Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 April 2021

Sun Apr 18 07:16:46 CAT 2021

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Major International Business Headlines Brief::: 18 April 2021

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

ü  AEXCLUSIVE China’s Ant explores ways for Jack Ma to exit

ü  Power companies urge Biden to implement policies to cut emissions 80% by
2030

ü  Nissan to focus on fuel-sipping technology and electrification in China

ü  'Roaring Kitty' acquires more shares in GameStop - Bloomberg

ü  Wall St Week Ahead Tech retakes market lead as investors eye yields,
earnings

ü  February's cold weather shut more U.S. refinery capacity than Hurricane
Harvey

ü  Pandemic destroyed fewer U.S. businesses than feared, Fed study shows

ü  Swiss billionaire Wyss decides to drop out of bid for Tribune -
Bloomberg, NYT

ü  Credit Suisse sued over risk exposure to Greensill Capital, Archegos

ü  Africa: Internet Access Uneven Across Sub-Saharan Africa As Campaign
Dubbed #UnmuteTheWorld Launched to Address Gap

ü  Nigerian Ports Now 70% Digitalised - Shippers' Council

ü  Nigeria: Solar Home System for 25 Million Nigerians Not Free - Govt

ü  Nigeria: The Much-Awaited Dangote Oil Refinery

ü  Sierra Leone Mining Dispute Highlights Pitfalls for U.S. Firms

ü  Angola: Sonangol Sells Its Shares in Puma Energy At Usd 600 Mln

 <https://www.facebook.com/Hyundaizimbabwe/> 

EXCLUSIVE China’s Ant explores ways for Jack Ma to exit

Ant Group is exploring options for founder Jack Ma to divest his stake in
the financial technology giant and give up control, as meetings with Chinese
regulators signaled to the company that the move could help draw a line
under Beijing’s scrutiny of its business, according to a source familiar
with regulators’ thinking and two people with close ties to the company.

Reuters is for the first time reporting details of the latest round of
meetings and the discussions about the future of Ma’s control of Ant,
exercised through a complicated structure of investment vehicles. The Wall
Street Journal previously reported that Ma had offered in a November meeting
with regulators to hand over parts of Ant to the Chinese government.

Officials from the central bank, People’s Bank of China (PBOC), and
financial regulator China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission
(CBIRC) held talks between January and March with Ma and Ant separately,
where the possibility of the tycoon’s exit from the company was discussed,
according to accounts provided by the source familiar with the regulators’
thinking and one of the sources with close ties to the company.

Ant denied that a divestment of Ma's stake was ever under consideration.
"Divestment of Mr. Ma's stake in Ant Group has never been the subject of
discussions with anyone," an Ant spokesman said in a statement.

Reuters could not determine whether Ant and Ma would proceed with a
divestment option, and if so, which one. The company hoped Ma's stake, which
is worth billions of dollars, could be sold to existing investors in Ant or
its e-commerce affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd without involving any
external entity, one of the sources with company ties said.

But the second source also with company connections said that during
discussions with regulators, Ma was told that he would not be allowed to
sell his stake to any entity or individual close to him, and would instead
have to exit completely. Another option would be to transfer his stake to a
Chinese investor affiliated with the state, the source said.

Any move would need Beijing's approval, both sources with knowledge of the
company's thinking said.

The accounts provided by all the three sources are consistent in terms of
the timeline for how discussions have evolved over the past few months. On
the company side, one source said Ma met regulators more than once before
the Chinese New Year, which was in early February. And the second source
said Ant started working on options for Ma's possible exit about a couple of
months ago. The source familiar with the regulators' thinking said Ant had
told officials during a meeting sometime before mid-March that it was
working on options.

The source familiar with the regulators' thinking has direct knowledge of
conversations between Ant and officials, while one of the sources with
company ties has been briefed on Ma's interactions with regulators and Ant's
plans. The other one has direct knowledge of Ant's discussions about
options. They requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
situation.

The Ant spokesman did not provide any comments from Ma. Alibaba referred
questions to Ant. Jack Ma's office did not respond to Reuters' request for
comment made via Ant. The State Council Information Office, PBOC, and CBIRC,
also did not respond to requests for comment.

The high-stakes discussions come amid a revamp of Ant and a broader
regulatory clampdown on China's technology sector that was set in motion
after Ma's public criticism of regulators in a speech in October last year.

Ma's exit could help clear the way for Ant to revive plans to go public,
which stalled after the tycoon's speech, both sources proximate to the
company said. Ant, which was about to raise an estimated $37 billion in what
would have been the world's largest initial public offering, aborted plans
the day after Ma's Nov. 2 meeting with regulators.

'TOO BIG FOR THEIR BRITCHES'

Since then Beijing has unleashed a series of investigations and new
regulations that have not only reined in Ma's empire but also swept across
the country's technology sector, including other high-profile, billionaire
entrepreneurs.

For Ma, 56, who also founded Alibaba and once commanded cult-like reverence
in China, the consequences have been particularly severe. The tycoon
completely withdrew from the public eye for about three months and has
continued to keep a low profile after a brief January appearance.

China’s antitrust regulator fined Alibaba a record $2.75 billion on April 10
following an antimonopoly probe that found it had abused its dominant market
position for several years. A couple of days later Ant was asked by the
central bank to become a financial holding company, bringing it under the
ambit of banking rules that it had managed to avoid so far and allowed it to
grow rapidly.

"China still likes to promote its technology firms as global leaders just as
long as they don't get too big for their britches," said Andrew Collier,
managing director of Orient Capital Research.

CONTROLLING STAKE

Although Ma had previously stepped down from corporate positions, he retains
effective control over Ant and significant influence over Alibaba.

While he only owns a 10% stake in Ant, Ma exercises control over the company
through related entities, according to Ant's IPO prospectus.

Hangzhou Yunbo, an investment vehicle for Ma, has control over two other
entities that own a combined 50.5% stake of Ant, the prospectus shows. Yunbo
can decide all matters related to Ant and exercise the combined voting power
of the three entities, the prospectus shows.

Ma holds a 34% equity interest in Yunbo, the prospectus shows.

