Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 25 September 2020

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 25 September 2020

 


 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 

 


 

 

ü  Sunak defends emergency jobs scheme

ü  Shoppers could pay more after no-deal Brexit

ü  Harley-Davidson to exit world's biggest bike market

ü  China’s new richest person is a bottled water tycoon

ü  'One day everyone will use China's digital currency'

ü  Will the chancellor's plan to save jobs work?

ü  VAT cut to be extended for hospitality sector

ü  Cineworld swings to huge loss after virus closures

ü  Investor Baillie Gifford bets more on China as Asia draws more capital in
a post-coronavirus world

ü  Kenya And Ghana Are The Jewels In The Crown Of Africa’s Mobile Payments
Efforts

ü  ‘Nigeria has potential for over a million vehicles a year’

ü  Tax collection warning as South Africa’s economy likely to continue to
struggle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 <mailto:info at bulls.co.zw> 

 


 


Sunak defends emergency jobs scheme

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said it is "impossible" to predict how many jobs
the government's new wage subsidy scheme will save.

 

The scheme, set to replace furlough, will see the government top up the pay
of people unable to work full time.

 

It aims to stop mass job cuts after the government introduced new measures
to tackle a rise in coronavirus cases.

 

Mr Sunak said he hoped the plan would "benefit large numbers", but he could
not say what job is "viable or not".

 

Under the Job Support Scheme, if bosses bring back workers part time, the
government will help top up their wages with employers to at least
three-quarters of their full-time pay.

 

It will begin on 1 November and last for six months.

 

How will the Job Support Scheme work?

Under the scheme, the government will subsidise the pay of employees who are
working fewer than their normal hours due to lower demand.

 

Employers will pay for the hours actually worked. And then the government
and the employer will between them cover two-thirds of the lost wages. But
only staff who can work at least a third of their normal hours will be
eligible for the scheme.

 

The payment will be based on an employee's normal salary, with the
government contribution capped at £697.92 per month.

 

Why is the government doing this?

Mr Sunak described the scheme as a "radical new policy", designed "to help
protect as many jobs as possible [and] keep people in part-time work rather
than laying them off".

 

However, he said it would only support "viable jobs" - as opposed to jobs
that exist because the government is continuing to subsidise the wages.

 

"It's not for me to sit here and make pronouncements upon exactly what job
is viable or not but what we do need to do is evolve our support now that
we're through the acute phase of the crisis," Mr Sunak said at a press
conference after the scheme was unveiled.

 

"We obviously can't sustain the same level of things that we were doing at
the beginning of this crisis."

 

How many jobs will this save?

The BBC understands that the Treasury is estimating that anywhere between
two and five million people could be covered by the new Jobs Support Scheme.

 

However, the chancellor told a press conference that he would be "lying" if
he tried to give precise numbers but he said that some forecasts for
unemployment "don't make for good reading".

 

Nearly three million workers - or 12% of the UK's workforce - are currently
on partial or full furlough leave, according to official figures. The
current furlough scheme ends on 31 October.

 

The government's contribution to workers' pay will fall sharply compared
with the furlough scheme. Under furlough, it initially paid 80% of a monthly
wage up to £2,500 - under the new scheme this will drop to 22%.

 

"The primary goal of our economic policy remains unchanged - to support
people's jobs - but the way we achieve that must evolve," Mr Sunak said.

 

"I cannot save every business, I cannot save every job."

 

How much will it cost?

The scheme will cost the government an estimated £300m a month. Companies
who use it can also still claim the Job Retention Bonus, where the
government pays £1,000 for every furloughed employee who comes back to work
until at least the end of January.

 

Mr Sunak said a similar scheme for the self-employed would be available.

 

Who does it help?

All small and medium-sized businesses will be eligible for the scheme but
larger business will only qualify if their turnover has fallen during the
crisis.

 

It will run for six months starting in November and be open to employers
across the UK even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme.

 

Employees must be in ''viable jobs" to benefit from the scheme. Those in
industries currently closed - such as nightclubs - may lose out as there
isn't any work.

 

Gavin McQueen, the manager of Pryzm in Leeds, sits in the club, which has
not reopened since the UK went into lockdown in March

What do businesses think?

Business lobby group the CBI welcomed the government's plan.

 

"It is right to target help on jobs with a future, but can only be part-time
while demand remains flat. This is how skills and jobs can be preserved to
enable a fast recovery," said CBI director-general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn.

 

However, Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think
tank, said that the new jobs scheme on its own "will not encourage firms to
cut hours rather than jobs because the one-third employer contribution means
it is much cheaper for firms to employ one person full-time than two people
part-time".

 

He warned that the £1,000 Job Retention Bonus firms would receive for
retaining workers at the end of January, combined with the new scheme could
create a new "cliff-edge" for job cuts.

 

"We've now got a big incentive for firms to retain workers part-time until
you qualify for the bonus."

 

Labour, meanwhile, said it would support any measures to safeguard jobs but
accused the government of acting too late.

 

What about workers?

Tracey Sheppard is a cleaner at a leisure centre in Essex who has been on
furlough since the end of March. She said she hoped the new Jobs Support
Scheme will help her, but there are no guarantees.

 

"They're a very big company that I work for 
 but I don't know whether
they'd be able to afford to keep me on
 I just don't know," she told the
BBC's World At One.

 

She said she feels "frightened" because her family only recently moved to
the area and this is the only job she can fit in around childcare.

 

"I've just heard nothing [from my employer]. The last time I heard from them
was the beginning of lockdown."

 

What else did the chancellor announce?

A cut in VAT for hospitality and tourism companies will also be extended
until March. The cut from 20% to 5% VAT - which came into force on 15 July -
had been due to expire on 12 January next year.

 

However, the Food and Drink Federation said this and the new jobs plan did
"not go far enough" in helping the industry which has been hit by the
government's new restrictions to stop coronavirus cases from rising.

 

What about loan repayments?

Mr Sunak also announced that businesses that have borrowed money through the
government's loan scheme would be given more time to repay the money.

 

The chancellor said that small businesses who took out "Bounce Back" loans
can use a new "Pay as You Grow" flexible repayment system. It means
borrowings can be repaid over 10 years instead of the original six-year
term.

