Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 September 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 17 September 2020

 


 

 


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ü  ByteDance's bid to keep most of TikTok faces major hurdles

ü  Indian IT firm Happiest Minds more than doubles in market debut

ü  Goldman Sachs names new co-COO of global TMT banking: memo

ü  JPMorgan stops paying for junior staff to take Uber rides to work:
Bloomberg News

ü  Morgan Stanley doesn't expect trading boom to continue

ü  Bank of America sees net interest income stabilizing by year's end: CEO

ü  Citigroup's next CEO has Herculean task: turning the bank around for real

ü  BA boss says there is no need to fire and rehire staff

ü  UK government could take stake in Sizewell nuclear power station

ü  Ghana economy contracts for the first time in nearly four decades

ü  EU launches project to support Zambia's agri-businesses

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 


ByteDance's bid to keep most of TikTok faces major hurdles

NEW YORK (Reuters) - China’s ByteDance faces an uphill struggle to convince
the White House to allow it to keep majority ownership of its popular short
video app TikTok in the United States, according to former national security
officials and regulatory lawyers.

 

Trump ordered ByteDance last month to divest TikTok amid U.S. concerns that
the personal data of as many as 100 million Americans that use the app could
be passed on to China’s Communist Party government. He has threatened to ban
TikTok in the United States as early as Sept. 20 if ByteDance does not
comply.

 

ByteDance has submitted a plan to U.S. officials for it to keep a majority
stake in TikTok’s global business and create headquarters for TikTok in the
United States, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The proposal is being reviewed
by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S.
government panel chaired by the U.S. Treasury Department.

 

“Conceptually I can tell you I don’t like that (ByteDance keeping a majority
ownership of TikTok). That has been reported, but it has not been told to me
yet. If that is the case, I’m not going to be happy with that,” Trump told
reporters at the White House on Wednesday. He added that would be briefed on
the deal and consider it on Thursday.

 

Were Trump to approve the deal, he would have to amend an executive order he
signed on Aug. 14 directing ByteDance to divest TikTok in the United States,
something that no U.S. President has ever done in the history of national
security reviews, CFIUS experts said.

 

“After CFIUS made a recommendation to the President and the President issued
an executive order requiring divestment, it would be unprecedented for the
parties to negotiate a solution short of a divestment, though it would
clearly be within the authority of the President to modify his order” said
Aimen Mir, who oversaw CFIUS reviews between 2014 and 2018 as Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Investment Security at the U.S. Department of the
Treasury, and is now a partner at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
LLP.

 

ByteDance, the White House and the Treasury did not respond to requests for
comment.

 

To be sure, CFIUS has allowed foreign firms to keep sensitive U.S. assets on
several occasions, by imposing oversight and restrictions on how they are
operated.

 

China's Lenovo 0992.HK acquired IBM's personal computer business in 2005 and
Japan's SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T acquired U.S. wireless carrier Sprint in
2013 by agreeing to CFIUS conditions such as giving the U.S. government a
say on board directors and vendor relationships. ByteDance has proposed
similar measures to CFIUS, sources have said.

 

“Even if a company’s affiliate is concerning to CFIUS, as long as that
affiliate is isolated to CFIUS’s satisfaction, then the transaction can
work. CFIUS has requested and has been satisfied with isolating mitigation
measures in the past,” said Nevena Simidjiyska, a regulatory lawyer at Fox
Rothschild LLP.

 

ByteDance has also explored divesting a majority stake in the U.S. business
of TikTok, and in July it signed a letter of intent with Microsoft Corp
MSFT.O that contemplated the sale of that business to the Redmond,
Washington-based company.

 

However, Microsoft said on Sunday that ByteDance had turned down its offer,
and it remains unclear whether the Chinese firm would shed most of its
ownership of TikTok to clinch a deal with the White House.

 

SECURITY MEASURES

Another hurdle for ByteDance, CFIUS experts said, is that it is discussing
offering a minority stake in TikTok to Oracle Corp ORCL.N, while also having
the technology giant take over the management of its user data and ensuring
it is ringfenced from China.

