Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 October 2020

[Bulls n Bears]

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 06 October 2020

 


 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


 

 

ü  Anti-virus creator John McAfee arrested over tax evasion charges

ü  'My firm may fold because I can't get a bounce back loan'

ü  U.S. House's antitrust report hints at break-up of Big Tech firms:
lawmaker

ü  As U.S. job growth stalls, some workers face long-term unemployment

ü  Stock futures muted after S&P 500, Dow hit over two-week high

ü  Singapore's Temasek establishes new asset manager overseeing $55 billion

ü  South Korean retail investors bid over $50 billion to win coveted shares
in BTS label

ü  Daimler to cut fixed costs by more than 20% by 2025

ü  How a Chilean raspberry scam dodged food safety controls from China to
Canada

ü  Puma shares dip as Kering sells 5.9% stake

ü  Google renames business software package Workspace

ü  Toyota-Panasonic venture to build lithium-ion batteries for hybrids in
Japan

ü  France's Veolia advances towards $13 billion Suez takeover despite
hiccups

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

Anti-virus creator John McAfee arrested over tax evasion charges

Anti-virus software entrepreneur John McAfee has been arrested in Spain and
faces extradition to the US where he has been charged with tax evasion. 

 

Prosecutors say he failed to file tax returns for four years, despite
earning millions from consulting work, speaking engagements,
crypto-currencies and selling the rights to his life story.

 

None of the income is connected with the software firm which bears his name.

 

Mr McAfee has not publicly commented on the charges.

 

If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison.

 

In a statement the US Justice Department said Mr McAfee allegedly evaded tax
liability by having his income paid into bank accounts and cryptocurrency
exchange accounts in the names of nominees. As a result, it is alleged, he
failed to file any tax returns from 2014 to 2018.

 

He is also accused of concealing assets, including a yacht and real estate
property, in the names of others.

 

The strange life of John McAfee

The charges were announced shortly after the US Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) revealed that it had brought civil charges against Mr
McAfee.

 

The government regulator alleges that Mr McAfee made over $23m (£17.7m) by
"leveraging his fame" and recommending seven cryptocurrency offerings
between 2017 and 2018, which allegedly turned out to be "essentially
worthless", without disclosing that he was paid to do so.

 

The SEC is seeking to impose a civil penalty on him, and disgorge him of any
"allegedly ill-gotten gains", with interest. It also wants to permanently
ban him from serving as an officer or director of any listed company, or any
company which files reports to the SEC.

 

In addition, the SEC has charged Mr McAfee's bodyguard, Jimmy Watson, with
aiding and abetting the sale of digital currencies, along with other
allegations.

 

Neither he nor Mr McAfee have commented publicly on the charges.

 

Mr McAfee is a controversial figure in the technology sector. He came to
prominence in the 1980s when he founded a company that released the first
commercial anti-virus software - McAfee VirusScan - and helped spark a
multi-billion dollar industry.

 

Although that business has since been sold to Intel, he still develops
cyber-security products of his own.

 

The entrepreneur, who was born in the UK, also launched unsuccessful bids to
become the Libertarian Party's candidate for the presidential elections in
2016 and 2020.

 

Mr McAfee has previously expressed his disdain for taxes, tweeting last year
that he hadn't filed tax returns for eight years because "taxation is
illegal."

 

Last year he was also briefly detained in the Dominican Republic for
allegedly bringing weapons into the country.

 

In 2012, Mr McAfee made headlines after Belize police began investigating
the death of his neighbour, Florida businessman Gregory Faull, and named Mr
McAfee as a "person of interest".

 

Mr McAfee left the country after the death, saying he feared for his own
safety, but said he had "no connection whatsoever" with the killing.--BBC

 

 

 

'My firm may fold because I can't get a bounce back loan'

Quitting his IT job two years ago to start a beer tour business was a dream
for Mike Hampshire.

 

But his hopes of breaking even in his second year of operation were crushed
when the coronavirus crisis hit in spring.

 

Now the future of his Leeds-based business is in serious doubt as he's been
unable to get a bounce back loan.