One of the sources with company ties said there's "a big chance" Ma would
sell his equity interest in Yunbo to exit from Ant, ultimately paving the
way for the fintech major to move closer to completing its revamp and
reviving its listing.

Reuters could not reach Yunbo for comment. Ant did not provide a comment on
behalf of Yunbo.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Power companies urge Biden to implement policies to cut emissions 80% by
2030

A group of U.S. electricity companies wrote to President Joe Biden this week
saying it will work with his administration and Congress to design a broad
set of policies to reach a near-term goal of slashing the sector's carbon
emissions by 2030.

Washington should implement policies, including a clean energy standard, or
CES, to ensure the electricity industry cuts carbon emissions 80% below 2005
levels by 2030, the group of 13 power interests, including generators Exelon
Corp (EXC.O), PSEG(PEGPP.UL) and Talen Energy Corp, said in a letter to
Biden.

The letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, did not mention Biden's
goal to fully decarbonize the power sector by 2035 as part of his strategy
to fight climate change. But it said the 2030 timeline is consistent with
Biden's wider goal of decarbonizing the entire economy by 2050.

"A federal policy framework can be designed to support the power sector’s
deployment of strategies that are technically feasible, ensure reliability,
and maintain affordability for customers," said the letter, sent to Biden on
Friday.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 2030 goal was consistent with Evergreen Action, an advocacy group that
proposed a CES in February. Sam Ricketts, a co-founder, said utilities
should worry less about the 2035 goal, and focus on early wins as the last
portion of emissions cuts is the hardest to achieve. read more

Several lawmakers, including Democrats U.S. Representative Frank Pallone and
Senator Tina Smith, have introduced legislation that includes a CES.

The standard would set gradually rising targets for the power industry to
cut emissions until they hit net-zero, with a range of methods from adopting
wind and solar power, using existing and advanced nuclear energy, or sucking
up carbon from coal and natural gas plants before they reach the atmosphere.

The White House this month included a CES in its $2.3 trillion
infrastructure package, without detailing how it would work.

Some plans for a CES include flexibilities such as allowing utilities to
earn bankable credits for over-achieving in early years that could be used
for compliance in later years when progress on cutting emissions becomes
more difficult.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Nissan to focus on fuel-sipping technology and electrification in China

Japan's financially challenged Nissan Motor Co (7201.T) is expected to show
off a new "must-succeed" car and explain its green-car strategy for China at
the Shanghai auto show which starts on Monday, two company officials told
Reuters.

The car Nissan plans to show off at the motor show is the significantly
redesigned X-Trail sport-utility vehicle (SUV). A similar SUV called the
Rogue hit the U.S. market last year. The new X-Trail will be available in
China later this year.

The new car is powered by a fuel-sipping three-cylinder, petrol-powered
turbo engine, which one of the sources said might face an uphill battle in
gaining acceptance in China where similar technologies have proven
unpopular.

The car is a "must succeed, a must win car for us," one of the two sources
said. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not
authorized to speak with reporters.

In addition to the X-Trail's China debut, Nissan's chief operating officer
Ashwani Gupta is expected to tell reporters in Shanghai virtually from Japan
on Monday that Nissan's green car strategy is two-pronged: the company will
focus on fuel efficiency-enhancing petrol-electric hybrid technology, as
well as battery electric cars to make its lineup of vehicles in China
greener.

In January, Nissan said all its new vehicles in key markets, including
China, would be electrified by the early 2030s, as part of its efforts to
achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

The strategy comes as regulatory pressure in China grows on carmakers to
slash emissions.

China is a key pillar of Nissan's turnaround strategy, which involves
focusing on producing profitable cars for China, Japan and the United
States, rather than chasing all-out global growth pursued by ousted boss
Carlos Ghosn.

The company is scrambling to slash its production capacity and model line-up
by a fifth and to cut fixed costs by 300 billion yen ($2.8 billion). Nissan
aims to achieve a 5% operating profit margin and a sustainable global market
share of 6% by the end of fiscal year 2023

It wasn't immediately clear how much detail Nissan plans to share on its
China strategy on Monday.

The two sources said Nissan nonetheless plans to start taking "pre-orders"
in China for its upcoming electric Ariya SUV before the end of this year.

Nissan also plans to launch a hybrid "e-Power" version of the Sylphy compact
car this year and an e-Power X-Trail as early as next year.

A company spokeswoman said Nissan plans to showcase in Shanghai the redesign
X-Trail crossover, as well as the introduction of Nissan's e-power
petrol-electric hybrid technology to China. She declined to comment
otherwise.

($1 = 108.7700 yen)- The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

'Roaring Kitty' acquires more shares in GameStop - Bloomberg

The man known as "Roaring Kitty" on social media, whose online posts helped
spark January's trading frenzy in GameStop Corp (GME.N), exercised call
options on the stock to acquire 50,000 more shares at a strike price of $12,
Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg cited a screenshot of Keith Gill's portfolio showing that he
exercised 500 GameStop call options expiring Friday, when the stock closed
at $154.69.

The screenshots were posted on Reddit by Gill, and his mother confirmed the
posts to Bloomberg. Reuters could not immediately reach the Gills for
comment on Saturday.

His total investment in GameStop is now worth more than $30 million, giving
him a profit of nearly $20 million, Bloomberg said. Gill has 200,000 shares
in the company, the report said.

Gill was a key figure in the so-called "Reddit rally," which saw shares of
GameStop surge 400% in a week before crashing back to pre-surge levels.

He began sharing his positions on Reddit's popular Wallstreetbets trading
forum in September 2019, posting a portfolio screenshot indicating he had
invested $53,000 in GameStop.

By late January, Gill, known as "Roaring Kitty" on YouTube and
"DeepF***ingValue" on Reddit, was up over 4,000% on stock and options
investments in the company. read more

Last month, Gill appeared before Massachusetts securities regulators to
testify as part of an examination into his activities.

Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, the state's top
securities regulator, had subpoenaed Gill, who touted GameStop stock in his
spare time while he was a registered broker and working at the insurer
MassMutual.-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Wall St Week Ahead Tech retakes market lead as investors eye yields,
earnings

U.S. technology and growth stocks have taken the market's reins in recent
weeks, pausing a rotation into value shares as investors assess the
trajectory of bond yields and upcoming earnings reports.

