Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 22 January 2020
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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 22 January 2020
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ü South African Airways cancels flights in fight for survival
ü BP, Angola agree deal to explore oil offshore
ü Spain's ACS withdraws from Inga 3 hydro project in Congo
ü Weak growth outlook keeps South African rand on back foot
ü African fintech Flutterwave gets $35 mln, partners with WorldPay
ü Kenyan shilling broadly stable amid horticulture and Diaspora inflows
ü Australia's FAR takes final investment decision for Senegal oil project
ü Boeing delays 737 Max return date to July
ü People still want plastic bottles, says Coca-Cola
ü France agrees to delay new tax on tech giants
ü Facebook creates 1,000 new UK jobs
ü New China virus: Drug makers soar on contagion fears
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South African Airways cancels flights in fight for survival
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African Airways (SAA) has cancelled some
domestic flights between its Johannesburg hub and Cape Town and Durban, and
some international flights to Munich, the state airline said on Tuesday, as
it fights for its survival.
SAA is running short of cash after the government failed to provide 2
billion rand ($137 million) of emergency funding it promised when the
airline entered a form of bankruptcy protection last month.
These cancellations represent a responsible strategy to conserve cash and
optimise the airlines position, SAA said in a statement, adding that it
was working to accommodate affected customers on other flights.
SAA will be reviewing further possible flight schedule amendments over the
coming days.
The airline is one of several South African state entities, including power
company Eskom, mired in financial crisis after nearly a decade of
mismanagement.
State companies financial problems are seen as one of the biggest threats
to Africas most industrialised economy and have helped push the countrys
credit rating to the brink of junk status.
SAA said flight cancellations on the domestic and Munich routes were planned
until Friday.
A booking system used by travel agents showed that 19 SAA flights had been
cancelled so far, according to a representative of a local travel agent.
The airlines business rescue practitioners held talks with the government
at the weekend to try to find a solution on the promised funding, but failed
to reach a breakthrough.
On Sunday, the public enterprises ministry said it was still talking with
the National Treasury to raise funds for SAA.
Last week, a senior trade union official said SAA might have to suspend some
flights and delay salary payments if the government didnt come up with a
plan to provide the 2 billion rand soon.
($1 = 14.5682 rand)
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BP, Angola agree deal to explore oil offshore
LONDON (Reuters) - BP signed an agreement with Angola aimed at acquiring oil
further exploration rights, state news agency Angop reported, the latest in
a flurry of agreements between oil majors and Africas second biggest
exporter.
The deal with countrys petroleum regulator ANPG defines the terms for a
risk-sharing contract on offshore oil block 18/15 and was signed on the
sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit on Monday.
Outgoing BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley and his successor Bernard
Looney attended the ceremony along with Angolas minister of Mineral
Resources and Petroleum, Diamantino Azevedo, and other top officials.
BP is already a partner in ongoing production in Block 18, called the
Greater Plutonio development.
Last week, Italys Eni, Frances Total, Equinor and BP were awarded rights
to develop several offshore blocks.
Angola is working to reform its oil industry to halt a production slump that
has dented the economy, including by privatizing stakes of state oil company
Sonangol.
BP and Angola signed a second agreement for the British major to support
mine clearing efforts related to the southern Africa countrys 1975-2002
civil war within the scope of social responsibility actions, Angop said.
Spain's ACS withdraws from Inga 3 hydro project in Congo
MADRID (Reuters) - Spains ACS is withdrawing from the multi-billion-dollar
Inga 3 hydroelectric project in Democratic Republic of Congo, the company
said on Tuesday, jeopardising the future of what would be Africas largest
hydro plant.
Actividades de Construccion y Servicios signed a preliminary agreement in
2018 to jointly develop the 11,000 megawatt project, but the Spanish and
Chinese developers had been unable to agree on how to proceed to
construction.
An ACS spokesman said in an email to Reuters: The ACS group will not
participate in the execution of the project. He provided no explanation for
the decision to withdraw.