 

"Without a loan to tide me over I'm going to have to look for other work,"
he said.

 

In September, the chancellor extended the deadline for the government's
coronavirus loan schemes to the end of November.

 

Bounce back loans allow small firms to borrow up to £50,000 over nine years
at preferential rates, with the loans 100% guaranteed by the government.

 

'Handpicking customers'

Mr Hampshire is not the only small business owner fighting to survive
without being able to get a loan through the government scheme.

 

Mr Bounceback, an anonymous businessman behind a website which helps
struggling small firms, said he has heard from lots of people with problems.

 

"Several banks are not accepting new customers, and the majority of them
have chosen to only allow their existing customers to apply, or even worse
some lenders appear to be handpicking customers and inviting them to apply,"
he said.

 

Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC),
said: "With many firms facing continued cash flow pressures, it is
concerning that businesses who bank with non-accredited lenders remain
largely unable to access these vital financial lifelines."

 

"Government, regulators and banks must work together to ensure that a
greater number of firms can access this support during this challenging
period."

 

Banking trade body UK Finance said that "the vast majority of applicants
have been able to rapidly access the finance they need" through the scheme
which has lent £38bn to 1.26 million smaller businesses.

 

"It isn't the only type of lending, I must say," said Stephen Pegge, UK
Finance's managing director for commercial finance. "There is a possibility,
even if you can't get a bounce back loan, of borrowing elsewhere."

 

He told the BBC's Today programme there are "28 accredited lenders account
for the vast majority of existing business relationships so most people will
bank with one of those".

 

But he said that of those 28 lenders, only "one or two" will give a bounce
back loan to new customers.

 

Sudden halt

Mike Hampshire's guided beer tours came to a sudden halt in March when pubs
shut their doors.

 

"I've pretty much had no income since March, but had a bit of cash put by,
so thought I'd try and ride it out," he told the BBC.

 

"When pubs re-opened, the social-distancing rules made it impossible to run
the tours and I've also had to cancel the annual beer festival I run in
November."

 

With his money running out he turned to government support and decided to
apply for a bounce back loan.

 

"I need about £5,000 to see me through to the spring when, hopefully, things
will be better," he said.

 

But he banks with Monzo which isn't one of the 28 lenders which signed up
for the government scheme.

 

He tried to apply through HSBC, but the bank closed its doors to new
customers last week, the day before he made his application.

 

Now he reckons he'll have to take on a different job, just to help him get
through the winter.

 

"There are so many unknowns. If I do find another job, it could well become
a permanent thing which would mean the end of my business."

 

HSBC said that it had made £12bn of bounce back loans and that it was trying
to prioritise existing applications, which is why it closed applications to
new customers on 30 September.

 

"We are no longer accepting new applications for Bounce Back Loans from
companies that don't have an existing HSBC business account and we will also
stop taking on any new small business banking customers until 14 December,"
the bank said.

 

Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Bank of Scotland and Halifax, said
limiting bounce back loans to existing companies made applications speedy,
as well as helping with fraud and money laundering checks.

 

NatWest Group said it had always been its policy that bounce back loans were
offered to existing customers.

 

NatWest also owns the brands Coutts, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and
Adam & Company, which are each listed in the 28 lenders taking part in the
scheme.

 

The deadline for bounce back loan applications is 30 November, which means
time is running out for firms who have yet to secure a loan.

 

The latest Treasury figures show lenders have approved 1,260,940
applications for the bounce back loan scheme.--BBC

 

 

 

U.S. House's antitrust report hints at break-up of Big Tech firms: lawmaker

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives antitrust report on
Big Tech firms contains a “thinly veiled call to break up” the companies,
Republican Congressman Ken Buck said in a draft response seen by Reuters.

 

 

The House antitrust subcommittee is expected to publish its report this week
on Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Google owner Alphabet Inc.

 

A Buck representative confirmed to Reuters the authenticity of the draft
response, which was first reported by Politico.

 

In the draft, Buck said he shared Democratic concerns about the power of Big
Tech firms, with their penchant for “killer acquisitions” to eliminate
rivals and self-preferencing in guiding customers to their other products.