 

CFIUS typically calls for parties responsible for security arrangements to
be independent of the companies they oversee. For example, when CFIUS
allowed China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co Ltd to acquire of U.S. insurer
Genworth Financial Inc GNW.N two years ago, it negotiated installing a
U.S.-based, third-party service provider to manage Genworth's U.S.
policyholder data. That provider had no stake in Genworth's business.

 

“For CFIUS to get comfortable with a third party having both an ownership
stake and a security responsibility, they would have to have a firm basis
for trusting the U.S. business partner, conclude that the security measures
would be technically effective, and be convinced that it is possible for the
business to be commercially successful even while strictly adhering to the
security measures,” Mir said.

 

ByteDance is referring to Oracle as a “trusted technology partner”. CFIUS
previously rejected the use of trusted technology partners when considering
whether ByteDance should divest TikTok, the video app disclosed in an Aug.
24 lawsuit against the United States challenging Trump’s order to ban it.

 

Oracle did not respond to a request for comment.

 

 

 

Indian IT firm Happiest Minds more than doubles in market debut

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Shares of India's Happiest Minds Technologies Ltd
HAPP.NS more than doubled in their stock market debut on Thursday,
underscoring strong investor interest in IT services firms during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The stock opened at 350 rupees, well above its initial public offering (IPO)
price of 166 rupees that valued the company at about 24.4 billion rupees
($331 million). At its high of 394.95 rupees, the company was valued at 58
billion rupees.

 

Exchange data showed investors had bid for nearly 151 times the number of
shares on offer from the company led by Ashok Soota, a veteran of India's
nearly $200 billion IT industry who also co-founded larger firm Mindtree Ltd
MINT.NS. Soota is also Happiest Minds' top individual shareholder.

 

The Bengaluru-based company derives 97% of its revenue from fast-growing
digital IT services - such as analytics and artificial intelligence- and
cloud-enabled services - compared with 30%-50% for traditional Indian IT
services peers, analysts at Motilal Oswal estimated this month.

 

“Investors are realising the resilience of the sector as well as strong
demand for IT, post the COVID-19 crisis,” Sneha Poddar, an analyst at
Motilal Oswal said on Thursday.

 

“The fact that Happiest Minds comes from a strong management background also
acts as a key positive ... as people have seen how Mindtree has performed.”

 

In the year ended March 2020, Happiest Minds’ revenue jumped 18% to nearly 7
billion rupees, IPO documents showed, while it reported a profit of 717
million rupees, about five times as much as a year earlier.

 

India's IT stocks .NIFTYIT have been among the few sectors to clock gains in
2020, gaining 28% so far this year.

 

The Indian stock market has seen only a handful of IPOs this year compared
with more than a dozen in 2019, as the coronavirus crisis hammered risk
appetite. The highly awaited listing of SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd
SBIC.NS, the year's biggest, got a tepid response in mid-March.

 

 

 

 

Goldman Sachs names new co-COO of global TMT banking: memo

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group promoted Barry O’Brien to co-chief operating
officer of its global tech, telecom and media investment (TMT) banking team,
according to a memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

 

O’Brien, formerly co-head of the bank’s TMT M&A team, will hold the role
with Jung Min, Goldman Sachs global head of TMT Nick Giovanni wrote in the
memo to staff, the contents of which were confirmed by a bank spokesperson.

 

O’Brien, 43, joined Goldman Sachs in 2000 and was named partner in 2018. A
Irish native and marathon runner, he has worked on major tech and media
deals, including the $7.3 billion Grubhub sale to Just Eat Takeaway earlier
this year and the Match.com spin-off from IAC.

 

He will replace Kim Posnett, who was named co-head of global investment
banking services unit earlier this week as the first woman to fill the role.
Based in New York, O’Brien will report to Giovanni.

 

Global tech M&A business has been booming during the pandemic and rising to
the highest level since 2000. Goldman Sachs captured 34.6% of global market
share for tech deals this year, according to Refinitiv data.

 

 

 

JPMorgan stops paying for junior staff to take Uber rides to work: Bloomberg
News

(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co will not pay for junior sales and trading
staff to take an Uber to work, reversing actions the bank took after the
COVID-19 pandemic to help staff feel comfortable about commuting to work,
Bloomberg News reported.