A spokesman for the government agency overseeing development of Inga 3, part
of a planned series of dams along the Congo River that could eventually
produce more than 40,000 MW, said Congo was awaiting formal notification of
ACSs withdrawal.
In December, Congo President Felix Tshisekedi floated the idea of reverting
to earlier plans to build Inga 3 with a 4,800-MW capacity and gradually
expand later.
Much of the output from Inga 3, which was expected to take eight years to
build, has been earmarked for South Africa, with the rest going toward
Congos mining sector and population.
Weak growth outlook keeps South African rand on back foot
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africas rand dipped early on Tuesday, as a
weak economic outlook dented appetite for local assets.
At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 14.5400 versus the dollar, roughly 0.4%
below its previous close.
Africas most industrialised economy is growing at a snails pace, with
power supply interruptions from struggling state utility Eskom contributing
to low business confidence.
The International Monetary Fund on Monday cut its South African growth
forecasts to 0.8% this year and 1.0% in 2021, following recent downward
revisions to the South African Reserve Banks forecasts.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has found it hard to push through much-needed
reforms and rein in rapidly rising debt levels, putting the countrys last
investment-grade credit rating from Moodys at risk.
Government bonds were a touch weaker in early deals, with the yield on the
benchmark 2026 bond up 0.5 basis points to 8.155%.
African fintech Flutterwave gets $35 mln, partners with WorldPay
LAGOS (Reuters) - Africa-focused fintech firm Flutterwave on Tuesday
announced a $35 million fundraising round and partnerships with WorldPay and
Visa as it targets expansion in northern and Francophone Africa.
The startup, founded in 2016 by Nigerians and headquartered in San
Francisco, specialises in individual and consumer transfers one of several
fintech firms aiming to facilitate and capitalise on Africas booming
payments market.
As part of the deal, Flutterwave will become the African payment provider
for Worldpays clients worldwide, making the company the latest African
fintech firm to attract global cash and big-name partnerships. While the
agreement is not exclusive, it is WorldPays only partner on the continent.
Visas investment is its first buy in to Flutterwave, with which it joined
last year on a consumer payment platform called GetBarter that allows
individuals to make payments to one another across borders.
As part of the latest funding round, Flutterwave will scale up and expand
that service, allowing it to issue physical and virtual Visa cards and
process payments using Visas networks.
Visa also bought a 20% stake in Nigerian payments firm Interswitch late last
year, elevating it to unicorn status - a term used for tech companies with
a valuation of a billion dollars or more.
Interswitch, founded in 2002 and also expanding across Africa, is the main
platform for Nigerias business-to-business transactions, whereas
Flutterwaves main focus is on individual payments making it more akin to
an African Venmo, where people pay each other back or transfer cash to
family.
We have built a technology infrastructure that is steadily being recognised
as the bridge to connect the payment system, Flutterwaves founder and
chief executive GB Agboola said in a statement.
We are excited to be working with our newest commercial partners, Visa and
WorldPay FIS, and investors to build the dominant payments platform in
Africa.
Business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan forecast that Nigerias fintech
revenues alone will grow from $153.1 million in 2017 to $543.3 million by
2022.
Flutterwaves main backer in the fundraising round was venture capital firm
Greycroft & eVentures, with other large backers including CRE Ventures,
WorldPay FIS, Visa, and Green Visor.
Kenyan shilling broadly stable amid horticulture and Diaspora inflows
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Kenyan shilling was stable on Tuesday and was
expected to trade in a narrow range supported by dollar inflows from
horticulture exports and Diaspora remittances, traders said.
At 0728 GMT, commercial banks quoted the shilling at 100.95/101.15 per
dollar, compared with 101.00/20 at Mondays close.
Australia's FAR takes final investment decision for Senegal oil project
(Reuters) - Australian oil minnow FAR Ltd said on Monday it has lined up
loan funding for its share of the $4.2 billion Sangomar project, Senegals
first oil development block, and made a final decision to proceed.