 

The longer repayment time also applied to small and medium-sized firms who
borrowed under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

 

Businesses will also have more time to apply for these loans, as well as the
Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Future Fund.
Application dates for the various schemes had been due to end in October and
November.

 

Will the scheme work?

The new jobs support scheme is a fraction of what we have seen over the past
few months, and is concentrated on those deemed to be in "viable" jobs. It
cannot prevent a sharp rise in unemployment in the coming months in
"non-viable" jobs.

 

Indeed, the economic impact of this package of several billion pounds is
likely to be far outweighed, even by this week's announcement that the UK
faces a six-month "new normal" of social restrictions.

 

The Treasury has extended the bridge of support it put in place in March to
cover the next six months.

 

But the new scheme requires everybody to chip in. That will be too much for
many employers. We are about to find out just how many.--BBC

 

 

 

Shoppers could pay more after no-deal Brexit

Shoppers will feel the impact of a no-deal Brexit at supermarket tills, the
British Retail Consortium has warned.

 

The BRC said tariffs would add £3.1bn a year to the cost of importing food
and drink unless the UK and EU can strike a free trade agreement.

 

"If there is no deal before Christmas, the increase in tariffs will leave
retailers with nowhere to go other than to raise the price of food," it
said.

 

The government said it was "working hard" to reach a deal.

 

Andrew Opie, director of food at the BRC, said coronavirus was "already
making life hard for consumers", particularly those on lower incomes.

 

"A no-deal Brexit will have a massive impact on their ability to afford
essential goods," he added.

 

The EU is the UK's largest trading partner and the source of 80% of its
food, the BRC said.

 

But if the UK is unable to reach a deal with the bloc, the average tariff on
food it imports would be over 20%, the trade body warned.

 

Those tariffs include a 48% levy on beef mince, 16% on cucumbers and 57% on
cheddar cheese.

 

Under a new tariff schedule, set to come into effect in January, 85% of food
imports from the EU will be subject to a tariff of more than 5%, the BRC
said.

 

The longstanding post-Brexit promise is of free trade deals that will
decrease taxes on imports - called tariffs - and lower prices for consumers.

 

But should no trade deal be reached with the EU, from January, one of the
most noticeable impacts will be the new UK Global Tariff applying to imports
of food and drink from the EU.

 

Understandably, supermarkets have worked out the cost of applying these new
tariffs in this British Retail Consortium exercise on their own supply chain
data - the total is £3.1bn next year, versus zero this year. That is worth
about £112 per household.

 

As an illustration, if the entire cost of the tariff were passed on to
consumers a £3 pack of Irish beef mince could cost £4.08 and Spanish
cucumbers could cost 47p instead of 43p.

 

In practice, some - but not all - these cost increases would be passed on,
and some lower tariffs on imports from other places could offset those
rises.

 

But concerns about tariffs on EU food and drink imports are one of the
issues troubling retailers.

 

The BRC also said increases in "physical checks, paperwork, and other
non-tariff barriers" will further push up the cost for retailers.

 

"With coronavirus affecting the livelihoods of millions of people in the UK,
many households can ill afford higher prices for their weekly food shop," it
said.

 

It claimed that the UK grocery sector is "one of the most competitive in the
world", operating on tight margins.

 

As a result, it said, any additional costs would be passed on to customers.

 

"UK consumers have benefitted from great value, quality, and choice of food
thanks to our ability to trade tariff free with the EU," Mr Opie said.

 

"There is now the risk of a £3bn tax bill for the food we cannot source here
in the UK."

 

A government spokeswoman said: "Negotiations are ongoing and discussions
will be continuing at the next formal round in Brussels next week."

 

"The UK is a significant importer of food and other goods, and avoiding
tariffs should be beneficial to both sides, particularly given our shared
commitment to high regulatory standards.--BBC

 

 

 

 

Harley-Davidson to exit world's biggest bike market

Harley-Davidson is pulling out of India, the world's biggest motorcycle
market.

 

The iconic US motorcycle brand is stopping manufacturing and massively
scaling back its sales operations.

 

Harley's decision comes weeks after Toyota said it wouldn't expand further
in India due to the country's high tax regime.

 

The exit is a blow for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to lure
or retain foreign manufacturers.

 

Harley's departure involves $75m (£59m) in restructuring costs, around 70
redundancies and the closure of its Bawal plant in northern India.

 

The plant was opened in 2011 but Harley-Davidson has struggled to compete
with local brand Hero as well as Japan's Honda.

 

About 17 million motorcycles and scooters are sold each year in India.

 

While it is cheaper than many other developing economies, India has proven a
tough market to crack for foreign automakers.

 

General Motors pulled out of the country in 2017 while Ford agreed last year
to move most of its assets into a joint venture with Indian vehicle giant
Mahindra & Mahindra.

 

US President Donald Trump has previously complained about India's high
taxes, specifically mentioning the levies placed on Harley-Davidson bikes.

 

India's import tariffs were slashed by 50% but the brand has still struggled
in the competitive market.

 

Harley has also been suffering its own problems and recorded its first
quarterly loss in more than a decade between April and June this year.

 

It has been cutting hundreds of jobs under its new chief executive Jochen
Zeitz and focusing on core markets and models.

 

Harley Davidson came into India with much fanfare a decade ago. But it has
since, struggled to find a foothold in one of the world's most lucrative
two-wheeler markets.

 

With sales averaging under 3,000 units every year, the iconic American brand
simply couldn't capitalize on the big Asia opportunity it was betting on.

 

Auto experts put the blame on the brand's failure to drive up volumes and
derive cost efficiencies by leveraging local tie-ups.

 

This, coupled with prohibitively high taxes, a slowdown in discretionary
spending and an inability to compete with Indian brands may have prompted
the decision to call it quits.

 

"India is a high volume, low margin market. They weren't structured to play
that game, being at the very pointy end of the pyramid," Hormazd Sorabjee,
Editor of Autocar India told the BBC.

 

"The lifestyle element that goes with owning a Harley bike is also not fully
developed in India yet."

 

Incidentally the bike maker has had a better run in other Asian markets like
Thailand and Korea, precisely because the market and cost structures are
more favourable.

 

Harley's exit may not have a significant economic impact, but is bad optics
for the Modi government, which is preparing to roll out a $23bn package to
lure global manufacturers to set up base in India as part of the country's
'Make In India' policy.

