not enough to get someone to buy the
content," said Dan Rayburn, principal analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

 

"And content is king."

 

Streaming competition

One of Quibi's biggest challenges will be persuading the public to pay for
an additional streaming service.

 

In 2019, several new players entered the video-streaming space including
Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus. And there are others planning launches of
their own in the US, including HBO Max and NBCUniversal's Peacock.

 

Netflix and Amazon Prime are also investing deeply in big-budget content to
remain dominant.

 

But Quibi Mr Katzenberg told the BBC that he believed Quibi's main
competition is other short-form video platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat
and TikTok.

 

"If anything, we accelerate the experience of watching short form on your
mobile device today," he added.

 

Quibi said it would target viewers aged between 18 and 44 years old.

 

But most of that audience is accustomed to watching short-form videos for
free.

 

"I think they are trying to change consumer habits too much," commented Mr
Rayburn.

 

Quibi said it planned to release three hours of new premium content each
day, excluding news content.

 

Its investors including traditional media outlets Fox, NBCUniversal and
Disney.--BBC

 

 

 

Travelex: Banks halt currency service after cyber-attack

A number of High Street banks have stopped customers ordering foreign
currency, following a ransomware cyber-attack on Travelex.

 

Problems at Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland follow disruption at
supermarkets Sainsbury's and Tesco.

 

All get their foreign notes from Travelex, whose computer system is down
after hackers demanded $6m (£4.6m) in return for customer data.

 

Travelex says there is no evidence customer data has been compromised.

 

However, Travelex cashiers have been resorting to using pen and paper to
keep money moving at cash desks in airports and on the High Streets.

 

And banks are now reporting their supply of notes from Travelex has dried up
following the cyber-attack, which struck last week.

 

An RBS representative said: "We are currently unable to accept any travel
money orders either online, in branch or by telephone due to issues with our
travel-money supplier, Travelex.

 

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

 

Lloyds and Barclays issued similar statements. One source said the banks
were dependent on Travelex resolving its disruption before they could
restore their travel-money service.

 

Travelex employees have told BBC News the company has been left
"shell-shocked" by the continuing ransomware cyber-attack.

 

One source said his company's communication with employees and customers
seemed to be "a masterclass in what not to do".

 

The employee, who wants to remain anonymous, said there is fierce criticism
internally at the way management has handled the affair.

 

In an email to the BBC, he said: "I couldn't help but laugh at the
suggestion that the public response has been "shockingly bad". This is
nothing compared to how it's been handled internally. It feels like there is
a distinct lack of real leadership and communication."

 

The company says it is working with industry-leading cyber recovery
specialists to fix the problem, and insists it is doing all it can to keep
its customers and employees informed.

 

Computer systems in the company's offices and currency shops across Europe,
Asia and the US have been switched off since the attack took place around
New Year's Eve.

 

Travelex being held to ransom by hackers

How a ransomware attack cost one firm £45m

The quiet scheme saving thousands from ransomware

The anonymous worker said: "I've not been able to use my work computer for a
week. The docs on my PC have all been encrypted by the hack, but the docs I
stored on the cloud server have not, which would seem to suggest the hackers
haven't got too far into our system."

 

'Frustrated and upset'

The employee claims that the company was alerted to the cyber attack at
about 21:00 GMT on the 30 December, not 31 December as has been widely
reported. He alleges internal communication has been "scant", but that since
then IT teams have been working flat-out buying and setting up new PCs and
replacing certain software.

 

Another employee, who also wishes to stay anonymous, said it is a similar
picture in his department. In an email he said: "I work for Travelex and...
low down in the ranks we have no clue what is happening. We are as
frustrated and upset as the customers are."

 

 

A spokeswoman for the firm said: "Travelex is gradually restoring a number
of internal systems and is working to resume normal operations as quickly as
possible. We have been keeping our employees informed of all developments in
real time and will continue to keep them updated as our recovery process
continues."