 

However, he objected to a plan to require them to delineate a clear “single
line of business”. Social media platform Facebook also owns Instagram and
WhatsApp, search engine provider Google’s businesses include YouTube and
Android, and e-commerce leader Amazon operates a massive cloud computing
unit.

 

“This proposal is a thinly veiled call to break up Big Tech firms. We do not
agree with the majority’s approach,” Buck wrote.

 

It is not yet known how many Republicans will support the report, which is
being led by Democratic Chairman David Cicilline. Reports and
recommendations with bipartisan support usually have a bigger impact.

 

“The report offers a chilling look into how Apple, Amazon, Google and
Facebook have used their power to control how we see and understand the
world,” Buck wrote.

 

He agreed with some of the report’s recommendations, such as making it
easier for the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to stop
mergers by lowering their burden of proof, and allowing consumers to take
control of their data through data portability and interoperability between
platforms.

 

“These potential changes need not be dramatic to be effective,” Buck wrote.

 

Buck also said he was displeased that the report failed to address
conservative allegations that some platforms have tried to stifle
conservative voices.

 

 

 

 

As U.S. job growth stalls, some workers face long-term unemployment

(Reuters) - More than six months after the pandemic ravaged the U.S. labour
market, millions of Americans who are still unemployed are bracing for the
possibility that the jobs they held before the crisis may not come back for
years, if at all.

 

After big improvements over the summer, the labor market recovery is
slowing. People who previously worked as bartenders, housekeepers or in
other jobs dependant on travel and close human interaction, are sidelined as
their industries adjust to lower demand and the pandemic begins to leave a
lasting mark on the U.S. economy.

 

As of September, the U.S. labor force had about 142 million workers, down 7%
from pre-pandemic levels. But employment in leisure and hospitality is 23%
below pre-pandemic levels, according to Labor Department data released last
week, more than any other industry. Temporary furloughs are becoming
permanent layoffs as companies that had hoped to reopen fully make tough
choices.

 

Walt Disney Co announced last month it will cut 28,000 jobs. United Airlines
and American Airlines will furlough 32,000 workers. Cineworld, the world’s
second-largest cinema chain, will cut approximately 20,000 U.S. jobs.

 

Meanwhile, hiring by utility companies and retailers, which offer services
that are essential or in high demand during the crisis, is rebounding more
quickly, bringing employment almost back to February levels.

 

“It’s almost like there’s two economies going on,” Cleveland Federal Reserve
Bank President Loretta Mester told Reuters last week. “It’s very much sector
by sector.”

 

UPSIDE DOWN

Workers who were laid off from hard-hit industries are finding few new job
opportunities and intense competition.

 

Matthew Seevers was permanently laid off in May from his job as a bartender
for a Las Vegas casino. Seevers, 36, has not heard back on any of the five
jobs he has applied for since.

 

“Everything is upside down in our world,” said Seevers, who hopes to find
another job before the forbearance on his mortgage expires in six months.

 

The number of advertised job openings increased in September, according to
an analysis of postings by Indeed Hiring Lab here. But the jobs on offer are
not typically in the same sectors that have shed the most workers.

 

 

Postings for retail positions and jobs that require driving or delivery are
approaching or above levels seen a year ago, according to Indeed.
Hospitality and tourism job postings are down nearly 50% from a year ago,
and food prep and childcare down about 20%.

 

“There has been definitely a shift in the composition of jobs,” said Nick
Bunker, the economic research director for North America at Indeed Hiring
Lab.

 

Low-wage job postings, those paying less than roughly $30,000, are
rebounding more quickly than middle or high-wage jobs, Indeed found.

 

Gloribel Castillo, 50, has been out of work since early July, when the
Manhattan hotel where she worked as a housekeeper furloughed her for the
second time this year. Domestic air and hotel bookings to New York state for
the week of Sept. 21 were down 81% compared with a year ago, according to a
report here by the U.S. Travel Association.

 

Castillo said she would be happy to do other work, but worries about
matching her previous earnings and benefits - about $1,400 a week before
taxes with generous healthcare benefits and the opportunity for overtime
pay. “Where am I going to get that?” she said.