 

High import tariffs on Harley have also been a flashpoint in India's trade
negotiations with the US.

 

Mr Trump has previously cited the example of Harley to call India a "tariff
king", and its decision to exit the Indian market could well set off another
diplomatic tussle with the US with whom India is negotiating a free trade
agreement.

 

Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda ride Harley-Davidsons in a scene from the film
Easy Rider.

Harley History

The iconic US motorcycle brand was founded in 1903 and has built a very
loyal customer base. It has owners' clubs all over the world.

 

It hit the global stage in 1969 thanks to the classic road movie Easy Rider
starring Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson.

 

Its bikes, nicknamed "hogs", are also made in factories in the US, Brazil
and Thailand.

 

Harley has been looking to grow the brand beyond baby boomers in the US,
with smaller models and all-electric versions.--BBC

 

 

 

 

China’s new richest person is a bottled water tycoon

The richest person is China is a bottled water tycoon, knocking Alibaba
founder Jack Ma from his mantle.

 

Zhong Shanshan founded Nongfu Spring in 1996 in the Zhejiang province on
China's Eastern coast.

 

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index now puts Mr Shanshan in top spot with
wealth of $58.7bn (£46.2bn).

 

The recent stock market listing of his bottled water firm and a controlling
stake in a vaccine maker have helped boost his fortunes.

 

Nicknamed the "Lone Wolf", Mr Zhong is now Asia's second-richest person
behind India's Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire behind Reliance Industries.

 

Mr Zhong now ranks 17th overall on its list of the world's top 500 richest
people.

 

Most of China's new billionaires come from the tech industry. But rising
tensions between China and the US over Huawei, TikTok and WeChat have pushed
down valuations of Chinese tech stocks.

 

China's food and grocery sector is now vying with its tech industry in
producing the country's richest business people.

 

In April, Mr Zhong's Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise listed on
the Chinese stock market. His controlling stake in the firm saw his overall
wealth jump as much as $20bn by August.

 

The pharma company says it has partnered with two universities to develop a
candidate vaccine to fight Covid-19.

 

Nongfu Spring shares jumped 54% on the first day of trading earlier this
month when they were listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

 

Nongfu Spring's red-capped bottles are sold nationwide from small stores to
high-end hotels. The company also sells teas, flavoured vitamin drinks and
juices.

 

The successful stock market listing propelled Mr Zhong into China's top
three richest people alongside Alibaba's Mr Ma and Tencent boss Pony Ma.

 

But this week's downturn for tech stocks saw the Chinese tycoon move up the
wealth rankings.

 

Mr Zhong may not stay ahead of Mr Ma, who has held the top spot for the past
six years, for long.

 

Alibaba-backed Ant Group is due to list on Chinese and Hong Kong stock
exchanges next month, which will boost the tech boss's wealth even further.

 

The online payments firm could net Mr Ma an estimated $28bn if the company
achieves the $250bn valuation it has been targeting.--BBC

 

 

 

'One day everyone will use China's digital currency'

Chandler Guo was a pioneer in cryptocurrency, the digital currencies that
can be created and used independently of national central banks and
governments.

 

In 2014 he set up an operation to produce one of those currencies, Bitcoin,
in a secret location in western China.

 

"Mining" Bitcoin is a power hungry enterprise involving dozens of computers
so he used power from a hydroelectric station, in partnership with a local
Chinese government official.

 

At its peak his machines were capable of mining 30% of the world's Bitcoin.
He believed Bitcoin would one day change the world and replace the dollar.

 

But now he sees a new force emerging - a payment system created by the
Chinese state and known as Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP).

 

It's really a digital version of China's official currency, the yuan, and Mr
Guo feels DCEP will become the dominant global currency. "One day everyone
in the world will be using DCEP," he says.

 

"DCEP will be successful because there are a lot of Chinese people living
outside of China - there are 39 million Chinese living outside of the
country.

 

"If they have a connection with China they will use the DCEP. They can make
DCEP become an international currency."

 

But many question whether it will succeed and there are concerns that it
will be used by Beijing to spy on citizens.

 

Like Bitcoin, DCEP utilises a blockchain technology, a type of digitised
ledger used to verify transactions.

 

Blockchain acts as a universal record of every transaction ever made on that
network, and users collaborate to verify new transactions when they occur.

 

In practice, that means users don't need a bank if, for example, they want
to pay each other, perhaps with their phones.

 

China plans to launch DCEP later this year. But so far, the People's Bank of
China has not given an exact date for the nationwide launch.

 

China began testing the digital currency earlier this year in selected
cities. When rolled out it will allow users to link downloaded electronic
wallets to their bank cards, make transactions and transfer money.

 

"It's hard to predict the timeline but the People's Bank of China is under a
lot of pressure to accelerate the development because they do not want to be
in a world where Libra (Facebook's digital currency) becomes the global
currency, which they think is worse than the current global financial system
controlled by the US," says Linghao Bao, an analyst from Beijing-based
Trivium.

 

Observers say China wants to internationalise the yuan so that it can
compete with the dollar.

 

"The Chinese government believes that if some other countries can also use
the Chinese currency it can break the United States' monetary sovereignty.
The United States has built the current global financial system and the
instruments," says an anonymous Chinese cryptocurrency observer known as
Bitfool.

 

The technology enthusiast worked in the venture capital sector before
joining a number of Chinese internet companies. He started researching
Bitcoin and believes that digital currencies represent the future of money.

 

"Some traditional banking systems can't serve a poor country. In the
traditional system, if you only have $10 a bank can't make money from you,
but with digital currency, everyone has the right to enter. The threshold to
enter is really low," he says.

 

Although Facebook has scaled back its plans for Libra, it was still a
concern for China. The social media giant plans to roll out an e-wallet
known as Novi later this year. It will work as a standalone app but can also
be available on Messenger and WhatsApp.

 

"The two sides are definitely involved in financial warfare even though no
large confrontation has happened yet," says Linghao Bao.

 

Observers like Bitfool believe that China is already further ahead of the US
in the battle for the future of money.

 

China's digital payment systems are widely seen as the most advanced in the
world.