Technology (.SPLRCT) has been the top-performing S&P 500 (.SPX) sector in
April, rising 8% versus a 5% rise for the benchmark index. Big tech-related
growth stocks in other S&P 500 sectors such as Amazon Inc (AMZN.O), Tesla
Inc (TSLA.O) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) have also charged
higher.

The gains have followed a months-long rotation in which tech stocks were
outpaced by shares of banks, energy companies and other
economically-sensitive names that have surged since breakthroughs in
COVID-19 vaccines late last year.

The increases in many of these so-called value stocks have slowed lately,
while U.S. Treasury prices have come galloping back in April after a sharp
first-quarter sell-off. This suggests that some investors may have already
priced in a rapid growth spurt that is showing up in economic data.

"Tech and growth has started to pick up a little bit because people are
getting a little more cautious," said Lindsey Bell, chief investment
strategist at Ally Invest. "Investors are in this wait-and-see mode ... at
least until earnings get underway."

One of the key drivers of the move in tech has been the Treasury market,
with the benchmark 10-year note yield falling about 15 basis points in April
to about 1.6% on Friday.

Higher bond yields are particularly challenging for the performance of tech
and other shares with high valuations and high expected future profits, as
rising yields reduce the stocks' values in many standard models. The 10-year
yield rose about 83 basis points in the first quarter.

"People are probably taking a little bit of a deep breath and saying, 'OK,
maybe rates aren't going to go straight to (2.50%),'" said Chris Galipeau,
senior market strategist at Putnam Investments.

Shares of tech and other companies with strong "stay-at-home" businesses
could also strengthen if there are snags in the countrywide vaccination
drive or other problems with the recovery, investors said.

For example, a call by U.S. health agencies this week to pause use of
Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) coronavirus vaccine spurred a move into some
stay-at-home stocks and out of travel names tied to the economic reopening.
read more

Investors also pointed to the impending influx of quarterly reports as key
to determining market leadership, with Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and Intel Corp
(INTC.O) among the major tech and growth company earnings due next week.

Many investors think the recent market shift is just a pause, with value and
cyclical stocks due to regain command after years of lagging, as investors
seize on shares expected to benefit most from what the Federal Reserve
expects will be the strongest economic growth in nearly 40 years. read more

"My guess is we will see more of this internal rotation where growth takes a
break and then it comes on and then value takes a break and then it comes
on," Galipeau said. "It won't surprise me if that continues for a couple of
years."

Others have become more wary of the equity market in general. Strategists at
BofA Global Research recently issued a report listing five reasons for
caution on stocks, including high valuations and outsized returns over the
past year. The bank kept its year-end S&P 500 target at 3,800, some 9% below
current levels. The index has risen 11% this year.

"Amid increasingly euphoric sentiment, lofty valuations, and peak stimulus,
we continue to believe the market has overly priced in the good news,"
BofA's strategists wrote.- The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

February's cold weather shut more U.S. refinery capacity than Hurricane
Harvey

A severe cold spell in mid-February knocked out a third of U.S. oil refining
capacity, according to data compiled by Reuters and Wood Mackenzie.

A sharp drop in temperatures that lasted five days shut individual units and
sometimes entire plants at 25 refineries in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Louisiana and Tennessee.

Six million barrels per day (bpd) of national refining capacity was out of
production before refineries in Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Port Arthur,
Texas, began restarting on Feb. 22.

Bt comparison, Hurricane Harvey idled a fifth of national refining capacity
at the end of August 2017.

The last major unit shut by the storm, the 38,000 barrel-per-day (bpd)
vacuum distillation unit (VDU) at Chevron Corp’s (CVX.N) 112,229 bpd
Pasadena, Texas, refinery, restarted on Wednesday, according to sources
familiar with plant operations.

But like in a hurricane, problems inside the plants were compounded by
outages of larger systems on which the refineries rely.

Problems began on the night of Feb. 14 when the 30-degree drop to 15 degrees
Fahrenheit froze instrumentation needed to operate production units, said
sources familiar with operations at several refineries.

Crews struggled throughout the night maintaining minimum levels of
production, but on the Feb. 15 utilities failed, including industrial gas
supplies, natural gas for power and steam production as well as external
power, forcing complete shutdowns at many of the plants, the sources said.

Oil companies have begun describing the financial cost of the freeze.

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) said at the end of March that the shutdown of its
refineries in Baytown and Beaumont, Texas, accounts for as much as a quarter
of the estimated $800-million loss the company incurred in February.

The nation’s second largest refiner, Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N), said last
week it will take a charge between $520 million and $535 million for higher
electricity and natural gas costs in the first quarter.

Eight of Valero’s 12 U.S. refineries were shut by the storm.

Phillips 66 (PSX.N) said its loss for the first quarter could reach $865
million, but up to $210 million of that is due to a pre-tax impairment for a
pipeline project.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Pandemic destroyed fewer U.S. businesses than feared, Fed study shows

Fewer than 200,000 businesses in the United States may have failed during
the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lighter toll than initially
feared and one that may have had relatively little impact on unemployment,
according to Federal Reserve research.

The figure contrasts with the early forecasts that the pandemic would leave
America's"Main Street" desolate as well as with polls that continue to show
large percentages of U.S. small business owners are worried about their
survival.

Perhaps 600,000 businesses, most of them small firms, fail in any given
year, and U.S. central bank researchers estimated that from March 2020
through February of this year the figure has been perhaps a quarter to a
third higher.

That included 100,000 "excess" failures among firms engaged in close-contact
services such as barber shops and nail salons, a sector described by the Fed
research group as the sector hardest hit by the economic fallout from the
pandemic.

While potentially devastating for the owners and employees of those firms,
"relative to popular discussion ... our results may represent an optimistic
update to views about pandemic-related business failure," the authors wrote.

Offsetting the hit to those services-oriented businesses, they noted,
carry-out restaurants, grocery stores and outdoor recreation companies
seemed to suffer fewer failures than usual, with the net result being a
smaller-than-anticipated blow to the overall economy.

"Many industries have likely seen lower-than-usual exit rates, and exiting
businesses do not appear to represent a large share of U.S. employment," the
researchers wrote.