 

She holds out hope that her employer will call her back to work, as occurred
this spring when the hotel hosted doctors and nurses who were treating
COVID-19 patients in the city. Castillo is considering applying for food
stamps to supplement the $442 a week she receives in unemployment benefits.

 

After paying her nearly $1,300 rent bill and utilities, she has only about
$100 left for the month to buy groceries for her daughter and herself.

 

PERMANENT LOSSES?

More people face prolonged periods of joblessness as hiring slows.

 

The number of people who had been out of work for at least 27 weeks
increased by 781,000 in September to 2.4 million, according to the Labor
Department. Another 345,000 people were permanently laid off that month,
increasing the total to 3.8 million.

 

Some economists are concerned the pandemic has set off a long-term shift
that echoes the 2008 financial crisis. Cost-cutting and technological
improvements contributed to a drop in office, administrative, manufacturing
and construction jobs, which never returned to 2007 levels.

 

Workers may need training for new careers, policymakers say.

 

Helping the out-of-work rebuild careers is “a pretty important thing for us
to work on,” Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Bloomberg TV last
week.

 

Seevers, the laid-off bartender, said he is looking to learn computer
science or other tech skills. “If I don’t get my job back, I’m just trying
to figure out something that has more of a future.”

 

 

 

Stock futures muted after S&P 500, Dow hit over two-week high

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Tuesday as investors
booked profits after a rally that sent the S&P 500 and the Dow to their
highest levels in more than two weeks, while awaiting signs Washington was
close to agreeing on more fiscal stimulus.

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by
phone on Monday about fresh relief measures and were preparing to talk again
on Tuesday.

 

Comments from officials that a deal was still possible had lifted Wall
Street’s main indexes in the previous session, helping them recoup losses
from last week that were sparked by news that President Donald Trump had
contracted COVID-19.

 

Trump returned to the White House on Monday from the Walter Reed Medical
Center military hospital, but faced fresh backlash for removing his mask
upon his return and urging Americans not to fear the disease that has killed
more than 209,000 in the United States.

 

At 6:37 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 11 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500
e-minis EScv1 were down 5.75 points, or 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1
were down 39.75 points, or 0.35%.

 

Growing political uncertainty in the run up to the presidential elections
and mixed macroeconomic data have increased volatility in U.S. stocks, with
the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX and the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC about 5% and 6%
below their respective record highs hit more than a month ago.

 

Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O, Apple Inc AAPL.O, Facebook Inc FB.O and Google-owner
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O, which have together dominated Wall Street's recovery
from its coronavirus lows in March, fell in light premarket trading.

 

The companies have faced intense regulatory scrutiny into their quest for
global market share, and the U.S. House of Representatives’ antitrust report
contains a “thinly veiled call to break up” the companies, Republican
Congressman Ken Buck said in a draft response seen by Reuters.

 

All eyes later in the day will be on an address by Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell at a virtual meeting of the National Association for Business
Economics, where global central bankers are likely to present their plans
about how much more they can do to prevent an economic depression.

 

U.S.-listed shares of BioNTech 22UAy.F jumped 9.7% after the European health
regulator said it had started a real-time review of the COVID-19 vaccine
being developed by the German biotech firm and U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc
PFE.N. Pfizer's shares rose 1.7%.

 

 

 

 

Singapore's Temasek establishes new asset manager overseeing $55 billion

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore state investor Temasek Holding said on
Tuesday that it has established a new asset management group that will have
combined assets under management of about S$75 billion ($55.14 billion).

 

Seviora Holdings Pte Ltd will be set up as the operational holding company
for four existing asset management companies currently wholly-owned by, or
affiliated to, Temasek.

 

Those firms are Azalea Investment Management, Fullerton Fund Management
Company, InnoVen Capital and Seatown Holdings International.

 

 

 

 

South Korean retail investors bid over $50 billion to win coveted shares in
BTS label

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean retail investors ponied up over $50 billion
as they sought to lay their hands on shares in Big Hit Entertainment, the
management label of K-pop sensation BTS - more than 600 times the value of
shares on offer.