 

The change was communicated by managers last week, Bloomberg reported
here&sref=2h1zKciy on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter,
who asked not to be identified discussing an internal policy.

 

JPMorgan had started reimbursing employees for Uber and taxi rides to work
for traders below the managing director level right after the pandemic
started, according to the report, which added the recent change is causing
anxiety among junior staff who are uncomfortable taking public transport

 

The bank’s executives had previously told managing directors and some
executive directors within its sales and trading operation that they must
return to the office by Sept. 21.

 

Bloomberg News on Tuesday had reported that JPMorgan sent some of its
Manhattan workers home this week after an employee in equities trading
tested positive for COVID-19.

 

The bank did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

 

 

 

 

Morgan Stanley doesn't expect trading boom to continue

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley MS.N Chief Financial Officer Jonathan
Pruzan said on Wednesday the bank doesn't expect its sales and trading and
investment banking business to perform as well in the third quarter as it
had in the second.

 

Pruzan, at a virtual conference hosted by Barclays, said that August
activity levels had still been good and the bank had seen “no real
slowdown”.

 

“From an Institutional Securities Group (ISG) perspective, we’re not going
to have as good a quarter as we did in the second quarter, but I would say
it’s sort of better than a typical summer quarter,” Pruzan said.

 

 

During the second quarter, Wall Street’s big investment banks gained from
huge swings in financial markets due to the coronavirus crisis.

 

Pruzan said the bank was still seeing “very constructive markets” across all
parts of its sales and trading and investment banking business.

 

JP Morgan said on Tuesday that its third-quarter trading revenue would be up
about 20% from a year earlier.

 

Pruzan said he expected net interest income at the bank’s wealth management
business would “drift down a little bit” in the third quarter, in line with
previous guidance.

 

Pruzan also confirmed the bank is on track to complete its $13 billion
acquisition of discount brokerage E*Trade Financial Corp in the fourth
quarter, in line with previous guidance.

 

He said the bank’s capital strength meant it had “real flexibility” for
pursuing opportunities beyond the E*Trade deal. The bank is open to
opportunities that make strategic sense in investment management, Pruzan
said.

 

 

 

Bank of America sees net interest income stabilizing by year's end: CEO

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp BAC.N Chief Executive Officer Brian
Moynihan told investors on Tuesday that the worst pandemic-related revenue
declines could soon be in the rear-view mirror.

 

Speaking at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference, Moynihan said
third quarter net interest income, a closely watched measure of how much
money the bank makes from lending, is expected to fall by up to $700 million
due to a drop-off in loan demand. However, he predicted revenue will
stabilize going into the end of the year.

 

“It looks like 3Q will be the bottom,” he said. “It’ll take another several
quarters before it really starts growing again ... But right now, it looks
like this quarter could be the trough based on everything I see.”

 

Bank profitability took at hit in the first half of the year as the four
largest U.S. lenders set aside nearly $60 billion to brace for potential
loan losses as the coronavirus pandemic halted economic activity across the
country. The Federal Reserve also slashed interest rates nearly to zero in
response to the crisis, further limiting how much banks could make from
lending.

 

Bank of America, the second largest U.S. bank by assets, does not expect to
need to book another significant expense for loan loss reserves in the third
quarter based on current trends.

 

“We set our second quarter reserves with a set of scenarios that had turned
out that the actual data has been better,” Moynihan said.

 

Fee-based income continues to be a bright spot for the bank, though at more
modest levels. Trading revenue is expected to be up 5% from last year
compared with a 35% surge in the second quarter. Investment banking fees,
which saw a record 57% jump last quarter, are expected to grow between 3%
and 5%.

 

 

 

Citigroup's next CEO has Herculean task: turning the bank around for real

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Jane Fraser takes the helm of Citigroup Inc C.N in
February, she will have some big tasks ahead of her.

 

Citigroup, the third-largest U.S. lender, has struggled for years to
convince Wall Street that management’s vision of a global bank with a
hodgepodge of profitable, if unrelated, businesses will work.