FEDERAL AID

The study was the latest to sound a positive note on an economic recovery
that has proceeded faster than expected, with top Fed officials confident
that much of the potential permanent damage had been avoided. Earlier
research had anticipated widespread business failures due to the pandemic,
with 400,000 or more small firms going dark.

Census and other surveys continue to reflect stress among some firms that
continue to operate, and the Fed researchers acknowledged that more failures
could occur if, for example, banks, landlords and creditors become less
flexible with their business tenants as conditions return to normal.

Nor does the study account for the millions of still-lost jobs at surviving
firms that cut staff or reduced operations, or for the disproportionate
losses felt among racial or ethnic groups over-represented in the most
devastated industries.

But it does start to put some scope around one of the potential economic
scars from the pandemic, and suggests that small businesses appear to have
been both more resilient than anticipated, and were propped up effectively
by loans from the Paycheck Protection Program and other federal aid.

The Fed and the U.S. government began flooding the economy with credit and
outright grants for businesses and households last spring, so much so that
personal incomes actually rose even as unemployment spiked to historical
levels.

The funding included $755 billion in forgivable PPP loans spread across more
than 9.5 million firms. Although the roughly 30 million U.S. small
businesses are diverse, the vast bulk involve sole practitioners who have no
employees, with the remainder employing only a handful. So the failures of
these businesses, even in large numbers, don't register deeply in terms of
overall employment.

Official government statistics on business failures typically lag the actual
demise of those firms by a year or more. The Labor Department's Bureau of
Labor Statistics and the Commerce Department's Census Bureau have not yet
released any formal estimates on the pandemic's final toll on companies and
their workers.

To augment the scarce data, the Fed researchers coupled available government
information with high-frequency, alternative measures such as cellphone
location data mapped onto retail locations, records from payrolls processor
ADP, and other sources.

They found that while the early fears of a large COVID-19 hit may have been
warranted given the numbers of businesses that shut down in the spring of
2020, by the end of August there was "no evidence of excessive, ongoing
business inactivity; in fact shutdown was well below normal by late
2020."-The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Swiss billionaire Wyss decides to drop out of bid for Tribune - Bloomberg,
NYT

Swiss billionaire Hansjoerg Wyss has decided to drop out of a group that was
bidding for Tribune Publishing Co (TPCO.O), the New York Times and Bloomberg
News reported on Saturday.

The decision was made in recent days after Wyss' associates examined the
Tribune's finances as part of a due diligence process, according to the NYT
report, which cited people with knowledge of the matter.

Wyss had come to believe it would be difficult for him to realize his
ambition of transforming The Chicago Tribune, the paper he was most
interested in, into a national publication, the New York Times said.

Earlier this month, Tribune Publishing received a $680 million takeover
offer from Newslight LLC, a bid that trumped an earlier proposal from hedge
fund Alden Global Capital for the owner of the Chicago Tribune and the New
York Daily News.

Tribune said in a statement on April 5 that its board had determined that
the $18.50 per share proposal from Newslight, jointly owned by Choice Hotels
International Inc Chairman Stewart Bainum and Wyss, was superior to Alden's
bid.

Bainum has also done due diligence on the deal and remains committed to a
bid, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing a source.

The Bloomberg report added that Bainum is exploring alternative partnerships
and financing, and has received inquiries in recent weeks from potential
investors.

Tribune Publishing did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Credit Suisse sued over risk exposure to Greensill Capital, Archegos

A pension fund filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S) on
Friday in a U.S. court, accusing the Swiss bank of misleading investors and
mismanaging risk exposure to high-risk clients, including Greensill Capital
and Archegos Capital Management.

The pension fund, City of St. Clair Shores Police & Fire Retirement System,
based in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, filed the class action lawsuit in
federal court in Manhattan, alleging violations of federal securities laws.

"Specifically, defendants concealed material defects in the Company's risk
policies and procedures and compliance oversight functions and efforts to
allow high-risk clients to take on excessive leverage, including Greensill
Capital and Archegos Capital Management, exposing the company to billions of
dollars in losses," the lawsuit said.

Switzerland's second-biggest bank has been reeling from its exposure to the
collapse first of British fund Greensill and then U.S. investment fund
Archegos within the course of one month.

Reuters reported last month that Credit Suisse was considering compensating
investors hit by the collapse of funds linked to Greensill. read more

Credit Suisse's asset management unit last month was forced to shut $10
billion of supply chain finance funds that invested in bonds issued by
Greensill after the British firm lost credit insurance coverage shortly
before filing for insolvency. read more

Huge losses at Archegos last month prompted Credit Suisse to replace its
heads of investment banking and of compliance and risk after it said it
would book a $4.7 billion first-quarter charge from exposure to the stricken
firm. read more

Archegos, a single-family office run by former Tiger Asia manager Bill
Hwang, defaulted on margin calls by its lenders, in turn causing lenders to
sell big blocks of securities to recoup what they were owed.

The head of Switzerland's financial regulator, FINMA, had questioned Credit
Suisse over risks in its dealings with Greensill Capital "months" before the
bank was forced to close $10 billion of funds linked to Greensill, Swiss
newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported on Sunday.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Africa: Internet Access Uneven Across Sub-Saharan Africa As Campaign Dubbed
#UnmuteTheWorld Launched to Address Gap

Nairobi — A campaign dubbed #UnmuteTheWorld, has been launched to make
internet access a fundamental right and ensure 3.7 billion people are
connected virtually.

The campaign launched last week called for action on the digital divide
especially since COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenge as connections and
opportunities increasingly happen online.

Nearly half of the world's population lack internet access, hindering access
to jobs, education, healthcare, connections and critical information.

According to UNICEF and Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU), access to internet is
uneven across Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2019, only 10 of 45 African countries
tracked by the Alliance for Affordable Internet were able to afford internet
connectivity. Nine out of 10 school-aged children in the region are not
connected to the internet at all.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced lockdown restrictions and serious
health challenges to the region, has made internet access even more
essential to sustain livelihoods, support education and maintain social
contact.