 

The combined 58.4 trillion won ($50.3 billion) in orders fell just shy of a
record 58.55 trillion won in bids for the retail portion of Kakao Games’
listing in September.

 

Most of the bids for Big Hit’s stock, priced at 135,000 won per share, came
late on the second of two days of orders from individual investors.

 

“I waited until 2 p.m. this afternoon to subscribe because I wanted to
choose the arranger with less competition for bidding,” said Oh Sang-min, a
32-year old retail worker who placed bids worth 100 million won after taking
out a loan.

 

He was told by his money manager that he would be able to pick up just two
shares.

 

There has been some concern that funds pouring in from retail investors
could affect short-term money markets as the funds would be at brokerages’
disposal for three days before investors who are not allocated shares get
their money back.

 

But the total amount of retail bids did not match some heady forecasts of
100 trillion won, and market sources said on Tuesday they were monitoring
the situation but were not overly concerned about the impact.

 

Some analysts said talk that the band’s members may have to complete
mandatory military service could have prevented retail demand from reaching
such lofty heights.

 

By law, all able-bodied men in South Korea aged between 18 and 28 must serve
in the military for roughly two years as part of the country’s defences
against North Korea.

 

But there have also been growing calls for BTS members to be granted
alternatives or delays to the service, with some lawmakers and fans arguing
they are doing plenty for their country without wearing a soldier’s uniform.

 

The band, supported by a massive global fan base, has just notched up the
first No.1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart by a South Korean
group with the song “Dynamite”.

 

Offering about 20% of the company in its IPO, Big Hit Entertainment, led by
CEO Bang Si-hyuk, has raised some 962.6 billion won ($830 million). In the
institutional portion of the offer, investors expressed interest in more
than 1,000 times the number of shares on offer.

 

The label is due to make its market debut on Oct. 15.

 

($1 = 1,160.0900 won)

 

 

 

Daimler to cut fixed costs by more than 20% by 2025

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Daimler DAIGn.DE on Tuesday said it will cut fixed
costs, capex and research and development expenditure by more than 20% by
2025 compared with 2019 levels as part of a strategy overhaul to reposition
Mercedes-Benz as a luxury brand.

 

By 2025, Mercedes-Benz AG is aiming for a return on sales within a mid to
high single-digit range, even under unfavourable market conditions, the
carmaker said.

 

The company’s ambition is to achieve a double-digit margin in a strong
market environment, Daimler said.

 

Earlier this year, Mercedes-Benz stopped building sedans in the United
States to focus on more profitable SUV's, combined its fuel cell development
with Volvo Trucks, and halted an automated development alliance with BMW
BMWG.DE.

 

 

 

 

How a Chilean raspberry scam dodged food safety controls from China to
Canada

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - In January 2017, Chilean Customs inspectors acted on a
tip from a whistleblower: The country’s prized crop of raspberries was under
threat.

 

Inspectors raided the offices of Frutti di Bosco, a little-known fruit
trading company on the second floor of a tower block in downtown Santiago.

 

The files, company data and sales records they seized revealed a food
trading racket that spanned three continents.

 

At its heart was a fraud centered on raspberries. Low-cost frozen berries
grown in China were shipped to a packing plant in central Chile. Hundreds of
tons of fruit were repackaged and rebranded by Frutti di Bosco as premium
Chilean-grown organics, then shipped to consumers in Canadian cities
including Vancouver and Montreal, according to documents prepared by Chilean
Customs as part of its investigation. The agency calculated that at least
$12 million worth of mislabeled raspberries were sent to Canada between 2014
and 2016.

 

Much of that product, the documents showed, came from Harbin Gaotai Food Co
Ltd, a Chinese supplier. Canadian health authorities later linked berries
from Harbin Gaotai to a 2017 norovirus outbreak in Quebec that sickened
hundreds of people. Canadian authorities issued a recall on Harbin Gaotai
berries coming directly to Canada from China dating back to July 2016.

 

What they didn’t realize is that Harbin Gaotai raspberries had also entered
Canada through a backdoor during that period in the form of falsely labeled
fruit shipped from Chile by Frutti di Bosco.