 

Profit targets set years ago by CEO Mike Corbat proved hard to reach even
after revisions and major cost cuts. And although Citigroup is a much
different bank than the one that required a $45 billion bailout to survive
the 2007-2009 financial crisis, it still carries a stigma from failures that
led it there.

 

Citigroup’s legal battles with hedge funds after mistakenly sending them
$900 million of its own funds suggests that it has ongoing technology
issues, analysts, investors and insiders said. Those problems have been a
sticking point with regulators, which have pushed Citi to fix them in order
to pass annual stress tests.

 

Although Fraser’s promotion was celebrated on Thursday as a sign that women
can get ahead on Wall Street, analysts and investors said the halo will last
only as long as she can deliver results.

 

“The job of this woman is to get new business, solve the problem with the
government on the technology - and get new business,” said Dick Bove, a
longtime bank analyst with Odeon Capital Group. “That’s her job, and I think
if anybody can do it, she can.”

 

Bove and others put Fraser’s challenges into three buckets: growing revenue,
addressing costly operational issues and truly repairing Citi’s brand, which
has been tarnished for over a decade.

 

Fraser, 53, has a reputation as a “fix-it” executive, and many expressed
faith in her abilities.

 

A former Goldman Sachs investment banker and McKinsey consultant, Fraser
cleaned up Citigroup’s toxic mortgage book after the financial crisis, then
its Latin America business after scandals erupted in Mexico, and has been
leading its global consumer bank - which Citi is trying to grow - since
October.

 

Although Fraser had been seen as a front-runner to succeed Corbat for
awhile, many analysts found the change to be abrupt. Most expected a
longer-term transition that might take a year or two, with some questioning
why Citigroup made the announcement on a seemingly random Thursday in
September.

 

Some investors had hoped Citigroup would appoint an outsider with a fresh
perspective as its next CEO, KBW analyst Brian Kleinhanzl said in a note
predicting an underwhelming share reaction to the news.

 

Citigroup shares fell 0.9% on Thursday, compared with a 1.8% decline in the
S&P 500 index.

 

The 43% total return shareholders have gotten since the beginning of
Corbat's tenure in 2012 through Wednesday's close pales in comparison to the
137% return for JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N shares and 169% for Bank of
America Corp BAC.N shares during the same time frame, according to Refinitiv
data.

 

Out of the top six U.S. Wall Street banks, Citigroup's total return is
higher only than that of Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N, which has been plagued by
various scandals since 2016.

 

A Citigroup executive who spoke to Reuters said staffers were happy with
Fraser’s appointment. The person, who was not authorized to speak to the
press, said she is seen as someone who understands Citigroup’s key
businesses and can repair ties with investors and the government.

 

The person noted Fraser’s success with regulators who scrutinized
Citigroup’s woes in Mexico, which ranged from bad underwriting in mortgages
to oil loans that were later found to be fraudulent.

 

One major investor said Fraser may be the CEO who can turn Citigroup around.
The person described her as someone who has shown she can cut costs and
invest in businesses appropriately, and comes across as truly caring about
Citigroup’s welfare. But it will not be a cakewalk for Fraser to get the
bank to perform in line with peers again.

 

“She will start in ‘prove-it’ mode,” the person said, “and there is a lot to
prove.”

 

 

China's Communist Party demands private sector's loyalty as external risks
rise

BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s ruling Communist Party is demanding a show of
greater loyalty from the sprawling private sector as the world’s
second-largest economy grapples with growing external risks, from open U.S.
hostility to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

In recent years, the party has sought to tighten its grip on private
businesses, by taking stakes in non-state enterprises or installing
officials in large firms, even as President Xi Jinping repeatedly pledged to
back the sector key to growth and jobs.

 

Citing rising risks and diversified values and interests among
entrepreneurs, the party issued guidelines late on Tuesday advising private
firms how to position themselves politically.

 

Business people must “maintain high consistency” with the party regarding
the political aspects of position, direction and principles, say the
guidelines published by the Xinhua official news agency.

 

“We should build a backbone team of people in the private economy that can
be relied on and used at critical moments,” it said.