#UnmuteTheWorld is a collective effort to raise awareness of this issue and
accelerate action to bridge the digital divide within sub-Saharan Africa and
around the world.

"In this increasingly virtual world, internet access should not be a luxury
but a human right," said David Gold, CEO of Global Health Strategies and
virt.com - a new crowd-sourced platform that helps users find the most
meaningful virtual meetings from around the world."

"The goal of#UnmuteTheWorld is to spur awareness and action on the digital
divide that is silencing billions of voices and diverse insights that we
need to solve today's biggest challenges."

The #UnmuteTheWorld campaign was launched on the inaugural Virtual Meeting
Day, established to mark the anniversary of the first two-way video call,
which took place 91 years ago between AT&T's lab and headquarters in New
York City.

Nearly a century later, virtual meetings are a daily norm for many, with 87%
of people in wealthy countries connected to the internet. Yet only 47% of
people are connected in developing nations, and just 19% of people in the
least developed countries have access to internet connection.

The campaign calls for a range of actions to address the digital divide:

Governments & Multilateral Agencies must recognize the internet as a
fundamental right, and invest in the necessary policies, programs and
infrastructure--from expanding online bandwidth to investing in widespread
digital literacy and adoption--to ensure that all people can access, afford,
use and benefit from digital technologies, regardless of who they are, where
they live or how much money they have.

Donors & Funders should increase financial assistance to programs seeking to
bridge the digital divide, listen to what communities deem most important
and support local champions. Ensuring equitable access to, and adoption of,
internet is one of the smartest investments of the 21st century.

Tech Companies should design innovations, products and initiatives with
accessibility and inclusivity in mind to maximize positive impact. They
should also invest in digital literacy and mentorship programs and support
underrepresented communities.

Event organizers must create virtual events that are accessible and
inclusive by offering multiple ways to participate to accommodate different
bandwidths and devices, and by eliminating any registration or subscription
fees that could present barriers to entry. They should also promote events
on diverse channels to broaden their audience.

Everyone can raise awareness of the digital divide and share the solutions
that would be most impactful where they live.

Organizations and individuals are invited to learn more about the campaign
and get involved at www.unmutetheworld.org.-Capital FM.

Nigerian Ports Now 70% Digitalised - Shippers' Council

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers' Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello,
on Friday disclosed that the ports in the country had attained 70 per cent
digitalisation.

Bello made this known at a news conference on the first quarter activities
of the council in Lagos.

He said that the 70 per cent digitalisation was lower than 90 per cent
targeted by the council in the first quarter of 2021.

According to him, the council targeted 90 per cent digitalisation in the
first quarter of the year, unfortunately, did not achieve it although it was
still pursuing it in earnest.

"Most of the ports in the world are digitised, Nigeria cannot be an
exception. We cannot have a multitude of people going into the ports every
day, human contact in the ports is very dangerous, it is anti-efficiency and
once there is human contact, there will be corruption and then delay.

"Some people don't even have any business to go to the port but you see them
there, what are they doing?

"We have been working with shipping companies and terminal operators to
ensure we make the deadline we set for the first quarter but we saw it was
not feasible to attain 90 per cent digitalisation.

"What we were able to do on the average was 70 per cent, but digitisation of
the ports is a process in the making. We want this to happen as quickly as
possible," he said.

He said that the port was not a place for contact, as one could move
millions of tons of cargo with a computer adding that they were happy to
announce that the council was on course.

Bello noted that a non-contact port was the solution to many problems in the
system such as delay which caused demurrage, diversion of money, corruption
and revenue leakages.

He said that digitisation would make our ports more competitive, noting that
the country had competitors in West and Central Africa sub-regions.

Bello said that it was not easy to get to the 70 per cent port
digitalisation, adding that they had the scorecards of every terminal and
shipping companies that led to the tremendous improvement.

Speaking on the level of digitalisation of shipping companies, he said that
Grimaldi had 88 per cent, Ocean Network Express 76 per cent, and CMA CGM 63
per cent, among others.

He added that some of those that scored 70 per cent had 20 per cent
initially, but improved with the guidance of the council.

For seaport terminals, Bello said PTML had 92 per cent, and in Port
Harcourt, Intels, BUA and Wact had 70 per cent digitalisation each.

"Where we are having problems is on reforms and claims processes which is
mostly manual but we have some that scored 50 per cent.

"Also, the second phase is the integration of systems because anybody can
have online but there is a need to integrate with the banks for example and
even the Nigeria Customs Serivces, " he said.

He said that digitalisation would promote cleanliness in the port
environment and as well tackle illegal trading activities that degrade the
environment.

"We are going to clear the whole port environment, we are going to work with
the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Ports and Offences Act will be cited to
clear the place.

"You cannot go and be selling food or diesel at the corridors of the port
because some of these trucks stop requesting for them and a five minute stop
will cause a lot of problem so we cannot afford to have such.

"The port is a special place that requires speedy execution of transactions,
we cannot have people selling engine oil," he said.

He said that for Nigeria to define its role in the transport sector, which
would be very significant, there was the need to accommodate bigger ships in
our ports and that was the role the Lekki Deep Seaport would play.-Vanguard.

Nigeria: Solar Home System for 25 Million Nigerians Not Free - Govt

Abuja — The federal government has stressed that the 25 million Nigerians to
be electrified through the ongoing N240 million Solar Home System project
have to pay some fair bills.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, according to a statement, made this clear at
the recent launch of 100,000 Solar Home System in Jangefe community, Kazuare
Emirate, Jigawa State.

Osinbajo, who commended the management of the Niger Delta Power Holding
Company (NDPHC) Limited for playing leading role, describing it as catalyst
in government's plan to provide electricity to 25 million Nigerians through
off-grid connections to 5 million homes, said the project which would be
financed by a N140 billion fund would be paid for by the beneficiaries.

He said: "Another challenge which became an opportunity for us was the
Covid-19 and our response to that which as many know was Economic
Sustainability Plan.

"The President's vision around that plan was that rather than have
situations where people lose jobs and opportunities, we could take the
opportunities of Covid-19 to create more job opportunities for the Nigerian
people.