 

The scheme, pieced together for the first time by Reuters, lays bare the
ease with which mislabeled, potentially risky products can be slipped past
the world’s health and customs agencies, even as authorities across the
globe scramble to ensure foods entering their countries are free of a new
scourge - COVID-19.

 

Harbin Gaotai did not reply to requests to comment for this report.

 

Frutti di Bosco’s owner, Cesar Ramirez, who was convicted last year in Chile
for falsifying export documents to facilitate the scheme, declined to speak
with Reuters. His attorney declined to comment.

 

Reuters examined thousands of pages of legal filings, investigation
documents and trade records obtained through freedom-of-information requests
in Chile and Canada. Reuters also spoke to more than two dozen people with
knowledge of the case, including the manager of a fruit-packing house that
uncovered the deception.

 

Pulling off the fraud was relatively simple, the investigation revealed.

 

The Canada-Chile trade pact, which came into force in 1997, allows exporters
to self-certify the provenance of their goods, trade experts said. The
agreement allowed the mislabeled berries to enter Canada tariff-free,
evading a 6% levy slapped on the same fruit imported directly from China,
Chilean Customs documents show.

 

More lucrative still, conventional fruit represented as “organic” could
fetch premium prices, piggybacking on Chile’s reputation for safety and
quality. Documents certifying the fruit as organic were faked, customs
inspectors found.

 

 

 

Puma shares dip as Kering sells 5.9% stake

PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Shares in Puma PUMG.DE fell 3.5% on Tuesday after
French luxury group Kering PRTP.PA said it had completed the sale of a 5.9%
stake in the German sportswear company for approximately 656 million euros
($772 million).

 

Kering has increasingly focused on its high-margin luxury brands like Gucci,
Saint Laurent and Balenciaga in recent years, spinning off 70% of Puma to
its shareholders in 2018.

 

Puma struggled after it was bought by Kering for 5.3 billion euros in 2007,
but it has enjoyed a revival in the last few years, helped by sponsorships
of top soccer teams and partnerships with celebrities like Rihanna and
Selena Gomez.

 

The sale reduces Kering’s stake in Puma to 9.8% from a previous 15.7%.
Kering, which had announced its plan to sell the stake on Tuesday, said the
transaction corresponded to a selling price of 74.50 euros per share.

 

Puma’s shares traded down 3.1% at 75.7 euros at 0728 GMT.

 

In July, Puma reported second-quarter sales fell a currency-adjusted 30.7%
to 831 million euros and earnings before interest and taxes slumped to a
loss of 114.8 million euros as coronavirus lockdowns closed most global
sports stores.

 

However, sales have rebounded as stores have reopened and the pandemic has
encouraged more people to take up exercising, with rival Nike NKE.N posting
better-than-expected results in September and giving a strong sales
forecast.

 

The Nike results had helped Puma shares to return to levels last seen before
coronavirus hit in March.

 

Puma’s largest shareholder remains Artemis, the holding company for the
Pinault family that founded and controls Kering, which has a stake of just
under 29%.

 

 

 

 

Google renames business software package Workspace

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O con Tuesday announced
Google Workspace as the new name for its package of business tools including
email and document editing, replacing the G Suite brand introduced in 2016.

 

The rebranding coincides with the launch of features that integrate the
various services, such as the ability to have a video chat with co-workers
display in a small box at the corner of a document-editing window.

 

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated sales of online business tools and
forced vendors like Google and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O to refashion their
offering in an effort to virtually mimic office routines, such as coffee
breaks.

 

Google vice president Javier Soltero said the new name reflected that “work
isn’t happening in a physical space that’s called an office anymore.”

 

The new features also will be available in the coming months to consumers
who do not pay for Gmail, Google Docs and the other tools. Google said it
has 2.6 billion accounts, including paid and free ones, that are active each
month across those services.