 

The country is on the verge of becoming a cashless society. In 2019, four
out of every five payments in China were made through either Tencent's
WeChat Pay or Alibaba's Alipay.

 

"America is the leader of the global financial system. But they don't have
the motivation like China to make the change [to a digital currency]," says
Bitfool.

 

"China wants to share that power. But for America, Libra is just a backup
plan.

 

"In poor countries and also in China there are a lot of people who live in
villages. They have very little money but they are using smartphones. If you
can buy a smartphone you can use DCEP."

 

However, DCEP will be centralised and state-run, unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum
which are free of state control.

 

Many Bitcoin enthusiasts fear that DCEP will be used as a tool by the
Chinese Communist Party to exert greater control over their citizens through
surveillance. The authorities will be able to monitor how money is spent in
real time. They will also have the same controls over DCEP as with the yuan.

 

The yuan is tightly controlled by Beijing and its exchange rate is the
source of much tension between the US and China. The US accuses China of
keeping the yuan weak to benefit its economy.

 

"DCEP is the antithesis of Bitcoin. The ultimate goal of a cryptocurrency is
the separation of money and state," says Stewart Mackenzie, a cryptocurrency
expert based in Hong Kong. "It's easy for them to say that it's like Bitcoin
when it's worlds apart."

 

Linghao Bao agrees. "DCEP is built on an idea of centralised control. The
value of Bitcoin lies in its decentralisation nature and its isolation from
the financial system," Mr Bao says.

 

"I trust Bitcoin more. Because it really belongs to me," says Bitfool.--BBC

 

 

 

Will the chancellor's plan to save jobs work?

The chancellor's statement is a radical attempt to provide a shot in the arm
to the jobs market - at a very difficult time.

 

But the new jobs support scheme is a fraction of what we have seen over the
past few months, and is concentrated on those deemed to be in "viable" jobs.
It cannot prevent a sharp rise in unemployment in the coming months in
"non-viable" jobs.

 

Indeed, the economic impact of this package of several billion pounds is
likely to be far outweighed, even by this week's announcement that the UK
faces a six-month "new normal" of social restrictions.

 

The sight of Chancellor Rishi Sunak flanked by the Trade Unions Congress and
the Confederation of British Industry bosses at Number 11 was meant to show
the country that a non-ideological innovation to protect livelihoods was on
the way.

 

It is an echo of German Chancellor Angela Merkel locking the heads of the
equivalent organisations in a hotel for two days in order to come up with
the "short-time work" policy, upon which the new jobs support scheme is
based.

 

It will be possible to claim the coronavirus job retention bonus for
reemploying furloughed workers, too. It has been tailored for the UK's more
flexible jobs market. The chancellor has kept a careful eye on schemes from
all around the world.

 

But the size of the scheme also reflects the phenomenal amount of borrowing
that the government has done, and will continue to have to do, in terms of
lost tax revenue as the recovery is subdued by ongoing restrictions.

 

Funding conditions for government remain benign. But the Treasury is keeping
an eye on how sensitive the public finances are now to even a small increase
in market interest rates.

 

The Treasury has extended the bridge of support it put in place in March to
cover the next six months.

 

But the new scheme requires everybody to chip in. That will be too much for
many employers. We are about to find out just how many.--BBC

 

 

 

 

Rishi Sunak: VAT cut to be extended for hospitality sector

The chancellor has announced the extension of a VAT cut for the hospitality
and tourism sectors - some of the worst-hit by the pandemic.

 

Rishi Sunak said that the temporary reduction of VAT rates from 20% to 5%
would remain in place until 31 March 2021, rather than 13 January.

 

The measure would "help protect 2.4 million jobs through the winter", he
said.

 

But industry figures said that they were "still not out of the woods".

 

Restaurants and pubs in particular were affected by lockdown measures, and
thousands of jobs in the sector have already been lost.

 

The temporary VAT cut first came into force in July and was designed to help
hotels, restaurants, cafes and pubs to shore up their finances.

 

Some firms, however, such as KFC, Nando's and Pret, decided to pass on the
savings directly to customers by cutting prices in their outlets.

 

The chancellor said on Thursday that the extension to the VAT cut would help
"support more than 150,000 businesses" through the winter period.

 

The cut applies to food and non-alcoholic drinks, accommodation and
admission to tourist attractions across the UK, according to the Treasury's
Winter Economy Plan.

 

In a press conference on Thursday, the chancellor said that the extension
would cost the Treasury £800m - on top of the previous estimate of £2.5bn.

 

What is VAT?

Value Added Tax, or VAT, is the tax you have to pay when you buy goods or
services.

 

The standard rate of VAT in the UK is 20%, with about half the items
households spend money on subject to this rate.

 

There is a reduced rate of 5% which applies to some things such as
children's car seats and home energy.

 

When you see a price for something in a shop, any VAT will already have been
added.

 

There are also various items for which you do not have to pay any VAT, such
as most supermarket food, children's clothing, newspapers and magazines.

 

Read more about VAT.

 

'Some reason to be positive'

The chief executive of trade association UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, said
that the cut provided some good news for the sector after it was announced
that pubs and restaurants in England must now close at 22:00 BST.

 

"The announcement of further restrictions was a significant hammer blow that
will inevitably depress trading," she said.

 

"It was crucial that the chancellor delivered support today that
specifically targeted the hospitality sector which has been hit harder than
any.

 

"The chancellor has given us some reason to be positive again but we urge
him to engage with the trade on specific measures to keep people in work.

 

"While some of these measures announced today will give businesses a future
to shoot for and hope that they can begin to rebuild, we are still not out
of the woods."

 

In an attempt to boost consumer demand, Mr Sunak introduced the "Eat Out to
Help Out" scheme in August as restaurants and cafes gradually reopened over
the summer.

 

Under the scheme, diners got a state-backed 50% discount on meals and soft
drinks up to £10 each on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

 

Earlier in September, the Treasury said that more than 100 million meals had
been claimed under the scheme, which saw restaurant bookings surge.

 

But Will Hawkley, UK head of leisure at KPMG, labelled the scheme "a distant
memory", with the government's job retention scheme winding down and the
number of coronavirus cases rising in the UK.

 

"The leisure and tourism industry has understandably been feeling uneasy, if
not left questioning its survival prospects," he said.