FAR, a minority partner in the project, said it received credit approvals
for an underwritten $300 million senior secured reserve-based lending
facility by Macquarie Bank, BNP Paribas and Glencore.
The Senegal government recently gave the greenlight for the project, which
is expected to produce 231 million barrels (MMbbl) of oil resources in its
initial phase of development and strike first oil in the next three years.
The project is a joint venture (JV) between Woodside Petroleum, Cairn Energy
Plc, FAR and Senegals state-owned Petrosen.
Woodside, as project operator, has issued a notice to proceed for the
drilling and subsea construction and installation contracts, FAR said.
The partners in the project are eager to push ahead even as they await the
outcome of an arbitration over a dispute.
FAR contends it was denied its right to pre-empt the sale of a 35% stake in
the Sangomar field by ConocoPhillips to Woodside in 2016. The dispute is
expected to be resolved early this year.
Boeing delays 737 Max return date to July
Boeing has said it does not expect its 737 Max plane to return to the skies
before the summer, which is longer than initially expected.
The jet has been grounded since March after two fatal crashes, which
together killed 346 people.
Boeing has said it is working on a software update intended to fix the
problem blamed for the crashes.
But the company has struggled to convince regulators that the planes are
safe to fly.
It previously said it expected the planes to be cleared for approval before
the end of 2019. But in December, Boeing announced plans to halt production
of the aircraft and last week, it confirmed it had found a new problem in
the software.
'Number one priority'
Boeing shares dropped by more than 5% on Tuesday as word of the delay
started to spread, prompting the New York Stock Exchange to temporarily halt
trading until the company's formal update.
Boeing said its new guidance was "informed by our experience to date with
the certification process".
"Returning the Max safely to service is our number one priority, and we are
confident that will happen."
The grounding has already cost Boeing more than $9bn, and the consequences
are starting to spread, with at least one major supplier announcing layoffs.
Several airlines dependent on the Max had already said they were not
counting on the plane until the summer.
29 October 2018: A 737 Max 8 operated by Lion Air crashes after leaving
Indonesia, killing all 189 people on board
31 January 2019: Boeing reports an order of 5,011 Max planes from 79
customers
10 March 2019: A 737 Max 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashes, killing
all 157 people on board
14 March 2019: Boeing grounds entire 737 Max aircraft fleet
This is the first update on the 737 since new chief executive David Calhoun
started last week, and one week before he faces investors when Boeing
publishes its quarterly results.
Boeing has been under intense scrutiny since two 737 Max planes crashed
within five months of each other, first in Indonesia and then in Ethiopia.
Air safety officials investigating the tragedies have identified an
automated control system in the plane, known as MCAS, as a factor in both
crashes.
Boeing has said the MCAS software system, which relied on a single sensor,
received erroneous data, which led it to override pilot commands and push
the aircraft downwards.
It has said it is fixing the software and has overhauled its review
procedures.
But US lawmakers, who are investigating the company, have said the firm was
aware that the software system could be unreliable. They have accused the
company of trying to hide the risks and rush the plane back into service,
while criticising the US regulator - the Federal Aviation Administration -
for failing in its duty of oversight.
The 737 Max is Boeing's fastest selling aircraft. An updated version of the
company's short- and medium-haul workhorse, it was designed to be more fuel
efficient than its predecessors.--BBC
People still want plastic bottles, says Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola will not ditch single-use plastic bottles because consumers still
want them, the firm's head of sustainability has told the BBC.
Customers like them because they reseal and are lightweight, said Bea Perez.
The firm, which is one of the biggest producers of plastic waste, has
pledged to recycle as many plastic bottles as it uses by 2030.
But environmental campaigners argue many Coke bottles would still go
uncollected and end up in landfill.
In the war on plastic is Coca-Cola friend or foe?
The drinks giant produces about three million tonnes of plastic packaging a
year - equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute.