 

The party also encouraged private firms to participate in reforms of state
firms and the “Belt and Road” initiative, while pledging to improve the
business environment for them.

 

In remarks published by Xinhua on Wednesday, Xi said the non-state sector
was a vital part of China’s economy and reaffirmed his longstanding pledge
to give “unwavering” support to private as well as state-owned firms.

 

China’s once-vibrant private firms are struggling to fend off the impact of
the virus, despite government pledges to boost credit and tax support and
open up more state-dominated sectors, analysts said.

 

The deepening rift with United States and the pandemic have amplified
worries among private businesses over their political status, said Xin Sun,
a lecturer in Chinese and East Asian business at King’s College London.

 

“As a result, many private business owners become less confident in China’s
economic prospects, and presumably, also, the future of Communist rule,” Sun
said.

 

“At the same time, the party does still need contribution from the private
sector, especially during such difficult times, in various important
economic and political areas.”

 

 

 

 

Nasdaq makes push into anti-money laundering tech with new AI-based system

LONDON (Reuters) - Exchange group Nasdaq said on Wednesday that it is
launching AI technology to help retail and commercial banks automate
anti-money laundering (AML)investigations, as it expands into the financial
crime software market.

 

The company hopes the system can make it quicker and cheaper for banks and
other financial institutions to sift through the deluge of alerts flagging
possible cases of money laundering generated by bank transaction monitoring
systems.

 

The process of investigating alerts, which can potentially be as many as
300,000 a month, is currently manual, making it costly and labour intensive,
Nasdaq said. Banks usually cast a wide net to catch illicit activity so the
vast majority of these alerts ends up being false.

 

“Banks are worried about that wide net because of the cost,” said Darren
Innes, head of AML technology, sell-side and buy-side solutions at Nasdaq.
“We are giving them the opportunity to reduce that cost.” Banks have seen
the number of alerts surge during COVID-19 as illicit activity attempts
increased, Innes said.

 

While Nasdaq has long been a provider of market technology, including trade
surveillance systems, the launch marks the exchange group’s foray into the
AML sector.

 

It comes as banks and other financial firms look to automate many of their
more expensive and complex back office processes to reduce costs and
increase efficiency.

 

“We have been thinking long and hard on how we want to go beyond trade
surveillance,” said Valerie Bannert-Thurner, senior vice president and head
of sell-side and buy-side solutions, market technology at Nasdaq. “It’s a
product launch but strategically it’s a launch beyond trade surveillance. We
have great ambitions in the space.”

 

Nasdaq’s new system, which was built with UK-based startup Caspian, collates
the data needed to conduct an AML investigation and analyses the information
using software that replicates human decision making, the company said.

 

 

 

 

Fed vows prolonged economic support for US

The US central bank has pledged to continue its support for the US economy
for several years, as households and businesses slowly recover from the
impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Most Federal Reserve leaders said they expected to keep interest rates near
zero for at least the next three years.

 

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said officials did not expect to change course until
the recovery was "very far" along.

 

He also warned the rebound could be at risk without more government
spending.

 

Following the bank's September meeting, Mr Powell said government aid for
businesses and workers hurt by coronavirus had been "critical" to a
better-than-expected recovery so far.

 

Outlook change

Projections released on Wednesday showed bank leaders expect the US economy
to shrink by 3.5% this year - less than the 6.5% decline feared in June.

 

They also said they expected the unemployment rate to fall to about 7.6% by
the end of the year, lower than previously anticipated.

 

But Mr Powell warned the recovery could falter, unless politicians approve
additional aid.

 

"The real question is when and how much and what will be the content and no
one has any certainty around that," he said. "If we don't have that, then
there would certainly be downside risks."

 

Trump call for stimulus

Mr Powell's comments came as lawmakers in Washington remain at an impasse
over further spending, with Democrats calling for more aggressive action
than many Republicans support.

 

In a tweet, President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged his party to back
"much higher numbers" for aid.

 

However, he has largely dismissed economic warnings, saying the US is doing
"unbelievably well" and seizing on signs of recovery to make his case as he
campaigns for re-election in November.