 

"While the chancellor may have demonstrated that the sector's woes haven't
been overlooked, most businesses are likely to conclude that the extension
of the VAT cut and the latest job support measures don't go far enough.

 

"Sadly not all operators will be able to survive and further job losses will
be inevitable without further government support."

 

Many firms have been forced to make job cuts due to the impact the pandemic
has had on trade overall.

 

On Tuesday, Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn and Beefeater, warned that
6,000 staff could lose their jobs after guest numbers had slumped.

 

Last month, Pizza Express warned 1,100 people could lose their jobs under
its planned restructuring which will see the closure of 73 outlets..

 

In June, The Restaurant Group - which owns Frankie and Benny's - said it was
cutting up to 3,000 jobs.--BBC

 

 

 

 

Cineworld swings to huge loss after virus closures

Cineworld has warned it may need to raise more money in the event of further
coronavirus restrictions or film delays due to Covid-19.

 

It swung to a $1.6bn (£1.3bn) loss for the six months to June as its cinemas
were closed under lockdown.

 

"There can be no certainty as to the future impact of Covid-19 on the
group," it said.

 

The cinema giant said it had reopened 561 out of 778 sites worldwide as
lockdown restrictions have eased.

 

Six of its theatres in the UK remain closed after cinemas were forced to
shut temporarily for several months from mid-March in an attempt to contain
the spread of Covid-19.

 

The lockdown closures meant group revenues sank to $712.4m in the first six
months of the year, compared with $2.15bn a year earlier.

 

The group loss this year also marks a huge fall from the pre-tax profits of
$139.7m seen in the first six months of 2019.

 

Cineworld said it was still in talks with lenders to negotiate waivers on
banking agreements, which fall due in December and in June next year.

 

The company warned that it might have to take action if current measures
aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus were tightened.

 

"If governments were to strengthen restrictions on social gathering, which
may therefore oblige us to close our estate again or further push back movie
releases, it would have a negative impact on our financial performance and
likely require the need to raise additional liquidity."

 

Independent London cinema Peckhamplex recently announced it was being forced
to close its doors temporarily due to falling visitor numbers and delayed
releases.

 

In an email to regular visitors, it said that "the film distributors that we
rent our films from are constantly re-scheduling the big titles to further
and further away".

 

Under current plans, the cinema will close on 25 September and hopes to
reopen in November, around the time the next James Bond film is due to be
released.

 

Return to the big screen

But Cineworld said recent trading had been "encouraging considering the
circumstances", with solid demand for Christopher Nolan's spy film Tenet
released earlier in September.

 

"Despite the difficult events of the last few months, we have been delighted
by the return of global audiences to our cinemas toward the end of the first
half, as well as by the positive customer feedback we have received from
those that have waited patiently to see a movie on the big screen again,"
said chief executive Mooky Greidinger.

 

"Current trading has been encouraging considering the circumstances, further
underpinning our belief that there remains a significant difference between
watching a movie in a cinema - with high-quality screens and best-in-class
sounds - to watching it at home."

 

Cineworld's share price fell by more than 13% on Thursday after the
publication of its half-year results.

 

"Today's first half-year numbers serve to highlight the scale of the
mountain that needs to be scaled by the sector as a whole," said Michael
Hewson, senior analyst at CMC Markets.

 

He added that they "certainly back up" Cineworld's decision in June to pull
out of a $2.1bn deal to buy the Canadian cinema chain Cineplex.

 

The two firms now face a legal battle after Cineplex announced it would sue
Cineworld for $1.1bn in damages. Cineworld said on Thursday it had filed a
counterclaim against the Canadian group for alleged "losses suffered as a
result of Cineplex's breaches" of their agreement, as well as lost financing
costs and advisory fees.--BBC

 

 

 

 

Investor Baillie Gifford bets more on China as Asia draws more capital in a
post-coronavirus world

BEIJING — Global investors are stepping up their bets on Asia, particularly
China, regardless of the coronavirus pandemic’s shock to growth or growing
geopolitical tensions. 

 

Just this week, Edinburgh-based investment partnership and early Tesla
backer Baillie Gifford announced it is increasing investments in China with
the expansion of its first overseas office in Shanghai.   

 

“We believe that China’s business model, innovation, has great strength, and
will attract global development, so we think the Chinese market is a great
opportunity,” Amy Wang, head of China for Baillie Gifford, said in a phone
interview Thursday, according to a CNBC translation of her Mandarin-language
remarks.

 

The investment firm is recruiting locally in Shanghai, and three directors
will join the office, Wang said. Looking ahead, she said Baillie Gifford
plans to tap more Chinese investors through onshore funds. The government,
banks and credit institutions in China are already clients, and the firm is
in talks with insurers to become investors as well, Wang said.

 

The firm said it has about $55 billion, or about 17% of assets under
management, invested in more than 100 Chinese companies. An announcement
Thursday showed Baillie Gifford also participated in a Series C investment
round for Chongqing Jiangxiaobai Liquor led by China Renaissance. The
spirits company sells a version of local baijiu alcohol popular with many
young people in China.

 

Major investors like Baillie Gifford have long had their eye on China. Even
before the coronavirus pandemic hit global growth, many analysts expected
China’s economy to surpass that of the U.S. to become the largest in the
world in a few years. The Asian giant is already home to the world’s three
largest unicorns — start-ups valued at more than $1 billion — according to
the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute. 

 

 

The Fortune Global 500 for this year released in August also found that for
the first time, more of the companies were based in mainland China and Hong
Kong than in the U.S., at 124 versus 121.

 

Concerns about the effect of China’s development on the United States have
prompted the U.S. government to take a tougher stance against Beijing,
beginning with trade and, more recently, technology and finance. 

 

When it comes to U.S.-China capital flows in particular, however, political
pressure on both sides and the coronavirus pandemic have stalled
cross-border investment. Rhodium Group found in a report released last week
that investment flows between the world’s two largest economies in the first
six months of 2020 fell to their lowest in nearly nine years.

 

Greater interest in all things health

Covid-19 first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, before
turning into a global pandemic in the first half of this year. Authorities’
efforts to limit the spread of the disease through social distancing
measures have contributed to an acceleration of trends that many investors
were already watching, such as fresh produce delivery, online education and
health care.