In 2019, it was found to be the most polluting brand in a global audit of
plastic waste by the charity Break Free from Plastic.
But speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ms Perez said the firm
recognised it now had to be "part of the solution".
'Accommodate consumers'
Coke has pledged to use at least 50% recycled material in its packaging by
2030. It is also partnering with NGOs around the world to help improve
collection.
However, Ms Perez said the firm could not ditch plastic outright, as some
campaigners wanted, saying this could alienate customers and hit sales.
She also said using only aluminium and glass packaging could push up the
firm's carbon footprint.
"Business won't be in business if we don't accommodate consumers," she said.
"So as we change our bottling infrastructure, move into recycling and
innovate, we also have to show the consumer what the opportunities are. They
will change with us."
Ms Perez said she respected the idealism of youth activists, such as
19-year-old campaigner Melati Wijsen, who with her sister Isabel, convinced
the island of Bali to ban single-use plastic bags, straws and styrofoam last
year.
Such plastics were clogging up the seas around Bali, harming marine life.
Ms Perez also said she agreed with calls for Coca Cola to reach its
environmental goals sooner than 2030 - although she would not say whether
she would step down if the plans failed.
"We have to reach this goal and we will - there's no question."--BBC
France agrees to delay new tax on tech giants
France has agreed to delay collecting a new tax on multinational technology
firms until the end of 2020, a French government official has told the BBC.
The digital services tax has provoked an angry response from Washington.
The US had threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on $2.4bn (£1.8bn) of
French goods, including champagne and cheese, after the tax was passed in
July 2019.
The US will not introduce extra import taxes this year, the official said.
The rapprochement was the result of a conversation between President Trump
and President Macron on Monday.
Global tech giants including Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon would have
been due to make tax payments equivalent to 3% of their French revenues in
April and then again in November.
US threatens tax on champagne and French cheese
France to go it alone on digital tax
France, along with several other European countries, pushed ahead with its
own digital sales tax while it waited for a multilateral agreement about how
such firms should be taxed to be drawn up by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD).
If the OECD reaches a deal by the end of 2020, then France's unilateral tax
will not be applied at all. If there is no multilateral agreement by then
France will collect the two tranches of the tax.
Payments were already collected in November for 2019 on revenues from July.
Those are still subject to final adjustments but will not be refunded under
this agreement.
UK stance
Meanwhile, the UK is planning to push ahead with its digital services tax
despite a warning from the US that it could face tariffs if it does so.
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told the Wall Street Journal that he
hoped the UK and Italy would suspend their plans after a truce was reached
with France.
But a UK Treasury spokesperson told the BBC: "We are fully engaged in
international discussions to address the challenges digitalisation poses for
tax. Our strong preference is for an appropriate global solution.
"We've committed to introduce our Digital Services Tax from April 2020. It
will be repealed once a global solution is in place."
What is a digital sales tax?
France, along with several other European countries, wants to limit the tech
giants' ability to avoid taxes.
Many governments are concerned that US technology giants are avoiding taxes
in the European Union. They argue taxes should be based on where the digital
activity - browsing the page - takes place, not where firms have their
headquarters.
The UK, Italy, Austria and Turkey are all considering imposing new levies
themselves.
But trade officials in Washington say US firms are being unfairly targeted.
Microsoft President Brad Smith welcomed the news that France and the US had
come to an agreement, and said the company supported the idea of an
OECD-backed global agreement.
"I think that it does make sense for big tech companies to pay appropriate
taxes wherever we do business," he told the BBC's Talking Business
programme.
He said big tech firms should "find common ground" on issues such as tax
reform, so that they ended up paying taxes that national governments
consider to be fair.
On Monday, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook backed the push for an overhaul
of the global tax system.
"I would certainly be the last person to say that the current system or the
past system was the perfect system. I'm hopeful and optimistic that they
(the OECD) will find something," Mr Cook said.--BBC
Facebook creates 1,000 new UK jobs
Facebook will create 1,000 new roles in London over the course of this year,
including adding to its team tackling harmful online content.