"So the President approved that we should do these five million solar home
connections across the country which would mean that 25 million Nigerians
would have power," adding that by this development, those who would
manufacture, assemble the solar systems, supply, install, and maintain them
respectively would have jobs.

He said: "The power provided is not free but we have put in place structures
to make sure that the connections are affordable to those connected."

Explaining that the programme is a partnership with the private driving the
connections, supported by concessionaire lending by the Central Bank of
Nigeria and commercial banks, he said the N140 billion finance programme is
to support private developers to provide power to the households.

Also speaking at the launch, the Minister of Power, Engr Sale Mamman said
the programme when fully implemented will generate additional N7 billion in
tax revenue per annum and $10 million in annual import substitutions.

Engr. Mamman said the Ministry would supervise the programme to ensure the
expansion of off-grid connections across the country.

On his part, Jigawa State governor, Badaru Abubakar, thanked President
Buhari for choosing the state as the starting point of the programme,
pledging the support of the state government in ensuring its success.

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director/CEO, NDPHC, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo said the
company had already provided 20,000 units of solar home systems to
households across the country.

"Those 20,000 are working as we speak and then the government asked us to do
another five million solar connections, including solar home systems and
mini-grid, off-grid solutions," he added.

He explained that the 100,000 solar home systems launch is the second phase
of NDPHC's beyond the grid project.- Leadership.

Nigeria: The Much-Awaited Dangote Oil Refinery

Abuja — Few years ago, any economic pundit that thought of the possibility
of a privately-owned petroleum refinery that would have the capacity to meet
the needs of Nigeria's downstream sector, and still export to neighboring
countries, would have been tagged a dreamer; hallucinating in the reveries
of fantasies. Even if the prediction came out of the mouth of a known
expert, many people would still not had believed him. It would not had been
because of pessimism but history of failures of government-run refineries
and the inability of the licensed private refineries to hit the ground
running, after many years of getting approval.

Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) recently slammed its sledge hammer
on investors who defaulted on the terms and conditions embedded in the award
of licences for refineries. The regulatory watchdog revoked thirty-two
licences for failure of those companies to achieve stipulated milestones,
pegged with certain time frame. DPR in the same vain, listed some
privately-owned refineries whose licences were still valid--including
Dangote Oil Refinery that is 80.3 percent completion. I imagined that even
Alhaji Aliko Dangote, himself, must have doubted the possibility of the idea
of building the biggest refinery in Africa, when it first flashed in his
mind like a lightening.

Like every great accomplishment in the history of mankind, it first get
conceptualized, incubated and birthed. During the gestational stages, the
carrier of the idea gets increasingly overwhelmed by its possibilities,
which gradually metamorphose into an obsession--a healthy one. At this
point, the vessel encapsulating the idea, can no longer stop himself,
because he has been overtaken by the monumental concept. If you cannot stop
yourself, what else will stop you? nothing.

This is how great accomplishments are born. Aliko Dangote, Africa's biggest
industrialist cum richest man, has blazed a trail in a new frontier. It took
more than money and courage to embark on these tedious, tumultuous and
humongous projects of building largest refinery in Africa, with world's
biggest single-train facility, simultaneously with a granulated urea
fertilizer plant with name-plate annual capacity of three million tonnes of
urea and ammonia; making it the largest combined fertilizer facility in the
world.

These two major projects, along side other ones, have made Dangote
Petrochemical Complex's Lekki Free Zone the biggest construction site in
Nigeria, in the last few years. Money played a huge role, courage gave life
to the idea, experience kept it going, spirit of resilience sustained it,
but grace made it happened. Give another individual all the monies,
experiences and government support like Aliko Dangote, without the grace of
this pathfinder, he will still not achieve these giants feats. This is my
perception.

It takes grace to build 650,000 barrels/day refinery in a country where
government's four refineries; with combined production capacity of 445,000,
have been fumbling for many years now, albeit sadly. Alhaji Aliko Dangote,
as a single individual, took on one of the major challenges successive
governments could not solved. Petrol crisis has been a hydra-headed monster
confronting Nigeria for decades now. Nigeria, with production capacity of
2.5m barrels/day, ranks as largest producer of crude oil in Africa and 6th
in the world. Ironically, Nigeria is the only OPEC-member country importing
refined petroleum products. In fact, in the last few years, Nigerian
government has spent more money in subsiding imported refined products than
it would have taken to build state-of-the-art refineries.

A whooping sum of $26.5 billion has been spent so far via Turn Around
Maintenance (TAM) for the four refineries, with little or nothing to show
for it--the reason the current contract of $1.5 billion signed by Federal
Government for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of Port Harcourt Refinery has
outraged many concerned Nigerians who viewed it as an colossal waste.

Many are of the opinion that we cannot keep reinforcing failures and funding
corruption, while other critical sectors are starved of limited funds. The
recycled failures of our four refineries is what made Nigeria the only crude
oil producing country that depends on imported refined products--a big and
crying shame!

This incapacitation in local refining capacity created a bottomless pit of
corruption called subsidy regime, where the nation was (still being)
hemorrhaged profusely by a cartel of economic saboteurs that took corruption
to stratospheric level in the petroleum sector. Importation of petrol has
really stretched the nation's economic string beyond its elastic limit. Our
foreign reserves has been seriously depleted, and this has limited the
capacity of the Apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, to stabilize the
local currency, the naira. These abnormalities have created uncertainties
with its attendant vulnerability and volatility in the downstream sector.

An average Nigerian in the street is always terrified and worry-wary of when
the next fuel scarcity will hit the town. Petrol sufficiency has eluded this
nation for long; we are always few days away from the next scarcity, with
its downward spiral of sufferings in the land. Festive seasons are usually
riddled with petrol crises, turning supposed moments of celebration to
groaning. Increments in petrol prices usually trigger inflation,
simultaneously, thereby making life harder for already impoverished masses.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. Dangote Oil Refinery, according its
chairman, will be completed by end of 2021, to begin operation in the first
quarter of 2022. This is indeed a cheering news to be celebrated by
Nigerians. When operational, the 650,000 per day refinery has the capacity
to fill the void; i.e enough capability to meet the nation's consumption
demand of less than 600,000 per day of refined products and still export to
other countries.