 

Meanwhile customers of Travelex, and it's many partner companies, have told
the BBC they have been left out of pocket as currency ordered online has not
been delivered.

 

One customer, Natalie Whiting, from Stevenage, ordered £1,000 worth of euros
online through Tesco. "I haven't been able to get a refund of my money, it
just seems to be in limbo," she told the BBC.

 

Travelex now says it has processes in place in shops around the world to
prevent this sort of situation for customers. In a statement the company
said: "We have in place manual workarounds for all our retail services,
including collection of pre-ordered currency from our bureaux.

 

"Travelex systems are currently down and we are unable to sell or reload
travel cards. However, existing cards continue to function as normal and
customers can continue to spend and withdraw money from ATMs.

 

"Customers who acquired their card in the UK can view their balance and
transaction information at uk.travelexmoneycard.com, and reload cards by
calling Mastercard's call centre, the number which is on the back of the
card."

 

Customers who have ordered money online are asked to contact Travelex
customer services by phone or via social media to discuss their individual
situation and requirements, the company added.

 

Travelex said there is no evidence that customer data has been compromised,
but the hackers, known as Sodinokibi or REvil, have told the BBC they have
downloaded 5GBs of valuable customer data and will sell it online in six
days time unless Travelex pays them an ever-rising ransom. The ransom demand
currently stands at $6m (£4.6m).

 

'Multiple challenges'

Travelex said it is working closely with the Metropolitan Police, which is
leading the investigation into the attack.

 

The currency firm is not the only company to fall victim to ransomware. In
the last year the trend has been that well-organised and well-funded
criminal hacking groups have targeted high-value companies and public
bodies. Earlier this week a US maritime base was forced offline for more
than 30 hours.

 

Stuart McKenzie, senior vice president at US cyber security firm Mandiant
Services, described what it could be like for incident-responders at
Travelex. "The security team will be assessing the malware and attempting to
contain the spread of the attack.

 

"Remediation should be being planned to identify how to prevent further
infection whilst protecting backup systems. In these cases, the security
team will be faced with multiple challenges, including from the business
itself in attempting to understand what is happening.''

 

Initiatives like the No More Ransom campaign publicly encourage victims not
to give in to hackers' demands with partner Europol regularly stating that
paying fuels the criminal industry.

 

However, not paying can be extremely costly. Steel producer Norsk Hydro was
hit by the LockerGoga ransomware last March. Some 170 factories and offices
were taken offline, with manufacturing partially suspended. The hackers
demanded an estimated £300,000 but the company instead refused to negotiate
and has spent about £50m recovering operations.--BBC

 

 

Anglo American eyes bid for potash mine firm Sirius Minerals

The plans for the under-construction mine include a minehead at Dove's Nest
Farm, Sneaton, in North Yorkshire

Sirius Minerals, the company behind plans for a £4bn potash mine in North
Yorkshire, is considering a takeover bid.

 

The mining giant Anglo American said it was in advanced talks about a
possible offer of 5.5p per share.

 

It would value Sirius Minerals at £386m, but mean a significant loss for
thousands of smaller shareholders.

 

The future of the mine has been in doubt after Sirius failed to raise cash
to unlock funding.

 

It had hoped to raise $500m (£403m) with a bond issue in September to enable
it to borrow $2.5bn (£1.9bn) from banks.

 

A spokesman said: "Anglo American identified the project as being of
potential interest some time ago, given the quality of the underlying asset
in terms of scale, resource life, operating-cost profile and the nature and
quality of its product."

 

Shares in Sirius rose by 33% to 5.4p on the news of the offer, however that
is significantly lower than the 22p shares were worth a year ago.

 

The business has thousands of small shareholders, many of whom live in the
area the mine is being built.

 

Anglo American's interest in the Sirius project will infuriate those who
have opposed the mine, but holds out the prospect of a much needed boost to
the North East's economy.