More than half of the new jobs will be technology-focused, with roles in
software engineering, product design and data science, the company said.
It will take Facebook's UK workforce to more than 4,000.
Pressure has been growing on social media firms to remove posts promoting
self-harm and political extremism.
Facebook's chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg will announce the new
jobs in London later on Tuesday, before travelling to the World Economic
Forum in Davos.
"Many of these high-skilled jobs will help us address the challenges of an
open internet and develop artificial intelligence to find and remove harmful
content more quickly," she is expected to say.
Those roles will be in Facebook's "community integrity" team, which designs
tools to police posts on Facebook's platforms including Messenger, Instagram
and WhatsApp.
The firm had decided to invest more in policing online content, following
the suicide of teenager Molly Russell in 2017, Steve Hatch, the firm's
vice-president for northern Europe, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"The tragic death of Molly Russell made us really stop in our tracks as a
company and acknowledge that there was an issue that we need to do more on.
"We've been putting those changes in place steadily over the last 12
months," he said.
Molly Russell was 14 when she committed suicide. Her father, Ian, told the
BBC that he believed Instagram was partly responsible for his daughter's
death.
"I have no doubt that Instagram helped kill my daughter," he said.
Facebook aimed to build on progress it had made in tackling terrorist
content to remove other problematic content such as self-harming, Mr Hatch
said.
The firm had detected and removed two million posts from Facebook and
800,000 from Instagram, he added.
"As systems get better they develop, they get better and more effective," he
said. "Our aspiration is to remove every single piece of [harmful] content."
If you've been affected by self-harm, eating disorders or emotional
distress, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.--BBC
New China virus: Drug makers soar on contagion fears
Shares in Chinese drug makers have risen sharply as concerns grow over a new
virus spreading across the country.
Several pharmaceutical giants on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges
have risen by their 10% daily limit.
The moves follow the confirmation that the new strain of coronavirus can
pass from person to person.
The number of people infected tripled over the weekend, with the outbreak
spreading from Wuhan to other major cities.
Millions of Chinese people are preparing to travel both within the country
and abroad for the New Year holidays.
Jiangsu Sihuan Bioengineering, Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical, and Hengrui
Medicine were among the drug makers that gained 10%.
Meanwhile, face mask manufacturers Tianjin Teda and Shanghai Dragon also
rose by 10%.
Stock prices are constrained in China by limits that allow them to move by a
maximum of 10% higher or lower in a day.
These latest gains follow sharp rises in Chinese pharmaceutical companies'
shares yesterday.
On the other hand, Chinese airlines, tour and hotel companies have fallen.
Shares in state-owned Air China added to yesterday's losses. BTG Hotels
Group, which also fell yesterday, has lost more ground today.
New virus death as China confirms human transfer
Chinese virus: How worried should we be?
New Chinese virus 'preventable and controllable'
In the "Golden Week" holiday in China stock markets will be closed for five
working days from Friday 24 January to Thursday 30 January.
What we know about the virus
2019-nCoV, as it's been labelled, is understood to be a new strain of
coronavirus that has not previously been identified in humans
Coronaviruses are a broad family of viruses, but only six (the new one would
make it seven) are known to infect people
Scientists believe an animal source is "the most likely primary source" but
that some human-to-human transmission has occurred
Signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of
breath and breathing difficulties
People are being advised to avoid "unprotected" contact with live animals,
thoroughly cook meat and eggs, and avoid close contact with anyone with cold
or flu-like symptoms
Source: World Health Organization
There are now more than 200 cases, mostly in Wuhan, though the illness has
also been detected in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Experts in the UK told the BBC the number of people infected could still be
far greater than official figures suggest.
In the early 2000s Sars, another coronavirus, killed 774 people across
dozens of countries, mostly in Asia.
Analysis of the new virus shows it is more closely related to Sars than any
other human coronavirus.--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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