 

Polls show a majority of Americans still approve of the president's handling
of the economy, but views of the economy have soured sharply since the
pandemic.

 

Output in the US shrank by more than 9% between April and June.

 

While not as severe a decline as in many other countries - in the UK, the
economy contracted by more than 20% - last month's jobless rate of 8.4%
remained more than double the February level. Nearly 30 million Americans
continue to collect unemployment benefits.

 

Fed response to pandemic

The Federal Reserve has taken what Mr Powell described as "forceful" steps
in response, including dropping interest rates near zero and buying roughly
$2tn in US government debt.

 

Last month, the bank also said it was relaxing its approach to managing
inflation, targeting potentially higher price increases to try to stimulate
growth and bolster employment.

 

On Wednesday, the bank confirmed that shift, saying it expected to leave
interest rates near zero until inflation was "on track to moderately exceed"
its 2% target "for some time".

 

Mr Powell on Wednesday said he hoped the bank's "highly accommodative"
stance - keeping interest rates low and supporting borrowing with ongoing
securities purchases - would serve as a "powerful tool" to spur economic
activity over time.

 

"This is the kind of guidance that will provide support for the economy over
time," he said.

 

But he has repeatedly said the bank's powers to address the current crisis
are limited and urged Congress to approve further aid.

 

Dr Kerstin Braun, president of Stenn International, a UK-based trade finance
provider, said Mr Powell "has done what he can to stop economic freefall".

 

"The US economy is crying out for fiscal stimulus given how uneven the
pandemic's impact has been across a whole range of sectors - the economic
rebound simply cannot be wholly organic," she said.

 

The Fed is operating "in the dark" amid so much political and economic
uncertainty, said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

 

"All the Fed can really do is continue to stress its willingness to do
whatever it takes and its willingness to overlook overshoots on inflation
should they emerge," he said.-bbc

 

 

 

BA boss says there is no need to fire and rehire staff

There is no need for British Airways to lay off cabin crew and then rehire
them on inferior terms, boss Alex Cruz has said.

 

Unions and MPs had accused the airline of following a "fire and rehire"
policy, which saw some employees facing pay cuts of up to 50%.

 

But Mr Cruz told MPs "there will be no need to issue new contracts", subject
to staff approval.

 

BA reached the outline of a jobs agreement with union Unite last week.

 

The pair have been in a bitter dispute over BA's plans to shed up to 13,000
jobs and cut pay, amid a collapse in demand for air travel.

 

Speaking to the Transport Select Committee, Mr Cruz said it was a matter of
"regret" that it took 73 days for BA's non-pilot unions to sit down and
negotiate.

 

But Labour MP Sam Tarry responded: "I would argue that if you hadn't put a
metaphorical gun to their head then that might not have happened."

 

 

Mr Cruz said the airline would now follow the "standard methodology" of
union agreements and make amendments to existing the contracts.

 

Details are still being worked out and ballots of some staff are yet to be
held.

 

Long-serving cabin crew members face a 15% pay reduction, while hoping to
retain many of the allowances which constitute a significant part of their
overall pay.

 

"We have reached agreements in a majority of areas," Mr Cruz said.

 

"We very much hope that the result of the ballots will be to accept those
ballots."

 

'Devastated business'

In relation to whether or not BA will have to make 13,000 staff redundant,
Mr Cruz said that the company didn't "need to get to that number".

 

However, a large number of long-serving cabin crew have taken voluntary
redundancy and many staff felt that the terms being offered at the time
meant that was their only choice.

 

Mr Cruz told MPs that the pandemic had "devastated our business... and we're
still fighting for our own survival".

 

Last week the airline flew about 187,000 passengers - about 25%-30% of its
normal flight schedule.

 

"Everyone is facing decisions we never wanted to face," Mr Cruz said.

 

He said he had taken a 33% pay cut during the pandemic, reducing his salary
from the £805,000 he earned in 2019.

 

But he refused to comment on an £833,000 bonus paid to the outgoing boss of
BA's parent company, Willie Walsh.