 

 

 

Toyota-Panasonic venture to build lithium-ion batteries for hybrids in Japan

TOKYO (Reuters) - A joint battery venture of Toyota Motor Corp and Panasonic
Corp on Tuesday said it will produce lithium-ion batteries for hybrid cars
at a plant in Western Japan from 2022 to meet growing demand for electric
vehicles (EV).

 

The production line at a Panasonic factory in Tokushima prefecture will have
enough capacity to build batteries for around 500,000 vehicles a year, Prime
Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc said in a statement.

 

“The global electric vehicle market is expected to continue growing
rapidly,” the company said.

 

Established in April, Prime Planet Energy is 51% owned by Toyota Motor with
Panasonic holding the remaining stake. The venture reflects the drive of
both companies to become bigger global players in an industry vital for the
development of affordable EVs.

 

Panasonic, one of the world's biggest EV battery makers, faces intense
competition as a battery supplier to global automakers, including Tesla Inc
TSLA.O. The other leading players are South Korean and Chinese makers such
as Samsung SDI Co, LG Chem and CATL.

 

Toyota, Japan’s biggest carmaker, last month said it expects annual sales of
EV vehicles to reach 5.5 million in 2025, five years earlier than initially
planned.

 

 

 

 

France's Veolia advances towards $13 billion Suez takeover despite hiccups

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Veolia VIE.PA succeeded in its bid to buy a 29.9%
stake in waste and water management rival Suez SEVI.PA on Monday, paving the
way for a full takeover offer despite an attempt by the French government to
stall the deal.

 

Veolia said it would launch a tender offer at 18 euros a share, the same
price it offered power group Engie ENGIE.PA for its stake, in a deal that
would value Suez at 11.2 billion euros ($13.20 billion).

 

It aims to reinforce its reach globally thanks to the takeover, in a highly
fragmented industry. Veolia has met with fierce opposition from Suez so far,
and the deal has been plagued by hostilities between the parties.

 

In another twist on Monday, the French state, a major shareholder in Engie,
voted against selling the stake to Veolia, although a majority of the
utility’s board gave its approval.

 

The dissent raised eyebrows in France, where the government usually has a
strong influence on the companies in which it has a stake.

 

Veolia said it wanted to resume discussions with Suez as of Tuesday, after
pledging not to launch its tender offer until it got approval from its
target’s board.

 

It has argued the deal will create a “world super champion” in waste and
water management, better equipped to take on rivals emerging from China,
while the takeover would also lead to cost savings of 500 million euros from
the first year.

 

In a bid to overcome antitrust hurdles, as the two firms manage much of
France’s water supply, it confirmed a plan to sell Suez’s French water
business to infrastructure fund Meridiam. It added that Meridiam would
guarantee jobs and invest in the business.

 

 

REMAINING HURDLES

Despite a growing war of words between Suez and Veolia, Engie Chairman
Jean-Pierre Clamadieu said he believed the two could reach an agreement now
the matter of the stake sale was resolved.

 

“I witnessed the start of a dialogue,” Clamadieu told reporters.

 

The French government, which had been trying to mediate between the parties
and had urged them to take their time, had been holding out for Veolia and
Suez to bury the hatchet before the stake sale, Clamadieu added.

 

He said relations with the state were still good but that the company and
the government had been defending different interests.

 

Veolia had hiked its offer for the stake to 3.4 billion euros, and Engie,
which is trying to simplify its unwieldy structure and sell assets, said on
Monday it would make a capital gain of 1.8 billion euros before tax on the
sale.

 

Suez has repeatedly called Veolia’s approach hostile. It has warned it could
lead to job losses, and the row had spilled into politics too.

 

Last week several French parliamentarians, mostly from President Emmanuel
Macron’s party, also questioned the industrial logic of the deal and the
rush to close it without considering alternatives.

 

Suez had pleaded for more time to come up with another suitor. But the only
one that emerged, private equity firm Ardian, walked away earlier on Monday,
saying it needed six weeks to do full due diligence on any offer.

 

Suez has put up other hurdles which are yet to be resolved, including after
it created a foundation to house its French water business, complicating any
takeover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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Skype:         Bulls.Bears 



 

 

 


 

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

 


 

 


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344 1674

 


 

 

 

 

 

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