 

It has been a controversial project since it was first proposed, as most of
the mining will take place beneath the North York Moors National Park.

 

Sirius succeeded in overcoming that opposition and winning planning
permission, only to fail to raise the funds needed.

 

Anglo's backing would make it much more likely that the project will go
ahead. Anglo is one of the world's top mining companies, and has the
financial and technical resources to push it through.

 

Its proposed offer is a mixed blessing for the 85,000-odd retail investors,
many in the North East, who backed Sirius hoping for great things.

 

The shares went as high as 40p three years ago, but the failure to raise
funds meant they were facing a complete wipeout.

 

Anglo's proposed offer of 5.5p per share is better than nothing - and there
is always the hope that this morning's announcement might flush out other
bidders willing to pay even more.

 

The mine would extract polyhalite, a naturally occurring fertiliser which is
used in agriculture, from a mile underground the North York Moors National
Park.

 

The extracted mineral would be transported on a conveyor belt through a
23-mile (37km) tunnel to Teesside, from where it would be shipped to
customers.

 

The mine had been expected to open in 2021 and create 1,000 jobs, although
Sirius Minerals slowed construction work at the end of 2019 due to its
funding problems.--BBC

 

 

 

Greggs staff to get £300 bonus after 'phenomenal year'

Thousands of Greggs staff are set to get a £300 one-off payment after a
"phenomenal year", the firm said.

 

Sales growth had been helped by strong demand for its traditional snacks and
Greggs' "now iconic" vegan sausage rolls, the bakery chain said.

 

Greggs staff will share a £7m payment after shareholders received a £35m
special dividend in October.

 

The firm expects underlying annual pre-tax profit to be ahead of its
expectations when it reports in March.

 

The 19,000 Greggs staff who have been with the chain since before 31 March
will get a £300 windfall at the end of January, while the remaining 6,000
will get £75 for each quarter they have worked for Greggs.

 

The one-off payment to staff will be on top of the profit-sharing scheme
that Greggs already has, a spokeswoman said. The bakery chain already shares
10% of profits with employees, she said.

 

"Our record financial performance in 2019 has enabled us to enhance returns
to shareholders," said chief executive Roger Whiteside.

 

"I am delighted to announce that we will also be making a special additional
payment to all of our colleagues across the business who have worked so hard
to deliver this success in what has been a phenomenal year."

 

The bonus comes a year after Greggs launched its vegan sausage roll snack,
which is made from meat substitute Quorn.

 

Its launch has been followed by other initiatives such as a vegan steak bake
and a vegan doughnut.

 

When store manager Victor Connor and workers James Compton and Stephen Green
heard about the bonus they started screaming and shouting.

 

"It genuinely feels like a thank you," Victor said. "Quite a few customers
have said: 'To be fair you guys deserve it'."

 

Stephen said it was particularly welcome just after Christmas: "They don't
need to give it us, something for all our hard work."

 

"But it makes the staff feel more appreciated- everyone here is made up," he
added.

 

It isn't uncommon for workers to benefit from a share in the profits. Other
UK retailers that have staff bonus schemes include John Lewis and Waitrose,
Sainsbury's, and Sports Direct for shop floor workers.

 

Maureen Hinton, global retail research director at GlobalData, said offering
a staff bonus reflected a growing trend amongst firms to want to appear
ethical.

 

"This is a great way for Greggs to maintain the loyalty of the workforce and
creates a very inclusive culture, as the benefits of its success is being
shared with everyone.

 

It was also good "PR" she added "something Greggs is excellent at."

 

Greggs, like other retailers, will face higher costs in 2020 from a boost to
the National Living Wage and higher pork prices, the firm added.

 

Greggs opened 138 new shops over the last year and closed 41, bringing the
total to 2,050 across the UK. It said it planned to open about 100 new shops
in 2020.

 

Like-for-like sales grew 9.2% in 2019, compared with 2.9% growth in
2018.--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> 

 


 

 


DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of
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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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