 

IAG faced a backlash from shareholders over that payment to Mr Walsh who
left the company last week.-bbc

 

 

 

UK government could take stake in Sizewell nuclear power station

The collapse of a project to build a new nuclear power station at Wylfa,
Wales may accelerate government approval of a new station at Sizewell,
government and industry sources say.

 

The government is disappointed after Japan's Hitachi pulled out but insists
it is committed to new nuclear as way to decarbonise the UK power supply.

 

It is looking at options to replace China's CGN as an investor in Sizewell.

 

That could include the government taking a stake in the plant.

 

Of six sites originally identified over a decade ago for replacements for
the UK's ageing nuclear fleet, only one is under construction, three have
been abandoned and two are waiting approval.

 

One major sticking point over Sizewell has been the involvement of Chinese
state-owned company China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) in the UK's new
nuclear plans.

 

Nuclear: Hitachi scraps £20bn Wylfa power plant

CGN already owns a 33% stake in Hinkley Point C in Somerset, currently under
construction by French firm EDF, which owns the other two thirds.

 

The Chinese firm also took a 20% stake in the development phase of Sizewell
on the understanding it would participate in the construction phase and then
land the ultimate prize of building a reactor of its own design at Bradwell
in Essex.

 

Industry sources and within the government say Chinese involvement in
designing and running its own design nuclear reactor on UK soil "looks
dead", given revived security concerns and deteriorating diplomatic
relations after the government's decision to phase out Chinese firm Huawei's
equipment from a new generation of telecommunication networks.

 

If a mobile network is considered too sensitive, it's hard to argue that a
nuclear power station is not.

 

State aid rules

If CGN are excluded the government may choose to take a direct stake in
Sizewell, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

There was a time when a Conservative government would have been very
reluctant to take a direct stake in a commercial development. That time has
passed.

 

One of the reasons the government is fighting tooth and nail to free itself
of the EU's conditions on state aid is so that it can turbocharge
technologies it thinks will make a lasting difference to the UK economy and
its workers.

 

It's no secret that Boris Johnson's powerful adviser Dominic Cummings is a
big fan of the idea of small nuclear reactors and EDF are telling him that
big nuclear is an important stepping stone to small.

 

EDF has also been very vocal about the advantages of reproducing the design
of Hinkley at Sizewell. Although a similar design of reactor ran into major
cost and time overruns in France and Finland, EDF says they UK is poised to
benefit from the lessons learned from those mistakes. It also points out
that the UK will benefit from transferring high skilled jobs from one site
to another.

 

There was a time, not so long ago, that government ministers talked
enthusiastically about "a new nuclear age". A fleet of brand new reactors
producing reliable, low carbon (but expensive) electricity for decades to
come.

 

Hinkley, Moorside, Wylfa, Oldbury, Bradwell and Sizewell were identified as
the sites for the most significant national wave of new nuclear power
construction anywhere in the world.

 

Of those six, only one is under construction, three have been abandoned, and
two are still waiting for the green light.

 

The next couple of weeks could tell us which way the wind is really blowing
on the government's appetite for both nuclear energy and new levels of
direct state investment.-bbc

 

 

 

Ghana economy contracts for the first time in nearly four decades

(Reuters) - Ghana's economy contracted for the first time in almost four
decades in the second quarter, by an annual 3.2%, hit by the fallout of the
coronavirus pandemic, the statistics office said on Wednesday.

 

The gold-, oil-, and cocoa-producing West African nation imposed a
three-week lockdown at the start of the pandemic in March, leading to the
shutdown of numerous businesses, government statistician Samuel Kobina Annim
told a news conference.

 

"Even after the restrictions have been lifted, many businesses across
sectors have continued to close down," Kobina Annim said.-nasdaq

 

 

 

Southern Africa’s new emerging impact investment market

Over the last two years, Zambia has gained visibility and has started to
attract increased investor interest as an emerging impact investment
location in Southern Africa. And this is an accelerating trend thanks to
continuing, concerted efforts to strengthen the impact investing ecosystem
in the country.

 

The recently formed National Advisory Board (NAB) on Impact Investing for
Zambia – recognized by the Global Steering Group at its annual summit in
2019 – is spearheading efforts to bring more investable opportunities to the
table, raise investor awareness of Zambia, build local intermediation
capacity and advocate for better impact investment regulation. In
partnership with the NAB, the UKaid funded organization Prospero Zambia is
working to provide the financial and technical support required to bring the
impact investment revolution to Zambia.