 

Health care investment deal value in Asia for the first three quarters of
the year alone is around $10.7 billion, about 26% more than in all of 2019,
with China accounting for the bulk of the funds raised, according to
financial data firm Preqin. Notable sub-sectors were medical devices and
equipment, and pharmaceuticals, the firm said.

 

Even a rather niche health-related sector like alternative meat is getting
more attention. Plant-based food and meat producer Green Monday announced
Tuesday it raised $70 million, which it claims is the largest to date for
the industry in Asia. TPG’s The Rise Fund and Swire Pacific were among the
investors.

 

“Ironically, Covid actually exposes how fragile and how broken our food
system is,” Green Monday CEO and co-founder David Yeung said in a phone
interview Thursday. “Now of course in China, African swine fever has already
been happening now for more than two years and it has really devastated the
hog industry and leading to a sharp increase in pork price affecting
inflation and every household.”

 

“In terms of investors,” Yeung said, “the interest level has actually
increased this year in our field because they see that real consumer demand
is picking up, that applies to U.S., that applies to Europe, and that
certainly is picking up in Asia as well.”

 

 

Each morning, the “Beyond the Valley” newsletter brings you all the latest
from the vast, dynamic world of tech – outside the Silicon Valley.

 

The Chinese government is also contributing to some of the latest wave of
investment in the country. 

 

On Tuesday, Shanghai-based electric vehicle start-up WM Motor also announced
10 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) in funding, which the company claims is the
largest to date in the country’s EV industry. 

 

The automaker said the latest funding round was led by a Shanghai
state-owned investor group, including state-owned automaker SAIC Motor.
State-owned investment institutions from Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei and Hunan
also participated, according to WM Motor, and Baidu and Susquehanna
International Group added to their investments in the start-up. 

 

Earlier this year, competing Chinese electric vehicle start-up Nio also
announced a 7 billion yuan capital injection led by state-backed investors.
-cnbc

 

 

 

Kenya And Ghana Are The Jewels In The Crown Of Africa’s Mobile Payments
Efforts

“Mobile payments” is more of a household phrase when it comes to Africa’s
digital advancements. But much of the modern finance accolades go to two
particular countries in the continent. Kenya and Ghana are not only proof
that mobile money is a success in the continent, but also the crown on the
region’s efforts in that regard.

 

Measure By GDP

It is perhaps common knowledge that Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in
the world where nearly 10 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
transactions occur via mobile money. In Asia, it is just 10 percent, and
less than 2 percent in other regions.

 

Besides, the Financial Prosperity Barometer by PayU revealed that Africa is
the only region where mobile money is used more than traditional banks when
it comes to accessing credit. It is also one-of-a-kind as regards the
widespread use of smartphone applications for financial services.

 

So, it is no wonder that the overall mobile financial services market
penetration of Africa is second only to China. A new report by American
research firm Boston Consulting Group shows that China has the highest
utilization rate. The country’s mobile payments account for 125 percent of
its GDP each year.

 

The figure stands above 100 percent because it includes-person-to-person
transactions. Even in SSA, where smartphone penetration is significantly
lower, Kenya and Ghana have the world’s next-highest mobile payment rates.

 

Also Read:Is Nigeria’s Mobile Money Data An Unsolved Puzzle Fintechs Toy
With?

In Kenya, transactions carried out through mobile wallets and phones
represent 87 percent of the East African country’s GDP. No wonder the nation
is the birthplace of mobile money, a consequence of M-PESA‘s success.
Ghana’s mobile payments account for 82 percent of the West African country’s
GDP.

 

Ghana’s Belonging

Perhaps it is not a well-known fact that Ghana is the fastest-growing mobile
money market in Africa. The country’s registered accounts increased sixfold
between 2012 and 2017, suggesting a fresh perspective on its digital
transformation.

 

“Kenya and Ghana, with their relatively mature mobile payments sectors,
account for much of the business in Africa. In most other countries in the
region, less than 50 percent of financial transactions occur through mobile
payments,” the report says.

 

Additionally, Ghana’s mobile money market is said to have emerged when
companies packaged use cases around sharing money with family members. The
2017 Global Findex database indicates that access to formal financial
services rose from 41 percent of adults in 2014 to 58 percent in 2017.

 

It is also vital to note that Ghana’s mobile money success is the result of
an ample marriage of consumer-driven practices and the right regulations.
All of these stand of the firm foundation of early infrastructure
investments.

 

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems capture digital payments
in the country. The body saw an 81 percent increase in transaction volumes
in the first quarter of 2020. The payment systems cover credit cards, mobile
money, banking applications and electronic billing, among
others.-weetracker.com

 

 

 

‘Nigeria has potential for over a million vehicles a year’

DAVE COFFEY, is the Chief Executive Officer, African Association of
Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM). In this interview with BENJAMIN ALADE, he
assessed the continent’s automotive market, and urged the Federal Government
to implement the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP), to
attract investors into the sector.

 

The automotive industry has revved up to a higher gear in Africa, with South
Africa and Morocco currently the only significant participants in the global
automotive supply chains. What is your Association doing to ensure other
African countries come on board?

Morocco and South Africa are really industrial automotive countries; our
work in AAAM is working with governments like the Nigerian government, to
introduce policies that allow real industrialisation to take place in Africa
and that’s not the Semi Knocked-Down (SKD) production. It’s ultimately
getting to Completely Knocked-Down (CKD), that is the real
industrialisation. We identified a number of factors, which makes that key
in the sector. First, is the political will; this is key to developing the
automotive industry especially from an investment perspective and attracting
investors. It is important that policy is legislated by the government. For
instance, there is the National Automotive Industry Development Plan
(NAIDP), which needs to be legislated, we need to encourage them, and not
just legislating, but policy certainty that would attract investors. The
second is to work with governments to create demand for such markets, and
key drivers in generating the demand.

 

 

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is a treaty yet
untapped, how are you going to explore the opportunities?

The generated demands are a number of points that we need to make affordable
based on access to funding available to the consumer. Nigeria is into a
number of discussions on that. Second, is for the government to support the
sale of new vehicles, and the third is to ensure that all the used cars are
roadworthy.