A country of over 200 million people--the most populous black nation, will
for once become self-sufficient in its refining capacity. This is really a
landmark breakthrough in the nation's chequered history. When this Refinery
comes on stream, pressure on our foreign reserves will reduce, naira will
become stronger; hundreds of thousands of jobs created for teeming
unemployed Nigerians.

And by extension, insecurity will reduce, because mass unemployment cannot
be divorced from ravaging insecurity in the country. When a youth is
gainfully busy, he will not have the luxury of time to dabble in social
vices. Dangote Group owns this refinery but Nigeria and Nigerians will be
the highest beneficiaries of the new order that this great national asset is
about to herald in our downstream sector. Indeed, Dangote Refinery is coming
to the rescue.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, like him or loathe him, has proven to be a
quintessential industrialist and iconic entrepreneur in the contemporary
history of African industrial evolution. He did it in cement sector,
repeated it in sugar refining; revolutionized commodity productions, and is
about to do it again in the petroleum downstream sector.

He is the biggest individual employer of labor after government in Africa.
Hundreds of thousands of families get taken care of economically, via jobs
created by this visionary goal-getter and audacious investor. Sometimes, I
do look at his pictures; and wonder whether he has two heads. how does he
manage to carry the pressure of being in this enviable position? I am awed!

There is a school of thought that has attributed most of Aliko Dangote's
achievements to being close to corridors of power that grants him unhealthy
monopolistic advantage over his competitors. Even me, I used to harbor this
flawed opinion that "Dangote is government pikin". My perceptive began to
change when I started paying close attention to this economic titan and
entrepreneurial enigma, several years after leaving the university.

Some of the prejudices, innuendoes and conjectures about African most
successful industrialist started fallen off my eyes like a facade. The
fallacious propaganda that he is where he is today because of his
ethno-religious affinity was punctured, when it dawned me that Alhaji Aliko
Dangote has been geometrically rising in profile irrespective of who is
Nigeria's president--whether he is from the north or south.

I realized that Dangote has come to symbolize excellence cum success because
greatness is nothing but repeated excellence powered by eagle-eyed vision
and unquenchable spirit of resilience. Just imagine for a moment that the
consortium led by Aliko Dangote was allowed to take over Port Harcourt and
Kaduna Refineries in 2007; should we have been where we are today as a
nation regarding refining of petroleum products?

As Nigerians await expectantly to welcome this Refinery on stream few months
from now, it is indeed a new dawn in the nation's downstream sector. The
national goal of achieving self-sufficiency in local refining capacity of
Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), has become reality via the vision of one
man--Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON. Thunderous applause!-This Day.

Sierra Leone Mining Dispute Highlights Pitfalls for U.S. Firms

The decision by Sierra Leone to shut down the operations of U.S.-owned SL
Mining has called into question that government’s commitment to the rule of
law with regard to foreign investors.

Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. Government has initiated various programs to
boost U.S.-Africa trade and investment - from the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) to the Prosper Africa initiative that was launched in
2018. The success of these initiatives depends in part on American companies
receiving fair treatment in their dealings in Africa.

Prosper Africa “brings together services and resources from across the U.S.
Government” to promote U.S. business activity in Africa, but how can there
be robust U.S. investment on the continent if the legitimate interests of
American companies are not respected and the U.S. government doesn’t take
action to support American business interests?

Consider Sierra Leone.

In December, the Millennium Challenge Corporation – a U.S. government agency
- selected Sierra Leone for a five-year grant program “to reduce poverty
through targeted investments that increase economic growth.” The
announcement of the MCC compact, was welcomed by President Julius Bio, who
said: “We have achieved this because of the tremendous gains we have made in
controlling corruption, investing in people, protecting democratic rights
and enabling economic freedoms.”

SL Mining, a Sierra Leone company wholly owned by the Gerald Group, one of
the world’s largest metal trading companies, was granted a mining license
agreement (MLA) that was ratified by Sierra Leone’s parliament in December
2017.  Shortly after, the company started construction of the first phase of
its Marampa iron ore project in Lunsar in the Port Loko district.

The project was commissioned in January 2019, reviving an historically
distressed mine to produce the highest quality iron ore concentrate in
Africa. One month after SL Mining began exports in June 2019, the Sierra
Leone government imposed an export ban on the project and, soon after,
cancelled the company’s mining license, alleging breaches under the MLA.

SL Mining denied the charges and - as prescribed under the MLA - filed for
dispute arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which
issued peremptory orders and partial final awards compelling the government
to allow the company to continue to operate. Sierra Leone challenged those
orders before the English High Court, which two months ago dismissed Sierra
Leone’s claim and upheld the ICC’s partial final award, concluding that SL
Mining “wins on each issue.”

The judgment by the court, widely seen as reaffirming the role of
arbitration in dispute resolution, was welcomed by the international
investor community. However, the Sierra Leonean government has so far
refused to comply with the ICC orders, forcing the project to remain
dormant.

In the global marketplace, these negative developments have significantly
hampered the country’s standing. "Iron ore from Sierra Leone is becoming
increasingly less relevant," said Erik Sardain, a principal consultant with
Roskill. "It's too much struggle for producers who have invested time and
effort and find they have no way of dealing with the government."

The impact of SL Mining’s shutdown is also being felt by Sierra Leonean
families locally as well as nationally, as thousands of jobs relied on the
large-scale mining operation. Prior to the shutdown, the Marampa project
employed around 1,500 Sierra Leoneans. In Lunsar, the mine was the town’s
economic backbone, and the loss of income from the mine, including royalties
to the town, stalled community projects.

Like many in the community, Abdullai Bangura has paid a huge price. Bangura
worked as a plant electrician, earning a stable income, but now he farms
cassava and groundnuts, barely enough to support his family in Rogbanneh
Village. Locals have a good relationship with SL Mining, and they want the
company back.

According to the agreement that the parliament ratified, the Sierra Leone
government is obligated to lift the export ban and allow SL Mining to
operate the mine while the dispute is resolved through arbitration. Yet the
government has elected to put 1,500 people out of work, jeopardizing the
livelihoods of another 15,000 people who depended on that income. In
addition, the government deprived itself of over $100 million in income in
the form of taxes and royalties from the project at current iron ore prices.