 

Zambia is well-known for its copper-based, raw-material exporting economy;
but economic diversification and increasing investment in value addition are
accelerating as businesses gear up to serve a growing and urbanizing
population

 

Pioneering Zambian businesses are attracting increased investor interest,
offering growth opportunities and significant, positive social and
environmental impacts.

 

 

 

SMEs specializing in activities such as food processing, solar energy and
other renewables, and conservation tourism are key players in a new
generation of Zambian businesses that have successfully raised impact
finance to support business growth. Over the last two years, Prospero Zambia
has been working with such businesses to make them investment ready –
guiding them through the process of preparing for due diligence, meeting
potential investors and negotiating investment deals.

 

This effort has borne fruit – so far Prospero has helped to complete 10
deals with a cumulative value of £41,444,212. At the same time, new local
specialist players are emerging as effective deal making intermediaries and
as financial and non-financial service providers – helping to bring growth
businesses and impact investors together.

 

The vision for Zambia is that it will emerge as a regional hub for impact
investment in Southern Africa – surrounded as it is by other early stage but
high potential markets such as Botswana or DRC. There is a long way to go,
but the ambition is clear and investors more familiar with Nairobi or Cape
Town are starting to pay attention.

 

In this context, the NAB is now working with private sector and government
stakeholders to promote tangible and lasting change in the impact investing
ecosystem to allow more deals to be done – vital for the growth of a country
that has seen general economic growth and boasts massive natural resources,
but has seen poverty incidence increase in recent years. The NAB is
committed to working with all stakeholders to realise the potential for
investment in sectors including agriculture and food value addition,
sustainable tourism and conservation, as well as health and education.

 

The NAB with the support of UK consultancy firm Social Value Solutions (SVS)
is now launching an Impact Investment Climate Survey for Zambia and wants
investors to help shape its future priorities.

 

The survey will target leading impact investors who are considering or
currently operating in Zambia itself, in the southern Africa region. The NAB
wants to understand better how much investors know about Zambia and how they
perceive the country as an investment location. If the dream of the regional
hub is to become reality, the NAB needs to have a solid evidence base for
its advocacy efforts within the country. By understanding what investors
know about Zambia and how investors feel about Zambia, the NAB will be able
to target its resources most effectively.mwebantu

 

 

 

EU launches project to support Zambia's agri-businesses

(Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has launched a 25.9 million Euros fund
aimed at supporting smallholder farmers in the agri-business.

 

The new agribusiness development project will benefit 150,000 smallholder
farmers with particular attention to the creation of decent employment
opportunities for women and youth, according to an emailed release from the
EU Office in Zambia on Tuesday.

 

The EU will grant around 150,000 Euros to winners of an Enterprise Zambian
Challenge Fund who will demonstrate that their envisaged investments were
not only innovative but that they will also contribute to the smallholder
farmers' commercialization and better integration into sustainable value
chains.

 

The statement added that the project was part of the EU support to Zambia's
Smallholder Farmers Program supported by Gorta-Self-Help Africa and Imani
Development Limited.

 

The project was expected to increase smallholder farmers' opportunities in
agriculture, agroforestry, and aquaculture value chains.

 

Jacek Jankowski, EU Ambassador to Zambia pledged the organization's
continued support to Zambia amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"Zambia has a potential to not only get smallholder farmers out of
subsistence level, but also become players that promote and benefit from
more sustainable, less carbon-intensive and climate change resilient
agri-food systems," he said in the release.

 

According to him, the new funds will support the private sector to leverage
investments for stronger market integration and to improve cooperation for
sustainable value chain development.

 

Gorta-Self-Help Africa's Country Director in Zambia Elia Manda said
investing in small and medium-sized enterprises and smallholder farmers to
transition to greener and more sustainable agri-food systems and tackle the
challenge presented by COVID-19 provides an opportunity to generate
employment opportunities, particularly for women and youth. Enditem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

 

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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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