 

In terms of regulation and the policy that is actually implemented, the
NAIDP supports the manufacture of one or two avoidable components and when
you do that such model can be exported to the regional economy or auto
export market, and the assembling of that will offset the duty of bringing
in multiple models and lower volumes. This allows the assembler to produce
and manufacture cars competitively with high volumes with low numbers of
models and the import of fully built units (FBU) would start falling. That
introduces an affordable vehicle alongside affordable vehicle financing.

 

In regional economies, our vision for Africa is a situation where you have a
regional economy buy-in into a vision of the auto sector where two countries
or maybe three will assemble cars, while countries around those assembling
hubs will actually manufacture components, and research around the
environment, comparing competing supply chain hubs. This way, you are
encouraging a whole regional economy to work. In buying into that economy,
the whole region buys vehicles or assembles in one or two hubs, and supports
the hubs with supplied components. That way, you are actually creating
benefits to all the participating countries.

 

There will also be demand in the whole region, and everyone supports each
other in that region. But it requires collaboration at the national and
regional levels, which is very important. And that is the role that we want
to play by working with the countries, and we want to work with the African
Union to create this industrial strategy, and support these economies.

 

Second-hand car importation is rampant in the market, what can be done to
eradicate this?

What is very important is to introduce a regulation around importing
roadworthy second-hand vehicles because it is really about the safety of the
consumer. Our intention is not to eliminate second-hand vehicles, because
ultimately, second-hand vehicles would come in various countries but it’s a
transition of the years.

 

 

What countries like Ghana have done is to restrict vehicles older than 10
years; they are making sure that vehicles that are to be imported are
roadworthy, also to ensure that imported vehicles are not vehicles that have
been written off in other countries. So there are control measures where one
knows that you have a market for second-hand vehicles. There are certain
regulations that countries can introduce to manage that effectively, because
it’s absolutely fine to have second-hand vehicles as long as it is safe. But
what happens when you introduce these regulations is that you focus on the
safety of consumers and that is critical. That also removes the unsafe
vehicle, which is probably extremely cost-effective, that is, depleting the
object of cost versus safety.

 

AAAM was in Nigeria in 2017 with the intention to partner and invest, has
there been any development thus far?

There has not been any development yet, and one of the challenges is that
the NAIDP has not been passed into legislation. It is very important that
this transpires, because it is holding up progress. No global original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) have come into Nigeria yet to invest, but they
are very interested in Nigeria.

 

Nigeria is currently reviewing the NAIDP, what do you think can be added to
achieve the ultimate goal of AAAM?

What is very important is that NAIDP is part of the law, it is absolutely
imperative that it transpires because that brings about investors’
confidence. We also have gone through the bill; it supports that a high
volume production of automotive components be made locally. As mentioned,
imported second-hand cars must be roadworthy, and we believe that the
potential in Nigeria is a substantial one. Take South Africa as an example,
with a population of 58 million people, about 530,000 new vehicles were sold
last year in South Africa, but take the population of 200 million people
with the right ecosystem, the market potential of new vehicles in Nigeria
would be over a million vehicles a year. Nigeria needs to become a hub in
West Africa like Ghana.

 

 

Vehicle finance schemes have been a major challenge for citizens to own a
new vehicle, what can be done to ensure people can afford such vehicles?

It comes down to a number of institutions. The finance institutions need to
work with vehicle manufacturers or dealers in structuring affordable
finance. It is important that you keep a value, even when it is sold it
becomes a residual value and brings down the cost of money. Some other
regulations are critical to the approach. The other one is for the vehicle
manufacturers to manufacture a car that is cost-effective. It is also very
important for countries that introduce auto policies to follow the process
of having the manufacturing of one or two models in high volumes, and they
supply within their region or export out of Africa, and are able to import
FBUs with no levy. But it’s a number of factors from structuring the finance
model to be competitive, and providing cost-affordable products.

 

AAAM is partnering Deloitte Africa on the Africa Automotive Forum, what are
we expecting from this gathering?

What is key in the automotive forum is that we are dealing with the three
core topics, which need to be enabled into a large automotive industry in
Africa. The first is the policy, second is the value chains, and the third
is vehicle affordability. Those are already the topics we need to find
solutions for, and the forum is about debating the solutions and trying to
agree on the way forward from those discussions. It is really about creating
alignment in Africa, in the world that the development journey for the
automotive industry in Africa has started. We really want to communicate
widely, and we want people’s contributions. At AAAM, we have our goals of
what is required, we need to refine and improve them, we need to collaborate
with the continent, and we need to work with all stakeholders in the
continent to get bound, so we can come together and improve the automotive
revolution in Africa. That is what this journey is about. It is about
communication, and actually moving forward in the automotive industry.

 

We have three council sessions, we have a working group coming together to
ask relevant questions, and we put this forward to the panellists. When the
forum has ended, we are going to create a memorandum for people to be able
to see the conversations.

 

Will this be a one-off, since there are always issues with implementation or
amendment of resolutions?

This is the first forum that we are having; we will have a second one
shortly as follow up on this. At the end of October, there is the European
Union Africa Business Forum taking place in Brussels; there is a Sustainable
Mobility Working Group on the 27th of October, which also deals with these
issues. So, it is not a one-off, this conversation needs to continue, we are
engaging with the European Union to come and support the development of
industry in Africa. I recently had an engagement with the Ambassador of
Japan to South Africa, to initiate support to work with us to help develop
the auto industry in Africa. So it’s not a one-off; it’s a process that we
are going through.

 

 

What measures would be considered to ensure African countries key into the
resolutions from such a forum?

We are going to be working with the Secretary-General of the African
Continental Free Trade Area, Wamkele Mene, and we would be supporting the
Secretary-General in the development of the auto industry in Africa.

 

We have already engaged, and we shared the vision for Africa, and we would
work with him to develop a forum for the automotive industry. It’s really
about collaborating with the countries that are willing to participate, and
by that way, we envisage a structure that will develop such economies in the
continent. We are also going to engage government ministries in various
countries in Africa, and share the vision of what we are doing in the
automotive forum. We have ministers, who are very eager in engaging other
key African countries. This is not something we are going to stop; we are
going to institutionalise it with the broader African Union.

 

The COVID-19 has brought enormous disruptions to the business world. What is
your view of its effects on the global automotive industry especially the
African market?