The government further tried to intimidate SL Mining employees, most notably
with the unjustified temporary detention of management, including Gerald
Group’s Chairman and CEO, a U.S. citizen. The detention not only drew the
condemnation of the U.S. Embassy, but the British and Indian High
Commissions as well.

The country’s legal dispute with SL Mining is a concern in Washington as
Ambassador David Reimer begins his assignment in Freetown. The well-regarded
diplomat arrived in the country a few months after the MCC Board of
Directors selected Sierra Leone for the compact aimed at reducing poverty.

Sierra Leone’s MCC’s scorecard, a part of the compact approval process, was
a priority of the former American ambassador, Maria Brewer, who was
commended by President Bio for helping secure the compact when she departed
in February. The government has welcomed the MCC compact.

However, recent experience suggests that a successful MCC compact is not
guaranteed. Sierra Leone was selected for a similar program in 2012, before
it was rescinded a year later after the government failed the MCC scorecard
indicator for corruption. If the new compact proceeds, it will take several
years before the MCC disburses substantial funds to Sierra Leone under its
current compact. Resolution of the SL Mining issue by the two parties is
likely to be an important MCC consideration moving forward.

Meanwhile, China’s activity in the African mining sector is a recurrent
concern of U.S. policymakers, and Chinese mining operations in Sierra Leone
have a demonstrably poor track record. In 2019, the government’s decision to
grant a license to China’s Kingho for the Tonkolili mine in northern Sierra
Leone sparked a parliamentary inquiry over the deal’s lack of transparency.
In January, Kingho shipped its first batch of iron ore from the Tonkolili
mine, despite lacking a parliament-ratified MLA.

Reimer’s tenure represents an opportunity for both countries to address
these concerns and build the bilateral relationship. “We remain deeply
committed to Sierra Leone's success as a democratic nation and to the
wellbeing of its people,” he is quoted as saying during a ceremony last
month at State House where Bio celebrated the successes of the MCC $44
million Threshold Program, which began in 2015.

Reimer indicated his commitment to seeking resolution of the SL Mining
dispute when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
for his confirmation hearing in December. Responding to a question by
then-chairman James Risch (R-ID), who asked how he would respond to the SL
Mining case, Reimer committed to “engaging on the SL Mining case directly”
with the government while also working to make the country a more attractive
location for American investment. Concern about corruption in Sierra Leone
was also raised during the hearing by Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who now chairs
the Committee, which has oversight of the MCC.

The Biden administration has stated a commitment to promoting U.S. business
interests in Africa, along with transparency and the rule of law. An
essential element of the rule of law is honoring commercial contracts, but
relations between Sierra Leone and the United States are currently clouded
by the dispute involving SL Mining.

The dispute touches all of the priorities of the Biden administration in
Africa and its timely resolution could help Sierra Leone address underlying
issues, from poverty and slow social development to the absence of a strong
private sector to drive economic growth. It also would strengthen the rule
of law, which is not only a key pillar for the U.S.-Sierra Leone
relationship but also is essential to attract investment to a country
struggling to better the lives of its people.

The SL Mining case presents a major test for U.S. trade and investment
policy. Will the administration continue to allow Sierra Leone to enjoy
duty-free, quota-free trade benefits under AGOA if the government refuses to
honor contracts or respect internationally binding court decisions? Will the
MCC use its authority to withhold disbursement of funding on a compact with
a government that disregards international law?

I saw these tools used effectively to promote better trade and investment
performance during my time in government, and I hope the commercial rights
of American companies will be defended by the U.S. government in this and
other cases.

Gregory Simpkins is Executive Director of the African Merchants Association
and writes the Africa Rising 21st Century blog. He recently retired from the
U.S. government where he last served as Senior Advisor in the U.S. Agency
for International Development Agency’s Africa Bureau. Prior to that
government service, he was Staff Director for the U.S. House Subcommittee on
Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.

Angola: Sonangol Sells Its Shares in Puma Energy At Usd 600 Mln

Luanda — Angolan Oil Firm (Sonangol) has agreed, in a tripartite agreement,
to sell its 31.78 percent of its assets held in Puma Energy to Trafigura at
USD 600 million.

In another transaction, the national oil company acquired through Sonangol
Holdings some of the most important strategic assets of the Puma Energy.

They include Pumangol retail network of service stations, airport terminals
in Luanda, Catumbela, Cunene and Lubango.

In its note delivered to Angop, the company states to have acquired the
Terminal Store of the Fishing Port at Luanda Bay and the Angobetumes company
at the same amount.

The conclusion of sale of Sonangol shares in Puma Energy to Trafigura and
the subsequent acquisition of Pumangol will last between 6 to 8 months.

The parties agreed a period of transition of a year for the replacement of
Pumangol logo.

In total, Sonangol has to sell over 50 assets and shares held in the
companies of Real Estate, Tourism, Petroleum, Telecommunications and Finance
sectors.

In another transaction, the national oil company acquired through Sonangol
Holdings some of the most important strategic assets of the Puma Energy.

They include Pumangol retail network of service stations, airport terminals
in Luanda, Catumbela, Cunene and Lubango.

In its note delivered to Angop, the company states to have acquired the
Terminal Store of the Fishing Port at Luanda Bay and the Angobetumes company
at the same amount.

The conclusion of sale of Sonangol shares in Puma Energy to Trafigura and
the subsequent acquisition of Pumangol will last between 6 to 8 months.

The parties agreed a period of transition of a year for the replacement of
Pumangol logo.

In total, Sonangol has to sell over 50 assets and shares held in the
companies of Real Estate, Tourism, Petroleum, Telecommunications and Finance
sectors.-ANGOP.

Invest Wisely!

Bulls n Bears 

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INVESTORS DIARY 2021

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

Independence Day

18/04/21

Public Holiday in lieu of Independence Day falling on a Sunday

19/04/21

Workers Day

01/05/21

FCB

AGM 

virtual

06/05/21 : 3pm

Africa Day

25/05/21

Companies under Cautionary

ART

PPC

Dairibord

Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

 <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.

(c) 2021 Web: <http://www.bullszimbabwe.com>  www.bullszimbabwe.com Email:
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