It certainly has a negative impact on the sales of new vehicles, but on the
positive side, going forward, is when automotive policies are infused, we
still have an opportunity even though the market is tough to generate sales
from new vehicles. Within the sector of automotive policy, the intention is
to build the numbers of completely knocked down (CKD) cars being sold.
Obviously there are key factors that will generate the demands, and to make
sure that people have affordable finance. Also, the need to introduce an
effective automotive industrial policy, because I see the demands and
opportunities in the global market and in Africa, there is still an
opportunity going forward, in the medium term to generate new demand and
some of it comes from switching second-hand vehicles. The other is providing
affordable finance, and affordable vehicles to increase new vehicle sales.

 

 

How is your Association mitigating the challenges posed by the pandemic?

Our mission at AAAM is to work with governments to introduce effective
automotive policy, and we do that by engaging them and supporting them in
the process. That is what we do across Africa, we are engaging with the
Nigerian government, Ethiopian as well as Kenya, in actually reviewing their
proposed policy so that we can develop a growing automotive industry.

 

What is your projection for the Africa automotive forum going forward?

The motorisation rate in Africa is 44 vehicles per a thousand people, the
world average is 180. We believe that in the medium term that we could
increase that with effective automotive policies implemented around Africa,
we believe that 1.1 million can grow to five million vehicles sold in a
year. Africa is the world’s next automotive power house, but it requires the
countries, ourselves, private and public sectors to collaborate effectively
with the coming vision of developing Africa. What effective automotive
policy does in a country is, it creates good skilled jobs, and brings
technology into a country.

 

The development and actualisation of the auto industry will not happen by
chance, it requires deliberate activities on the part of the public and
private sectors of the continent, and it requires a shared vision, and that
is what we are committed to do. It’s a committed time and a journey and we
would be part of that journey.-guardian

 

 

 

Tax collection warning as South Africa’s economy likely to continue to
struggle

The economic outlook for the second half of 2020 is not looking positive
which is likely to have an impact on investors.

 

Andrew Duvenage, managing director of NFB Private Wealth Management,
outlines what investors can expect for the remainder of 2020 and how to
mitigate these risks. NFB Private Wealth Management is part of the AltX
listed NVest Financial Holdings (NVE) group of companies

 

The reality is that the South African economy is likely to continue to
struggle. The country entered the Covid-19 crisis in a precarious fiscal
position with an economy which has been in a state of decline for several
years.

 

Given the length and severity of the lockdown – one of the harshest globally
– it should perhaps be no surprise that the country’s GDP contracted 51% in
the second quarter of 2020 based on annualised quarter on quarter numbers.

 

This contraction came on the back of three successive quarters of
contraction and an average growth rate of well below 1% over the past five
years.

 

The consequences of this contraction will be lower tax collections, a
ballooning budget deficit and very limited options available to government
around financing this deficit.

 

Despite several announcements that government will kick-start economic
growth with an investment in infrastructure spending, it is unlikely that in
this environment they will be able to look to infrastructure spend as a
mechanism to revive economic growth – unless it is prepared to implement
structural reforms required to attract investment.

 

These structural reforms require, among others, that government reduces
expenditure. This includes reducing the bloated public sector wage bill
which appears unlikely in the current environment.

 

Other structural reforms that it needs to implement include ensuring policy
certainty, removing regulatory red-tape and ensuring South Africa becomes
more competitive globally.

 

Business confidence is currently at an all-time low which has a knock-on
effect on investment. In recent months a number of companies have shelved
plans for further investment in SA, including SAB, a division of AB InBev,
which has put a halt to a planned investment of around R5 billion, in part
as a result of the prolonged ban on alcohol sales.

 

Consol Glass, meanwhile, has indefinitely suspended construction of a new
glass manufacturing plant valued at R1.5 billion, while Heineken has also
shelved its investment plans, valued at just under R1.5 billion.

 

Exacerbating poor business confidence is growing unemployment. In July alone
the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration received 190
large-scale retrenchments referrals, along with 1 307 small-scale
retrenchment referrals.

 

The inflexibility of the local labour market means we probably have not yet
seen the full extent of unemployment. It is likely that more companies will
be retrenching staff in the coming months.

 

Unfortunately, South Africa’s unemployment situation is likely to be
structural in nature compared to the US experience where unemployment spiked
and then fell rapidly as labour were reabsorbed.

 

The reality is that South Africa’s current fiscal position is going to be
very difficult to manage. Government does not have the means to stimulate
and support the economy in the same way that more developed countries are
doing.

 

This means many more businesses will fail, particularly those in the
tourism, retail and hospitality sectors, who will not survive this period,
further exacerbating unemployment figures.

 

Corporate earnings will continue to be under pressure. The JSE’s apparent
post Covid recovery has not been broad-based and has been dominated by tech
counters like Naspers and mining stocks.

 

The ZAR price of gold, for instance, has been a huge advantage for gold
miners.

 

Domestic property, financials and South African industrial stocks, however,
are on average down 40-50% from their pre-Covid highs.

 

Unemployment figures will add additional pressure to the fiscus in terms of
higher social welfare needs and less – and lower – contributions to personal
income tax.

 

A debt trap is no longer a risk but a reality for South Africa, which could
lead to a sovereign debt crisis. Although the ruling party have long had an
ideological aversion to an IMF bailout as it would result in a loss of
sovereignty, their options are becoming increasingly limited.

 

Given the current environment there is the very real risk that social
pressure will increase as a result of the poor economic outlook. Not only is
this likely to have political ramifications within the ANC but it could also
impact the broader political landscape.

 

So, where does this leave investors? The strengthening of the ZAR should not
necessarily be seen to be indicative of improvements in the local economy,
but rather as an opportunity for investors to ensure that their portfolios
are diversified at appropriate levels.

 

A global diversification strategy is key in this environment. While the tech
market has largely driven the local market recovery, there is a risk to
being overly concentrated in the local market. While markets are high we
still believe there is a case for equities.

 

Interest rates globally are expected to stay low for longer, particularly
given the recent FED announcement on policy. At the same time stimulus
measures will in all likelihood see a rebound in global GDP which will
support investments in equity.

 

However, investors need to be aware that market entry risk is a real issue
given the current market levels.-businesstech

 

 

 

 

 


 


 


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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